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sashendry 's review for:
The Guinevere Deception
by Kiersten White
I have mixed feelings about this book.
The writing was good, and I really, really liked some story elements. I felt the expected joy when re-meeting familiar characters and settings from Arthurian legend. Lancelot was an absolute fave. In fact, the tournament where Lancelot competes to become a knight was a highlight for me and showed that the author has the ability to capture real magic and build excitement...
But the overall plot didn't hold the story together. Guinevere (who is not really Guinevere in this version) comes to Camelot with the MOST abstract and unsatisfying goal: protect Arthur from magic. She has some potentially compelling identity struggles with what it means to be lying to everyone and hiding her own powers, and with whether she wants to be Arthur's fake wife or his wife in truth. But she has no clue where the supposed threat against Arthur is coming from, or if it will come anytime soon. AND a bunch of her memories muddled. This makes her difficult to follow as a protagonist because, as a reader, you're not 100% sure what you're rooting for.
Guinevere tumbles through a few different adventures, develops some romances and friendships (her entire relationship with Mordred felt confusing to me) and finally uncovers a bit more about her past. The most enjoyable parts were all the side plots, and seeing Guinevere gain genuine affection and loyalty from her friends. And Lancelot. Because Lancelot was a woman in this version, I almost wished for a Lancelot-led version of the story as our marketed "feminist" retelling rather than going for this particular Guinevere POV. I think the author could have done great things expanding that half of the tale.
The writing was good, and I really, really liked some story elements. I felt the expected joy when re-meeting familiar characters and settings from Arthurian legend. Lancelot was an absolute fave. In fact, the tournament where Lancelot competes to become a knight was a highlight for me and showed that the author has the ability to capture real magic and build excitement...
But the overall plot didn't hold the story together. Guinevere (who is not really Guinevere in this version) comes to Camelot with the MOST abstract and unsatisfying goal: protect Arthur from magic. She has some potentially compelling identity struggles with what it means to be lying to everyone and hiding her own powers, and with whether she wants to be Arthur's fake wife or his wife in truth. But she has no clue where the supposed threat against Arthur is coming from, or if it will come anytime soon. AND a bunch of her memories muddled. This makes her difficult to follow as a protagonist because, as a reader, you're not 100% sure what you're rooting for.
Guinevere tumbles through a few different adventures, develops some romances and friendships (her entire relationship with Mordred felt confusing to me) and finally uncovers a bit more about her past. The most enjoyable parts were all the side plots, and seeing Guinevere gain genuine affection and loyalty from her friends. And Lancelot. Because Lancelot was a woman in this version, I almost wished for a Lancelot-led version of the story as our marketed "feminist" retelling rather than going for this particular Guinevere POV. I think the author could have done great things expanding that half of the tale.