Once a Queen

By: Sarah Arthur

Narrated by: Shakira Shute, Sarah Arthur

CHRISTY AWARD FINALIST • A mysterious manor house hides the keys to shocking family secrets—and rapidly fading portals to other worlds—in the richly woven opener to bestselling author Sarah Arthur’s young adult fantasy series.

“A fresh, delightful new tale for our wonder-hungry era.”—National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins

When fourteen-year-old American Eva Joyce unexpectedly finds herself spending the summer at the mysterious manor house of the English grandmother she’s never met, she soon discovers that her family, the manor staff, and even the house itself are hiding secrets.

With odd things happening in the gardens at night, Eva embarks on a search for answers. Astonishingly, she learns that the Hall’s staff believe portals to other worlds exist—though hidden and steadily disappearing—and that Eva’s grandmother was once a queen in one of those worlds. But her grandmother’s heart is closed to the beauty and pain of the past. Now it’s up to Eva to discover what really happened—and to decide if it’s possible that her favorite childhood fairy tales are true. As she starts unraveling the dangerous secrets around the grandmother who is more than she appears, Eva begins to wonder if she, too, is more than she understood herself to be.

©2023 Sarah Arthur (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“A fresh, delightful new tale for our wonder-hungry era . . . a story that lingers in the memory and shapes the soul long after reading the last page.”—National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins

“Sarah Arthur weaves a masterful spell in her tale that will draw you in and stay with you long after you finish—like all good fairy stories are apt to do. An absolute delight. I can’t wait for book two!”—Jonathon D. Svendsen, NarniaFans (Five out of Five Shields)

I loved the positive message!

This was a very enjoyable book—it has a feel similar to the Narnia stories, but with a modern day twist. The messages are positive and applicable to real life situations. “It’s never too late to make things right, or at least try.”

could be a classic of a classic

I was granted Early Access to this title by netgate. all opinions written here are my own .
A review of once a queen by Sarah Arthur

this book reminds me a lot of other classic fairy tales like The Lion, the witch wardrobe series or the never-ending story or many other classic tales where there is a portal to another world where kids get to step through, but not necessarily adults unless they have the right heart. I very much enjoyed this take on the whole thing and I hope that this book becomes a series and that we get to see what happens to the rest of the characters.. thank you Sarah Arthur for writing this delightful tale. I look forward to reading more of your work in future if I should have such a privilege.

Fresh, classic, uplifting

A story filled with goodness and relatable characters. A breath of fresh air to find a novel well written and captivating, yet morally clean and uplifting. Although what I considered to be the climax came much later in the book than I anticipated, Arthur kept me intrigued and engaged throughout. Full of surprising elements, Arthur was able to give a fresh spin on a classic outline (young people discover a portal to another world of kings and queens, good vs evil). Though the ending was not what I expected Arthur was able to weave together a very satisfying conclusion, with enough left open, that if she wanted, she could add more and create a series. Overall a surprising, captivating, and worthwhile read. I highly recommend!

Highly recommend!

Such a wonderfully woven blend of two stories. This is one that I was comfortable listening to with my boys and they ended up reading their selves.

Narnia lives!

Great story exploring what might have happened after the events of The Last Battle. Arthur creates her own world/story but it very satisfyingly reopens the door. I hope she continues the series…I am shook in the best possible way!

Excellent.

Simply marvelous. It took me a bit to get into it, but I was far from disappointed. Well written. Definitely worthy of a “classic” label. Loved the nods to Narnia and The Enchanted Castle. Just splendid. I plan on buying the hardcopy so that I can more accurately capture some amazing quotes.