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A review by mindsplinters
Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
2.5 rounded up mostly because Morgana is Bad Ass. This was very much a case of "not the book for me" because, by all rights, I should have loved it. Arthurian legends? Feminist take? Playing around with past/present/future? Unfortunately, it did not quite catch me or deliver. While it is an interesting take on the tale of the Lady of Shalott, it actually proves one of the main dangers that you face when working with a well-known story with a fixed end-game (other examples - Wicked). You know going in that Arthur WILL die and pretty much no one will get an HEA because of betrayal etc and fate sucks. So, while there was a subversion to part of that by Sebastian and it WAS pretty clever and I am 100% there for the ladies having an epic slumber party on Avalon for the forseeable future, it came at the very end. The last 50 pages were like the really yummy center of a decent but not spectacular truffle.
I adored the author's take on Morgana. Her version of Gwen was fierce and interesting (but, really, WEREWOLVES???). Arthur was an absolute sweet cinnamon roll. I even liked Lancelot way more than I ever have before. Elaine, though... Look, I can imagine being an oracle sucks and can give you the worst kind of executive dysfunction ala decision paralysis but Elaine took it to absolutely ridiculous levels. She was repetitive and insufferable and, since the story was her POV, we were privy to every woe-is-me thought and moment of angst. To cap it off, for 90% of the book, she was the furthest thing from feminist you could get. She manipulated, she coaxed, she browbeat (demurely), she actively worked to lessen her female friends and change them into something more... acceptable/palatable to Albion's raging patriarchy. Then she justified it all by blaming their upbringing and instructions that everything they do is "for Arthur." Look, chick, this version of adorable Arthur would DIE if he knew the slavish lengths to which you were willing to go (until, of course, it directly affected you, of course).
So, yeah, Elaine was pretty awful for most of the book but the others were great. Too bad it's Elaine's story and POV.
I can see other people really enjoying this book but, again, it's just not for me.
I adored the author's take on Morgana. Her version of Gwen was fierce and interesting (but, really, WEREWOLVES???). Arthur was an absolute sweet cinnamon roll. I even liked Lancelot way more than I ever have before. Elaine, though... Look, I can imagine being an oracle sucks and can give you the worst kind of executive dysfunction ala decision paralysis but Elaine took it to absolutely ridiculous levels. She was repetitive and insufferable and, since the story was her POV, we were privy to every woe-is-me thought and moment of angst. To cap it off, for 90% of the book, she was the furthest thing from feminist you could get. She manipulated, she coaxed, she browbeat (demurely), she actively worked to lessen her female friends and change them into something more... acceptable/palatable to Albion's raging patriarchy. Then she justified it all by blaming their upbringing and instructions that everything they do is "for Arthur." Look, chick, this version of adorable Arthur would DIE if he knew the slavish lengths to which you were willing to go (until, of course, it directly affected you, of course).
So, yeah, Elaine was pretty awful for most of the book but the others were great. Too bad it's Elaine's story and POV.
I can see other people really enjoying this book but, again, it's just not for me.