This one pleasantly surprised me. I wasn't really sure what to expect but I knew from Arthur's non-fiction work she was a wonderful wordsmith and fascinated by the fantasy realm.

This book is written for younger people and it would be fun to read it to some young teens to gauge their reaction. It's sometimes strange as an adult to read younger people's fiction as we may have lost some of that innocence and wonder of being a kid.

Eva Joyce is a 14 year old American who's landed in the midlands of England to visit the grandmother whom she's never met. Her mother, Gwendolyn is taking her as she's on the hunt for some relics that might assist her husband in his research. This will also be her mother's first time back at her family home having left in some shocking circumstances all those years ago.

They arrive at this old castle, Carrick Hall. It resides on a large property with lush gardens that have life-sized topiaries cut into fairytale creatures such as centaurs and the like. Little does Eva know what awaits her.

The story moves at a solid pace. I know some reviewers felt it a bit slow but it's not long before Eva becomes curious about the history of the Hall, the various family members who resided there and the strange happenings that occur at midnight most nights when the stars come out.

Mystery fills every nook and cranny of this place and it's one of the exciting elements of the story. As Eva and her newfound friend, Frankie, explore the castle and its surrounds, we hold our breaths in anticipation of something wonderful making an appearance. It's one element of what makes fairytales so special - that sense of anticipation.

One of the interesting aspects of the story is the fairytale within the fairytale as I regard it. At the end of each chapter we get a short glimpse of another world: the fairytale world of Terinval, which happens to be based on a book that Eva has read. At first, I found this an odd devise, almost distracting as I didn't really see the point of it. However, as the main story unfolds, Arthur brings the two together in a clever way.

Unlike some fairytales, Arthur deals with the subject of family trauma which she manages delicately. The pain the generations of women experience: Grandmother Flora, Gwendolyn and Eva is fascinating to explore as we move through this story of an enchanted world and magical stags. I appreciated how Arthur wove this through the story.

Talking about weaving, it too is a theme of the story and is one Arthur's key devices for juggling the various bits and pieces she is grappling with as the storyteller. Once again, she 'weaves well' and we are left with a sense of childlike wonder and hope for the future.

I throughly enjoyed 'Once a Queen' and I notice there is a second story in the works, 'Once a Castle' which I'm very much looking forward to.

I'm very fortunate to have received an early ebook copy of the story from Waterbrook via Net Galley, however, this has had no bearing on my review.

This was such a delightful read!

Fans of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Keepers of the Lost Cities will enjoy this first book in a new series.

I do feel it's more a middle-grade read than the YA fiction it's advertised as; Eva seems much more junior-higher than high-schooler for much of the book. And, Arthur is obviously a Lewis/Narnia fan--which is great--but it takes a while for the book to really stand on its own and separate itself from Narnia. The last 40 percent in particular is the book's excitement and strength; I only wish there was more of that part!

I hope that subsequent installments carry the success and story forward. I'll definitely check them out, and am looking forward to it!

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Once a Queen is an enchanting young adult fantasy novel that pulls readers in right from the opening lines. Told in two different POV's, one from our young protagonist in the 1990s's, and one in the chapters of a fantasy novel that interweaves with the actual story, it was definitely something unique, and combined many of my favorite fantasy elements into one story.

If you grew up loving The Chronicles of Narnia, this might just be the book you've been waiting for. While it definitely brings its own unique story to the table, it felt in many ways like an ode to this other beloved children's classic, and I enjoyed that.

The writing style is engaging and captivating, and I had a hard time wanting to put this one down once I picked it up. The setting is absolute perfection for a novel like this, and I think it will leave every reader wishing their own relatives own an imposing English estate with topiaries and art work galore.

Likewise, I ended up enjoying our main protagonist Eva, and the big heart she has for the world around her. On top of this being an interesting fantasy read, it's also somewhat of a coming of age story, as Eva grapples to come to terms with the family history that's been hidden from her until now.

While I wouldn't categorize this entirely as a Christian allegorical novel, it definitely has some profound Christian themes running throughout the story, and that made a great story even better in my opinion. Some of these themes might not be obvious at first glance, but reading the afterword from the author put a lot of things into a different perspective for me, and I highly recommend reading those pages if you choose to pick this one up.

All in all, I adored this beautiful fantasy and I look forward to continuing on with the series. However, a couple of small components kept it from being a five star read for me, and I want to quickly touch base on each of them.

First, while I loved how this entire story seemed to be inspired by Narnia, sometimes it felt like it went a bit too far that way, and that kind of took something away from this story itself.

Second, The majority of the story focuses around this magical other realm that Eva's grown up believing is a fairy tale. With how much it was hyped up, I expected it to play more of a role in the actual story, and was left disappointed when it failed to do so.

And lastly, the ending is incredibly rushed, and leaves quite a few questions unanswered. I hope that the next book will answer these, cause otherwise it feels a bit incomplete.

Final Rating: 4/5.

I'd definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys clean young adult fantasy novels. It was a truly breathtakingly beautiful story, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read and review it!

Thanks so much to Waterbrook for allowing me to read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Waterbrook) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.