The Forgotten Kingdom

The Lost Queen

By: Signe Pike

Narrated by: Toni Frutin, Gary Furlong, Siobhan Waring

Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the author of The Lost Queen, hailed as “Outlander meets Camelot” (Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark) and “The Mists of Avalon for a new generation” (Linnea Hartsuyker, author of The Golden Wolf), a “rich, immersive” (Kirkus Reviews) new novel in which a forgotten queen of sixth century Scotland claims her throne as war looms and her family is scattered to the winds.

AD 573. Imprisoned in her chamber, Languoreth awaits news in torment. Her husband and son have ridden off to war against her brother, Lailoken. She doesn’t yet know that her young daughter, Angharad, who was training with Lailoken to become a Wisdom Keeper, has been lost in the chaos. 

As one of the bloodiest battles of early medieval Scottish history abandons its survivors to the wilds of Scotland, Lailoken and his men must flee to exile in the mountains of the Lowlands, while 9-year-old Angharad must summon all Lailoken has taught her to follow her own destiny through the mysterious, mystical land of the Picts. In the aftermath of the battle, old political alliances unravel, opening the way for the ambitious adherents of the new religion: Christianity. 

Lailoken is half-mad with battle sickness, and Languoreth must hide her allegiance to the Old Way to survive her marriage to the next Christian king of Strathclyde. Worst yet, the new King of the Angles is bent on expanding his kingdom at any cost. Now the exiled Lailoken, with the help of a young warrior named Artur, may be the only man who can bring the warring factions together to defeat the encroaching Angles. But to do so, he must claim the role that will forever transform him. He must become the man known to history as “Myrddin”. 

“Intrigue, rivalry, and magic among the mists of old Britain - The Forgotten Kingdom is an enchantment of a read!" (Kate Quinn, New York Times best-selling author)

©2020 Signe Pike (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Signe leaves us hanging. Again!

I waited so long for this book to come out! I’m a little disappointed. The Lost Queen cracked my heart into a million pieces several times. I won’t give any spoilers but I would have liked if she had gone more into where ‘The Lost Queen’ had left off. It felt like whoever edited this booked chopped half of it.

The character development was nowhere near that of TLQ, which is why I was so invested with the characters, story and left craving book two. I don’t think TFK will work as a stand-alone for that reason. Granted, it’s probably not meant to.

There’s a lot of missed opportunities for the political intrigues that drew me in in the first book. I didn’t care for this book as much as the first. I hope the 3rd book in the trilogy will deliver what the first book did. Also, it would have been nice to have the authors notes at the end of this one as well. I hope Signe returns to the character development she used in TLQ, and the political and religious intrigues that were included in book one, which are integral to that time in history.

If you’re looking for a romance novel(s),this series isn’t for you.

Loved this audio book!

I’d listened to the first book in Signe Pike’s series and loved it.
This second novel did not disappoint.
Very nice addition of 2 more voice actors and it truly captures the shifting perspectives in a wonderful way.
Can’t wait for her third book to be released. I will definitely purchase the audio version!

Waiting for the 3rd Installement

These two novels clicked with me. If you like the Matthew Shardlake series or Sam Burnell's novels, this just might be up your alley. I've seen other comments about it being a romance novel. No, it's about a woman's life in a time that was completely foreign to us modern humans. The Old Religion versus the spread of Christianity. If you watched The Mists of Avalon" and were interested in that era, give this a try. I'm looking forward to the next installment very much.

story

My only problem with this story is the narrator for Lailoken. He make it hard to love Lailoken part of the story. Everything else is great.

Not as good as book #1 but still a good yarn

I loved the first book in this series, so I was excited for the release of the second. I was a little disappointed in that this production now has three narrators (I prefer one). All the same, it was a good story and I look forward to #3. Toni Frutin is an amazing narrator. I didn’t find Furlong and Waring to be quite as convincing, but this would not deter me from listening to their work again.

Exciting and Heart Warming

Please make sure you read the Lost Queen before starting this book. If you don’t, you will not understand as Signe Pike did not recap or explain past events. There is PLENTY of content to keep you riveted in this second book and it follows up the first excellently and is extremely captivating!!! I can’t wait for the next one! I don’t even think I could pronounce any of the proper names, but the narrators speak them as if they were just ordinary words. Highly recommend!

This was great

I loved this sequel ! It really captures the dynamic tempo of the time . I was apprehensive after reading a review about limited character development . I disagree.
Can’t wait for the next one. So rich I enjoy listening again and again . Thank you

Incredible imagining of the Arthur origins.

I was enthralled with the new historical figures and cultures Pike brought vibrantly to life.

3RD BOOK CAN'T GET HERE FAST ENOUGH!

I LOVE this series. I think this book was even better than the first one and I'm super excited for the 3rd one after finishing this one! The story is so interesting & the narration is perfect!

Good follow up to Book 1

But as a fan of Toni Frutin’s narration from book 1, I was frustrated by the seemingly monotone narration of Gary Furlong, to the point of nearly canceling my purchase. Thankfully the story was compelling enough to suffer through his sections.