Review: Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston

I received this book via Audible, Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston
Narrator: Fiona Hardingham
Published by Zando Young Readers on 2023-01-17
Age Range: 14+
Length: 412 pages
Length: 12 hours and 28 minutes
Listening Speed: 2x
Reviewing Audiobook, eARC from Audible, Netgalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2025, 2025 Audiobook Challenge, 2025 Beat the Backlist, 2025 Cover Lovers, 2025 SFF Reading Challenge

A stunning Celtic YA fantasy adventure set in the ancient kingdom of Eire, inspired by the legend of the first true queen of Ireland, perfect for fans of Shelby Mahurin and Adrienne Young.

In the kingdom of Eire, banshees chill the air, and water-wights lurk in the rivers. But magic is outlawed by the king, and jealously hoarded by his Druid priests.

Neve is the youngest daughter of the king, and Ronan is a Druid's apprentice turned thief, making a living by selling stolen spells. They should be enemies, but their shared hatred of the Druids—and a dark magic that has marked them both—makes them unlikely, if uneasy, allies.

Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston is a fast-paced YA fantasy inspired by the legend of the true queen of Ireland. Neve is the youngest daughter of the ruler of Eire. She’s hard-headed, brash, and wild. She spends her days learning fighting skills (archery, driving chariots, swinging an axe or a sword) instead of indoors like a proper lady. She knows she will never rule, and the further away from her father she can be the better. But when tragedy strikes, Neve’s care for her people, all of her people, will lead her to her destiny.

Neve is a great character. She’s young, immature, and not at all what you’d expect a princess to be. She sneaks out of the castle to drink in the nearby village. She fights with king’s men. But when a mysterious magic begins to blossom under her skin, Neve is scared. Magic is outlawed by her father; users are hunted and killed. She can’t control it, nor does she understand where it came from, but maybe the boy she met in a graveyard when she was younger does.

Ronan, a druid-apprentice turned thief, has been searching for Neve since the night her tears woke a demon. That night, Ronan saved her just for her to turn around and save him. But in the saving, Ronan is cursed, or so he thinks. He has magic he doesn’t understand and is just now learning to control. Imagine his surprise when he runs into the girl at the village tavern only to discover she is a princess.

Neve and Ronan refuse to work together until they are forced to. Something causes their paths to continuously cross. After tragedy strikes, Ronan and Neve travel the country side in search of answers, to free the Fir Bolg people, and restore magic to Eire. Told in 3rd person limited, we get glimpses into Neve and Ronan’s thinking. The plot is fast-paced, continuously moving. I loved the mythology woven throughout the book with magic and Druids and ancient creatures.

Overall, I really enjoyed Queen Among the Dead. Neve and Ronan are beautifully flawed and fully fleshed out characters. If you enjoy YA fantasy, Celtic lore, or just looking for an exciting read, I highly recommend this one.

Audiobook Note: While I received an eARC of this one, I decided to listen and purchased the audiobook. My main reason for doing this was to figure out how to pronounce the Celtic places, people, and language. I loved the narrator. She is fantastic. Whenever I listened, the world fell away, and I was fully engaged. Highly recommend this format.

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