I really love the myth of Arthur and that's why this book was so interesting for me.
I had no expectations and I was really pleased with this story.
Anna is an interesting protagonist and the story fast-paced and well written.

I am pretty disappointed with this one. When I read the synopsis I thought it was right up my alley, as I love Arthurian legends and Merlin is one of my favorite TV shows. However, the characters were all so incredibly dull, there were so many plot jumps and inconsistencies, and I was bored like over half of the time. I know I should have DNF’d it, but I was really hoping the second half of the book would have picked up. The timeline would jump around and it would take me awhile to figure out how many days or years had passed. Characters would just start randomly being awful people and some of the relationships within the story gave me whiplash. I thought the magic system was a cool idea, but the rules of it also changed randomly throughout and it ended up making less and less sense as the time went on. This was a super disappointing read…. I definitely cannot recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to an ARC of this book!
Queen of None by Natania Barron is a story deeply entrenched in Arthurian lore. Told from the perspective of Anna Pendragon, the story navigates her return to court after the death of her husband. Anna is a complex protagonist who’s choices can change the very future of Carelon. If you’re a fan of classic high fantasy writing styles and powerful women this is a good read for you!

Queen of none is a good story looking at King Arthur and Merlin in a new light. It is a fictional story about his true sister and what she becomes. There are many twists and turns and I enjoyed reading this book.

I am giving the book 3 stars as although I enjoyed the story I did feel as through the story could have had more depth. I would have liked to have gotten to know the other characters within as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an e-ARC!

The Arthurian retelling really hooked its claws into me because I <b><i>LOVE</b></i> retellings. I found it a bit hard to get into at first as I got accustomed to Barron's writing style. But I enjoyed it for what it is, and I really loved it being from a perspective you normally wouldn't get from anything Arthurian. You expect to get the Merlin tales, the Morgan tales, etc. And not that it's a bad thing to have those, but getting a change in expectation for a retelling is always a good thing.

Thank you Solaris and Natania Barron for the chance to pick up this ARC copy of the Queen of None. My review will be a short one, I couldn’t connect with book, although the beautiful cover and teaser promising me a feisty mature heroine taking on the male dominated fantastical realm of Arthurian legend. Nothing book delivered on the premise for me, made the characters relatable or likeable or endeared the flat scope of the writing to me. I felt this book took a step off the weirder side of weird to give me a less gritty, violent Game of Thrones set in Carelon.

This was a fascinating story! I always love getting to know more about the lesser known side characters in well-known legends, myths and stories. Anna was a likable and compelling main character, and through her we got to discover the various trials and tribulations of being a woman, especially in those times, while dealing with men who saw her as nothing but a pawn, not a person to be respected or feared.

While the story was on the slower side, it didn’t feel as though there was unnecessary detail or that it was dragging at all. The magical elements were well done and fascinating, and I enjoyed the political aspects as well. The side characters in the story were also a major strength, with rich backgrounds and personalities.

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit! 4.5/5 stars rounded up. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

<b><I>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review! </b></I>

A retelling of the legendary King Arthur, through the eyes of his forgotten sister Anna Pendragon. Princess Anna was married off at the ripe old age of 12, she had her childhood ripped away from her as well as the love of her life. She was used as a brood mare for a much older and cold King until his death twenty years later

<I>“As Queen of Orkney, upon my husband’s death, I was granted the most significant choice of my life:  I could pass Lot’s crown to my sons, or to my brother.”</I>

She takes great pleasure in returning the crown to her brother Arthur, as a form of spite to her husband, because Annas main character trait is she is spiteful. I don’t blame her though. She’s 32 and wasted her life away in the dark, alone and unloved because of the men controlling her life.

<I>”Thankfully, nothing lasts forever. Especially marriages to dotard men.”</I>

<img src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/eLvhchyvNNOuLbOtYP/giphy.gif"/>


The interesting take on this retelling is that Merlin is a mean, vile and kinda feeble, villain. He controls the whole of Carelon, with King Arthur as his puppet.

<I>”Are you in the habit of knowing women who have a choice in these matters? Merlin sees all, orchestrates all, in Carelon.”</I>

After witnessing (and being the victim of) too much pain at Merlins hands, she decides that she has had enough.

<I> “I needed to get close to the old conjuror to judge him and my disguise would have to be foolproof. I understood, then, my calling: to measure Merlin’s sins against his triumphs and hold him accountable. For myself, my mother, and all the women bruised and broken in his wake.” </I>

But like I said, she’s spiteful, so she’s willing to sacrifice it all for the task of ‘judging and executing’ him. With the guidance of the lady of the lake (another of Merlins victims), she conjures a plan of revenge.

<I> “You must be prepared to sacrifice everything for it. Not just yourself, but your marriage, your relationship to your sons, your mind and body. And for that, you must contemplate a great deal. You have the implement in your hands, in your very soul, dearest child, but it will be by sweat, blood, and tears that this comes to be.”

<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog-publish-prod/original_images/beast.gif"/>


What I found I particularly connected with was her relationship with motherhood. The good and bad parts of what she felt were conveyed with such brutal honesty and realness.

<I>”I wanted to reach out and smooth them from his brow, kiss his temple as I once did. I used to kiss him in his sleep, and he would smile, then begin to suckle, as if he knew I were near. My heart ached for a moment as I mourned the babe now lost to the man.”</I>

This book was so much more than I expected. It is most definitely not a retelling on the classic Arthurian legend, but its own story in its own right. The story stretches almost an entire lifetime, with many time jumps. I did find it a little confusing towards the end, and had to slow down to really absorb what was happening.

<b>Also </b>the completly nonchalant belittling of ‘Excalibur’ had me howling!
<I>“Come. Let me find him a sword you can take, and we can pretend it is suffused with magic,” she said, taking me by the hand, smiling again. “You can even give it a silly name. Call it what you will.”</I>

Notable Quotes:

<I>”I said many stupid things at that age, and I am not entirely sure the habit has left me years later.”

“It is a dreadful thing to marry an older man, but there is a power in knowing he will meet Death first and set you free. Marrying a younger man is like staring at your own pyre.”

“It may have been a prison, but it was a lovely one. Then again, so was my own.”

“Gweyn. Mercurial, curious Gweyn. I had her to thank for this. As usual, it was the women of the castle who moved the knights, our pawns, in the grand game, when they were not paying attention.”

“His eyes were hungry for her, and he watched her, unrelenting. She knew this game. He could be both an old, ailing man, and a predator. He could be a good man, and a calculating man.”

A wonderful retelling that brings a long-forgotten character from Arthurian lore into the forefront. I especially enjoyed how the characters’ age and identity as a mother really played into her motivations, as well as how her decisions were a mixture of good and bad but always believable. Add this to a richly realised fantasy world and it was a great read!

I just completed Natania Barron's "Queen of None," and as a devoted Arthurian legend enthusiast, I found it truly delightful. Barron chooses to unfold the tale of Anna, Arthur's sister, a seemingly inconspicuous figure in the Once and Future King folklore. Anna grapples with being a pawn in dynastic marriages, enduring loveless matrimony with King Lot strategically arranged by Arthur.

Amidst the court's politics and tangled relationships, Anna bears children, including Gawain, Gaheris, and Gareth, while secretly harboring love for the knight Bevedere. However, Merlin's Machiavellian influence casts a shadow over Arthur's court, shaping destinies, including Anna's.

Barron skillfully populates the narrative with familiar mythological faces, portraying them with pathos and realism. The plot unfolds deliberately, weaving court politics, romance, and mysticism. Anna emerges as a fiery, witty protagonist challenging the patriarchal constraints.

Barron's prose captivates, particularly in Anna's description of Camelot—Carelon—a place of exterior beauty masking secrets, intrigue, and magic. The writing, with its lyrical quality, draws readers into a world where strong women refuse to succumb to male dominance.

I was intrigued by this blurb. This book follows King Arthur’s sister Anna. My heart goes out to her. Her life was not an easy one. I wish there was more, it was choppy jumping from scene to scene and event to event. I don’t know how to explain it I just wanted more to make it flow better. Overall a 3⭐️ read from me

I love King Arthur mythology so I was expecting about this story. It’s quite good, easy going and fast reading. I really like combine between mythology and author fiction. Thank Netgalley for providing arc copy of this book. I hope that author will continue and we will know more main characters adventure

"According to Morgen, Merlin was certain that the girl would be no threat, since she was no man. How wrong he was to be."

I adored this slow revenge story of Anna Pendragon and her life behind the scenes of Arthur's ruling. The prose is lyrical and gripping, the characters have a lot of depth, leaving you wanting to learn more about them.

Anna herself is such an interesting character, and learning about her story has made me want to dive even deeper into Arthurian legend.
Would highly recommend it you adore writing about badass, strong women.

I really enjoyed this female-centric take on the classic Arthurian. Stepped in magic, this story follows Anna Pendragon. At her birth, Merlin prophesied that she would be forgotten. For her entire life, she's been in the shadows; a pawn but never a player. Following the death of her husband, she comes home, hoping that she might now be in charge of her own fate only to find herself a pawn again, married off to form a new alliance. With everything taken from her: her children, her lover, her power, her happiness; Anna begins a journey to exact revenge against the one she blames: Merlin.

It took me a few chapters to get into the book. The author's writing style was a little different and I had to become accustomed to it. But once I did, this book was delicious. Female revenge is always an excellent plot when done well. Magic was woven into the story so seamlessly, it was easy to get lost in this world of legend. Anna's power was foreshadowed perfectly.

If you like historical fantasy, this is the book for you.

I thought Queen of None was fantastic. I will start by saying this is the first Arthurian Fantasy Romance I have read and boy did I love it. It follows Anna, King Arthur’s sister. After her husband Lot dies she goes back to Carelon with his crown as a gift for Arthur. Once there she reconnects with her sisters Morgen, Elaine, and Morgause. She also has to deal with the awful Merlin and his scheming priests. Her former lover Bedevere is also around. There are so many layers to this story, it is quite something. I have to say I loved the relationship she has with Bedevere, I think he was her soul mate. Some of the rest started okay but turned pretty villainous. Arthur was always looking for the next bright shiny toy, he seemed highly distractable. Merlin, wow, what a piece of work he is. Anyway, this story is awesome. Very well written, highly entertaining, and will leave you wanting more. I can't wait for the next one.

This was a great version of the Arthurian story: the women behind the crown. It’s an interesting fact that actually almost all the characters around Arthur are more compelling to me than Arthur himself- Lancelot, Guinevere, Merlin, Morgan Le fey etc. But I’d never heard of Anna his sister. It wasn’t easy being female in that era (or most others!) and as royalty to live your life as a political pawn. A thought provoking and absorbing read.

I don't even know if I can express how badly I wanted to like this book. I love Arthurian legends, and there's so many cool ways to interpret the stories that I was really excited for this. But instead of a story, this sort of just felt like a bunch of episodic moments in Anna's life, without a plot to connect them all.
I just don't have much to say about this one. It wasn't badly written, but boring.

An Arthurian tale full of forgotten women. Anna Pendragon was married young to an awful man, at the whim of Merlin and King Arthur. Now a widow, Anna returns to Arthur's court, but still finds her fate isn't her own. Determined to exact revenge she hatches a plot to make Merlin pay for what he has done to her, and to the other women of the court.

This tale is steeped in magic and legends, but many of the Arthurian references were lost on me, since I am only passingly familiar with the tale. This would be a great read for people for who love the tales of King Arthur.

Through all the ages, and in the hearts of men, you will be forgotten. Married at twelve and a mother soon after, Anna, King Arthur’s sister, did not live a young life full of promise. She did as she was asked, invisible and useful, for her name, her dowry, and her womb. Twenty years after she left her home, Anna is summoned back home with the crown of her deceased husband, to face the demons of her childhood.

This world is changing and Anna must change with it if she is to survive. New threats lurk in the shadows, and a strange power begins to awaken in her, If she is to become more than a pawn in everyone else’s game, she must bargain her own strength, and family, in pursuit ifs her own ambition, and revenge. She will do everything in her power to seize power and seek revenge for al that has befallen her.

A powerful reimagining if the original legend through the eyes of a young women, a mother and a queen, who will take what is hers by force and by curing alone. This is the first in a female orientated arthurian fantasy romance trilogy that will sweep you off your feet into a historical fantasy where men have the power but women have cunning, which is just as powerful, or more so, when used correctly. This is a novel that inspired female power, the strength to endure hardships and be forged stronger all the more afterwards.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘯

A retelling of the king aurthur story from the eyes of his sister. A revenge story that I was captivated with.