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garnethalo's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I definitely did not see that happening. Great twist and plot! Made me nervous with every future Seen.
thereadingbunny's review
4.0
My feelings about this book are forever intertwined with Taylor Swift's release of tortured poets department. I was honestly a solid 3 stars on Thursday when I had 70 pages to go and my book club discussed it. Then ttpd came out. Then I realized Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? could quite literally be Morgana's song. And I couldn't stop thinking about this fact. And this song. And Morgana. Over and over in my head like a rat in a race. Then I was reading the last 40 pages and loml started playing. And Arthur/Gwen and Elaine/Lance were deep in their shit and I. Just. 💀. So yeah, bumped up to 4 stars and immediately need more Arthurian lore in my life, especially about Morgana.
cmdufresne's review
5.0
I felt like this book was written for me. I literally have a Lady of Shalott tapestry on my wall, and had the poem up in college. I love Arthurian lore and was thrilled when I saw this book. I loved the style this was written in, the characters, the parts that stayed true to Arthurian literature and the parts that were original. I laughed, I cried, I will definitely read it again.
That being said, this is definitely a book for people that already know at least enough to be VERY familiar with stories of Arthur, specifically the ones involving Avalon, Morgana, Lancelot, and Guinevere. Plus wouldn't hurt to also at least have read The Lady of Shalott. But are also okay with deviations. It's from the point of view of someone who sees the future so the constant back and forth between the present and possible future snippets could be really confusing for someone who doesn't already know what the future holds.
That being said, this is definitely a book for people that already know at least enough to be VERY familiar with stories of Arthur, specifically the ones involving Avalon, Morgana, Lancelot, and Guinevere. Plus wouldn't hurt to also at least have read The Lady of Shalott. But are also okay with deviations. It's from the point of view of someone who sees the future so the constant back and forth between the present and possible future snippets could be really confusing for someone who doesn't already know what the future holds.
vanessareadstoomuch's review
3.0
I don’t know how to feel about this book… I liked it but it’s also sad like 99% of the time and it jumped around a lot which hurt my brain. But there was also so much I liked idk probably a 3.5/5
sophiedianee's review
4.0
Awesome characters, great storytelling, just wished the magic system was more fleshed out
ljcagle's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
sara_says_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
matbdn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
annamickreads's review
4.0
This book gives you a LOT of feelings to contend with!
In recent years, I've read a few Arthurian retellings, especially ones focusing on the characters of lore themselves. I think the challenge of writing about Arthur stems from the urge to tell the story when Arthur is an adult, when the characters have already learned their lessons and now stand as these figures on a pedestal in a very like stuffy sort of way. What I appreciate most about "Half Sick of Shadows" is that the characters are teenagers who are responsible for an entire kingdom — a kingdom on the brink of war that they have to take back from those who would do it harm.
The relationships between the characters are everything, and I especially love the deft way the author touches on the ever-changing relationships of Arthurian characters. As we all know, Lancelot in particular was MessyTM with his love life, and the yearning/pining/conflict with all the characters and their romantic entanglements really put me in my feelings.
However, I think the difficult part about this book was that it was constantly going back-and-forth in time, trying to account for all of Elaine's visions and filling in backstory to explain how things ended up the way they did. The melancholy of Elaine knowing inherently the way things would turn out (Morgana, her friend, turns evil, Lancelot betrays his best friend for his friend's wife...) and not being able to fix them seeped through the book in a way that was both touching and a little depressing.
I'm extremely fond of the sentence, "Believe me, if Gwen wanted to kill Arthur, she would have. That was merely...a cheeky hello" because warrior princess Guinevere is something I feel like needs to appear more often in Arthur retellings, the end.
In recent years, I've read a few Arthurian retellings, especially ones focusing on the characters of lore themselves. I think the challenge of writing about Arthur stems from the urge to tell the story when Arthur is an adult, when the characters have already learned their lessons and now stand as these figures on a pedestal in a very like stuffy sort of way. What I appreciate most about "Half Sick of Shadows" is that the characters are teenagers who are responsible for an entire kingdom — a kingdom on the brink of war that they have to take back from those who would do it harm.
The relationships between the characters are everything, and I especially love the deft way the author touches on the ever-changing relationships of Arthurian characters. As we all know, Lancelot in particular was MessyTM with his love life, and the yearning/pining/conflict with all the characters and their romantic entanglements really put me in my feelings.
However, I think the difficult part about this book was that it was constantly going back-and-forth in time, trying to account for all of Elaine's visions and filling in backstory to explain how things ended up the way they did. The melancholy of Elaine knowing inherently the way things would turn out (Morgana, her friend, turns evil, Lancelot betrays his best friend for his friend's wife...) and not being able to fix them seeped through the book in a way that was both touching and a little depressing.
I'm extremely fond of the sentence, "Believe me, if Gwen wanted to kill Arthur, she would have. That was merely...a cheeky hello" because warrior princess Guinevere is something I feel like needs to appear more often in Arthur retellings, the end.