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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I was sorely in need of a good Arthurian retelling after Cursed (both book and movie) left something to be desired. Kiersten White brought a lot of new and fun insights to Frankenstein (an all time fave) with The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, and I think she did the same here with her story of Camelot.
The Guinevere Deception offers the story of Arthur from a fresh female perspective, and more than that, from a perspective of magic and wildness. It was everything I wanted at this point in time, and for that, 5 stars. Greatly looking forward to the next book.
The Guinevere Deception offers the story of Arthur from a fresh female perspective, and more than that, from a perspective of magic and wildness. It was everything I wanted at this point in time, and for that, 5 stars. Greatly looking forward to the next book.
3.5 stars
I'm not sure what it was about this book, but it took me forever to read it. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't ever find myself really not being able to put it down or really be excited to pick it back up. I liked the writing style and I liked the medieval times setting.
It was pretty slow moving, and Guinevere kind of didn't really know what she was doing most of the book. She knew she was supposed to be protecting Arthur, but she didn't know from what. She guessed, but I feel like it was just a guess based on not a lot of information, but she was positive that's what it was which was kind of not believable. When the plot finally picked up, it was pretty interesting, but that wasn't until the very end. I didn't see the plot twist coming, but I feel like I should have (I usually don't try to guess plot twists).
The characters were all just ok. My favorite characters were Brangien and Lancelot. I feel like Guinevere and Arthur were kind of bland. Guinevere just didn't know what her purpose was and even forgot who she was before she became Guinevere. Arthur wasn't around a lot and when he was he wasn't very interesting. Mordred had a little bit more personality and you kind of never know what he's thinking which I liked. Merlin was a super confusing character and I didn't really understand his role besides sending Guinevere to Arthur for an unknown reason.
I really did enjoy the ending and will probably continue on with the series in the hopes that the questions that weren't answered in this book are answered in the second one.
I'm not sure what it was about this book, but it took me forever to read it. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't ever find myself really not being able to put it down or really be excited to pick it back up. I liked the writing style and I liked the medieval times setting.
It was pretty slow moving, and Guinevere kind of didn't really know what she was doing most of the book. She knew she was supposed to be protecting Arthur, but she didn't know from what. She guessed, but I feel like it was just a guess based on not a lot of information, but she was positive that's what it was which was kind of not believable. When the plot finally picked up, it was pretty interesting, but that wasn't until the very end. I didn't see the plot twist coming, but I feel like I should have (I usually don't try to guess plot twists).
The characters were all just ok. My favorite characters were Brangien and Lancelot. I feel like Guinevere and Arthur were kind of bland. Guinevere just didn't know what her purpose was and even forgot who she was before she became Guinevere. Arthur wasn't around a lot and when he was he wasn't very interesting. Mordred had a little bit more personality and you kind of never know what he's thinking which I liked. Merlin was a super confusing character and I didn't really understand his role besides sending Guinevere to Arthur for an unknown reason.
I really did enjoy the ending and will probably continue on with the series in the hopes that the questions that weren't answered in this book are answered in the second one.
ok that was a pretty good arthurian retelling i am ngl i very much enjoyed that
also love the female lancelot i am in love w her lmfao
it was just generally super cool i mean a lot of the plot was rushed a bit like. sometimes i had no idea what was going on and some of the worldbuilding was not there but other than that. very good.
also love the female lancelot i am in love w her lmfao
it was just generally super cool i mean a lot of the plot was rushed a bit like. sometimes i had no idea what was going on and some of the worldbuilding was not there but other than that. very good.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Before I say anything else: This story was too slow. We are left in the dark for far too long; the story gets very boring before the last 40 pages reveal the actual plot. I'm disappointed by the twists because I was led one way as a reader and then intentionally pushed away from that direction. It causes a bit of...uncaring? Like: "Oh, I guess she will just have to do that instead."
It didn't feel like a feminist retelling, and I'm hoping the other two books get me there. I can see the potential in this series and I'm not so put off to abandon it after this one. Right now, I just want Guinevere to ride off and tell Camelot to sort itself out without her. Arthur seems to have things under control.
It didn't feel like a feminist retelling, and I'm hoping the other two books get me there. I can see the potential in this series and I'm not so put off to abandon it after this one. Right now, I just want Guinevere to ride off and tell Camelot to sort itself out without her. Arthur seems to have things under control.
I've always loved King Arthur, it's mythologies, and all of the various takes on the lore, but Kiersten White's The Guinevere Deception blew me away. It had been so long since I've read anything King Arthur, and I was really excited when I got approved for this ARC from Netgalley.
The story opens with Guinevere arriving to Camelot before her marriage, unsure of herself and her future position in King Arthur's court, and it's soon revealed that Guinevere is not who she seems, not even to herself. She has been sent to protect King Arthur rather than merely be a bride sent from a royal family. Throughout the course of the story, Guinevere balances learning about her past and her realities while also getting to know the court in which she lives and the people with whom she is surrounded.
I absolutely love the duality of Guinevere's character and thought that the struggles she faced while in the midst of all sorts of discovery were true to herself. The supporting case of characters were well-developed, had incredible range and depth, and delighted and surprised me at every turn. The first part of the book did feel a little slow, but since this is the set-up to what I hope is at least a trilogy, I did find it necessary. There's a lot of ground to cover when reinventing a familiar story, and by the last half of the book, I was completely hooked and didn't want this to end. I don't want to spoil anything, but of all the supporting characters, I think Lancelot is my favorite and I'm so excited to see what White does with this character in the context of the familiar stories.
This is one of my favorite reads of the year, and not just YA reads, just because it was so much fun and so inventive on so many levels. I've never read White before, but I've had the physical ARC for her Frankenstein retelling and the first of another series on my kindle for a while, so I'm definitely bumping those up on my TBR because I enjoyed this so much.
Read this if you enjoy fantasy and/or King Arthur revisits, because this checked off so many boxes for me and I've not been able to stop thinking about it since I read it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte for the review copy! All opinions are my own.
The story opens with Guinevere arriving to Camelot before her marriage, unsure of herself and her future position in King Arthur's court, and it's soon revealed that Guinevere is not who she seems, not even to herself. She has been sent to protect King Arthur rather than merely be a bride sent from a royal family. Throughout the course of the story, Guinevere balances learning about her past and her realities while also getting to know the court in which she lives and the people with whom she is surrounded.
I absolutely love the duality of Guinevere's character and thought that the struggles she faced while in the midst of all sorts of discovery were true to herself. The supporting case of characters were well-developed, had incredible range and depth, and delighted and surprised me at every turn. The first part of the book did feel a little slow, but since this is the set-up to what I hope is at least a trilogy, I did find it necessary. There's a lot of ground to cover when reinventing a familiar story, and by the last half of the book, I was completely hooked and didn't want this to end. I don't want to spoil anything, but of all the supporting characters, I think Lancelot is my favorite and I'm so excited to see what White does with this character in the context of the familiar stories.
This is one of my favorite reads of the year, and not just YA reads, just because it was so much fun and so inventive on so many levels. I've never read White before, but I've had the physical ARC for her Frankenstein retelling and the first of another series on my kindle for a while, so I'm definitely bumping those up on my TBR because I enjoyed this so much.
Read this if you enjoy fantasy and/or King Arthur revisits, because this checked off so many boxes for me and I've not been able to stop thinking about it since I read it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte for the review copy! All opinions are my own.
I never requested an arc copy for this because after failed tv and movie adaptations,I wanted to get all the information I can find about this book. I am a fan of Arthurian legends and I’ll not tolerate an insult to their mythological memories!
But Kiersten White a famous YA author came out with a likeable retelling and surprised me. I loved this version of hers much like The One and Future King. Some of the characters may not be like you imagine or you’ve read before, but thats what retelling is! Working out those weird coming-of-age imaginations. All that said, why I waited to write this review? Because I read first and second book back to back and now I can happily rest until the third final book comes out!
Even if you have a slight idea of who/what Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Excalibur, Lancelot and Mordred is, you will enjoy this book!
4/5 ⭐️
But Kiersten White a famous YA author came out with a likeable retelling and surprised me. I loved this version of hers much like The One and Future King. Some of the characters may not be like you imagine or you’ve read before, but thats what retelling is! Working out those weird coming-of-age imaginations. All that said, why I waited to write this review? Because I read first and second book back to back and now I can happily rest until the third final book comes out!
Even if you have a slight idea of who/what Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Excalibur, Lancelot and Mordred is, you will enjoy this book!
4/5 ⭐️
The first 60% of this book was wonderful. My attention was captured and I fell in love with this iteration of the Camelot world. After that, it felt very repetitive. The same inner monologue happening over and over. The ending felt anticlimactic. It was building towards something, then fizzled out and never arrived there. The love triangle had potential, but the final execution of it was disappointing and lackluster. I felt like this book had so much potential to be amazing, but the last quarter-ish of the book didn’t live up to it.
slow-paced