Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Forge Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was interesting but also dense - there was a lot going on! It wasn't as captivating as I had hoped (though still interesting) but I am thinking some of that may be due to the translation (I would give it a little less than 4 stars, rounded up). I also felt that from the book synopsis that it was going to be solely about Swietoslawa and, while most of it did in fact revolve around her, there were many other points of views and players and sides that were part of it that I wasn't expecting. It was wonderful to read about a period of time and place that I had no idea about.

PS I hope the full published version has a pronunciation guide because I am sure I am pronouncing almost every name incorrectly! ( )

Historical Fiction at its finest. Those of you who felt ''confused'' or thought that the ''story doesn't interest you'', you can stick to your Thrillers and your housewife - porn. These books are NOT for your ignorant, uneducated lot.

GoT comparison? Are you stupid? ( )

Gave up on this one at 6%. The multi-country intrigue is just a bit more than my brain can handle right now. I normally like medieval historical fiction, too.

There are some great characters, and I really want to know their stories, but I keep getting lost and confused. ( )

An interesting, historical fiction novel about Swietoslawa, a Polish Queen, who I knew nothing about before reading this novel. For some reason when I requested this ARC, I thought that this was a fantasy novel, I was mistaken. It has vikings, queens, kings, drama, and romance. It was well written and I am looking forward to reading the second book The Last Crown.

On a separate note, I wish I could speak Polish so I could pronounce Swietoslawa's name and the names of her lynxes correctly in my head while reading. ( )

while the writing was decent, the story just wasn't something i had any interest in. unsure how it became part of my library, but there you go. i got about 5 chapters in before i decided it wasn't the story for me. ( )