Here are 13 books that The Lost Queen fans have personally recommended once you finish the The Lost Queen series.
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I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the brave—reminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanity—their love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfections—reminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
I loved how Hatshepsut, as a girl, came alive on the page.
Thornton’s writing made me feel the desert heat, hear the chants of the gods, and sense Hatshepsut's ambition as she became more than a pawn and seized control of Egypt when she was destined to be overlooked by history as a royal daughter.
It reminded me that courage often begins where fairness ends.
Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh's pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile's marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut's games forces her to confront her guilt...and sets her on a profoundly changed course.
Hatshepsut enters a loveless marriage with her half brother, Thut, to secure his claim to the Isis Throne and produce a male heir. But it is another of Thut's wives, the commoner Aset, who bears him a son, while Hatshepsut develops a searing…
I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the brave—reminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanity—their love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfections—reminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
What struck me most about this story was how Salome Alexandra began as a girl dismissed, bartered, and used for power, yet rose to rule with a strength literally no one expected.
I loved how her journey revealed the cost of obedience, the ache of being given away, and the slow, steady fire of a woman who refused to let her life be wasted. This novel made me feel the weight of dynastic duty and the quiet courage it takes to lead not by force, but by wisdom and faith.
I also appreciated the biblical historicity woven into this story.
Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged.
When her guardian betroths her to a pagan prince, she questions HaShem's…
I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the brave—reminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanity—their love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfections—reminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
What I loved about this book was how it carried me into the world of Boudica before she became a legend.
She is not yet the warrior queen who defied Rome, but a daughter traded in the games of men, listening to the whispers of the oaks even as her fate is bargained away. I was drawn into the greenwood, the gods, the old ways of the druids, and into a story that felt raw and mythic.
It reminded me that rebellion is born not only of rage, but of sacrifice.
Fated to lead a rebellion against Rome.Destined to become a legend.From New York Times bestseller Melanie Karsak, author of the Celtic Blood series, comes a gripping historical fantasy series of ancient Britain, Celtic gods, a fated romance, and the warrior queen who defied Rome.Britain, A.D. 42—Boudica, second daughter of a Celtic king, has little concern for tribal tensions and political intrigues. Called by the gods and the stirrings of her own wild heart, she listens instead to whispers of the oaks. But Boudica would be wiser to heed the warning cries of eagles.Rumors abound that the Romans are amassing forces…
I love stories where characters become more than what was expected of them, and where I can feel the human emotions they endure in their rise or fall. I write stories for the fearful, the voiceless, the broken, and the brave—reminders that pain can shape purpose, that hope can rise from heartbreak, and that no one endures alone. Ancient queens typically embody those truths. Dismissed as pawns, they carried dynasties on their shoulders, often at great personal cost. Their humanity—their love, fear, sacrifice, and imperfections—reminds me that beneath the crowns, we all bleed, we all long, and we all need each other to survive.
What I loved most about this book was how it told the rise of Nefertiti through the eyes of her quieter sister, Mutnodjmet. That perspective stayed with me.
It showed power and ambition not only from the throne, but from the shadow it cast on those forced to serve it. It reminded me that the greatest power struggles are never won without sacrifice, especially from those who never asked to play the game.
When the Crown Prince of Egypt needs a wife, the beautiful, charismatic, ambitious and connected Nefertiti is his mother's first choice. She quickly becomes accustomed to the opulence of her new life. As Queen of the world's first great empire at the height of its power, all her dreams are realised. Beguiling and wilful, Nefertiti is soon as powerful as the Pharaoh himself. But when her husband breaks with a thousand years of tradition, defying the priests and the military, it will take all Nefertiti's wiles to keep the nation from being torn apart. Watching from the shadows, her sister,…
I’m a medieval historian, and I’ve written academic books and articles about the history of the medieval world, but I have also written two historical novels. I became interested in history in general and the Middle Ages in particular from reading historical fiction as a child (Jean Plaidy!). The past is another country, and visiting it through fiction is an excellent way to get a feel for it, for its values, norms, and cultures, for how it is different from and similar to our own age. I’ve chosen novels that I love that do this especially well, and bring to light less well-known aspects of the Middle Ages.
Hild plunged me into the rough and tumble world of seventh-century Anglo-Saxon England through the eyes of its title character, a young woman with unusual abilities who is dangerously close to the crown of one of its kings and who protects herself by becoming his seer.
I appreciated how Griffith evoked the texture of life in this period, its beauty and its roughness, bringing me into its mead halls and forests and onto its sea cliffs. She also draws out the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Anglo-Saxon world and the conflicts this created between Celts and Saxons, mixed with pressure from Franks across the Channel and the Latin Church in Rome.
Hild is born into a world in transition. In seventh-century Britain, small kingdoms are merging, usually violently. A new religion is coming ashore; the old gods' priests are worrying. Edwin of Northumbria plots to become overking of the Angles, ruthlessly using every tool at his disposal: blood, bribery, belief. Hild is the king's youngest niece. She has the powerful curiosity of a bright child, a will of adamant, and a way of seeing the world - of studying nature, of matching cause with effect, of observing human nature and predicting what will happen next - that can seem uncanny, even…
Ever since childhood I’ve been fascinated by the history of England, and fifteen years ago I made the decision to write a series of novels set before the Norman Conquest. Since then I’ve immersed myself in the history of that period and made numerous visits to the locations where I set my novels. I’ve been frustrated though by the enormous gaps in the historical records of that time, in particular the lack of information about the women. Because of that I am drawn to the work of authors who, like me, are attempting to resurrect and retell the lost stories of those remarkable women.
In this genre-bending novel the author weaves Norse myth with a tale set in the very real world of early medieval Iceland. Her descriptions of the landscape are wondrous, and her portrayal of the lives and culture of the early settlers of Iceland ring true. I loved how she quite successfully brought the Norse gods and one particular goddess down to earth. I am not as knowledgeable about the Nordic gods and their stories as I would like to be. This novel was a terrific way to begin a journey of discovery taking me in that direction.
A beautiful epic of love, longing, redemption, and enchantment in the tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley?s The Mists of Avalon
Iceland, AD 1000 Freya knows that her people are doomed. Warned by the Fates of an impending disaster, she must embark on a journey to find a magnificent gold necklace, one said to possess the power to alter the course of history. But even as Freya travels deep into the mountains of Iceland, the country is on the brink of war. The new world order of Christianity is threatening the old ways of Iceland?s people, and tangled amidst it all…
I’m a storyteller. I studied graphic design, animation, and film and became the title designer of Yorkshire Television’s game show 3*2*1 and directed an art-directed film and animation for British television and cinema. I was the Project Designer of the original Jorvik Viking Centre (1984). By 2008 I designed and built 25 award-winning cultural heritage centres and completed 150 international consultancies, producing and directing my exhibition documentaries. I learned how important writingwas to my work. When it came down to it, whatever technique I used in the telling, there was always the storybehind it as the way to transport the audience into a mentally immersive experience.
Having made my creative name as project designer responsible for the original Jorvik Viking Centre in York, UK, this book uses words and historical illustrations to do what we attempted to do. It was to place the observer into an experience from the past, which would be in such detail and authenticity that it’s as close, I believe, to time travel as our generation will achieve. Truth, fascination, and amazement. Why I like this book is it achieved what archaeologists, scientists, and interpretive designers strove to achieve.
What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium
The Year 1000 is a vivid and surprising portrait of life in England a thousand years ago - no spinach, no sugar, but a world which already knew brain surgeons and property developers, and yes, even the occasional gossip columnist.
Uncovering such wonderfully unexpected details, authors Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger bring this distant world closer than it has ever been before. How did monks communicate if they were not allowed to speak? What punishments could the law impose without stone and iron prisons in which to lock up…
Ever since childhood I’ve been fascinated by the history of England, and fifteen years ago I made the decision to write a series of novels set before the Norman Conquest. Since then I’ve immersed myself in the history of that period and made numerous visits to the locations where I set my novels. I’ve been frustrated though by the enormous gaps in the historical records of that time, in particular the lack of information about the women. Because of that I am drawn to the work of authors who, like me, are attempting to resurrect and retell the lost stories of those remarkable women.
Recent genetic research on the human remains of a 10th-century Viking grave excavated in 1878 in Birka, Sweden, rocked the world of Viking studies when it determined that the warrior buried with numerous weapons and two horses was not male, but female. I loved how this author imagines what that woman’s life might have been like. She also suggests that the woman buried in the Birka grave was merely one of many female Viking warriors, offering data drawn from archaeological finds, from historical accounts, from language studies, and from the sagas to support the theory that ‘shield maids’ really did exist. I had been dubious about the possibility of female Vikings, but the arguments presented in this book are too compelling. Reading it changed my mind. Now I’m a believer.
In the tradition of Stacy Schiff’s Cleopatra, Brown lays to rest the hoary myth that Viking society was ruled by men and celebrates the dramatic lives of female Viking warriors
“Once again, Brown brings Viking history to vivid, unexpected life―and in the process, turns what we thought we knew about Norse culture on its head. Superb.” ―Scott Weidensaul, author of New York Times bestselling A World on the Wing
"Magnificent. It captured me from the very first page." ―Pat Shipman, author of The Invaders
In 2017, DNA tests revealed to the collective shock of many scholars that a Viking warrior…
Since reading the Harry Potter series (I know, how original! But bear with me), I’d been searching for books that awoke the same feelings of awe, curiosity, and inspiration in me. It’s been my mission—to be on the dramatic side—to find books that make magic feel just within reach of our world, which is why I set out to write my own urban fantasy story, The Wise One. My creation process involved years of extensive research on esoteric topics and Celtic folklore, including visiting most of my story’s locations during my travels across Ireland and Scotland. What I can boldly say after immersing myself in the landscape and culture is this: magic totally does exist.
I'm always reluctant to recommend occult books (there's definitely a weirdness factor that will turn some off), but this isn't like any other. Don't worry: you don't have to purchase a wand, crystals, salts, oils, or herbs. Scott Cunningham was a widely respected practitioner that always advocated for age-old tools of natural magic—like water from a spring. For those interested in exploring the Craft, this is the perfect starting point because it reminds us of the fundamentals: nature is magic. It doesn't get more complicated than that.
"A treasure trove of practical magic for both novices and more experienced practitioners...beautifully crafted spells that invoke the alchemy of possibility."—PanGaia
A leaf from an oak tree...a wildflower...water from a sparkling stream...dirt from a cool dark cave—these are the age-old tools of natural magic. Born of the earth, possessing inherent power, they await only our touch and intention to bring their magical qualities to life.
The four elements are powerful magical tools. Using their energies, we can transform ourselves, our lives, and our world. This much-loved, classic guide offers more than seventy-five spells, rites, and simple rituals you can perform…
Since reading the Harry Potter series (I know, how original! But bear with me), I’d been searching for books that awoke the same feelings of awe, curiosity, and inspiration in me. It’s been my mission—to be on the dramatic side—to find books that make magic feel just within reach of our world, which is why I set out to write my own urban fantasy story, The Wise One. My creation process involved years of extensive research on esoteric topics and Celtic folklore, including visiting most of my story’s locations during my travels across Ireland and Scotland. What I can boldly say after immersing myself in the landscape and culture is this: magic totally does exist.
When I was recommended this book, I was in the midst of my own journey of self-discovery, likethe author was in writing it. I was just starting to embrace who I wanted to be: someone whocould open people’s imaginations to the magic that is already all around us. Faery Taleis thestory that prompted me to book that trip to Ireland and Scotland and experience the mysticism of the lands for myself. I’m not a memoir enthusiast normally, but Pike’s (at first) skeptical POV,detailed research into Celtic folklore, and real-life magical encounters inspired much of mydebut novel.
In search of something to believe in once more, Signe Pike left behind a career in Manhattan to undertake a magical journey - literally. In a sweeping tour of Mexico, England, Ireland, Scotland and beyond, she takes readers to dark glens and abandoned forests, ancient sacred sites and local pubs, seeking people who might still believe in the elusive beings we call faeries. As Pike attempts to connect with the spirit world - and reconnect with her sense of wonder and purpose - she comes to view both herself and the world around her in a profoundly new light.
