A review by hellobookbird
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

3.0

That was not a finite or controlled magic. It was a wild and dark and dangerous magic. It was a violent magic, undoing the record of a life and giving it to someone else.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution--send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife...and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name--and her true identity--is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old--including Arthur's own family--demand things continue as they have been, and the new--those drawn by the dream of Camelot--fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur's knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Kiersten White won me over with her retelling of Vlad the Impaler...as a woman in [b: And I Darken|27190613|And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1)|Kiersten White|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1449153532l/27190613._SY75_.jpg|41682914]. So when I found out she was writing an Arthurian retelling--usually a miss for me--I was intrigued enough to pre-order it (at the least, even if I hated it, I'd have a pretty cover).

If you came to get a powerful, gritty, dark Arthurian tale, pass this one by. White takes a more...younger? lighter? approach on this one. And unlike her Conquerer's Saga, there was very little to capture the feeling of the time and place...aside from the fact that she has a handmaiden. While I had been hoping for a more mature and gritty read, I didn't come in with any real expectations (and I've never been a huge stickler if it deviates from the period) so those were non-issues. I can definitely see them being a problem for other White fans, however.

The problem with being a lady was that a lady had a lady’s maid, and a lady’s maid never left.

Guinevere is wholesome and kind. While I had to suspend belief that she could fit in as well as she could, having been raised in a cottage in the forest with only Merlin for company, she was a likable character. She was devoted entirely to finding ways to protect Arthur and I liked that the magic required real physical cost that taxed her.

Brangian, her handmaiden, is also a likable character and they pair well together (which is good, since a majority of the book is through their interactions).

Merlin is a conundrum. His presence is mostly felt through his interactions with others and it's a confusing question of whether he is good or whether he falls too far into the morally grey area the further the story progresses.

The majority of the book is fairly even-paced, but requires a patient reader as I think it keeps us in the dark for way too long. While this usually does nothing but frustrate me (and will definitely frustrate others), I think it worked in this case because it ties in so strongly with Guinevere's development as being an unknown. There are holes in the why because those are the holes that need to be discovered about who Guinevere is herself.

I think my two largest issues were that Arthur is bland and boring and I didn't feel a lot of tension with the plot. We're not told the when the supposed big bad is going to come, so it's a lot of poking in different directions without a ticking clock to discover the next step in how to protect Arthur from something.

Despite that, I still rather enjoyed it. While this certainly isn't a huge re-imagining, it's a nice, light read with familiar concepts that was well-written. Don't think too hard about it, just let it unfold, and you'll do okay.

Recommended for the patient reader that loves a light, if somewhat circuitous, read.