The Exiled Queen - (Delight of Humans and Gods) by Roxana Arama (Paperback)

About the Book

A gritty and grounded historical fantasy about a young queen fighting to unite her people against the invading armies of the Roman Empire.

Book Synopsis

Her father raised her to be his heir. When she failed the King's Challenge, he traded her away for the son she would bear him. What will it cost her to take it all back?

In Kerta, no woman may hold the throne. Andrada's mother made the king promise on her deathbed that their daughter would be like a son to him. On the child's tenth birthday, he has her hair cut short and sends her to school, where only highborn boys go. Years of blades, horses, and a high priest's rod-then he names her his heir.

His chieftains answer with the King's Challenge. Andrada must win the throne or drink the cup of deadly water. In a forbidden temple above the city, she finds her mother's hoarded portraits and a crystal bell with a single word engraved on it. By the time she comes back down, she has already lost.

Rather than watch her die, her father marries her to a foreign king who wants an heir from her and nothing else. His older brother is a high priest who wants her dead. His younger brother is fourteen and already in love with her. And the Roman legions need only an excuse to cross the border.

Andrada has spent her whole life waiting for a father who was never going to come. So she turns to a god instead. And in the worst hour of her life, she will remember the word on that bell and be sure he answered.

The Exiled Queen is a gritty and grounded historical fantasy set on the Danubian frontier of the Roman Empire. It is the earliest book in Delight of Humans and Gods, a series of standalone novels spanning the Lucretian Era. Read them in any order.

A note for readers: There are no dragons or magic wands in this book. And Andrada falls in love with a medicine woman, but it is longing, not romance.

"Rich and rousing... memorable historical fantasy." - Publishers Weekly

"Intricate worldbuilding... elegant prose... rousing finish... Our Verdict: GET IT." - Kirkus Reviews

Finalist in the 2024 Foreword INDIES (Fantasy), the Chaucer Book Awards, the Ozma Book Awards, and the American Book Fest Best Book Awards (Fantasy).

Review Quotes

"Rich and rousing...memorable historical fantasy. (...) Arama (Extreme Vetting) creates an imaginative world and kingdom that weaves in realistic themes of life as a royal, the duties of heirs, and the violence of war. (...) Readers who enjoy historical fiction, royal drama, and fantasy elements will be riveted by this chronicling narrative. Told from multiple engaging points of view, The Exiled Queen will thrill fantasy readers who favor strong women who find a way to take their own power."

--Publishers Weekly (BookLife)

"Victor Hugo once noted that there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Here's an idea: a speculative historical novel featuring a strong female protagonist who challenges not only the political patriarchy but the religious hierarchy as well, all unfolding on the outskirts of a Roman Empire that could well be a model for our civilization's near future. The story's time may be two thousand years ago, but the idea whose time has come is female empowerment so boldly outlined in this gripping story."

--Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, Presidential Fellow Chapman University, and bestselling author of Why People Believe Weird Things, The Believing Brain, and The Moral Arc

"Readers of historical fantasy will love the battles, intrigue, and imagination in this sprawling tale. (...) This well-crafted novel features intricate worldbuilding that's expertly woven into the story with elegant prose. (...) [A]ll the various threads come together neatly in the story's final act for a rousing finish, and the ending provides a tidy setup for the upcoming sequel."

--Kirkus Reviews

"Arama adds complexity and gray areas to the traditional black-or-white perspective of conflicts and confrontations, which will immensely satisfy fantasy and historical novel readers seeking powerful female presences and situations that are not driven by linear thinking. (...) a vivid story that doesn't scrimp on action and political and religious interplays between characters, but does include deeper layers of personal and social revelation that will simply delight libraries and readers seeking solid blends of history, fantasy, and proactive, powerful female characters."

--Midwest Book Review