I first put The Lost Queen on my TBR when I saw it blurbed as ‘The Mists of Avalon for a new generation.’ SOLD! Mists was one of my favorite reads as a young adult, and I was looking for something magical, epic and immersive that wasn’t high fantasy.

There’s absolutely a similarity between the books: both follow the life of a strong female lead, are filled with ancient Celtic magic and the complex politics of tribal kings, religion and power. I have seen Outlander and Game of Thrones mentioned as similar reads, but I think The Lost Queen isn’t as romance focused as the former, and much more character driven than the latter. Pillars of the Earth would be a good comparison with similar themes and story elements.

The plot might have lingered a little too much on the men in the story than I would have liked, as their power struggles dragged for me. I wanted more about Languoreth’s mother, and her mentor Ariane. But on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience and look forward to picking up the next in the trilogy soon. I was also in complete awe of the detail and research that Pike put into the novel - absolutely fascinating stuff. As someone of Scots/Irish heritage who dreams of visiting that part of the world one day, this made my wanderlust grow exponentially.