This book is a retelling of the Arthurian legend. Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin sent in Guinevere his apprentice and daughter to be Arthur’s wife and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail.
I actually really enjoyed Guinevere’s character. She was quite young and naïve at times, which usually bugs me but it was written in a way that endeared me to her instead. She is very determined and committed to her duties but still comes across and acts like the 16 year old that she is. She displays emotions and understands Arthur’s position yet she still yearns for his attention thus drawing herself closer to Mordred who is giving her what she wants. I think since we aren’t given her true name and identity that she is definitely not who we assume her to be, I’m thinking she has something to do with the River Queen since she is so terrified of water.
Mordred was an interesting character. He is always around and I feel has a lot more focus in this book than even Arthur. He remains quite standoffish and mysterious for the majority of the book yet I was intrigued by him and what his intentions were with Guinevere. Why was he always around her, why didn’t he expose her magic and is his feelings for her true?
Arthur didn’t get a lot of time in this book. Even though he is one of the main protagonists we don’t really get enough of him for me to be quite so invested in his character over the others. I think he definitely should have spent more time with Guinevere and kind of neglected her. I get that he was actually the one who was protecting her in the end but we don’t get enough scenes with the both of them together. I was disappointed when he didn’t go straight after her when she was kidnapped and it felt like it was a too little too late when he did eventually choose her over the kingdom.
The twists were interesting but the first half of the book was a little slower paced and we didn’t really get any answers until the right around the end, and even then there is still so much we don’t know. Hopefully the next book expands more and we are given more context and details!
⭐️3/5 stars good not great, has potential!
Amy Leigh Reads 