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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
This was...okay? I was very intrigued at the beginning with the atmosphere, the mystery around Guinevere, the loss of magic, the machinations of Merlin...those parts kind of faded in importance and I got bored by most things and found the plot predictable except exploring Guinevere's past and who she really was. The romance very much bored me but I do hope it will become gay...in general a fun but mediocre story.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Wow that’s annoying to leave it on a cliff hanger but also so many things were so obvious girl😠the amount of times she was so wrong it was so obvious she was targeting the wrong people over and over
Bisexual woman struggles at being bisexual while also struggling with every other aspect in her life
I have mixed feelings about this book.
The writing was good, and I really, really liked some story elements. I felt the expected joy when re-meeting familiar characters and settings from Arthurian legend. Lancelot was an absolute fave. In fact, the tournament where Lancelot competes to become a knight was a highlight for me and showed that the author has the ability to capture real magic and build excitement...
But the overall plot didn't hold the story together. Guinevere (who is not really Guinevere in this version) comes to Camelot with the MOST abstract and unsatisfying goal: protect Arthur from magic. She has some potentially compelling identity struggles with what it means to be lying to everyone and hiding her own powers, and with whether she wants to be Arthur's fake wife or his wife in truth. But she has no clue where the supposed threat against Arthur is coming from, or if it will come anytime soon. AND a bunch of her memories muddled. This makes her difficult to follow as a protagonist because, as a reader, you're not 100% sure what you're rooting for.
Guinevere tumbles through a few different adventures, develops some romances and friendships (her entire relationship with Mordred felt confusing to me) and finally uncovers a bit more about her past. The most enjoyable parts were all the side plots, and seeing Guinevere gain genuine affection and loyalty from her friends. And Lancelot. Because Lancelot was a woman in this version, I almost wished for a Lancelot-led version of the story as our marketed "feminist" retelling rather than going for this particular Guinevere POV. I think the author could have done great things expanding that half of the tale.
The writing was good, and I really, really liked some story elements. I felt the expected joy when re-meeting familiar characters and settings from Arthurian legend. Lancelot was an absolute fave. In fact, the tournament where Lancelot competes to become a knight was a highlight for me and showed that the author has the ability to capture real magic and build excitement...
But the overall plot didn't hold the story together. Guinevere (who is not really Guinevere in this version) comes to Camelot with the MOST abstract and unsatisfying goal: protect Arthur from magic. She has some potentially compelling identity struggles with what it means to be lying to everyone and hiding her own powers, and with whether she wants to be Arthur's fake wife or his wife in truth. But she has no clue where the supposed threat against Arthur is coming from, or if it will come anytime soon. AND a bunch of her memories muddled. This makes her difficult to follow as a protagonist because, as a reader, you're not 100% sure what you're rooting for.
Guinevere tumbles through a few different adventures, develops some romances and friendships (her entire relationship with Mordred felt confusing to me) and finally uncovers a bit more about her past. The most enjoyable parts were all the side plots, and seeing Guinevere gain genuine affection and loyalty from her friends. And Lancelot. Because Lancelot was a woman in this version, I almost wished for a Lancelot-led version of the story as our marketed "feminist" retelling rather than going for this particular Guinevere POV. I think the author could have done great things expanding that half of the tale.
FULL REVIEW - https://www.instagram.com/p/CIV9Pe7gNor/?igshid=z8s3vec9itp
He de decir que este libro me pareció que tenÃa una premisa interesante. Las leyendas artúricas me gustan y, nunca está de más meterse de lleno en ese mundo de una u otra forma. Mi personaje favorito fue Mordred (porque yo siempre amo a los incomprendidos) y la protagonista no me acabó de convencer, pero tampoco la odié. Arturo, simplemente, podemos dejarle a un lado porque el chico no pinta nada en esta historia. En general es una lectura amena y que se lee rápido. Te mantiene enganchado lo suficiente y te entretiene.
Short Review: I enjoyed this! 3.75/5, this feels like one I'm going to need to read the whole series for to have a serious opinion, and a lot of the things I liked about it would be spoiler-y, so I'm going to leave it at that for this one until I finish the series!
With that being said, I had a fun time, I was intrigued, and I'm really gay for woman knights
With that being said, I had a fun time, I was intrigued, and I'm really gay for woman knights
why do I bother giving YA fantasy books a chance