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aniventure's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.5
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
I've spent most of my life chasing a book - and, specifically, an Arthurian retelling - that made me feel the way I did when I first read Meg Cabot's Avalon High. Robyn Schneider's The Other Merlin is the first book to make me feel that way again, and I'm so glad it exists in this world and that there's going to be more of it!
Though Arthurian legend has existed for centuries, Meg Cabot's iteration has always been the candle I hold any retelling against. And while there are certainly plenty of good Arthurian retellings, they tend to be more similar to the original myths than the modern-day, clever retelling I've been craving for over a decade. So I've never truly been satisfied, never found one that is as funny and romantic and clever, with a daring, female protagonist at the center of it all. However, The Other Merlin is the perfect blend of classic Arthurian myth with the added bonus of being all those things I wanted and more. It not only offers A Knight's Tale-esque story where our age-old characters seem to have agency, but also features a world that is diverse, with queer characters and a found family at the center of it all.
In The Other Merlin, we meet Emry Merlin, a twin sister who is used to being forgotten but not over it. Though she's the more powerful wizard compared to her male brother, Emmett, she spends her time casting illusions in her local theater troupe's productions. Until a summons comes for her brother from King Uther to be the Court's new royal wizard. But when Emmett spells himself temporarily catatonic, Emry decides to take destiny into her own hands and disguises herself as her brother to take his place. Eager to learn more magic, even if it's only for a week, Emry quickly finds herself in mixed company, including Lance and Prince Arthur, the latter of whom is nothing like she expected and quickly becomes more than she can have.
Robyn does such a fantastic job developing the world of her retelling. Though the book is around 400 pages, it feels longer. We spend plenty of time with Emry as she grows and bonds with the people in her new life, but we also get perspectives from Arthur, Lance, Guin, Gawain, and more. It is always refreshing to meet Arthur when he is young and finding himself for me, and I really enjoyed Robyn's exploration of his character as well. Also, I can't be mad at Arthur being painted as a bookish nerd boy lol! I also appreciated how queer-friendly and diverse this story is, and I hope to see that grow and continue. In our main trio, Emry is bi, Arthur is (sadly) our token straight, and Lance is gay. There's countless nods and mentions from the younger crowd of characters of sexual and gender diversity, as well as the subversion of gender roles (compared to the more oppressive reign of King Uther and those associated with him, though not all adults are stereotypically homophobic and sexist) that give you an early glimpse into what Arthur's reign might look like, should he survive to make it to that throne someday. I was even surprised that Morgana and Mordred appear in this story, laying the groundwork for what is to come in the sequels.
If I had only one complaint, I did feel the end moved a bit fast. Especially the final scene where Emry, Morgana, and Arthur finally meet; I definitely thought that dream would be stretched out into another book. But truthfully, I probably felt it was fast only because I would gladly stay safe in the first half of this book, with the friendships growing between Emry, Arthur, and Lance, forever. The trio's shenanigans that came from Emry's disguised identity and the banter-y, will-they-won't-they and I-swore-I-wasn't-gay? vibes of Emry and Arthur's relationship were just so much fun, and I deeply enjoyed it. I'd imagine the vibes won't be quite the same as the series goes on - Arthur does have to become king - but regardless, I'm very happy with this retelling and these characters, and I will absolutely be picking up the next book!
Though Arthurian legend has existed for centuries, Meg Cabot's iteration has always been the candle I hold any retelling against. And while there are certainly plenty of good Arthurian retellings, they tend to be more similar to the original myths than the modern-day, clever retelling I've been craving for over a decade. So I've never truly been satisfied, never found one that is as funny and romantic and clever, with a daring, female protagonist at the center of it all. However, The Other Merlin is the perfect blend of classic Arthurian myth with the added bonus of being all those things I wanted and more. It not only offers A Knight's Tale-esque story where our age-old characters seem to have agency, but also features a world that is diverse, with queer characters and a found family at the center of it all.
In The Other Merlin, we meet Emry Merlin, a twin sister who is used to being forgotten but not over it. Though she's the more powerful wizard compared to her male brother, Emmett, she spends her time casting illusions in her local theater troupe's productions. Until a summons comes for her brother from King Uther to be the Court's new royal wizard. But when Emmett spells himself temporarily catatonic, Emry decides to take destiny into her own hands and disguises herself as her brother to take his place. Eager to learn more magic, even if it's only for a week, Emry quickly finds herself in mixed company, including Lance and Prince Arthur, the latter of whom is nothing like she expected and quickly becomes more than she can have.
Robyn does such a fantastic job developing the world of her retelling. Though the book is around 400 pages, it feels longer. We spend plenty of time with Emry as she grows and bonds with the people in her new life, but we also get perspectives from Arthur, Lance, Guin, Gawain, and more. It is always refreshing to meet Arthur when he is young and finding himself for me, and I really enjoyed Robyn's exploration of his character as well. Also, I can't be mad at Arthur being painted as a bookish nerd boy lol! I also appreciated how queer-friendly and diverse this story is, and I hope to see that grow and continue. In our main trio, Emry is bi, Arthur is (sadly) our token straight, and Lance is gay. There's countless nods and mentions from the younger crowd of characters of sexual and gender diversity, as well as the subversion of gender roles (compared to the more oppressive reign of King Uther and those associated with him, though not all adults are stereotypically homophobic and sexist) that give you an early glimpse into what Arthur's reign might look like, should he survive to make it to that throne someday. I was even surprised that Morgana and Mordred appear in this story, laying the groundwork for what is to come in the sequels.
If I had only one complaint, I did feel the end moved a bit fast. Especially the final scene where Emry, Morgana, and Arthur finally meet; I definitely thought that dream would be stretched out into another book. But truthfully, I probably felt it was fast only because I would gladly stay safe in the first half of this book, with the friendships growing between Emry, Arthur, and Lance, forever. The trio's shenanigans that came from Emry's disguised identity and the banter-y, will-they-won't-they and I-swore-I-wasn't-gay? vibes of Emry and Arthur's relationship were just so much fun, and I deeply enjoyed it. I'd imagine the vibes won't be quite the same as the series goes on - Arthur does have to become king - but regardless, I'm very happy with this retelling and these characters, and I will absolutely be picking up the next book!
aroomforstories's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
trin's review against another edition
2.0
Is there a worse feeling than liking a book quite a bit at the start, then slowly feeling it betray you? I quite enjoyed the first quarter of this, in which Emry Merlin has to disguise herself as her wastrel brother Emmett and take his place at court as trainee wizard. Emry-as-Emmett develops a cute relationship with Prince Arthur, who in this is quite bookish (fun!) and only recently possessed of the sword he has pulled from the stone. The dialogue is nice and bantery without being overdone, and through the trip to Avalon I was thoroughly on board, despite some niggling warning signs.
Such as: the world building makes little sense. When is this set? If one is pretending at a historical Arthur who has to unite Britain, then why is London a flourishing metropolis full of fancy homes and in fact the king's seat?
Why do social attitudes toward homosexuality seem to shift as plot-convenient? Emry is bi (excellent), Lancelot and Percival are gay, and the latter two seem fairly comfortable referencing this openly. On the other hand, Lance's tragic backstory at the novel's start is that he was stripped of his position of squire because he was caught in flagrante with Arthur's cousin; the cousin lied and said Lance attacked him because he feared his parents' homophobia. Emry also says in narration that she's felt horribly othered and alone because she likes girls as well as boys, but then again, other characters are casually and openly queer whenever, I guess, it is cute and flirty for them to be so? I'm not saying there's no way to reconcile this, just that the novel never attempts to. Instead, the queer content feels like set dressing. Similarly: Schneider makes reference to many of the characters in Uther's court being non-white, but in that colorblind casting way where it almost deliberately must not affect the plot -- or their characterization, their experiences. (And of course, all of the mains are still white.)
I started to sour on this book a bit when I realized it was never going to be as Gender as I wished. Emry masquerades as a boy but definitely isn't one; and that's fine! Congrats to her on her Cis+ card! But we are also reassured constantly that she's -- you guessed it -- Not Like Other Girls. She's a Cool Girl, not a stupid "pink princess" (actual quote). So we see the classic double bind in action: one must be definitely a girl, and able to look flawless in a borrowed French gown at a ball -- but not too girly, like you actually tried or anything. SCREAMING CRYING GNASHING MY TEETH.
Also: from about a quarter through to very near the end, this book forgets to have a plot. The narrative meanders from scene to scene, with occasional moments of interest, such as a sword-fighting tournament, but the threat is not clearly established until the very end, and barely even then. And it feels so long...so much time spent in characters' heads as they angst, so little tension and action. When things do happen, they are often resolved off stage, so you get, for example, And like of course: this novel is the start of a series. Duology, trilogy, idk, but clearly if it's this drawn out, it should have been one book.
Needless to say, I am not tempted to read any further, because clearly Schneider does not have anything to say about gender, sexuality, or the roles of women that interests me.
Such as: the world building makes little sense. When is this set? If one is pretending at a historical Arthur who has to unite Britain, then why is London a flourishing metropolis full of fancy homes and in fact the king's seat?
Why do social attitudes toward homosexuality seem to shift as plot-convenient? Emry is bi (excellent), Lancelot and Percival are gay, and the latter two seem fairly comfortable referencing this openly. On the other hand, Lance's tragic backstory at the novel's start is that he was stripped of his position of squire because he was caught in flagrante with Arthur's cousin; the cousin lied and said Lance attacked him because he feared his parents' homophobia. Emry also says in narration that she's felt horribly othered and alone because she likes girls as well as boys, but then again, other characters are casually and openly queer whenever, I guess, it is cute and flirty for them to be so? I'm not saying there's no way to reconcile this, just that the novel never attempts to. Instead, the queer content feels like set dressing. Similarly: Schneider makes reference to many of the characters in Uther's court being non-white, but in that colorblind casting way where it almost deliberately must not affect the plot -- or their characterization, their experiences. (And of course, all of the mains are still white.)
I started to sour on this book a bit when I realized it was never going to be as Gender as I wished. Emry masquerades as a boy but definitely isn't one; and that's fine! Congrats to her on her Cis+ card! But we are also reassured constantly that she's -- you guessed it -- Not Like Other Girls. She's a Cool Girl, not a stupid "pink princess" (actual quote). So we see the classic double bind in action: one must be definitely a girl, and able to look flawless in a borrowed French gown at a ball -- but not too girly, like you actually tried or anything. SCREAMING CRYING GNASHING MY TEETH.
Also: from about a quarter through to very near the end, this book forgets to have a plot. The narrative meanders from scene to scene, with occasional moments of interest, such as a sword-fighting tournament, but the threat is not clearly established until the very end, and barely even then. And it feels so long...so much time spent in characters' heads as they angst, so little tension and action. When things do happen, they are often resolved off stage, so you get, for example,
Spoiler
Emry -- who's been sentenced to death for her deception and escaped -- finding out off page and well after the fact that she's been pardoned; the reader only learns when Arthur shows up in her home town -- yeah, she's wanted by the crown but just went home -- and is like, hey did you receive word?Needless to say, I am not tempted to read any further, because clearly Schneider does not have anything to say about gender, sexuality, or the roles of women that interests me.
abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
📖
While I thought this was cute and I had a good time reading it, I did struggle at times. Part of those struggles were ADHD brain and another part was the writing style. I know this book was fantasy and it was sat in a historic England, but the writing style included several slang terms. I loved Lance, he was by far my favorite character. I liked the development of Emmett. Arthur and Emry were cute. The plot was decent though I thought it was predictable.
While I thought this was cute and I had a good time reading it, I did struggle at times. Part of those struggles were ADHD brain and another part was the writing style. I know this book was fantasy and it was sat in a historic England, but the writing style included several slang terms. I loved Lance, he was by far my favorite character. I liked the development of Emmett. Arthur and Emry were cute. The plot was decent though I thought it was predictable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, and Homophobia
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
softcalico's review against another edition
4.0
i loved the setting of this book, it felt so fun to be back in camelot (after going through a merlin phase in my teens) my only gripe was that when emry was discovered, she went home? she doesn't know that arthur got her pardoned and went to the first place anyone would guess she's run off to. but this is YA, and it basically reads as a low stakes romance book but set in camelot. it's a light, fun read with lovable characters
h0p35had's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
ezismythical's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
callieju's review against another edition
4.0
This was really good! despite my dislike of the cover (which usually turns me away from books because i heavily judge books by their covers). I loved the world building, the magic, the badass main characters and of course the bi rep. definitely recommend for anyone who liked once upon a time!