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prinsessenora4's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was truly magical! From the first page I was captivated, and pulled into this magical world!
I love the legends of King Arthur, and this retelling is some of the best I have read. We can see the happenings from the women’s point of view, and the story is so sore, beautiful and lifelike that I couldn’t put it down.
I love the feminist and girl power characters, and I love to learn more about the older religions of the British isles. (But I don’t love the rape and incest). This book was amazing, and will stay with me forever <3
I love the legends of King Arthur, and this retelling is some of the best I have read. We can see the happenings from the women’s point of view, and the story is so sore, beautiful and lifelike that I couldn’t put it down.
I love the feminist and girl power characters, and I love to learn more about the older religions of the British isles. (But I don’t love the rape and incest). This book was amazing, and will stay with me forever <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
ultimatecryptid's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Adored the prose, I thought it flowed really beautifully.
LOTS of interesting ideas that I feel were under explored, but also a lot of ideas I feel could have been explored less. As I was reading I remember hitting the last third of the book and thinking "Oh so HERE it picks up", but could not convince myself that the prior 600 pages were necessary to get there.
Hoping to read more fantasy of the era for comparison purposes explicitly because of this book. I've definately enjoyed thinking about it more than reading it.
LOTS of interesting ideas that I feel were under explored, but also a lot of ideas I feel could have been explored less. As I was reading I remember hitting the last third of the book and thinking "Oh so HERE it picks up", but could not convince myself that the prior 600 pages were necessary to get there.
Hoping to read more fantasy of the era for comparison purposes explicitly because of this book. I've definately enjoyed thinking about it more than reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Rape, and Sexual assault
khaleesimod93's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm a little unsure of how to rate this book. On one hand, the imagery and writing were absolutely stunning. I could feel the wind and the cold. I felt like I was there reliving all that was happening during this time. At the same time, it was a pain to get through. Some of the characters were just disgusting. And the description of needless things made this a difficult book to get through. It's a confusing story. On one hand, absolutely beautiful imagery of the world around and told from the viewpoint of the women living through this time. On the other hand, some very needless descriptions and boring flat characters. While I adore Arthurian legends, this one didn't make it on my favorites. Beautiful imagery in cases, loved the point of views of the women, descriptions on the wars and the fight between druids and Christianity. Could have been edited better and maybe some more depth to some of the male and female characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual assault
sonder11's review against another edition
1.0
one of those books that looooves putting people/children in rape situations and justifying it because “ooh it was medieval times”. look up the author. im serious. just put her name in on wikipedia
(trigger warning for real)
(trigger warning for real)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
caterwaul's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I greatly enjoyed this book. I've always loved King Arthur and was super excited to read this book when I got it as a gift. However, I highly recommend you read the content warnings because it is not a happy-go-lucky, unproblematic read. The overall story combines a lot of different stories from Arthurian Legend, but I think it's most similar to Le Morte D'Arthur for much of the plot. There's a lot of politics, a lot of religious back and forth between goddess worship and Christianity, and a lot of ethics/morality questioning. Like I said though, highly enjoyed! It primarily focuses on the women of Arthurian Legend- Igraine, Morgaine, and Gwenhwyfar, along with some others- and their POV on the events, which is definitely a fresh take on the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Infertility, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
morganrie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
micaelabrody's review against another edition
2.0
i downgraded this rating from my original 5, but couldn’t bring myself to go to the 2 it actually deserves just bc it was so important to me when i was younger. i had actually never intended to read this again, but i did bc i had no other books on hand after finishing my previous read and this was on my ipad.
but man has it not aged well. even setting aside mzb herself (which i do only for this review. that’s why i’d never intended to reread this), it is 500-700 pages too long (based on the ebook at a whopping 1700!). there’s a lot of arthurian legend to get through but you reach the point when morgaine marries uriens and it feels like that really should be closer to the end but there’s STILL so much more to go! and honestly the ending is such a cop out. morgaine spends the entire book raging on behalf of avalon and the cultural genocide of her people (and she’s right) just to say “oh actually violent christian dominance is good bc they worship mary”? the characters are broadly consistent but moment to moment contradictory - does she love lancelet or not? morgaine switches off even in her own internal monologue with no acknowledgment of the change! - and the pacing is iffy at best.
it’s still okay, but the towering work of fiction i remember is simply not here. it’s just a kind of overwritten historical reimagining and sits nicely on a shelf with outlander. i will always love the version of morgaine she created but i wish that morgaine had been in a better book written by a less gross person.
but man has it not aged well. even setting aside mzb herself (which i do only for this review. that’s why i’d never intended to reread this), it is 500-700 pages too long (based on the ebook at a whopping 1700!). there’s a lot of arthurian legend to get through but you reach the point when morgaine marries uriens and it feels like that really should be closer to the end but there’s STILL so much more to go! and honestly the ending is such a cop out. morgaine spends the entire book raging on behalf of avalon and the cultural genocide of her people (and she’s right) just to say “oh actually violent christian dominance is good bc they worship mary”? the characters are broadly consistent but moment to moment contradictory - does she love lancelet or not? morgaine switches off even in her own internal monologue with no acknowledgment of the change! - and the pacing is iffy at best.
it’s still okay, but the towering work of fiction i remember is simply not here. it’s just a kind of overwritten historical reimagining and sits nicely on a shelf with outlander. i will always love the version of morgaine she created but i wish that morgaine had been in a better book written by a less gross person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
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