Thank you to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Curse of the Specter Queen got my attention straight away in the description: 1920s archeological exploration in Ireland? Yes PLEASE. I am a huge sucker for any book that is described with historical aspects, especially in Europe. So this book grabbed my attention so fast and I’m so glad I got an ARC of it!!

Curse of the Specter Queen follows in the POV of Samantha Knox, a teenage girl working at an antique bookshop after putting away her archeological adventure fantasies the day her father died in WW1. But when a mysterious package arrives with a damaged diary inside, Sam’s peaceful life is overturned. Ruthless men are intent on getting this diary from Sam, setting her, her best friend, and her childhood crush on a high stakes adventure to Dublin, Ireland. Here, they discover an ancient order with a dark purpose- to perform an occult ritual that will raise the Specter Queen, the Celtic goddess of vengeance and death, to bring about a war unlike any the world has ever seen. Will Sam solve the ciphers needed to stop the Specter Queen? Or will the order succeed and end the world?

The historical aspects of this book were my favourite by far. It’s very obvious that while Moke wanted to make Sam and Joana (Sam’s best friend) strong and independent women, she wove in the societal standards of the 1920s. That is what I really love in historical fantasies/mysteries: strong and independent women that still manage to follow societal roles, even though those roles were very misogynistic. It gives the very air of these books being set in historical times.

Onto the characters: I love Sam, Joana, and Bennett. Their friendship is spectacular. Joana and Bennett are siblings, and it just adds onto the friendship aspect between these two and Sam. I love how awkward Bennett is whenever he is with Sam, rather it be alone or around other people. He is the definition of a boy who doesn’t know what to do with his feelings towards a girl. It’s so cute and it’s woven into the story so good.

The plot itself is good. I do feel the first 70 pages were a little bit slow, but overall, the plot was great! I’d say it’s more medium-paced than fast-paced. The mystery aspect of it also really makes it great.

Overall, if you are wanting a historical mystery sprinkled with archeological aspects, Curse of the Specter Queen is for you!