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bettysbiblioteca's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
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? No
4.0
Let me start this by saying that I am obsessed with Arthurian legend.
I will read, watch, and listen to pretty much anything with even a vague connection. So when I saw this pop up on my feed, I wanted it immediately.
Blackheart Knights is an urban fantasy retelling/reimagining of Arthurian legend, where knights ride motorcycles and Arthur's political sparring partners are tech magnates. The book is split between two timelines - the first timeline follows Artorias Dracones, 'nineteen years ago', as he becomes the new king of London, and the second follows Red, 'one year ago', as she fights and trains to become a knight. The two timelines converge at the climax of the book, where Art and Red's stories finally meet.
The concept of this book is so cool. It is flooded with queer characters. It's a sexy, fresh, bloody, magical reimagining of the King Arthur story. I was expecting to fully froth it, and to not shut up about it for weeks and weeks, but when I finished it, I was just... whelmed. I can't even point to a particular reason! The setting is rich, the characters are interesting and their motivations deep, but it just didn't quite gel with me. Perhaps it was the dual timelines - both Art's and Red's stories were so interesting that I feel like the book could be written from either perspective only and be gripping and exciting, and maybe some of that was lost by switching between the two.
This feels like a cop-out of a review, because I can't actually point to any one thing, so I'm going to chalk this one up to personal preference. This is not my new favourite book, but it could be yours! It's a queer urban fantasy retelling of the Arthurian legend - like, come on. If that sparks your interest, definitely add this one to your TBR.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Quercus/Jo Fletcher Books for providing me with this ARC.
I will read, watch, and listen to pretty much anything with even a vague connection. So when I saw this pop up on my feed, I wanted it immediately.
Blackheart Knights is an urban fantasy retelling/reimagining of Arthurian legend, where knights ride motorcycles and Arthur's political sparring partners are tech magnates. The book is split between two timelines - the first timeline follows Artorias Dracones, 'nineteen years ago', as he becomes the new king of London, and the second follows Red, 'one year ago', as she fights and trains to become a knight. The two timelines converge at the climax of the book, where Art and Red's stories finally meet.
The concept of this book is so cool. It is flooded with queer characters. It's a sexy, fresh, bloody, magical reimagining of the King Arthur story. I was expecting to fully froth it, and to not shut up about it for weeks and weeks, but when I finished it, I was just... whelmed. I can't even point to a particular reason! The setting is rich, the characters are interesting and their motivations deep, but it just didn't quite gel with me. Perhaps it was the dual timelines - both Art's and Red's stories were so interesting that I feel like the book could be written from either perspective only and be gripping and exciting, and maybe some of that was lost by switching between the two.
This feels like a cop-out of a review, because I can't actually point to any one thing, so I'm going to chalk this one up to personal preference. This is not my new favourite book, but it could be yours! It's a queer urban fantasy retelling of the Arthurian legend - like, come on. If that sparks your interest, definitely add this one to your TBR.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Quercus/Jo Fletcher Books for providing me with this ARC.
lilena's review
4.0
Short description: Arthurian legends… on motorbikes. Also magic.
Long description: set across two timelines, focusing on Art (fighting to determine if they will become the next ruler of the city), and Red (becoming a knight whilst hiding their (illegal) magic to get revenge). Knights, magic, power struggles, politics, casual LGBTQ+ representation - you name it, Blackheart Knights has probably got it.
I did enjoy this but I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to take on the amount of information this book throws at you from the outset (I blame uni). Whilst I adore information heavy books that build an intricate world around you, this was still a lot. However, I persevered. My consequent lack of understanding as we shifted between the two timelines and perspectives was entirely my own fault and I think it detracted from me falling entirely in love with the characters. Don’t get me wrong, they were great - they are fleshed out with complex emotions and some truly excellent character growth - but you need to be ready to sit and just read, which I haven’t had as much time to do this time around.
I’ll be back for this book though, when I have time to sit and enjoy it the way it is meant to be enjoyed.
My thanks to NetGalley, Laure Eve and Quercus Books for this ARC.
Long description: set across two timelines, focusing on Art (fighting to determine if they will become the next ruler of the city), and Red (becoming a knight whilst hiding their (illegal) magic to get revenge). Knights, magic, power struggles, politics, casual LGBTQ+ representation - you name it, Blackheart Knights has probably got it.
I did enjoy this but I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind to take on the amount of information this book throws at you from the outset (I blame uni). Whilst I adore information heavy books that build an intricate world around you, this was still a lot. However, I persevered. My consequent lack of understanding as we shifted between the two timelines and perspectives was entirely my own fault and I think it detracted from me falling entirely in love with the characters. Don’t get me wrong, they were great - they are fleshed out with complex emotions and some truly excellent character growth - but you need to be ready to sit and just read, which I haven’t had as much time to do this time around.
I’ll be back for this book though, when I have time to sit and enjoy it the way it is meant to be enjoyed.
My thanks to NetGalley, Laure Eve and Quercus Books for this ARC.
larslovesbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is an urban fantasy based on the Arthurian legends set in a parallel universe where London is broken into 7 kingdoms with a mix of magic and tech. Very steam punk if you will. There are two main storylines with different timelines that converge in the end.
First we have Art who goes from bastard low born son of a king, who gets to wield the sword won by his champion. Over the next 19 years, we see him go from naive and idealistic teen to a jaded man who lets his insecurities and paranoia blind him to certain situations with disastrous consequences, till finally we see him as a keen political animal who still strives to do well by his people. Red on the other hand is a godchild (people with magical powers) who wants to become a Callabrian Knight. We see her as she starts her training and wins bouts till she becomes a formidable Knight with renown. We also know she has a secret and is keen on a mission of vengeance - she wants to kill the sorcerer Knight who was the one that found her and sponsored her training and whom she has complicated feelings for. There are a whole host of other characters that appear in both timelines with different motivations who all converge at the end.
I struggled with the book in the beginning. The way it is written is slightly weird (I think it’s written in the present tense) and took some getting used to. She writes like this - I quite like the different POVs but for the longest time, can’t see the correlations between the two. As we get closer to the end, I realise that there are too many loose ends so I’m not surprised by the cliffhanger ending - looks like this is going to be a series. 3.5/5 Stars
First we have Art who goes from bastard low born son of a king, who gets to wield the sword won by his champion. Over the next 19 years, we see him go from naive and idealistic teen to a jaded man who lets his insecurities and paranoia blind him to certain situations with disastrous consequences, till finally we see him as a keen political animal who still strives to do well by his people. Red on the other hand is a godchild (people with magical powers) who wants to become a Callabrian Knight. We see her as she starts her training and wins bouts till she becomes a formidable Knight with renown. We also know she has a secret and is keen on a mission of vengeance - she wants to kill the sorcerer Knight who was the one that found her and sponsored her training and whom she has complicated feelings for. There are a whole host of other characters that appear in both timelines with different motivations who all converge at the end.
I struggled with the book in the beginning. The way it is written is slightly weird (I think it’s written in the present tense) and took some getting used to. She writes like this - I quite like the different POVs but for the longest time, can’t see the correlations between the two. As we get closer to the end, I realise that there are too many loose ends so I’m not surprised by the cliffhanger ending - looks like this is going to be a series. 3.5/5 Stars
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