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bookhero6's review against another edition
4.0
First things first: I was fortunate enough to receive this book through the generosity of the author and the Goodreads First Reads program. Yay!
Overall General Impression: I was impressed with this book. It was an engaging, enjoyable, escapist read, that did not insult my intelligence.
My recommendation: well worth the read.
Am I glad I read it: yes.
Will I reread this book: actually I kind of already want to reread this book.
My ramblings about this book:
This lovely little novel covers a familiar theme: the 21st Century woman sucked back in time to a land of fantasy and mystery, and in this case, finding out that she was mythtaken and indeed, King Arthur, Camelot, Guinevere, the whole shebang is in fact real. It tugs on a familiar heartstring: what if you suddenly found yourself in your greatest fantasy, escaping from your own less than stellar life, but because of your own problems, faults, and baggage from that life, you destroyed the fantasy and are forced out of it? This novel is pure escapism, but reminds us that we can never escape ourselves.
There are a great many things to like about this book. The narration, especially in the 21st Century sections is witty and engaging and establishes our hero Casey as a relatable person, someone whose life is going nowhere but who exists very much in the present, which makes the sudden getting-sucked-back-in-time to the 6th Century as shocking for the reader as for the character. Once she is back in the fantasy of King Arthur, the focus is more on the reality of the situation, less on the fantastical elements, which I frankly appreciated.
There was a period in the middle where I wasn't quite sure where it was going, which didn't so much bother me because I'm not someone who likes to predict endings. But where I was in limbo was in wondering if it was going to be a mystery, a suspense, a romance, a making a new life novel, etc. But in the end, it was all of those things.
The author made some really smart choices with this book. She chose a familiar canon: arthuriana. This is very helpful when entering unknown territory. The setting, the characters, the land itself, is already familiar to many readers, which establishes a certain degree of comfort for the reader. She takes this familiar fantasy and tweaks it. The Camelot (Cadebir in the story) is not the familiar legend of fantasy and fairy tales, unendurable romance. She creates an easy to imagine early middle ages environment with real people subject to human weaknesses and foibles. And for once, thank God, her description of King Arthur didn't have me picturing Sean Connery or Patrick Stewart but as his own character, given to me by the author but with the ability to flesh it out in my own imagination.
The writing is very clearly articulated with no awkward sentences and no awkward moments where I was left trying to figure out what the heck was going on, and how we'd gotten from A to B. The writing flows very nicely and the dialogue seems plausible, though if Casey had stumbled into any other king's camp, or escaped to the Saxons, she probably would have been executed for the things that came out of her mouth. My point: many authors think that the story is the most important element. This author clearly took care with the way the story was crafted, not just the action itself.
If I had a problem with this book, it would be that it could be longer, with a little more focus on developing relationships, especially with the women of Cadebir. But for the overall story it told, and the lesson it teaches, the length is appropriate. (I probably just like to escape a little too much.)
Ultimately, this book comes down to the power of truth and its importance in our lives. Camelot provides a fabulous escapist backdrop for self-discovery and allowing the ups and downs of life to change you when you need to be changed.
Overall General Impression: I was impressed with this book. It was an engaging, enjoyable, escapist read, that did not insult my intelligence.
My recommendation: well worth the read.
Am I glad I read it: yes.
Will I reread this book: actually I kind of already want to reread this book.
My ramblings about this book:
This lovely little novel covers a familiar theme: the 21st Century woman sucked back in time to a land of fantasy and mystery, and in this case, finding out that she was mythtaken and indeed, King Arthur, Camelot, Guinevere, the whole shebang is in fact real. It tugs on a familiar heartstring: what if you suddenly found yourself in your greatest fantasy, escaping from your own less than stellar life, but because of your own problems, faults, and baggage from that life, you destroyed the fantasy and are forced out of it? This novel is pure escapism, but reminds us that we can never escape ourselves.
There are a great many things to like about this book. The narration, especially in the 21st Century sections is witty and engaging and establishes our hero Casey as a relatable person, someone whose life is going nowhere but who exists very much in the present, which makes the sudden getting-sucked-back-in-time to the 6th Century as shocking for the reader as for the character. Once she is back in the fantasy of King Arthur, the focus is more on the reality of the situation, less on the fantastical elements, which I frankly appreciated.
There was a period in the middle where I wasn't quite sure where it was going, which didn't so much bother me because I'm not someone who likes to predict endings. But where I was in limbo was in wondering if it was going to be a mystery, a suspense, a romance, a making a new life novel, etc. But in the end, it was all of those things.
The author made some really smart choices with this book. She chose a familiar canon: arthuriana. This is very helpful when entering unknown territory. The setting, the characters, the land itself, is already familiar to many readers, which establishes a certain degree of comfort for the reader. She takes this familiar fantasy and tweaks it. The Camelot (Cadebir in the story) is not the familiar legend of fantasy and fairy tales, unendurable romance. She creates an easy to imagine early middle ages environment with real people subject to human weaknesses and foibles. And for once, thank God, her description of King Arthur didn't have me picturing Sean Connery or Patrick Stewart but as his own character, given to me by the author but with the ability to flesh it out in my own imagination.
The writing is very clearly articulated with no awkward sentences and no awkward moments where I was left trying to figure out what the heck was going on, and how we'd gotten from A to B. The writing flows very nicely and the dialogue seems plausible, though if Casey had stumbled into any other king's camp, or escaped to the Saxons, she probably would have been executed for the things that came out of her mouth. My point: many authors think that the story is the most important element. This author clearly took care with the way the story was crafted, not just the action itself.
If I had a problem with this book, it would be that it could be longer, with a little more focus on developing relationships, especially with the women of Cadebir. But for the overall story it told, and the lesson it teaches, the length is appropriate. (I probably just like to escape a little too much.)
Ultimately, this book comes down to the power of truth and its importance in our lives. Camelot provides a fabulous escapist backdrop for self-discovery and allowing the ups and downs of life to change you when you need to be changed.
stacyroth's review against another edition
4.0
I won this book as a FirstRead.
After losing her job and her boyfriend in a day, Casey impulsively takes a flight to England and decides to stay at a bed and breakfast in a small town. A freak accident sends her plummeting 1500 years into the past, where King Arthur decides she is a wizard sent to protect him in battle.
At the beginning of the book, the main character was kind of unlikable, but she grew nicely throughout the story. The plot was unique and entertaining. I enjoyed reading it.
After losing her job and her boyfriend in a day, Casey impulsively takes a flight to England and decides to stay at a bed and breakfast in a small town. A freak accident sends her plummeting 1500 years into the past, where King Arthur decides she is a wizard sent to protect him in battle.
At the beginning of the book, the main character was kind of unlikable, but she grew nicely throughout the story. The plot was unique and entertaining. I enjoyed reading it.
paulieg's review
2.0
This book begins as a contemporary romance (with a vaguely distasteful heroine) but quickly morphs into a historical adventure, which is where it remains for the duration. Initially this was a welcome surprise--particularly the dusty & magic-free depiction of Camelot, as opposed to the more traditionally romantic, Febreezed version--but the story soon suffered from almost too *much* historical accuracy: there was apparently a lot of waiting around between battles in the Dark Ages,and we get to experience that in close to real time. The heroine also remains curiously enigmatic throughout, despite the book's first person POV; I wonder if close third might have helped bridge this odd emotional distance between protagonist and reader. My interest was held enough to finish it, but this book was definitely not what I expected, and I'm not sure I would have picked it up had I known this beforehand.
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