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Book: “The Faerie Morgana” b y Louisa Morgan
Publishing Info: Redhook, September 2025
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: To the other priestesses of the Nine, a powerful council at the Lady’s Temple, Morgana is haughty and arrogant as she performs feats of magic no human should be capable of. Rumors start that she must be a fearsome fae.
To King Arthur, Morgana is a trusted and devoted advisor, but his court is wary of her and her prodigious talent at divination. But his wife sees Morgana as a rival and a malevolent witch.
To Braithe, Morgana’s faithful acolyte, she is simply the most powerful priestess Camelot has seen.
Morgana doesn’t know why she’s so different from everyone else, and she doesn’t much care. But when she aids Arthur to ascend the throne before his time, she sets off a series of events that will change everything Morgana believes about her power.
Review: There are a million and one Arthurian books out there, and yet I always pick up the next one when I see a new title enter the field. This one was particularly interesting with its re-focusing the story on Morgan Le Fay, this time as the priestess Morgana.
And I will say, this is a heavily character-driven story, so you’re investment in not only Morgana but the other characters that surround her will likely heavily influence your enjoyment of this story. Morgana herself could be frustrating for me at times; she seems to start out as incredibly powerful and than simply remains so throughout the story. That being the case, some of her plot felt more like a “day in the life” story than much of an actual character arch.
However, I did enjoy many of the other characters. As always, for fans of Arthurian legends, half of the fun in exploring new interpretations of these tales is seeing different versions of these characters come to life. I think most of these are approachable enough to even those with only a passing knowledge of Arthurian legends, but, of course, the more you know, the more you’ll get here. I also really enjoyed a new side character, Braithe. Unlike Morgana, we see more of a transformation in this characters, as she grows from a fairly naive to more confident in herself.
Most of all, I enjoyed the writing. This was a very lyrical, atmospheric style of story. In many ways, this neatly aligns with the character-driven nature of the story, with less emphasis placed on an action-packed plot (indeed, many of these sorts of scenes take place off page) and more focus on quieter reflection. Again, I think this is the sort of stylistic choice that will really work for readers who are a fan of this kind of writing (like me) but perhaps less so for those looking for a more plot-driven story.
Overall, I enjoyed this one! I perhaps would have liked to see more development for Morgana herself, but I appreciated the quieter nature of the story being told. Fans of lyrical writing and Arthurian tales in general should definitely give this one a go!
Rating 8: With a nice mixture of new interpretations and familiar faces, this lyrical take on the Arturian legend will be a hit for many readers!
Reader’s Advisory:
“The Faerie Morgana” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Fantasy Books Arriving in September 2025.
The Library Ladies 