Despite her prowess on the battlefield, Queen Æthelberg of Wessex finds the court turning against her whilst strange things are afoot across the kingdom and old magics are bubbling to the surface…

This was a solid historical fantasy, and I enjoyed it. I mostly read it in the middle of the night during the early days of having a newborn and it was exactly what I needed - sure, some elements of the storyline were reasonably predictable, but I was engaged throughout and the pace was steady enough to keep me awake.

I particularly loved the richly-drawn setting (700s Wessex) - I’m not sure I’ve read anything else set at this time, so that was refreshing, and it’s clear that Holland has done her research around the details of everyday life at that time, and the  Church’s ever-increasing and unstoppable influence. I wasn’t familiar with the myths that the story is based on, so it was enjoyable to discover those, too, along with the brief glimpses of Boudicca’s story in Herla’s chapters (yes, that Boudicca).

If you’ve read Holland’s previous book, Sistersong (which I also recommend), this is set in the same world but about 200 years later. It’s not a sequel per se, though there are a couple of mentions of events in Sistersong.

An enjoyable, richly-set historical fantasy about thirst for power, love and companionship, centring female and non-heteronormative characters.