This story had a lot of really interesting ideas. Good action and great retelling! However, the constant teasing of the main character's mysterious background does get a little tiresome after a bit and the main character does feel a little bland because of this constant hinting. I kept easily picking it up and putting it down over the course of two months, hence why I only gave 3 stars. I liked a lot of the side characters and I'm very curious to see where the series goes. i think it has a lot of potential but had to take a lot of time setting up the foundation. Great for any lover of Arthurian Legend!

"He had advised her to fight as a queen. But that meant not being able to fight at all in this terrible world of men."

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Random House/Delacorte Press. Trigger warnings: death, violence, self-injury, severe injury, blood, poison, bug horror, spiders, abduction, threats, sexism, possible transphobia (characters are never explicitly identified as trans, though interpretations are possible, and one is maligned when their gender is discovered).

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to marry King Arthur, famed for his goodness and for casting magic out of the fabled city. But magic is difficult to banish for good, and Arthur has kept ties with his old ally, Merlin, who senses an impending magical threat to the kingdom. Guinevere–whose true identity has been kept secret, even from herself–has been sent to protect Arthur and Camelot. Navigating the roles of queen and protector, Guinevere discovers that the restless magic stirring outside the kingdom’s borders may not be the biggest threat–it may already be inside the city’s walls.

This is my first Kiersten White novel, but it won’t be my last. I’m fond of Camelot retellings, but like with Oz stories, I’ve never found one outside of a TV screen that I found worth coming back to more than once. Thanks to The Guinevere Deception, I stand corrected. In short, I loved everything about it, which means I probably can’t be trusted to do anything but gush for the rest of this review. First and foremost, White is a beautiful writer, capable of capturing both the depth of her characters and the quiet loveliness of her world in a way that looks effortless. I loved her style, and I’d read more of her novels just for that. As a whole, I like how much the book emphasizes female characters, how they defend and save each other, and how power isn’t limited to physical strength (but some of them have that too!).

I’ve always thought Guinevere was more complex than most adaptations give her credit for, and White’s Guinevere finally brings some well-deserved depth to the character. Her history is appropriately murky, so much that even she doesn’t fully understand who she is or where she comes from. Her loyalty to Arthur is admirable, and her commitment to protecting him is no less fierce for having to be kept entirely a secret. I’ve read some reviews complaining about the crisis of identity she has toward the middle of the novel, but I loved that as well. First, I think it’s absolutely necessary to the mythology of the Guinevere character that she tries to fit herself into the role of queen, even at the cost of her own identity. If you’ve ever tried to fit yourself into a role in which you emphatically didn’t belong, then you’ll recognize the emptiness that comes from that loss of self. Second, can we just let our female heroes be weak sometimes? Can we let them make mistakes? Particularly when those mistakes are the turning point of some really excellent character development? Of course it’s painful to watch. Of course we want better for her. Characters need to struggle, and Guinevere needs that particular struggle to be who she is by the end of the novel–an identity that, I suspect, is only beginning to transform over the course of the series.

If loving Guinevere wasn’t enough, the rest of the characters are equally wonderful. This is how I always wanted to see my literary friends in Camelot. Arthur is an easy hero to like, warm and kind and always characterized by the ambivalence of being a good king and a good husband. Above everything, his relationship with Guinevere is a solid friendship, which comes with its own complications. Mordred is basically perfect. He’s charming and elusive, always with a hint of darkness, and at any given point in the novel, I never had any idea whose side he was on–as it should be. White gives us just enough to make him likable and just enough to keep us doubting his motives (since Mordred is, traditionally, a villain in the Camelot story), and I was as drawn to him as Guinevere is. White puts her own twists on the Lancelot character as well, and I couldn’t have loved it more.

Plot-wise, it’s not as fast-paced as one might expect for all the magical threats and sword-fighting. I didn’t mind because I was wallowing in character and beautiful sentences, but it might bother readers who prefer more action or suspense. There’s a lot of downtime while Guinevere puts up magical protections and tries to unravel plots, but I enjoyed the forays into the magical world-building and all the secrets of Camelot. It’s a lush magical world and, like Guinevere, I expect we’ve only scratched the surface of it. Most of the mysteries are quiet, with no major plot twists, but I prefer consistency to surprises. The ending has a sense of thematic closure, but nothing is really resolved. I wanted much more, and I’ll be anxiously awaiting the next book in the trilogy (which doesn’t even have a title yet 😭).

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

I am absolutely obsessed with anything having to do with Arthurian myths. This is the first book of Kiersten White's that I have ever read, and I can definitely say it won't be the last.

This story is fantastic! Right away we are introduced to the main character Guinevere, and all we know about her is that she is the daughter of Merlin, sent to protect Arthur from impending darkness. Magic has been banned in Camelot, exiling Merlin in the process. This presents a problem for Guinevere, who must keep her magic hidden while using it to protect Arthur and Camelot. Adventure ensues as Guinevere does her best to figure out why she was truly sent to Camelot, and to determine who is really a friend to Camelot, while unraveling truths and histories she never expected.

I loved the word building in this book. Camelot was amazing, and I loved experiencing Kiersten White's vision of it. The romance was a slow burn, and I loved the interactions between Arthur and Guinevere. It was refreshing to read a book that didn't feature "insta" love. The female friendships in this book are amazing. I appreciated the fact that females weren't pitted against each other, but rather come together by finding common ground.

I gave this book four stars ⋆⋆⋆⋆ because I wish we would have gotten more background on Guinevere's past. I was left with quite a few questions by the end of the book that weren't answered. I am assuming it is because the information will be included in the next book. Why do I have to wait a whole year to read the next installment?!

This book was an amazing read! I loved this retelling! What an amazing take on a classic!
I'm so excited for the next one to come out!!

I enjoyed the story, but I felt that it dragged in a lot of places. This book couldn't keep my attention, and I can't exactly pinpoint why. I really liked the characters, especially Guinevere. I thought her mystery was as intriguing as the mystery of the entire novel itself. I just wished that this book could have held my attention a little more.

OMG I GOT THE ARC! I don’t care if it’s a week before it gets published - I AM EXCITED!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I also have the physical book and YET I still read the ARC first - props? I think so.

The Guinevere Deception was a wild ride. Honestly, I don't read a lot of king Arthur retellings so I was really excited for this one to come out. After reading it, well.. I'm still secretly screaming for book two. Even though the ending was predictable, I still enjoyed this book. The one thing I would change is the pacing though because some chapters were dreadfully slow for me to power through. Whereas others went by so fast.

Guinevere and Arthur were okay. Or should I say fake Guinevere and Arthur were okay. I was initially intrigued by this whole fake persona.. because I wanted to know more about this witch - like her real name. Yet, at the same time.. I lost my interest in this while I kept chugging through this book. Other than that, not a lot happened in this book.

Yes, we had that darkness lurking throughout each chapter and the threat of an evil queen. Yet, those weren't the only threats for Arthur. I don't really know how else to explain it.. but it kind of reminded me of those awful day time dramas. Kind of laughable but I wanted to see how this one was going to end.

Overall, it was okay and I was definitely expecting more from this one. Maybe the second one can redeem this? No idea.

Thank you, Net Galley and the publisher, for offering this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kiersten White’s latest trilogy is a feminist study into the character Guinevere, a figure in Arthurian legends who is often regulated to the sidelines as a prize, an adulterer, a villain, and an opportunistic traitor—but never the architect of her own story. With The Guinevere Deception, Guinevere has found her voice at last, but in true White fashion, her story is full of interesting twists and unexpected choices.

For instance, when we meet Guinevere, she is journeying from a convent to Camelot in order to wed her future husband, King Arthur—and she isn’t truly Guinevere. The real Guinevere died tragically, and unbeknownst to everyone, a changeling raised by Merlin has taken her place. Casting all knowledge of her past aside, including her true name, “Guinevere” intends to be a source of magical protection for Arthur against his enemies, even though Camelot has exiled all magic and ousted Merlin. But exiling magic doesn’t stop the forests and lakes from wanting to reclaim the land, and the ideal of Camelot has as many enemies in man and beast as Arthur does. Perhaps the greatest threat might be Guinevere herself.

I had a great time with The Guinevere Deception. White has pulled back a bit from the darkness of The Conqueror’s Saga to suffuse this story with a dreamy and idyllic mood you expect to encounter when you enter Camelot. The prose is romantic, colorful, and wistful, yet a creeping, sinister feeling also lurks underneath as Guinevere attempts to unveil the magical threats against Arthur. There are chivalrous knights and courtly manners as much as there are brutal clashes and cunning politics, all of which Guinevere must acclimate to and navigate with little guidance.

That isn’t to say this novel is action-packed. It’s character-focused over plot-focused, and events unfold gradually as Guinevere figures them out. The biggest mystery, however, is centered around Guinevere herself, why she was raised by Merlin, who she is—and why she can’t remember the crucial details about herself that she should.

Characters surround her, of course, but only certain ones truly matter. Idealistic Arthur, her king and husband. Dutiful Brangien, her handmaiden. Fickle Merlin, a wizard as wise as he is unknowable. Cunning Mordred, a knight, the king’s nephew, and grandson of the Dark Queen. The mysterious patchwork knight, an undefeated combatant. Each of them form intriguing relationships with the new queen of Camelot, and I was enthralled with exploring each one.

But of course, if I had to choose a favorite, c’mon, it’s Mordred. Obviously.

Part of enjoying this book comes with enjoying the characters. The other part is the magic system. I was fascinated by the way Guinevere conducts magic, more ritualistic than free-forming, a system of give and take and anchoring. It’s unlike any magic I’ve ever read about before. There’s no garbled Latin or rhyming chants. It’s the forming of knots, of scrying, of trading parts of yourself to make the magic stronger. It’s more raw and elemental. Magic itself seemed to be its own character, an oppressive force over everything, and it was one of my most favorite parts of the book.

Ultimately, I loved this book because I loved Guinevere. Her struggles, her insights, her uncertainties. She was starkly real, capable of both cunning and resourcefulness as well as romantic yearnings and deepest sympathy. Her scene with the dragon, for instance, made me tear up, which is a rare event. White wrote that scene so well, making it both sorrowful and powerful, and moments like that are what cemented this story as one of my favorites this year.

That being said, there’s a reason I didn’t give it full marks. It got to the point where I began to seriously wonder if a climax was ever going to happen. Guinevere was doing things, certainly. She was feeling all types of ways. Events were happening in the background that seemed important and was building toward something, but the book just didn’t want to get to it. It wasn’t until my last 30 minutes of reading that the climax and denouement were both squeezed into the last few chapters, and once that happened, it was lightning-fast and not entirely satisfying. Even if I did ultimately like what happened, I expected a bit more.

Then, of course, there’s Guinevere’s choice. From a feminist standpoint, I was disappointed in her.

You see, I can understand why Guinevere believes in the romanticism of Camelot and what King Arthur means for it. What I cannot yet understand is why she settles for it for her. The narrative reaffirms over and over again that Guinevere has no true place in Camelot, that she will never have Arthur’s love the way she wants, that she will not be able to practice magic or be a queen the way she wants. Camelot is good for everyone else, except her, yet she is the one who is sacrificing everything so they can have their happy ever after.

I sincerely hope the next books shake Guinevere out of this mindset (and they probably will) because she’s too interesting to just be the Girl Who Settles. And Mordred and [redacted] are both right there.

Fortunately, there’s still so many unanswered questions and mystery unfolding, so many things teased in this first book that will be fleshed out and resolved in others. All of the relationships are tangled and interesting, and I can’t wait to see how they develop and what becomes of our changeling queen. (Our queen who strongly veers towards being bisexual, may my hopes soon be proven and rewarded.) Oh, dark Google, how long must I pine, awaiting for my fair sequel?

This book started out as a two for me as it was very slow to get to the meat of the story. It simple and boring i read quite a few of this author book and i was expecting a bang out of the gate. Maybe it cause i know the Arthur stories and read many of them. The one thing that really bumped this story to a four is that it does what many of those do not it centers on Guinevere and other female characters to where you almost forget your reading a Arthur retelling.

The story at the heart of it is a deception story and our king is all in the know about it. Their are small secrets and then their are big ones. Kirsten White is the master of dark materials and this one has hints of it but i have a feeling now that all the ground work has been laid the remaining books in this serious will take that hint of darkness and it going to splash all over the story.

This is one novel that you have to wade into it takes sometime to get the ground work laid and I not usually a big fan of these kind of stories. I want the meat but in this case it paid off to get the ground work. Now that it been laid i really excited to see where the rest of this retelling is going.

Whoo boy, do I have some things to say about this one.

A lot of my friends on Goodreads lamented over the first 80% of this book and thought it picked up at the end. I had the opposite reaction. Because of course I did. I actually loved the beginning of this. I was drawn into the mystery and the intrigue. I have a long attention span, and so I was HERE for the minor details of the time period and setting.

And then the book ended…

Gather round, friends, and settle in for another Feminist Rant That Nobody Asked For.

First, let me address my lack of a rating. In case you haven’t noticed, I stopped reviewing books I don’t like. For a number of reasons that I really don’t want to get into right now. As a whole, I did not like this book, which is one of the reasons I’m not rating it.

The other is that I still have faith in this series. I adore Kiersten White. Her feminist retellings are fire. That was true for most of this book too.

But, Lord, that ending.

My hope is that there was a point to it. That it’s a setup for the rest of the series and that the main character, Guinevere, is going to pull a 180 sometime during the second installment.

WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS AHEAD

Let’s dive right into the meat of my issue, shall we? This ending is not feminist. At all. In fact, it embodies a devastatingly subversive antifeminist theme in literature that was first popularized in The Taming of the Shrew.

This book is based on Arthurian legend. Our heroine is Guinevere, but not really, because the real Guinevere died and our nameless female lead is just impersonating her.

Arthur banned magic in Camelot, ousting Merlin, his former adviser. But there’s a darkness on the horizon that threatens the realm, so Merlin sends Guinevere to protect Arthur. They marry.

Arthur is kind and benevolent and everything a king should be. Guinevere immediately worships the ground he walks on. Even though he’s never there for her because he’s so busy running a kingdom. Even though she feels like she can never tell him everything about herself. Regardless of the fact that – SURPRISE – he’s in on her deception.

That’s right. He knows Merlin sent her and is okay with her doing magic even though he regularly banishes or executes others caught practicing magical arts because….well that’s never really fleshed out. Which makes him seem like a massive hypocrite from the get go.

And then there’s Mordred, Arthur’s most trusted knight and nephew (who is actually a year older than Arthur because their family tree is all sorts of fucked up). He tasks Mordred with guarding Guinevere when he isn’t around. Which is almost always.

Mordred and Guinevere grow close. He discovers her magical secret and instead of outing her, he protects her. She can talk to him in a way that she can’t with Arthur. She feels like her real self with him.

A self that she’s confused about. There are massive holes in her memory. Merlin deceived her and she thinks he even went so far as to erase her past from her mind. It turns out he didn’t really send her to protect Arthur, but sent her to be protected from the rising darkness.

And Arthur knew about it. In fact, Arthur knows more about her than she does. Does she poke at that? Ask him why? What he knows? If he can fill in her memory gaps? Nope. She just blindly trusts that he’s not keeping some terrible shit from her, even though there are MANY hints that he’s keeping some terrible shit from her.

The whole premise of this story is nature vs order. Magic is depicted as wild and chaotic. It’s not good or evil, it simply IS. Like a wolf that kills a baby deer. Is that sad and horrible? Yup, but guess what, the wolf’s gotta eat, man. If it doesn’t kill the deer, it dies. We don’t get to choose which one of them lives.

And then there’s order. Man imposing his will on nature. Enacting edicts and laws to curb chaos. Shaping the very landscape around him to better suit his own needs.

Arthur is order. He defeated the Dark Queen, banished magic, and with the help of Merlin, put the land to sleep. When she’s with him, Guinevere is made lesser. She has to hide her magic. She comes at least second, always, but sometimes even third or fourth or fifth. She’s more of an afterthought for him. And like Petruchio from The Taming of the Shrew, Arthur endows her with characteristics he prefers, namely voicelessness and usefulness. He only ever goes to her when he needs her to do something for him. Not him, Arthur, the man, but the king.

At one point, he even portrays her as a helpless victim who had to be saved by a brave knight after SHE heroically saved not one, but two people. He did this because she couldn’t tell him the truth of what really happened.

But she told Mordred.

If Arthur is order, then Mordred is chaos. He’s an outrageous, sometimes hilarious flirt. He doesn’t want to impose his will on Guinevere. He likes her just as she is: wild and free and powerful. There’s a spark between them that doesn’t exist between her and her husband.

And in the end, she chooses Arthur over him.

You see, she accidentally awakens the Dark Queen. Mordred is there, and he revels in the queen’s rise. Because it turns out that he is magical too. And he’s been forced to watch others of his kind flee or be killed by men.

If you’re thinking he was secretly evil the whole time and now I’m trying to get you to have sympathy for the “bad guy”, I assure you, he wasn’t, and I’m not. He’s VERY clear that he isn’t on the side of the Dark Queen. He’s not her minion, he just wants to see a balance brought back to nature before the order of man kills what little magic is left in the world.

And really, who could blame him for that? Just look at the havoc that man’s “order” has wreaked on our planet. I’m at the point where I was actually rooting for the rise of the Dark Queen.

Burn everything to the ground. I am with you, Your Majesty.

Mordred, while not as far gone as me, sees to it that the Dark Queen rises. Afterward, he urges Guinevere to run away with him. To stop making herself less than for the sake of a king who has no time for her. Who lies to her. Who doesn’t even love her like Mordred does.

But Guinevere, working against her own self interest, chooses Arthur instead. And I literally wanted to cry.

The antifeminist theme I referred to in the beginning of this review is one in which women in literature, are “tamed” by the men they’re with. Civilized. Molded into a shape more pleasing for the man. They start the books with their own agency, much like Guinevere, and by the end act as nothing so much as a mirror for their husbands.

I’m praying that I’m wrong about this series. That Guinevere chooses Arthur because of her own naivete and the fact that she’s imprinted on him because of Merlin’s manipulations. After all, the wizard shoved his own trust and love for Arthur INTO her brain.

My hope is that she snaps out of it. That Arthur tells her all the terrible shit he and Merlin have kept from her and she realizes she made THE WRONG CHOICE and runs screaming after Mordred.

Because if not, I am going to be beyond disappointed in this. And I will put a star rating to that disappointment.

I’ve always been a sucker for any Merlin/Arthur stories, so when this new exploration of the kingdom of Camelot appeared, written by Kiersten White, no less, I had little choice but to check it out.

In this story, Guinevere is dead, but no one knows that: Merlin has put a protegee of his in the princess’s place to wed the young Arthur and keep him safe in a Camelot that has banished magic. This secretly magical Guinevere feels out of place in her new home, unused to city living and certainly not familiar with being watched all the time. She is trying to adjust to the strangeness of being a queen in name, even if she doesn’t feel she is truly Arthur’s wife, since her mission is simply to protect him with the minor magic she possesses (compared with the powerful magic her mentor wields). She is constantly on the lookout for any threats to the king and any possibility that she may be exposed.

At the same time, larger threats than she or anyone imagines may be lurking beneath the surface of this bright and promising kingdom. How can one young woman with limited magical abilities be a match for what’s on the horizon?

The Guinevere Deception is an enjoyable revisiting of the world of Arthur and Merlin. It not only portrays the story from the viewpoint of a rare female character, but it empowers her, not with strong dark magic or legendary beauty, but with the opportunity to find herself and her own particular talents and gifts and to try to make things better around her. The story has romance and friendship and intrigue and is a pleasure to sink into.

I didn’t know going in that this would be the start of a series, but by the end I was pleased to know I’d be able to come back to the story.

This was a decent take on an old school tale. It was enjoyable but not amazing for me as a reader. If you enjoy Arthurian literature check it out. 3/5 stars.

Love, love, LOVE Kiersten White, but just couldn't get into this one. That won't deter from a library purchase because regardless of my feelings, I do think it has a reader. Particularly those new to / just getting into / etc. the world of Camelot. I may also try again later.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2716620402

I was so excited for the release of this book and for the most part...it didn't disappoint. I'm pretty familiar with Arthurian mythology, so I think that if you are, as well, you might be able to predict some of the plot points! But there are also enough original twists in the story to also keep you guessing as you read. However, if you're fairly new to the Arthurian myths, everything is explained, so you don't feel like you're missing out on anything important.

Can I just take a moment to appreciate a Guinevere-centred story for once? Finally, Arthur and Merlin aren't the sole stars of the show! Girl power for the winnnn! ;)

I will admit that the pacing of this book, for the first two-thirds of the novel, is slowwww, and then it's really fast-paced for the last third, which is understandable. It definitely reads like a historical fiction novel as White sets up the backdrop of Camelot, which - due to being part of British folklore - greatly resembles mediaeval Britain. But despite the pacing, I wasn't bored throughout the book. It has knight tournaments, knot magic, enchanted trees, dangerous dragons, wicked faeries, and all sorts of other interesting elements. I especially enjoyed the original magic system using knots. I've never encountered that before. Usually depictions of Merlin's magic in other interpretations of Arthurian mythology tend to utilise elemental magic. I liked seeing Guinevere use something else to protect herself, as well as confronting the threats directed at Arthur and Camelot.

White takes great lengths to demonstrate how young and unsure of herself Guinevere is, with a need to prove herself, and I found her to be an admirable protagonist. Arthur wasn't as developed, in my opinion. He's merely depicted as a caring king who always puts Camelot before his personal feelings and the people he values. Mordred was probably the most compelling character and, as usual, I ended up sympathising with him. (But then, he had to be HIMSELF ugh) I also loved Lancelot and shan't say anything else about the knight because it was a fun surprise. I wish we got to see more of Merlin and the other knights though. Gawain was always my favourite, as well as Percival, but they were only mentioned in passing a few times unfortunately. I hope that we'll see more of them and Merlin in the future.

This was a really good beginning to a fun trilogy and I can't wait to see what happens next. It's a tad slower than Illusions of Fate and Slayer, but it's still very enjoyable nonetheless. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to experience the wonder and magic of Camelot.

I loved this book! This was a unique take on the Arthurian legend of Camelot with intrigue, magic, and an interesting gender dynamic. I highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book! There were a lot of familiar elements, and I had de ja vu at one point, but I think that's just because it's drawing from King Arthur, which is very familiar. I loved the magic in the book, as well as the characters. I love the plot twist at the end and am excited to see where our characters go from here.

Series Info: 1st book in the Camelot Rising trilogy, from NetGalley for review.

Characters (3/5): The characters in here were a bit lackluster. I really wanted to like Guinevere but she just seemed a bit complacent and needy to me. King Arthur was supposed to be compelling but came off as thoughtless and overpowering. None of the characters had much depth to them. I feel like the only character that was actually intriguing and had any personality was Mordred.

Story (3/5): The story was interesting. I liked that it kind of followed the story of King Arthur but had some twists to it. The pacing was a bit slow, the whole time you know something is going to happen with the Dark Queen, but it takes a very long time for anything to actually happen. Most of the book is watching Guinevere get settled as the Queen and learning the secrets around King Arthur and Mordred.

Setting (4/5): The whole story takes place in Camelot. The setting was beautifully described and a very typical fantasy style. It’s a great setting for this story and I have no complaints.

Writing Style (4/5): This is writing in White’s typical writing style. The writing flows well and is very easy to read. The whole story is told from Guinevere’s perspective. While there isn’t anything that really stands out, this book is well written.

Summary (3.5/5): Overall this is an interesting reimaging of the King Arthur tale. I did like some of the deviations and twists away from the original King Arthur story and I found some of the reimagings intriguing and interesting. However, I struggled to engage with the characters and just didn’t find them interesting (with the exception of Mordred). I also thought the story moved very slowly and wished things had picked up pace quicker. I am sad to say that I probably won’t continue with this series because I just wasn’t that engaged with the story or the characters.

The first half of the book was a bit boring. Nothing particularly interesting was going on, and I felt that Guinevere was just trailing along behind Arthur and not really taking any action of her own. But then the second half was really fast-paced and intriguing, especially the last few chapters. Finally some interesting twists and unexpected plot reveals. I'm very curious to read the second installment, whenever it comes out!

I LOVED this story! There were a few questions left at the end that I didn't love (who is Guinevere, really? what happened to Merlin? But I enjoyed it so much and it was so well-written.

I am a sucker for Camelot retellings, so I was excited to see Kiersten White’s take on a retelling focused on Guinevere as both a fake queen living a lie and the magical protector of the kingdom.

As she takes over the identity of the dead Guinevere, the new Guinevere-but-not-Guinevere steps into Camelot as Arthur’s queen and secret protector from magical threats, trained and sent by Merlin. She marries Arthur to complete the ruse and must watch for threats within the kingdom while she navigates her relationship with Arthur, his knights, her lady’s maid Brangien, and the intriguing Mordred who is always watching her.

Even though I’m very familiar with Arthurian legend, I was consistently surprised by the twists, not expecting where elements of the legends would pop up in new places. White sustains the suspense and mystery surrounding the Dark Queen, Guinevere’s history, the Patchwork Knight with high tension until the moment is right for the shocking reveal. White also let the unraveling get messy with good and evil inextricably tied together by the bloody history of Camelot, setting even the most morally upright characters on a background of moral grayness. I also found myself quickly getting attached to all of the characters in Camelot, each presented as defined individuals with strong personalities drawn from the legends.

The Guinevere Deception is a strong retelling that also winds away from its source material to become its own lovable story. Although the loose ends left me still asking some major questions, they made me even more excited to uncover those mysteries in the future Camelot Rising books.

My Review: I absolutely loved White's And I Darken series, so when I found out she was releasing the first book in a new trilogy revolving around Arthurian legends, it quickly jumped to the top of my most anticipated books of the year. For some reason I found it a little difficult to stay focused on this book, I think that had a lot to do with the time of year I read it (in the midst of holiday prep). We did kick off the book with a couple of surprising twists right off the bat, something you can always count on from White. Having been at least pretty familiar with several different takes on the legends of King Arthur, I was surprised with how easily White was able to make me fall in love with a character that I knew would become a betrayer. I kept waiting for that other shoe to drop, but once I finally decided she would take things in a different direction, bam she hit me with it (and it hurt way more than expected). I loved all the crazy twists that were thrown at us, such unique takes on the legends we are familiar with. It was a bit slow with not as much action as you would expect but it was definitely worth it in the end and I cannot wait for the next book!

My Rating: I wish I had been able to focus on this story more because it was really interesting and the twists that just kept coming were amazing. I definitely think I will try to re-read this again, maybe with an audio book. Either way I am highly anticipating the next book and give this one a rating of Three Paws and a Stump Wag!