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Warrior Queens: Book Three in The Spirit Level Series
In a quiet, pretty village on the Devon coast, Julia appears to have it all. Money, beautiful house, handsome husband, creativity. But something is missing – something that consumes her every thought.
Claire, mother to six children, also seems to have an abundant life, but to her it is a life-threatening trap.
Trixie loves her Devon cottage and her gorgeous surfer boyfriend but what is she secretly hiding that is making her so unhappy, and so unwell?
And how is the village legend of an ancient warrior queen linked to the three friends?
Claire, mother to six children, also seems to have an abundant life, but to her it is a life-threatening trap.
Trixie loves her Devon cottage and her gorgeous surfer boyfriend but what is she secretly hiding that is making her so unhappy, and so unwell?
And how is the village legend of an ancient warrior queen linked to the three friends?
420 pages, Paperback
First published July 11, 2024
11 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 15, 2024
While her outwardly perfect marriage certainly harbours some secrets behind closed doors – I’ve rarely detested a character as much as I did husband Henry – Julia, a talented artist and the one who brought money to the marriage, is repeatedly willing to compromise and ignore them if it means the chance of a family. And family life is something Claire certainly excels at, with her five closely spaced children and well-honed coping skills – although another baby on the way was really the last thing she wanted, and it might just be time to say “enough”. Trixie was thrilled, thanks to a legacy, to be able to move into the cosy period cottage of her dreams – but surfer boyfriend Finn has since rather taken over, putting his stamp on the place, with the uncomfortably minimalist sitting room (complete with fake fireplace) and the streamlined white kitchen. And the cottage isn’t all he’s tried to change – her eagerness to please him is now beginning to have some serious personal consequences.
The women are friends – all members of the Stonehill History Group – and to Henry’s consternation when he’s trying to impress the golf club and wider community with his plans to re-wild an area of the course (although Julia is the one roped in to do all the support work), there’s been a historical find during the excavations that begins to attract wider interest. Meanwhile, the women’s lives slowly unspool – Claire makes her stand and endangers her marriage, Julia is there when needed to provide practical and emotional support despite her own mounting problems, and Trixie finds herself needing to turn to others for help and unexpectedly trying to start her life again. And as for Henry…
I have to say that these three women entirely won my heart – they’re so very real, going through such difficult experiences, showing such exceptional bravery and resilience, and finding strength in each other. As a story of female friendship and what it can accomplish, this book is exceptional – and the women’s struggles were something I could really feel with every new obstacle in their paths, desperately wanting them to be able to find their own paths to happiness. The author has the most perfect emotional touch – there were a few times when I wasn’t far from tears, although the warmth of their support for each other was immensely touching and also often brought a smile.
And then there’s the supernatural element – that ancient warrior queen, a figure sometimes felt or glimpsed when additional strength is needed, willing them on when they’re most in need of encouragement. It’s really beautifully handled – never overly disturbing, a powerful feeling of shared effort and strong support, all tied in with that find on the golf course and an earlier time of struggle for female survival.
For a story where the primary focus is on the women, and rightly so, I must say a word for the male characters in this book too and the way they’re depicted. It must have been a tremendous temptation to make them the reason for every problem – I’ve already mentioned Henry – but they’re most certainly neither stereotyped nor universally unlikeable. Arthur really is an absolute sweetheart – I won’t spoil the story by introducing him further, but I do guarantee that every reader will love him as much as I did, proof that there really are some good men out there. And Claire’s husband Mike? The misguided one? I do hope you’ll come to have the same soft spot for him that I did once he started to see the error of his ways.
This was a book I entirely loved – not always easy to read because of the subject matter, but ultimately so very rewarding, tremendously uplifting, and well worth the moments of anguish along the way. The women’s stories are quite beautifully told, heartbreaking, emotional and quite unforgettable – and this wonderful book is one I’d very strongly recommend to others.
The women are friends – all members of the Stonehill History Group – and to Henry’s consternation when he’s trying to impress the golf club and wider community with his plans to re-wild an area of the course (although Julia is the one roped in to do all the support work), there’s been a historical find during the excavations that begins to attract wider interest. Meanwhile, the women’s lives slowly unspool – Claire makes her stand and endangers her marriage, Julia is there when needed to provide practical and emotional support despite her own mounting problems, and Trixie finds herself needing to turn to others for help and unexpectedly trying to start her life again. And as for Henry…
I have to say that these three women entirely won my heart – they’re so very real, going through such difficult experiences, showing such exceptional bravery and resilience, and finding strength in each other. As a story of female friendship and what it can accomplish, this book is exceptional – and the women’s struggles were something I could really feel with every new obstacle in their paths, desperately wanting them to be able to find their own paths to happiness. The author has the most perfect emotional touch – there were a few times when I wasn’t far from tears, although the warmth of their support for each other was immensely touching and also often brought a smile.
And then there’s the supernatural element – that ancient warrior queen, a figure sometimes felt or glimpsed when additional strength is needed, willing them on when they’re most in need of encouragement. It’s really beautifully handled – never overly disturbing, a powerful feeling of shared effort and strong support, all tied in with that find on the golf course and an earlier time of struggle for female survival.
For a story where the primary focus is on the women, and rightly so, I must say a word for the male characters in this book too and the way they’re depicted. It must have been a tremendous temptation to make them the reason for every problem – I’ve already mentioned Henry – but they’re most certainly neither stereotyped nor universally unlikeable. Arthur really is an absolute sweetheart – I won’t spoil the story by introducing him further, but I do guarantee that every reader will love him as much as I did, proof that there really are some good men out there. And Claire’s husband Mike? The misguided one? I do hope you’ll come to have the same soft spot for him that I did once he started to see the error of his ways.
This was a book I entirely loved – not always easy to read because of the subject matter, but ultimately so very rewarding, tremendously uplifting, and well worth the moments of anguish along the way. The women’s stories are quite beautifully told, heartbreaking, emotional and quite unforgettable – and this wonderful book is one I’d very strongly recommend to others.
November 21, 2024
Back in the dark ages, the women of Stonehill on the south Devon coast united to deal decisively (and terminally) with their Viking invaders. Their spirit lives on. The present-day women of Stonehill also have to deal with men who are threatening to wreck their lives, with problems that have faced women throughout the ages; religious control, financial control, coercive control, lack of children and too many children, body shaming and anorexia, and of course violence.
Artistic Julia, vulnerable in grief, has fallen for the repulsive, undermining, cruelly lying Henry, who sees her as a stepping stone in his desire for status. Can she break free and take back control of her own life? When mortgage hikes threaten Trixie’s dream cottage, she finds herself starving herself nearly to death in order to please Finn, the egotistical surfer god who values having convenient beachside lodgings rather more than he values her. Can she survive without his rent and financial contributions (and find a far more appreciate man), while learning to love herself again? Claire, Catholic but slightly less committed than her devout husband Mike, is coping (i.e. running endlessly in a hamster wheel) with five young children and the imminent arrival of a sixth. Can she force Mike to acknowledge her need for a life of her own and opt for the kindest cut of all?
It's a hugely satisfying story of three very convincingly portrayed women, supporting each other and finding the strength to take back autonomy.
Artistic Julia, vulnerable in grief, has fallen for the repulsive, undermining, cruelly lying Henry, who sees her as a stepping stone in his desire for status. Can she break free and take back control of her own life? When mortgage hikes threaten Trixie’s dream cottage, she finds herself starving herself nearly to death in order to please Finn, the egotistical surfer god who values having convenient beachside lodgings rather more than he values her. Can she survive without his rent and financial contributions (and find a far more appreciate man), while learning to love herself again? Claire, Catholic but slightly less committed than her devout husband Mike, is coping (i.e. running endlessly in a hamster wheel) with five young children and the imminent arrival of a sixth. Can she force Mike to acknowledge her need for a life of her own and opt for the kindest cut of all?
It's a hugely satisfying story of three very convincingly portrayed women, supporting each other and finding the strength to take back autonomy.
February 19, 2025
Warrior Queens ticks all my boxes. The characters and settings are wonderfully rendered and the undercurrents of menace and threat kept me hooked to the end.
The Stonehill History Group decide to investigate the possibility of an old Viking settlement in the area. They also hear a tale about a group of women who plotted together to save themselves from their Viking captors. A hint of the paranormal wisps through the novel in an understated way that made the hairs on the nape of my neck creep.
We enter the lives of three of the women in this history group and I really did feel that I knew and understood them and was so invested in them I was often desperate to intervene. Each of them has her own ‘captor’. Julia has inherited her home, Hawthorn House, plus a husband who has social aspirations and a volatile temper. Trixie has bought her small, old-fashioned cottage and fallen for an egotistical surfer who insensitively refashions both the cottage and Trixie, leaving the latter anorexic. Claire, a catholic, is married to Mike whose religious devotion includes a refusal to use any kind of birth control. At the beginning of the book, Claire gives birth to their sixth child but the delivery has been difficult leaving her in a lot of pain and with sole care of six very young and needy children during the school holidays.
I was fully enmeshed in the lives of these women and read the book in one, gripping session that lasted into the early hours of the morning.
Highly recommended.
The Stonehill History Group decide to investigate the possibility of an old Viking settlement in the area. They also hear a tale about a group of women who plotted together to save themselves from their Viking captors. A hint of the paranormal wisps through the novel in an understated way that made the hairs on the nape of my neck creep.
We enter the lives of three of the women in this history group and I really did feel that I knew and understood them and was so invested in them I was often desperate to intervene. Each of them has her own ‘captor’. Julia has inherited her home, Hawthorn House, plus a husband who has social aspirations and a volatile temper. Trixie has bought her small, old-fashioned cottage and fallen for an egotistical surfer who insensitively refashions both the cottage and Trixie, leaving the latter anorexic. Claire, a catholic, is married to Mike whose religious devotion includes a refusal to use any kind of birth control. At the beginning of the book, Claire gives birth to their sixth child but the delivery has been difficult leaving her in a lot of pain and with sole care of six very young and needy children during the school holidays.
I was fully enmeshed in the lives of these women and read the book in one, gripping session that lasted into the early hours of the morning.
Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews