Queen of Shadow

 

Queen of Shadow
by P.C. Cast
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: William Morrow
Pub Date: August 4, 2026
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon  Bookshop

From #1 New York Times bestselling author P. C. Cast—a sexy and magical epic of Celtic legend, perfect for romantasy fans who love Sue Lynn Tan and Thea Guanzon.

Step into the mystical world of the Isle of Skye in 200 BCE, where legends come to life and the Queen of Shadow holds court. But Scáthach is no ordinary queen. Daughter of the Underworld goddess Bēfionn, golden-haired Scáthach is gifted with the Sight, able to glimpse all the possibilities of the future and pass between the world of men and the world of gods.

Scáthach dedicates her life to training the fiercest warriors from across the land in her fortress at Lethra. But then a newcomer arrives in Lethra and upends everything about Scáthach's existence. He is Cuchulainn, the hero of Ulster, son of the Irish God Lugh. Known for his strength and bouts of berserker rage, Cuchulainn wants Scáthach to help him hone his skills and find redemption for his violent past. The Queen of Shadow reluctantly agrees to take him in, ignoring their growing attraction, and what it might mean for her destiny.

Meanwhile, Scáthach's jealous half-sister Aife threatens Scáthach’s claim to the kingdom she loves and challenges Scáthach for Cuchulainn’s loyalty. Caught in a snare of duty and desire as she navigates the perils of leadership, Scáthach discovers that her destiny may lie in the Underworld, where she can forge a future for herself and Cuchulainn by tricking death itself....

 

My Review: P. C. has blown me away YET AGAIN. How does she always do this?!  

Scathach is such an amazing character. I love how genuine she is. She is the Queen of Shadows and the opportunity to be queen of two places. Warriors come to her to be trained. You could say she has it all. Yet, she is so kind and genuine on how she behaves, talks to her students, daughter, friend, etc. She doesnt jump to judge, she doesnt throw around shes is a queen for the sake of it or show off power. Just all around a character you will absolutely love. 

Then you have Cuchulainn who really deep down is a big softie. He first started off on a rough note after breaking Scathach's door. But Scathach accepts his request to be a student in the end. He excels at everything but he doesn't show off. He doesn't boast. He even helps and encourages the other students. Scathach really likes that bout him among other things. 

As the story goes on, there is so much that is packed into this book and I love every moment of it. WELL - actually not one scene. There is a scene about a horse and well don't read it is all I can say. As an animal person, this was hard to read so go ahead and skip that part.

Scathach also has the best daughter and guard leader who is really more like her best friend. Those are some of the best side characters and I loved them.

Scathach's sister is a no go. Don't like her nor what she did. That may also be a rough scene for folks who may be more sensitive about SA, so just keep that in mind.

But overall... This book was simply amazing.  

I've been a fan of P. C. for ages now and will always boast about her books.  She's an absolute favorite of mine and haven't come across one book I haven't loved yet. This was no exception, in fact it made it to the top of the list. 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪✪