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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
[b:The Guinevere Deception|43568394|The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising, #1)|Kiersten White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551892183l/43568394._SY75_.jpg|67787916] is a retelling or reimaging of the Arthurian legends. If you are familiar with these stories, you will know by reading the title that it is all about Arthur’s wife Guinevere. Even though I have never read the original tales, I passionately wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
From the first page, I could not get into the story. I felt the plot was confusing and that it lacked any sort of development. Most of the time I did not understand what was going on. I blame this on the main character, who also did not know what was going on and could not even remember her own past. In general, the story lacks a general arc that brings the book together. The ending did not make up for any of the plot flaws, because again I did not understand what was going on and what the relevance was of the events. Honestly, I was boredreading this and I had to power through to finish it.
Another aspect that made it hard to enjoy the story was the lack of connection I had with the characters. In my opinion, the characters were one-dimensional and had no personality. For example, Arthur was just a good king who put nothing before the wellbeing of Camelot. There was also no character growth. Guinevere as the main character remained confused about her own memories and past, which made me even more confused. The only character had I liked was Guinevere's maid.
On a positive note, the writing was exceptional. The author has a very distinctive writing style. The prose she uses is whimsical and flowery. It gave the writing an fairytale-like quality. It fitted the story well and resulted in some beautiful quotes.
The world had a lot of potential. The structure and politics of Camelot were interesting. The magic system, especially knot magic, was fascinating but was not explained or further developed. I enjoyed the eeriness and the mysteriousness of the world. I might have enjoyed the world and story more if I was more familiar with the Arthurian legends. At least all the characters would have been more familiar.
In conclusion, the Guinevere deception was a huge disappointment for me. While I loved the writing and the world had potential, I could not get over the lack of plot or characterisation. I will not continue with the series.
Rating breakdown:
• Plot: 1/5
• Characters: 1/5
• Writing style: 5/5
• World building: 2/5
• Enjoyment: 1.5/5
From the first page, I could not get into the story. I felt the plot was confusing and that it lacked any sort of development. Most of the time I did not understand what was going on. I blame this on the main character, who also did not know what was going on and could not even remember her own past. In general, the story lacks a general arc that brings the book together. The ending did not make up for any of the plot flaws, because again I did not understand what was going on and what the relevance was of the events. Honestly, I was boredreading this and I had to power through to finish it.
Another aspect that made it hard to enjoy the story was the lack of connection I had with the characters. In my opinion, the characters were one-dimensional and had no personality. For example, Arthur was just a good king who put nothing before the wellbeing of Camelot. There was also no character growth. Guinevere as the main character remained confused about her own memories and past, which made me even more confused. The only character had I liked was Guinevere's maid.
On a positive note, the writing was exceptional. The author has a very distinctive writing style. The prose she uses is whimsical and flowery. It gave the writing an fairytale-like quality. It fitted the story well and resulted in some beautiful quotes.
The world had a lot of potential. The structure and politics of Camelot were interesting. The magic system, especially knot magic, was fascinating but was not explained or further developed. I enjoyed the eeriness and the mysteriousness of the world. I might have enjoyed the world and story more if I was more familiar with the Arthurian legends. At least all the characters would have been more familiar.
In conclusion, the Guinevere deception was a huge disappointment for me. While I loved the writing and the world had potential, I could not get over the lack of plot or characterisation. I will not continue with the series.
Rating breakdown:
• Plot: 1/5
• Characters: 1/5
• Writing style: 5/5
• World building: 2/5
• Enjoyment: 1.5/5
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
update 4/14/23: just as good as last time lol.
i really enjoyed this. lancelot is my favorite character, i have high hopes for her
i really enjoyed this. lancelot is my favorite character, i have high hopes for her
I applaud Kiersten White for writing novels based on stories that sidelined women and telling them from the points of view of said sidelined women.
I thought that The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein was the one story like this, but The Guinevere Deception is also told in this vein. I hope this idea of rewriting the narratives that were predominantly male-dominated, so that women are included and take center stage becomes a trend.
This idea is in the style of Hamilton being a predominantly people of color cast, to reflect today's diverse society. These two phenomenons are trends that are kind of occurring and have been for the last couple of years, and I hope they continue being created.
Anyways, now that I've mentioned I love this concept let's get into the book: the characters and the world were expertly done. Kiersten excels at her characters and created a fleshed out, beautiful, yet often harsh world. These two things really drive books for me, so I always adore her novels and her style.
Queen Guinevere and King Arthur are such renowned characters, that I had some expectations going in about them, but just vague, general preconceived notions about them. Kiersten made them both into full fleshed out characters with personalities and excruciatingly beautiful flaws. I loved both the characters a lot.
Guinevere is not human. She is Merlin's daughter, though we don't know exactly how she came to exist (which I hope gets explored in The Camelot Betrayal), and she can wield magic. It's a bit different from other magic systems that I've read about, but that doesn't make it any less grounded or cool because it was. I liked how the magic system exacted a price for its use because it reminds the characters not to depend on it and it grounds the world so that there are consequences for magical actions. Guinevere feels like another in this world because she is not quite human and not quite all-powerful. She does her best to navigate Camelot, and she forms some sweet and meaningful relationships along the way. Her self-doubt was very relatable in an academic sense for me since I'm a second semester sophomore in college, but I had no doubts about Guinevere's capabilities, even though she did.
Speaking of her relationships: I am very fascinated by her relationship with Merlin, though we got very little about it because Guinevere has gaps in her memory which really started concerning me partway through the book, and it seems like that is going to play a large role in The Camelot Betrayal.
I loved all of the female friendships in this book. My favorite was probably between Guinevere and Brangien because they treated each other like sisters and it really made me so incredibly happy to see women supporting women (it always fucking does. I partially cried and laughed whenever Guinevere freaked out when she got her period, and Brangien explained it to her and how sex works. It was so unexpected, but a beautiful bonding moment.
The other really important friendship was between Guinevere and Lancelot. Now, going into this I thought I read a story for AP English 12 about Guinevere and Lancelot having an affair, which is not something that pleased me, so I was expecting some man to compete with Arthur for Guinevere's attention.
But I was very pleasantly mistaken.
Kiersten White made the bold, beautiful choice to make Lancelot a woman. I screamed because I was so happy! While that does not negate Lancelot being competition for Guinevere, it completely changed the stereotyped dynamic of what I thought might occur. Instead, I got the scene in the woods when Lancelot saved Guinevere from the wild boar, and then Guinevere healed her and promised to help recognize her efforts and get her a spot as a knight. And then Lancelot came and saved Guinevere when Maleagant took her, and then Guinevere made Lancelot her the queen's knight. Which seems like a pretty big fucking deal to me. I get maddened when men charge other men with protecting their women, but Guinevere taking control and choosing a woman to protect her. That is some fantastic turning of gender roles on their heads, and I EAT that shit UP.
And speaking of preconceived notions, I had negative opinions about King Arthur going into this book because of his character on Once Upon a Time. Silly? Yes, but I only have limited knowledge of the Arthurian tales/characters, so I draw on what I have. I was INCREDIBLY surprised by Kiersten's Arthur. I forgot at times that Arthur was only 18-years old. EIGHTEEN. He's younger than me, but he felt so wise for his young years. The kind of wise that comes with experience, and that boy has been through a lot. The slow reveal about Arthur's birth and upbringing broke my heart a bit, but it truly made him into the person he is. He is truly a Gryffindor through and through. There were times where he felt like a Hufflepuff, but his behavior at the tournament and his excitement around kids and his Camelot, yeah he's a Gryffindor, I claim him.
Like Guinevere, I was smitten with him after their real conversation, the night of their wedding. She just didn't admit it to herself like I did.
I am always worried for the women in these arranged marriages about whether or not they will be forced to consummate them, and when these men are like: I won't touch you, I won't make you do anything you don't want to, WHILE THAT SHOULD BE THE STANDARD, it raises my opinion of any male character that makes that choice because respecting women should be the standard, no questioned asked, and it needs to be normalized. So, my opinion of Arthur skyrocketed after this was said, even though I should've expected it.
The other thing that made me fall in love with Arthur was his dedication to his people and to the good and future of Camelot. I am unfortunately used to politicians who don't truly care for their constituents, so again, working to better the lives of the people you serve and dedicating yourselves to them should be the standard, but it is not. So having that in a character spoke to my soul because I want to be a diplomat and I want to be president of the United States, so to see someone so dedicated to their people and their home, really made me feel validated and seen. I hope that this idea gets normalized.
One thing about this book was that I never knew how to feel about Mordred.
I (like Guinevere) desperately wanted Arthur to notice Guinevere and make a move or admit his feelings for her because I'm fairly certain if he's not already romantically in love with her is going to be in book 2,and if not I'm going to scream. But Arthur didn't really give her the time of day because he is very engrossed with Camelot and his people, and though admirable, it would be incredibly difficult for a partner. I hope that Guinevere speaks with him about it in the next book so that they can develop their relationship and have couple-y moments because any time Arthur's with Guinevere he turns into an 18-year old boy and not a king with the weight of the world on his shoulders, I think he needs to give himself a little bit of time. (I speak here from personal experience about not taking care of myself.) And he can be just Arthur with Guinevere. I think I might scream if she calls him Artie as a nickname because 1) couples' nicknames for each other makes my knees weak and 2) I'd probably start picturing Artie from Shrek the Third as King Arthur, which wouldn't be a bad thing (because he is actually named Arthur Pendragon), but they're a bit different character-wise so it might confuse me.
TO get back on track: Mordred recognized that Guinevere wanted Arthur to show her affection and love her, and Arthur didn't, AND Mordred doesn't think Arthur is capable of it, but he believes himself capable. It's making me second guess this Arthur x Guinevere relationship a little bit. Especially since Mordred wants her to join him and live freely away from the walls of Camelot, which appeals to Guinevere since she has decided that she's going to have to give up magic at some point to stay in Camelot, which I disagree with, probably because I could never imagine giving up magic (not that I have any to give up). As soon as Arthur shows that he shows more enthusiastically that he loves her than just asking her to stay in Camelot because that could be sad lonely boi Arthur talking. I need him to ask her to kiss him or something sexual to confirm what I hope is true.
All in all, I really, really enjoyed this book, and I'm very excited to read The Camelot Betrayal later this year!!!!
I'm writing it in print here that I think Lancelot likes girls and that Sir Tristan likes men. Try and change my mind. (You can't.)
Also, Kiersten, give me a Brangien and Isolde reunion in person please and thanks.
I thought that The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein was the one story like this, but The Guinevere Deception is also told in this vein. I hope this idea of rewriting the narratives that were predominantly male-dominated, so that women are included and take center stage becomes a trend.
This idea is in the style of Hamilton being a predominantly people of color cast, to reflect today's diverse society. These two phenomenons are trends that are kind of occurring and have been for the last couple of years, and I hope they continue being created.
Anyways, now that I've mentioned I love this concept let's get into the book: the characters and the world were expertly done. Kiersten excels at her characters and created a fleshed out, beautiful, yet often harsh world. These two things really drive books for me, so I always adore her novels and her style.
Queen Guinevere and King Arthur are such renowned characters, that I had some expectations going in about them, but just vague, general preconceived notions about them. Kiersten made them both into full fleshed out characters with personalities and excruciatingly beautiful flaws. I loved both the characters a lot.
Guinevere is not human. She is Merlin's daughter, though we don't know exactly how she came to exist (which I hope gets explored in The Camelot Betrayal), and she can wield magic. It's a bit different from other magic systems that I've read about, but that doesn't make it any less grounded or cool because it was. I liked how the magic system exacted a price for its use because it reminds the characters not to depend on it and it grounds the world so that there are consequences for magical actions. Guinevere feels like another in this world because she is not quite human and not quite all-powerful. She does her best to navigate Camelot, and she forms some sweet and meaningful relationships along the way. Her self-doubt was very relatable in an academic sense for me since I'm a second semester sophomore in college, but I had no doubts about Guinevere's capabilities, even though she did.
Speaking of her relationships: I am very fascinated by her relationship with Merlin, though we got very little about it because Guinevere has gaps in her memory which really started concerning me partway through the book, and it seems like that is going to play a large role in The Camelot Betrayal.
I loved all of the female friendships in this book. My favorite was probably between Guinevere and Brangien because they treated each other like sisters and it really made me so incredibly happy to see women supporting women (it always fucking does. I partially cried and laughed whenever Guinevere freaked out when she got her period, and Brangien explained it to her and how sex works. It was so unexpected, but a beautiful bonding moment.
The other really important friendship was between Guinevere and Lancelot. Now, going into this I thought I read a story for AP English 12 about Guinevere and Lancelot having an affair, which is not something that pleased me, so I was expecting some man to compete with Arthur for Guinevere's attention.
But I was very pleasantly mistaken.
Kiersten White made the bold, beautiful choice to make Lancelot a woman. I screamed because I was so happy! While that does not negate Lancelot being competition for Guinevere, it completely changed the stereotyped dynamic of what I thought might occur. Instead, I got the scene in the woods when Lancelot saved Guinevere from the wild boar, and then Guinevere healed her and promised to help recognize her efforts and get her a spot as a knight. And then Lancelot came and saved Guinevere when Maleagant took her, and then Guinevere made Lancelot her the queen's knight. Which seems like a pretty big fucking deal to me. I get maddened when men charge other men with protecting their women, but Guinevere taking control and choosing a woman to protect her. That is some fantastic turning of gender roles on their heads, and I EAT that shit UP.
And speaking of preconceived notions, I had negative opinions about King Arthur going into this book because of his character on Once Upon a Time. Silly? Yes, but I only have limited knowledge of the Arthurian tales/characters, so I draw on what I have. I was INCREDIBLY surprised by Kiersten's Arthur. I forgot at times that Arthur was only 18-years old. EIGHTEEN. He's younger than me, but he felt so wise for his young years. The kind of wise that comes with experience, and that boy has been through a lot. The slow reveal about Arthur's birth and upbringing broke my heart a bit, but it truly made him into the person he is. He is truly a Gryffindor through and through. There were times where he felt like a Hufflepuff, but his behavior at the tournament and his excitement around kids and his Camelot, yeah he's a Gryffindor, I claim him.
Like Guinevere, I was smitten with him after their real conversation, the night of their wedding. She just didn't admit it to herself like I did.
I am always worried for the women in these arranged marriages about whether or not they will be forced to consummate them, and when these men are like: I won't touch you, I won't make you do anything you don't want to, WHILE THAT SHOULD BE THE STANDARD, it raises my opinion of any male character that makes that choice because respecting women should be the standard, no questioned asked, and it needs to be normalized. So, my opinion of Arthur skyrocketed after this was said, even though I should've expected it.
The other thing that made me fall in love with Arthur was his dedication to his people and to the good and future of Camelot. I am unfortunately used to politicians who don't truly care for their constituents, so again, working to better the lives of the people you serve and dedicating yourselves to them should be the standard, but it is not. So having that in a character spoke to my soul because I want to be a diplomat and I want to be president of the United States, so to see someone so dedicated to their people and their home, really made me feel validated and seen. I hope that this idea gets normalized.
One thing about this book was that I never knew how to feel about Mordred.
I (like Guinevere) desperately wanted Arthur to notice Guinevere and make a move or admit his feelings for her because I'm fairly certain if he's not already romantically in love with her is going to be in book 2,
TO get back on track: Mordred recognized that Guinevere wanted Arthur to show her affection and love her, and Arthur didn't, AND Mordred doesn't think Arthur is capable of it, but he believes himself capable. It's making me second guess this Arthur x Guinevere relationship a little bit. Especially since Mordred wants her to join him and live freely away from the walls of Camelot, which appeals to Guinevere since she has decided that she's going to have to give up magic at some point to stay in Camelot, which I disagree with, probably because I could never imagine giving up magic (not that I have any to give up). As soon as Arthur shows that he shows more enthusiastically that he loves her than just asking her to stay in Camelot because that could be sad lonely boi Arthur talking. I need him to ask her to kiss him or something sexual to confirm what I hope is true.
All in all, I really, really enjoyed this book, and I'm very excited to read The Camelot Betrayal later this year!!!!
I'm writing it in print here that I think Lancelot likes girls and that Sir Tristan likes men. Try and change my mind. (You can't.)
Also, Kiersten, give me a Brangien and Isolde reunion in person please and thanks.
** I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **
I honestly don't know why and I can't quite put a finger on it, but I just didn't click with this book. I never fully got invested and interested in it. I was curious enough to know how it ended to finish it, but I'm pretty underwhelmed. I liked the twist at the end, but this was overall a miss for me. However, I'm sure many people will love it and enjoy it so please do give this book a chance.
I honestly don't know why and I can't quite put a finger on it, but I just didn't click with this book. I never fully got invested and interested in it. I was curious enough to know how it ended to finish it, but I'm pretty underwhelmed. I liked the twist at the end, but this was overall a miss for me. However, I'm sure many people will love it and enjoy it so please do give this book a chance.