A lyrical, sensual, feminist retelling of the Scottish “Ballad of Tam Lin,” combining folklore, desire, sacrifice, and nature’s wonder in a tale perfect for fans of Natalie Haynes, Genevieve Gornichec, Holly Black, Quicksilver by Callie Hart, and Outlander.
DELUXE LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER with stenciled edges, a beautiful foil-stamped hardcover, lithofoil jacket with embossing, and exclusive interior design with full-color illustrated endpapers! Only while supplies last.
“I am Faery and Faery is me.”
On Samhain in medieval Scotland, pregnant Janet rescues her lover Tam Lin from being sacrificed by the Wild Hunt—but the callous Faery Queen is not finished with them yet. Over the span of a single night, the Queen and Janet spar over Tam Lin’s fate. The Queen aims to win, knowing how fickle mortals can be. Long before she was royalty, she was simply Bess, the changeling daughter of a midwife.
Born with magical and mortal blood, Bess feared there was no true place for her on either side of the veil. She found refuge in the arms of the charming Thomas Shepherd, the bastard son of a local noble. While villagers viewed her as a scandal, Bess’s cunning knowledge and secret dark gifts attracted the attention of the elf lord Amadan. Wily and silver-tongued, Amadan led Bess into Faery’s realm of decadence, where her heart warred against her destiny. She fought to keep both—but at what cost?
Inspired by Scotland’s famous “Ballad of Tam Lin” and weaving together mystical folklore and tragic romance, The Changeling Queen’s journey into memory, betrayal, and redemption will leave you spellbound.
Praise for The Changeling Queen
“Lush, lyrical, and subversive, The Changeling Queen is a stirring anthem for female agency and desire, sung in counterpoint to the familiar ballad we thought we knew.” —Lyra Selene, International bestselling author of A Feather So Black
“With language as lush as the woods of Faery, Kimberly Bea casts storytelling magic. An atmospheric, immersive tale of love and sacrifice.” —Lauren J. A. Bear, author of Mother of Rome
“Rich with folklore, magic, mystery and a strange, dark beauty all its own, this lovely novel is as intoxicating as the Fae themselves. Opening its pages was like stepping through the veil into a long- ago time, when magic was rife and Faery was that much closer. Just beautiful.” —Kell Woods, author of Upon a Starlit Tide
“I never knew just how much I needed the dark and thorn-riddled history of Tam Lin’s fabled foe until I read The Changeling Queen. As entrancing as the ever-shifting magic at its core, it had me rooting for the Queen of Faery and her journey of sacrifice from misfit to monarch until the very last line.” —Shveta Thakrar, author of the Andre Norton Nebula Award finalist Star Daughter
“The Changeling Queen is an imaginative, sensual retelling of the legend of Tam Lin, this time from the point of view of the Queen of Faerie, exploring the multiple mysteries at the center of her court. The book evokes a timeless medieval world of faeries, nobles, and peasants, and their uneasy relationships. Our heroine lives on the borders between all these worlds, where she must learn when to be honest, and when to wear a mask, when to be kind, and when to be cruel. A must-read for fans of magic and myth.” —Linnea Hartsuyker, author of The Half-Drowned King
Kimberly Bea fell in love with Greek mythology in fifth grade and never stopped. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Ancient History with comparative fields in medieval history and the ancient Near East. A lover of research, you can find her crawling through texts on Neo - Babylonian queens and medieval prostitute saints, plumbing Roman elegy and Athenian legal oration. She has had fiction published in the anthologies Den of Thieves and Spring: Dreams and Nightmares and poetry in the anthology Nothing But Red. She lives in California and you can find her online at kimberlybea.com. The Changeling Queen is her debut novel.
This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.