It is a while since I read a book that was so filled with feminist rage like this. The Morrigan is a shape shifting goddess living a myriad of lives. Her lives are often filled with heartbreak, war and rage. She mirrors the lives of more ordinary women and perhaps that is the most interesting part of this book. Hard to read in places but worth the effort.

Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph (Penguin Random House) and Kim Curran for sending me an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

The Morrigan is a feminist retelling of Irish folklore from the perspective of the Morrigan herself. The story is full of feminine rage, with the Morrigan being bold, powerful, unapologetic and downright brutal.

The book is written as if it’s Morrigan’s stream of consciousness - almost like a diary in ways. You get all of her thoughts and feelings about what is happening in the world she is in. Opposed to being one story, it’s a lot of smaller stories that span her entire lifetime(s).

It’s very descriptive and captivating - it hooks you right in and keeps you wanting to read on.

Despite this not being my usual type of read, I still enjoyed it - although I suggest looking up content / trigger warnings for the book as some not very nice things happen (and it is pretty gory too)

This book was enjoyable.. full of feminine rage and strength.. the story of the morrigan told by herself. Immersion writing full of stories that keep you captivated within the pages always wanting more

A dark, sweeping, vengeance filled retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was beautifully written, I felt every emotion the goddess went through, her grief was consuming and her path a long and bloody one.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this.

The Morrigan is a stunning feminist retelling of the Irish folklore. I thoroughly enjoyed the overall tale, though I did struggle a little with the way its put together. It felt a little, at times, like there wasn’t an overarching story as opposed to lots of little stories put together. However, it’s beautifully written and I flew through the book. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to friends.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Kim Curran for gifting me this eARC.

A fantastic retelling of dark, wild Irish legends, narrated by a fearsome goddess of battle and rage. Plenty of blood and guts; love and vengeance; horror, grief, betrayal, beauty, destiny and tragic inevitability. It's not quite the perfection I want for five stars, but it's really bloody close.

Thank you to both Netgalley and penguin random house for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good retelling; I’ll be honest, I don’t read much Irish mythology and after reading this, I’m questioning why I’ve waited so long to start.

“Men have always been afraid of women’s anger. Have shushed and shooed us away. And so… they should be afraid”

The Morrigan is a brilliant feminist retelling of Irish Mythology; The Morrigan is bold, fierce, and powerful.

The Morrigan takes on many forms and lives throughout the journey of this novel. There is a beauty in the parallels of her lives to those of the mortal women, though I have to admit, this was not a book I could even attempt to read in one sitting - but that’s okay. Not every book has to be.

This book is for anyone who needs a little more feminine rage. This is a story of transformation, embracing power, and understanding loss. It will always leave you wanting more.

As much as I have been thoroughly enjoying the trend of feminist retellings of stories from Greek mythology, even I have started to hit a wall. With perfect timing, along comes 'The Morrigan'. I confess to having known absolutely nothing about Irish mythology prior to this novel, so this was a real treat.

So, who is 'The Morrigan'? The Morrigan was a powerful Celtic goddess that represented war, fate, sovereignty and fertility. During the novel, we watch The Morrigan as she takes on many different forms and many different lives. What is particularly affecting is that every time the Morrigan shapeshifts, it is painful. It tears her limb from limb. She may be a Goddess, but nothing in the lives she chooses is easy.

The clever nature of the narrative is that it carefully parallels her lives with the lives of mortal women and questions if there is any true path of satisfaction for women. The Morrigan is unapologetically bloodthirsty and furious - she doesn't need to be likeable for you to be riveted by her story, only compelling, which she certainly is.

Thank you so much to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the ARC!

"Men have always been afraid of women's anger. Have shushed and shooed us away. And so they should be afraid."

The Morrigan, Irish goddess of battle and war (and many other things) tells her own story. It's not a straightforward plot with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Instead it's kind of meandering, the Morrigan retelling the various myths she features in - always focusing on the women in them. I don't always enjoy that type of storytelling, but it really works here. This is not a book to read in one sitting, but I enjoyed dipping in and out of it over the past week.

The writing is beautiful, lyrical and evocative, and it really suits the story. The Morrigan is a complex figure, and I really appreciated that the author didn't try to fit her in a simple box. A gloriously angry book, and I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in Irish mythology.

Many thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

Powerful, beautiful and fierce writing from the very start!

I was somewhat familiar with The Morrigan and Irish mythology prior to reading the book but certainly not in this much depth and with this level of intricacy. This retelling gives the mythological tales a new female voice, one which is extremely empowering.

Following The Morrigan's story over an epic time span made me want to learn even more about the myths and legends of Ireland. However, I do wonder if the text should have been split into short stories so that the message behind each "chapter" of The Morrigan's life can really hit home. As there are so many stories and myths depicted in this one storyline some of the sentiments and concluding messages do get a bit lost and the story as a whole doesn't really have a strong plotline to follow because of this. Even so, the words are captivating and I was hooked to learn how The Morrigan dealt with the many challenges she faced.

The writing is beautiful, descriptive and poetic and I was shocked to hear that this is a debut novel for the author. I will certainly be looking out for more of her work.

The Morrigan is a sweeping, mythological retelling that brings Ireland’s Goddess of War to life. Spanning centuries of Irish history and mythology, to create a book that is epic, both in scale and ambition.

The story follows the titular Morrigan, and while she’s known as the Goddess of War, we get to see so much more than that. She’s a mother, a sister, a friend, and a daughter, and through all of that, you really feel her pain. It’s impossible not to root for her and revel in the moments when she takes her revenge on the men who scorn her. The book is at its absolute best when fully immersed in her fury—it’s feral and unapologetic in the best way.

That said, I initially struggled to immerse myself in the story. I’m not overly familiar with Irish mythology, so I found it initially challenging to keep track of the characters and their connections. But once I hit about 20% of the way through, I was hooked.
The book’s vast timeframe is both a strength and a weakness. While the scope enhances the epic nature of the story, it also creates moments that feel somewhat disjointed—like a collection of shorter tales stitched together. Yet, thanks to the Morrigan’s compelling presence, you stay invested even as the supporting characters come and go.

Ultimately, The Morrigan is an unapologetically feminist retelling that shines with rage, resilience, and a refusal to be forgotten. For fans of mythological retellings that center powerful, complicated women, this book is a must-read.

Thank you to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Unfortunately I did decide to DNF this book at 58% after one too many dead child storylines but my review is for the book that I did read.

While not immediately special, this was a good feminist mythological retelling filled with rage, love, loyalty and transformation. Having no prior knowledge of the celtic goddess Morrigan, I really appreciated the story told from her perspective, watching as she learns to fulfil her bloody, rageful desires, find her place amongst her tribe and within the mortal world, and learn how to deal with grief, love, loneliness and anger. She's a well written character making us feel her emotions along with her.

The book did feel a little like a slew of short stories, cramming as more of her lore in as possible, but it wasn't detrimental to the pacing of the story so it didn't bother me too much. Had there been less dead/murdered offspring storylines involved I definitely would have continued reading this book but it's not a trope I can deal with too much of.

A captivating read from start to finish, full of action, adventure, mystery and romance. I enjoyed every second of this!!

Yes, this book is pretty dark. I mean it is the story of The Morrigan, a goddess that loves war and bloodshed but this story also does a good job of showing other facets of her and the experiences she goes through in the hundreds of years in Ireland. You see her relations with her family (also beings of great power) that she is a part of but also feels separate from as she feels something missing when there is peace in the land. Though she also loves fiercely (like with her son Meche) and that is balanced by the lengths she goes to to protect or wreak vengeance on those that hurt her or her children. The Morrigan is not a simple goddess and this book is a great way to get to know her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this really interesting and well written book on The Morrigan.

Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph at Penguin Random House and Kim Curran for the opportunity to review this text early.

I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this was being released. I am a huge fan of mythology and the re-tellings that have flooded the market the last few years. But with these re-tellings mostly taking from Greek or Norse mythology, I was elated to find that Kim was bring Irish mythology back into the public eye!

The Morrigan is an elusive figure and I loved how Kim brought her to life, showcasing her complex nature. It was fantastic to see familiar aspects of the character and mythology blended with Kim's own unique and original ideas. The raw power of the main character drove the books from start to finish making it a quick read for me whilst never lacking in detail.

I am a big fan of fictional mythology and the like, and have read a lot in this genre, so I requested this with enthusiasm. I did engage with the main character of the Morrigan and liked the strength of her and the other female characters. And indeed the supporting cast were all interesting and well portrayed. But I didn't get on with the narrative as a whole really and found myself wanting to finish so I could get on with another book on my pile/list. I found the storytelling around the characters to be a little functional - I think I expected more innovation away from the traditional style of folklore narration.
I wouldn't NOT recommend this as there is a lot of excellent character exploration and development, but it might not engage those expecting more of an accessible reworking

I selected this book because I thought it would be the Irish version of Circe. Or Silence of the Girls. Mythology meets feminine rage etc. But I’m afraid this just felt really masculine to me. - the entire last 20% of the book is a huge drawn out battle and in fact most of the beginning and middle is as well.

I felt like I was wading through hundreds of pages of graphic violence without any respite or contrast in tone. I did wonder if maybe Irish readers would connect more fully to the legends, but then I’m not Greek either and I delight in novels about Achilles and Hera.

The prose is good, don’t get me wrong; she’s clearly a decent writer but whereas I could feel the divine feminine in the Arthurian lore in Mists of Avalon and feel the choking suffering of forgotten women in the Medusa tale of Stone Blind - The Morrigan just never seemed female. Nothing seemed to ever have happened to her to make her a battle fury, filled with rage and violence. She just turned up on page one that way. It just didn’t work for my expectations and it felt like an incredibly long slog.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of The Morrigan. I couldn’t put this book down and it was hands down one of the best mythology retellings I have read and easily stands with books such as Circe and Song of Achilles. I would 1000% recommend this book, especially to those who read a lot of mythology and are looking for something different. I loved the way that this story was retold and the new angle that the author came from. The description, characters, and story were so vividly and beautifully written that they jump off the page!

This was a fascinating take on Irish mythology- the nonhuman perspective was so unique as The Morrigan took on different personas. Due to the nature of the story and The Morrigan’s status as an outside observer living different lives, I think it would perhaps have worked better as a short story collection, though I get why the author didn’t make that choice.
I really liked how unique and interesting the overall story was. It’s depressing at times (almost too much so- it was a little frustrating to just read about horrible things happening over and over again) though I ended up satisfied and fulfilled by the ending. I also appreciated how complex and developed the character of the Morrigan was. She was very compelling, though not always the easiest to empathise with due to her inhuman nature. It was very true to the portrayal of an immortal, god figure but I struggled to connect with her at points and that sometimes detracted from the overall story.
The prose was gorgeous though and it really did immerse me into the world.
So overall, a really interesting, unique and original story, even if I did struggle to invest in it personally sometimes due to the nature of the narrative and protagonist.

A rare feminist retelling of Irish mythology. This contained tales I was unfamiliar with and kept me engaged throughout. Full of witchy magic, I’d definitely recommend picking it up