Queenswood
-
-
4.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $0.99
Publisher Description
Queenswood is a lush, lyrical historical fantasy debut that transports readers to twelfth-century Ireland.
In twelfth-century Ireland, girls go missing—fleeing arranged marriages, carried off by outlaws, abducted by faeries. Rhiannon, treasured daughter of nobility, believes herself secure, shielded by her parents’ stone manor and friendship with the king. But as her beauty grows and suitors jostle for her dowry, she watches her father’s tenants wrung dry in order to supply the banquet for her older sister’s wedding, and realizes the marriage market is a game she does not want to win. A convent offers a life of books and learning, although it means turning her back on mortal men for good.
Angus, Crown Prince of Faerie, grew up in the Queenswood, the enchanted old-growth forest that feeds all the woodlands of Earth and Faerie. Even once he comes of age, Angus much prefers roaming the wilds over the High Court than the responsibility of choosing a bride. But when he sees his mother fading—and the Queenswood dropping its leaves in mourning—he knows he cannot put it off any longer. He must do his duty as the prince and journey to the human world to find a maiden who can become the next Queen of Faerie.
Set in an Ireland still reeling from the Norman invasions, Queenswood combines a deep and immersive historical world with folkloric fantasy adventure.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Schwab's lush historical fantasy debut, set in 12th-century Ireland, weaves myths and legends into the tale of the fae Angus, who doesn't know how to govern either his realm or his emotions, and human Rhiannon, who relinquishes family and home for a convent in pursuit of Lady Wisdom and natural magic. Readers meet Angus as the reluctant Crown Prince of Faerie entangled in an affair with a Greenboy, a man made of leaves. Upon inheriting the throne, Angus is subject to an eerie mandate that he must wed a human to preserve Faerie with a Halfling heir. He steals Rhiannon from her convent to make her his queen, but does not consummate the marriage. Meanwhile, Rhiannon witnesses human servants abused by their cruel fae masters and feels the urge to help them. Toggling between perspectives—including that of Cormac, a human boy on a quest that may save both Faerie and the human world—the somewhat overstuffed narrative attempts to wrangle many big themes, including social justice, redemption, and the weight of leadership, but characters lack definition and the plot ends up somewhat muddled. Still, the lyrical prose, impressive historical scene-setting, and nods to Irish folklore will draw readers in.
