Name: Saffia's review of The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike
Item: The Forgotten Kingdom
Rating: 5
Author: Saffia

Signe Pike

From the author of The Lost Queen, hailed as “Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark) and “The Mists of Avalon for a new generation” (Linnea Hartsuyker, author of The Golden Wolf), a “rich, immersive” (Kirkus Reviews) new novel in which a forgotten queen of sixth century Scotland claims her throne as war looms and her family is scattered to the winds. AD 573. Imprisoned in her chamber, Languoreth awaits news in torment. Her husband and son have ridden off to war against her brother, Lailoken. She doesn’t yet know that her young daughter, Angharad, who was training with Lailoken to become a Wisdom Keeper, has been lost in the chaos. As one of the bloodiest battles of early medieval Scottish history abandons its survivors to the wilds of Scotland, Lailoken and his men must flee to exile in the mountains of the Lowlands, while nine year-old Angharad must summon all Lailoken has taught her to follow her own destiny through the mysterious, mystical land of the Picts. In the aftermath of the battle, old political alliances unravel, opening the way for the ambitious adherents of the new religion: Christianity. Lailoken is half-mad with battle sickness, and Languoreth must hide her allegiance to the Old Way to survive her marriage to the next Christian king of Strathclyde. Worst yet, the new King of the Angles is bent on expanding his kingdom at any cost. Now the exiled Lailoken, with the help of a young warrior named Artur, may be the only man who can bring the warring factions together to defeat the encroaching Angles. But to do so, he must claim the role that will forever transform him. He must become the man known to history as “Myrddin.” “Intrigue, rivalry, and magic among the mists of old Britain—The Forgotten Kingdom is an enchantment of a read!" (Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author).

A Novel

The Forgotten Kingdom

Nikkita

From the author of The Lost Queen, hailed as “Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, the author of The Gloaming) and “The Mists of Avalon for a new generation” (Linnea Hartsuyker, the author of The Golden Wolf), a “rich, immersive” (Kirkus Reviews) new novel in which a forgotten queen of 6th-century Scotland claims her throne as war looms and her family is scattered to the winds. AD 573. Imprisoned in her chamber, Languoreth awaits news in torment. Her husband and son have ridden off to war against her brother, Lailoken. She doesn’t yet know that her young daughter, Angharad, who was training with Lailoken to become a Wisdom Keeper, has been lost in the chaos. As one of the bloodiest battles of early medieval Scottish history abandons its survivors to the wilds of Scotland, Lailoken and his men must flee to exile in the mountains of the Lowlands, while nine-year-old Angharad must summon all Lailoken has taught her to follow her own destiny through the mysterious, mystical land of the Picts. In the aftermath of the battle, old political alliances unravel, opening the way for the ambitious adherents of the new religion: Christianity. Lailoken is half-mad with battle sickness, and Languoreth must hide her allegiance to the Old Way to survive her marriage to the next Christian king of Strathclyde. Worst yet, the new King of the Angles is bent on expanding his kingdom at any cost. Now the exiled Lailoken, with the help of a young warrior named Artur, may be the only man who can bring the warring groups together to defeat the encroaching Angles. But to do so, he must claim the role that will forever transform him. He must become the man known to history as “Myrddin.” “Intrigue, rivalry, and magic among the mists of old Britain—The Forgotten Kingdom is an enchantment of a read” (Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network).

I may have enjoyed this book more than the first. So much happened, this was such a plotty plot, the landscape was stunning, the battles were epic, I feel like I got to journey through the different kingdoms on the map, following my favourite characters, learning more about their culture and customs, and it all came together beautifully. I was really hoping for some magic from the priestesses, we came so close, just give us a teeny bit of magic! I now have to wait 3-5 weeks for the next book, struggles! 

Saffia

I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first in the series. 

I think I'm still a little salty because the previous book, in my opinion, did not shine much of a light on the titular lost queen, Languoreth. Those feelings must have carried over because she was one of my least favorite characters. I understand women at this time had little agency, but it feels that Languoreth just doesn't do anything. Instead of reclaiming her story as the first book claims, The Forgotten Kingdom focuses more on her twin brother and her daughter. 

The dialogue at times felt a bit stuffy and unnatural. The author was going for a "medieval" feel, but I didn't think it was necessary, again because it came across as stiff. If you read it aloud, you would wonder who actually talks like that. And it didn't seem needed to be convincing for a book that takes place in the distant past. It also made it feel more of a fantasy book, set apart from history, and I know that is not what Pike is going for with this series.

The last third of the book was by far the best and my favorite. One problem (or something that I'm annoyed by, more like) is when authors of historical fiction have children as main characters; they hardly ever come across as convincing. Oftentimes they are just annoying to me as a reader. I ran into this issue with Angharad, Languoreth's daughter. She was eight when the book started, but with the author's characteristic time jumps, she's 17 by the book's end. I enjoyed her journey and growth. I just felt as a child she was annoying. And this is something I come across in a lot of historical fiction; authors can't seem to write child characters convincingly. For this book specifically, child Angharad's dialogue did not seem to help. Thankfully I grew to like her character, and again, I loved reading about her journey through early medieval Scotland.

This novel was a step up from the first in the series, and I will be reading the rest of the books in the future. The map was incredibly helpful, and I referred to it quite often. Though I noticed some minor places were not included, but overall it was well done. I could follow along with everyone's various journeys with relative ease. 

This book does read as a standalone, and the author does a good job giving background and context without overwhelming the reader. I didn't remember everything from the previous novel, but it did not hinder my reading experience. Pike is talented and writes beautiful descriptions. The plot moved well. It felt a little on the side of fantasy and not like the type of book I am used to reading. I don't want to seem like I am critiquing this book too harshly because ultimately I enjoyed it. It doesn't seem like my exact type of book, so I may have a bit of an outsider's perspective.

I also loved the in-depth author's note. These types of author's notes enhance historical novels in my opinion. I love learning and experiencing the what ifs of this little know period of history. 

Amanda

I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first in the series. 

I think I'm still a little salty because the previous book, in my opinion, did not shine much of a light on the titular lost queen, Languoreth. Those feelings must have carried over because she was one of my least favorite characters. I understand women at this time had little agency, but it feels that Languoreth just doesn't do anything. Instead of reclaiming her story as the first book claims, The Forgotten Kingdom focuses more on her twin brother and her daughter. 

The dialogue at times felt a bit stuffy and unnatural. The author was going for a "medieval" feel, but I didn't think it was necessary, again because it came across as stiff. If you read it aloud, you would wonder who actually talks like that. And it didn't seem needed to be convincing for a book that takes place in the distant past. It also made it feel more of a fantasy book, set apart from history, and I know that is not what Pike is going for with this series.

The last third of the book was by far the best and my favorite. One problem (or something that I'm annoyed by, more like) is when authors of historical fiction have children as main characters; they hardly ever come across as convincing. Oftentimes they are just annoying to me as a reader. I ran into this issue with Angharad, Languoreth's daughter. She was eight when the book started, but with the author's characteristic time jumps, she's 17 by the book's end. I enjoyed her journey and growth. I just felt as a child she was annoying. And this is something I come across in a lot of historical fiction; authors can't seem to write child characters convincingly. For this book specifically, child Angharad's dialogue did not seem to help. Thankfully I grew to like her character, and again, I loved reading about her journey through early medieval Scotland.

This novel was a step up from the first in the series, and I will be reading the rest of the books in the future. The map was incredibly helpful, and I referred to it quite often. Though I noticed some minor places were not included, but overall it was well done. I could follow along with everyone's various journeys with relative ease. 

This book does read as a standalone, and the author does a good job giving background and context without overwhelming the reader. I didn't remember everything from the previous novel, but it did not hinder my reading experience. Pike is talented and writes beautiful descriptions. The plot moved well. It felt a little on the side of fantasy and not like the type of book I am used to reading. I don't want to seem like I am critiquing this book too harshly because ultimately I enjoyed it. It doesn't seem like my exact type of book, so I may have a bit of an outsider's perspective.

I also loved the in-depth author's note. These types of author's notes enhance historical novels in my opinion. I love learning and experiencing the what ifs of this little know period of history. 

Renee Blankenship

Book two of The Lost Queen series is over and I’ve got that “how will I go on” feeling thinking about waiting for the third one. I’m devastated. I hate waiting.
I love this book/series because Signe Pike does an amazing job world building and story telling in a way that is easy to follow (if you don’t let yourself get hung up on the many strange names/places).I have enjoyed reading about each character we’ve gotten to know so far, chapters written in their voices. Its a story telling element that I really enjoy in books like this when there are many characters and places to get to know over the course of a series. I think my favorite storyline in this book was Angharad, who really stood out as an important character. I cannot wait to continue following her and the rest of the characters through time and history in book three.

Michelle Miller

The story continues in The Forgotten Kingdom, the second book in the epic Lost Queen trilogy, already hailed as “Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark) and “The Mists of Avalon for a new generation” (Linnea Hartsuyker, author of The Golden Wolf). AD 573. Imprisoned in her chamber, Languoreth awaits news in torment. Her husband and son have ridden off to wage war against her brother, Lailoken. She doesn’t yet know that her young daughter, Angharad, who was training with Lailoken to become a Wisdom Keeper, has been lost in the chaos. As one of the bloodiest battles of early medieval Scottish history scatters its survivors to the wind, Lailoken and his men must flee to exile in the mountains of the Lowlands, while nine-year-old Angharad must summon all Lailoken has taught her and follow her own destiny through the mysterious, mystical land of the Picts. In the aftermath of the battle, old political alliances unravel, opening the way for the ambitious adherents of the new religion: Christianity. Lailoken is half-mad with battle sickness, and Languoreth must hide her allegiance to the Old Way to survive her marriage to the next Christian king of Strathclyde. Worst yet, the new King of the Angles is bent on expanding his kingdom at any cost. Now the exiled Lailoken, with the help of a young warrior named Artur, may be the only man who can bring the Christians and the pagans together to defeat the encroaching Angles. But to do so, he must claim the role that will forever transform him. He must become the man known to history as “Myrddin.” Bitter rivalries are ignited, lost loves are found, new loves are born, and old enemies come face-to-face with their reckoning in this compellingly fresh look at one of the most enduring legends of all time.

Nikkita &
The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike

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Nikkita &The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike

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Nikkita &
The Forgotten Kingdom by Signe Pike