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etherealskies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Child abuse
Moderate: Medical content
emilie_anine's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Morgan’s character drew me in really quickly, and kept me hooked for the entire book. The book itself does a lot of world building and contextualising, as it’s the first of a trilogy (I think).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Medical content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault
Generally doesn’t lean particularly heavily into dark topics, which was refreshing.lillelow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Covering about fifteen years, following Morgan from childhood to womanhood, her growth and the injustices she endures, this novel truly felt like a journey and a half.
As I was reading, the pages flew by and I felt very immersed in the story. But as I put the book down I didn’t really find myself reaching for it again, so it took me surprisingly long to get through it. Don’t get me wrong, disrupting and unexpected things happen that made me want to continue, but the pacing didn’t change very much: Something happened, then something else, and something else… and it’s not entirely clear where things were heading, so we’re mainly going along for the ride. That’s all right and well, but but maybe I would have hoped for a bit more intensity and higher stakes, all the while it was still interesting and well narrated.
The first couple of chapters gripped me off the bat, then I found myself a bit bored with the slightly dragged out (quite cliché but still well written) romance, before things stepped up a bit in intrigue and pace towards the last third of the book.
I would have liked to see certain people suffer a bit more at the hands of Morgan, but it was truly refreshing and empowering to see her grow into her own power. I enjoyed her as a fleshed out protagonist and the people she chose to place her trust in. I found the empowerment of women to be masterfully woven into this setting of formal courts and malign kings without making it into something overly feminist and unbelievable for the time period in which the story takes place.
Looking forward to reading the follow-up!
★★★★+
As I was reading, the pages flew by and I felt very immersed in the story. But as I put the book down I didn’t really find myself reaching for it again, so it took me surprisingly long to get through it. Don’t get me wrong, disrupting and unexpected things happen that made me want to continue, but the pacing didn’t change very much: Something happened, then something else, and something else… and it’s not entirely clear where things were heading, so we’re mainly going along for the ride. That’s all right and well, but but maybe I would have hoped for a bit more intensity and higher stakes, all the while it was still interesting and well narrated.
The first couple of chapters gripped me off the bat, then I found myself a bit bored with the slightly dragged out (quite cliché but still well written) romance, before things stepped up a bit in intrigue and pace towards the last third of the book.
I would have liked to see certain people suffer a bit more at the hands of Morgan, but it was truly refreshing and empowering to see her grow into her own power. I enjoyed her as a fleshed out protagonist and the people she chose to place her trust in. I found the empowerment of women to be masterfully woven into this setting of formal courts and malign kings without making it into something overly feminist and unbelievable for the time period in which the story takes place.
Looking forward to reading the follow-up!
★★★★+
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexism, Violence, Misogyny, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Grief, War, Death, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Infertility
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, Abortion, Classism, War, Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma
roget's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
A fiery retelling of the legend of Morgan le Fay, which follows her childhood, adolescence, education, tumultuous marriage, and her role in the establishment in Arthur's court.
In one word, it is a book about suffering. Keetch draws from familiar ground to create a healer type figure who struggles to find peace and purpose in a world where she is treated as property. Keetch's Morgan is courageous, brash, angry, and the story telling pulls readers into these headspaces with her.
When she is harmed, you feel the snap of rage. When her expertise is stifled and dismissed, then forbidden, you experience the suffocation, the frustration of knowing what it is to be able yet forbidden from helping others. When she takes up defiance in her honesty and courage, you soar, and when trouble knocks on her door, you flinch. It is evocative.
Well-paced, movingly crafted--up to the very end, which felt sudden. There were a few plot threads that I had expected to be addressed and were not. Morgan's internality is teetering on a precipice of dark and light, and this feels more like the first entry in a duology or trilogy than a standalone.
Women's healthcare and agency is a thematic heartbeat underneath the story, and many readers might relate to Morgan's frustration that female bodies are so unstudied and unsupported by the medical field in comparison to male ones.
In one word, it is a book about suffering. Keetch draws from familiar ground to create a healer type figure who struggles to find peace and purpose in a world where she is treated as property. Keetch's Morgan is courageous, brash, angry, and the story telling pulls readers into these headspaces with her.
When she is harmed, you feel the snap of rage. When her expertise is stifled and dismissed, then forbidden, you experience the suffocation, the frustration of knowing what it is to be able yet forbidden from helping others. When she takes up defiance in her honesty and courage, you soar, and when trouble knocks on her door, you flinch. It is evocative.
Well-paced, movingly crafted--up to the very end, which felt sudden. There were a few plot threads that I had expected to be addressed and were not. Morgan's internality is teetering on a precipice of dark and light, and this feels more like the first entry in a duology or trilogy than a standalone.
Women's healthcare and agency is a thematic heartbeat underneath the story, and many readers might relate to Morgan's frustration that female bodies are so unstudied and unsupported by the medical field in comparison to male ones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Death
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