The Witch Queen's Secret is a stand alone book but is part of the Twilight of Avalon series. This short book is between the first and second book in the series. While I have not read either the first or second book this was an interesting book The following is my review of the book. this is my opinion and not a paid review. To form your own opinion please support the author and purchase your own copy of the book.

This short book can be read in under an hour. but that does not take away from the book. It has Isolde who was once Queen as a secondary character but the main story is about Dera.

Dera was once an army harlot. At one time Isolde helped Dera when she was pregnant with a girl child. Isolde does not hold this again Dera like most women of that time would. This story is about Dera helping Isolde and returning the favor of the help she received int he past.

While a lot of the story did not make sense to me because I had not read the first book in the series it was easy to get pass that.

If the reader is planning on starting this series I recommend reading the first book in the series to help understand this book.

The bunnies and I give this book 3 Carrots. ( )

Summary: "The Witch Queen's Secret" occurs after the events of Twilight of Avalon, although it's probably understandable without having read that book. It picks up the story of Dera, the camp follower/prostitute, who had come with her son to the Lady Isolde for help. She comes back, and will find that her help is needed in turn - both in the sickroom, and on a highly important and highly dangerous mission among the troops outside the castle.

Review: I liked Dera as a character, and it was interesting seeing Isolde from a different perspective, but I never felt like I got entirely into this story. It might have been because I was reading it late at night and on an airplane (neither of which are conducive to full attention), or it might have been because some parts of the plot involved remembering names and details of the people involved in the political situation at the end of Twilight of Avalon, and I've got a notoriously leaky memory when it comes to that kind of thing. Still, it was a quickly-paced, well-plotted, and enjoyable little story, it got me excited to read the newly-released book in the series, Dark Moon of Avalon, it took my mind off of the unpleasant realities of air travel for a while, and it was free, so there's not much more that I can really ask for. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If you liked Twilight of Avalon, this story's definitely worth your time; if you haven't read Elliott's other work but like historical fiction and/or non-standard Arthuriana, this would be a good (and free!) way to get a feel for her style. ( )