SONG OF THE HUNTRESS is a brilliant standalone drawing on Early Middle Ages English history and myths and legends from the Britons and Saxons.

This is a book about Ine of Wessex and his wife, Queen Æthelburg (one of the few to get that title.) It's a fascinating period of history and Holland weaves in the myth of the wild hunt and Welsh mythology around the underworld and the dead. It's an engrossing tale of clashing cultures, backstabbing court politics, and dangerous magics.

Ine was my favourite character. Not only does he deal with a bit more of the politics than the others, but he is also amazing ace rep that distinguishes between being ace and being aro, as he loves romantically but has no desire for physical intimacy. I absolutely loved seeing that distinction on the page.

It also blends into a conflict between societal expectations and reality on both men and women. Ine is the one who does not want to have sex but it is Æthelburg who is blamed for the pair's lack of children. No one ever considers that it might be a choice, that someone might not want to be intimate. Likewise, no one considers that the fault of bareness might not be the woman's. Too often, historical novels only focus on the impact society's demand for children has on women, and not on what it means for me. I loved that this got addressed here.

This is set in the same world as SISTERSONG, but centuries later. There are a few minor character references or links, but you don't need to have read the other book to understand this. They make sense as separate entities.

The narrator Kristin Atherton is great, making all three narrators (Ine, Æthelburg, and Herla) sound distinct so you can quickly work out who is speaking. There's a lot of emotion crammed in too, their pain and loss and joy and grief brought to life. Plus there are a myriad of accents at play too.

I look forward to what Holland writes next.

This has been one of the longest audiobooks (18+ hrs) after the Poppy War series that I struggled with and enjoyed all at once. Besides the jarring plot, the author's writing style will truly captivate the readers.

Spindling in the ancient world of 60 A.D., this story is about a constant clash between Britain and Romans who are divided by religious beliefs. A ruler hiding his secrets, a queen winning wars for the kingdom and a cursed Lord of the Hunt, intertwine in a frivolous path of fate and a shadow world.

The book requires both patience and attention to be enjoyed at a full span and while the narrators did a wonderful job, I do feel that reading it in physical form will be even better (maybe 5 ⭐️ too). I enjoyed the personal characterization of the King of Otherworld whose presence raises the stakes of the story to another level. The climax has beauty and heartache which lead to a perfect ending. I already want to reread this in physical form.

Thank you @netgalley @macmillan.audio and @silvanhistorian for the Audiobook.
Genre: #fantasy #historicalfiction #lgbt
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
#SongoftheHuntress #NetGalley

Song of the Huntress written by Lucy Holland and narrated by Kristin Atherton is a powerful and yet poetic novel set in 60 AD England. I have not read Lucy Hollands previous book Sistersong but after listening to this fantastic audiobook

Firstly, Kristin Atherton's performance is brilliant. Versatile, dynamic and strong, the vocals match the narrative wonderfully. There is a powerful grasp on the various accents and to maintain the continuity of accents and character as well as across genders, was an epic achievement

The blend of mythology and history is elegant, and being told from multiple povs rounds out the already powerful narrative. Hollands writing is easy to become immersed in, the storyline paced perfectly and researched beautifully.

Herla is the leader of the Hunt for the King of the Otherworld, until one day, she meets Queen Aethelburg of Wessex on the battlefield in the midst of tragedy. This is the beginning of a chain of events including the deep love between Herla and Aethelburg, The love King Ine has for Aethelburg and his reliance on her, despite his entire court bristling against her

This is a novel of strength and meeting in the middle. Queen Aethelburg knows that dark forces are rising and must conquer them, King Ine must allow his inherited power to come to the fore and Herla must leave the darkness and release herself from the curse of the King of the Otherworld

An epic saga of kings and queens, warriors and politicians, history and mythology, love and plots. A glorious account of three very different people coming together in the face of adversity from all angles.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan UK Audio, Macmillan, the author Lucy Holland and the narrator Kristen Atherton for this very powerful ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I just finished reading Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland- I was such a fan of Sistersong so I was so excited for this book.

And I loved it!

Lucy Holland has beautifully blended mythology, folklore, history and fantasy in this book, it feels so poetic, the language is beautiful and at times you can almost imagine a bard singing this tale of love and loyalty and land!

Song of the Huntress is set in a very tumultuous Britain in 60AD The history behind this book is at a time where Christianity is taking root in Britain and the magic of nature and links to the land is being broken.

As I was reading this book (and it shouldn’t really have been a surprise given my tastes) how much I love reading books set in this period- send me all your recs please?

At the core of the story we have the mythology and lore of the Wild hunt with a feminist twist- Herla originally of the Iceni makes a deal with the King of the Underworld to save their tribe and is bound to run with Annwn and the hunt for eternity.

Our other major players are King Ine and his Queen Aethelburg (who was my favourite) - Ine struggles with his position, identity and beliefs and Aethelburg is a powerhouse who defies the courts expectations to be the warrior that the kingdom really needs- while Ine and Aethelburg have love for each other their relationship lacks any intimacy and Aethelburg blames herself.

I thought this book was wonderfully crafted , for me the pacing worked so well and I appreciate Lucy Holland’s vast knowledge of the period.

There is a sapphic romance and it is so slow burn, I often think when I say slow burn is it that or is it a realistic timeline of a romance forming? I also loved the exploration of Ine and Aethelburg’s relationship and both of their identities - it felt very honest.

I really appreciated the Welsh pronunciation guide and the Welsh pronunciation on the audio was beautiful- I love the Welsh language and it was done so well!

The audiobook narration was fantastic, I tend to listen to audiobooks at 2x speed and the audio lost no clarity - the narration held my focus and I really appreciated the tone, as I've said above the pronounciation of the Welsh language was so lovely to hear.

I found myself fully immersed in this tale - epic battles, earth magic, honest representation and exploration of identity pulled together with history and mythology- Lucy Holland is 100% an auto buy author for me and I’m not even cross at them for making me bawl my eyes out at the end of this book!

I gave this one 4.5 stars rounded up to 5

Beautifully written and very well narrated but unfortunately the story just wasn't keeping me gripped and kept going over my head most of the time

Definitely will be checking out other books by this author because I absolutely loved this one. So refreshing to have this book feature a very early medieval Britain setting which is quite rare to see. The characters were truly amazing, would 100% recommend it. 5 stars

Thank you macmillan for the eARC!

I gave song of the huntress 3 stars!
Don’t get me wrong, I can recognise that the writing is good and the story has been heavily researched and I did enjoy myself but I don’t think Saxon lore and stories are for me!

I LOVED the romances and the fantasy elements but the names and places were so confusing for me.

I thought the first 40% was very very slow but it definitely picked up after that once the magical elements were introduced.

I would definitely recommend if this sounds interesting to you!

Great narrator. I wanted to try this again in audio format to see if I clicked with it more. Alas, my opinion on the story/ writing is unchanged. Coming to the conclusion that Holland's writing may just not be for me. I always love her world building but it always feels like her characters keep me at arm's length. Added to which, bringing out of context 21st c sexism in here just didn't work for me. I like historical fantasy but I need the historical context to be exhaustively researched and accurate as possible. So even little things like Boudicca being red haired (she was blonde based on the one fairly reliable description we have of her - her hair colour was changed to flatter Elizabeth I) take me out of the story. Loved the huntress' pov and voice. Didn't really care about the other characters. Not for me.

Kristin Atherton is such a wonderful narrator who has done so many narrations with books full of mythology. I think her voice is so suited to a tale from ancient Britain and her ability to change her voice for the characters is exceptional.

Song of the Huntress begins with the tale of Herla who was tricked by the King of the Underworld to wield his blade as the lord of the Hunt. Under every old moon Herla and her army kill without discrimination until Herla misses her kill and looks in to the eyes of a fierce warrior.

Queen Æthelburg never meets the demands of courts and favour because she does not behave like a typical Queen and instead takes herself to battle and fights for her King and Kingdom. Her character is constantly twisted by the courts, blinding the King and bringing a greater divide between them. Despite everything she faces, she continues to fight for what she knows is for her family, her country. I loved her strength and her character, her unwavering resolve to do her best.

When a neighbouring King is murdered, King Ine is thought to be the killer and must leave to save his kingdom from evils trying to take over. During this he begins to feel he is losing his mind as he develops strange abilities.

There is epic battles, intriguing mythology, fierce warriors, sapphic romance, strong, beautiful woman!

I really loved Songs of the Huntress and the World that Lucy holland created rich with politics, mythology, strong female main characters and strength that conquers all.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I listened to this on audiobook. I was very impressed with the narration, however as a whole the story was not for me. It was very slow paced. There was a good diversity of characters.
I do think fantasy and folklore readers would enjoy this.

Rounded up from 2.5*
Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy for review

Lucy Holland truly never misses! I absolutely adored returning to the world of Sistersong, getting to see how so much has changed and been distorted through the centuries. (And yet absolutely kicking my feet whenever I saw the name Constantine or Emrys).

Holland created an effortlessly engaging world rich with history, mythology, geography and representation. As an ace reader with sapphic leanings, getting to see Ine’s arc play out alongside Æthelburg’s and Herla’s was genuinely delightful - it’s so rare to see this in fiction, I had to take a moment every so often. Holland clearly puts so much heart into her retellings and approaches her characters with endless empathy. Similarly, the folding in of actual mythology with her created magic system is seamless and thematic.

I am absolutely hoping for a third book in this series!!

Kristin Atherton is admittedly one of my favourite audiobook narrators so I am incredibly biased, but she absolutely does not disappoint on this one! Her effortless moving between accents, her sheer breadth of acting when putting emotion into dialect versus the incredible rhythm and listen-ability of her narrative voice makes this an incredibly engaging audiobook I would recommend to all.

I loved a previous book from this author so I was thrilled to be able to read this early
I received an audiobook from NetGalley, the narration was very good but I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would
I found the story a bit difficult to get into and really struggled to connect to the two main female characters. I’m not sure why but this didn’t work for me as I wanted it to
The author is a great writer, she writes beautifully and the story was interesting once it got going but I often lost focus

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc