The Redcaps’ Queen

The Bad-Ass Faerie Tale Series

by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

The Hunt is On! When strength becomes weakness... And hope becomes doubt... As the past collides with the future...hard... Can Suzanne—Wild Hunt biker chick and one-time member of the fae High Court—stand strong as her world falls apart? She survived an assault by redcaps, an all-out battle with the High King's armies, and her first encounter with roller derby... but how will she fare against her inner demons? Caught in the midst of a transformation she scarcely realizes and does not understand, her hard-won convictions are tested as never before. Suzanne is left with only one question-what if they're wrong? The truth could mean the difference between saving her sanity and losing her soul...

Genres: Roller Derby

200 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2013

About the author

Award-winning author, editor, and publisher Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. In 2014 she joined forces with husband Mike McPhail and friend Greg Schauer to form her own publishing house, eSpec Books (www.especbooks.com).

Her published works include eight novels, Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, Daire’s Devils, The Play of Light, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the author of the solo collections Eternal Wanderings, A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, Transcendence, Between Darkness and Light, The Fox’s Fire, The Kindly One, and the non-fiction writers’ guides The Literary Handyman, More Tips from the Handyman, and LH: Build-A-Book Workshop. She is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Gaslight & Grimm, Side of Good/Side of Evil, After Punk, and Footprints in the Stars. Her short stories are included in numerous other anthologies and collections.

In addition to her literary acclaim, she crafts and sells original costume horns under the moniker The Hornie Lady Custom Costume Horns, and homemade flavor-infused candied ginger under the brand of Ginger KICK! at literary conventions, on commission, and wholesale.

Danielle lives in New Jersey with her husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail and four extremely spoiled cats.

Reviews

[James Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing her reinvention of faerie mythology as viewed through the lens of a modern-day motorcycle club, Danielle Ackley-McPhail focuses in on Suzanne, a fae living in the mortal world to escape a violent past, who must confront a trauma that has left her with a crippling fear. Determined to face her phobia on her own, Suzanne risks alienating her lover, Lance, and destroying the life she’s built for herself in the mortal world. This extremely character-driven story makes the reader privy to Suzanne’s innermost thoughts and welcomes them into the rough intimacy of the Wild Hunt M.C. and its mix of magical and mortal members. The Redcaps’ Queen is a suspenseful and richly drawn fantasy as much a tale of the struggle between loyalty and independence as it is a story about the conflict among hostile factions of the fae vying for the throne. Ultimately, though, Suzanne’s past catches up with her and forces her to confront a terrifying curse born of the redcaps who tortured her as well as a darkness that comes from inside her. One of the liveliest parts of the story occurs when Suzanne rolls with the local roller derby team and finds strength in their camaraderie. Engaging characters. A great blend of magic, myth, and reality. And a touch of darkness and mystery. Well worth reading.

[Elysian Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe misunderstood. I thought this story was a standalone but I was quite lost and confused as to many of the relationships, past action and random story facts. I felt like I missed a bunch of information and could not connect because of that. However, what I did understand was enjoyable.

This story does have MC elements (those are what drew me to this story) and the structure is similar to other MC reads so it was nice to be familiar with that. I liked the characters personalities, they were all different, yet complemented each other well. I really enjoyed the dialogue and the fae aspect. Because this was a highly character driven story (and having no read the first book) some of the stories magic was lost on me. I think if I go back and read book one, then this one it will be so much more. I encourage fans to pick up this story and for new readers to start with the other and come back to this story. I received an ARC and I am leaving an honest review.

[Mx Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danielle Ackley-McPhail expands on the feelings of one of the main characters, but we are still left in the dark about some of the others. There is action, battles, magic, and blood. Lots of blood as blood is at the core of this story. I like the premise of this story.

I do have to confess that I wanted to read this book because I love roller-derby. There was not enough roller-derby (laugh). Can there ever be?

Reading this book made some things in the first book make sense, yet I still felt in the dark about other things. It was not until I was formatting the review for the first book that I noticed that McPhail has written Bad Ass Fairie Tales in Anthologies so I wonder if there are other stories that were written before this that would make these books clearer. Just wondering.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

*Edited version - full version is on my blog.

[Star · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzanne is still recovering from her attack by redcaps and she is working on overcoming her PTSD. When she sets up a paintball game with the members of the Wild Hunt MC, she runs across the same pack of redcaps who had hurt her before. Yet this time she kills them all and takes a souvenir. While Suzanne is struggling with the effect of her new transformation, Lance is dealing with threats from the dark fae. A rift is growing between them and they may lose each other for good…

Ms. Ackley-McPhail has come back again to the Wild Hunt MC and the focus of ‘The Redcaps’ Queen’ is Suzanne, a fae who escaped from a unwanted marriage. Suzanne found love with Lance, the leader of the Wild Hunt MC. This MC is a mix of both mundane and magical people, characters which the author has brought to life stunningly. I was able to palpably feel the emotions of Suzanne and Lance. I also loved the integration of the roller derby dames into their circle of friends and Suzanne's joining one of the teams.

The Bad-Ass Faerie Tale Series: The Halfling's Court (1), The Redcaps' Queen (2), Three Chords of Chaos (3)

[JM · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an entertaining enough yarn, albeit somewhat derivative. You've probably read something similar before: female protagonist with a tortured past and mixed (magical) ancestry has badass but gentle and kind lover, but external forces having to do with the supernatural world they live in and their pasts threaten to pull them apart. It's okay to kill a couple of hours, since it's also not a very long text. I liked it, but felt that it doesn't really stand out from the many, many, similar stories flooding the market.

[Elizabeth Inglee-Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second novella in the author's Wild Hunt series started in the Bad-Assed-Fairy anthologies. I am not a biker and don't really know many, but I love the cast of characters in these books.

I would love to see an epic length book in this series, this group deserves one!