I have long been a huge fan of various takes on the Arthurian legend (which, as Tracy Deonn recently pointed out, is all fan fiction, as there is no single authoritative text), and I appreciate the creativity of taking on the story from Elaine's perspective. However, I can't really rate this book accurately (although NetGalley is forcing me to give it some number of stars before proceeding), because I was unable to read past about the first third. There is a trigger warning at the beginning of the book that this particular perspective is necessarily going to involve suicide and suicidal ideation, and I personally found it far too bleak to continue with, for my own mental health. The constant intrusion of Elaine's visions of how everything is going to go wrong and end in tragedy was too dark for me to get any enjoyment from the story. Other readers may feel differently.

CW: suicide, bullying, descriptions of drowning

Though I’ve only read the author’s debut Ash Princess before and never managed to continue the trilogy, she is fun to follow on Twitter and I’ve been very excited for this book since it’s announcement. But now I’m pretty unsure of my feelings after finishing it.

I know Arthurian legends are very famous and probably familiar to most western readers from a young age. But I didn’t grow up knowing them, and my only knowledge is pretty limited to the show Merlin and the books The Mists of Avalon, which I encountered less than a decade ago, both of which I don’t remember much of. So I’m not exactly attached to the original mythos and I don’t have the usual complaints like other reviewers, that it diverges too much from the original.

My problem is mostly with the plot itself. I frankly didn’t find the non linear timeline structure of the story too difficult, and it was actually interesting to read the “future” chapters and imagine all the various possibilities. It was just that all of the past chapters felt very detached, so when our group of ensemble characters in the present timeline pledge undying loyalty to each other and tell that they would do anything to make Arthur king, I couldn’t find it emotionally engaging because I couldn’t understand why they were actually so close and loyal to each other.

The characters themselves are interesting, I especially loved Elaine because she is kind of a tragic figure, unable live her life properly as she is always thinking about future possibilities and betrayals and how to change them. I really wanted her to have a life where she got what she wanted. Morgana is another character I loved because she is fierce and impulsive, but always remains true to herself. I think I would enjoyed the book more if more of these two women’s dynamic was explored. Gwen is a warrior who gets to make difficult decisions for the sake of her love and her people, but I didn’t feel much of anything towards her. Even the romance between Lancelot and Elaine, or Gwen and Arthur were just peripheral subplots that didn’t have much impact. Arthur himself wasn’t much of a major figure in this book, but I knew that going in because the author herself mentioned it many times, so it didn’t bother me much.

To be honest, I don’t even know where I’m going with this review. It was an okay story, but I could never understand what the goal or ending we were going towards, and I’m not sure if I’m satisfied with the ending, though it was an interesting surprise. I probably could have loved this more if I could’ve felt connected to the characters, but alas that didn’t happen. I don’t know to whom I can recommend this book, but definitely not to those who are very attached to the Arthurian legends and would be unhappy with such a drastically different retelling.

The story of King Arthur is well-known throughout the world, but now a character approaches with a new point of view: the Lady of Shalott. For the record, this is a retelling of Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott in the authors own way about a woman that few know about except for historical rumors that was cursed to never leave her tower or to see Camelot except thru a mirror. Elaine is an oracle who uses a loom to channel her vision. She is tasked by Nimue, aka The Lady of the Lake, to put Arthur on Camelot’s throne in the hopes it will unite the humans and fey despite those who would rather see a war.

After escaping from her tower where her own mother imprisoned her for her own good, and making friends with Morgana who sees the world through different eyes, she escaped and traveled to Avalon where she became friends with Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot. Each has their own destiny, each will end up destroying Arthur in the end which Elaine has divined from her dreams and her weaving loom. When Arthur is called back to Camelot, Elaine and the others goes with him for support. For Elaine, it’s also an attempt to subvert some of her own visions.

Elaine’s visions inform the reader of Lancelot, Gwen, and Morgana’s betrayals early in the narrative, and the reader is often reminded that these visions do not represent fate but possibilities. Elaine often experiences visions of her death by drowning. There are those like Morgause and Mordred who will do anything to stand in the way of Camelot being successful. The story tends to jump from the past, to the present, to the future as well follow Elaine's vision and her recollection of past events which can be confusing at times.

The story shines a different light around the magically powerful Morgana, the impulsive Guinevere who may be a shapeshifter, and the troubled Elaine who is in love with Lancelot, and how an unusual friendship both binds and breaks these women under pressure. As most readers know, events happen that will one day destroy Arthur's legacy and it all starts with Lancelot, Morgana, and Guinevere. I would dare you to put all preconceived notions about who King Arthur was since this book doesn't see him in the same light that Elaine and her friends do. Key parts of the Arthurian story were changed as well. Mordred is changed from Arthur’s son to his stepbrother/brother-in-law, Morgause and Morgana are twins, and Merlin was portrayed in a completely different manner than I’ve ever seen.

The non-linear plot requires a little effort to keep track but overall it's a great reimagining of Arthurian legend.
Already purchased for my library!

This has one of the best opening lines I’ve ever read – “I will die drowning, it has always been known”. I was so excited for this feminist Arthurian legend retelling which gives voice to Elaine, The Lady of Shalott (from the Tennyson poem), and allows her to reclaim her story.

This reimagining started off strong and is very character driven, which I enjoy, and takes its time telling the story. However, about halfway through the slow pace began to feel tedious and I had to really push myself to get through the rest.

What I really enjoyed:
• The focus on the three female characters (Elaine, Morgana, Guinevere), each with special powers, and how they drive most of the decisions
• The protagonist’s powers as an Oracle to see visions of possible futures, and how she struggles to reconcile this with present-day decisions
• The scenes on Avalon with the fay (this reminded me a bit of The Folk of the Air!)
• Lancelot portrayed as part fay

What missed the mark:
• Very little focus on the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot love triangle
• The non-linear timeline which was at times confusing
• There were some important plot elements that I never understood (like how Elaine became Arthur’s advisor, and why they were all together on Avalon in the first place with a similar mission of supporting Arthur’s claim to the throne)
• The male characters fell a bit flat

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book for review purposes.

A feminist retelling of The Lady of Shalot, Half Sick of Shadows is a deeply character-driven story that allows Elaine (the titular lady) to take back control of her destiny.

Elaine is an oracle, living with the burden of seeing many possible paths and not being able to share what she sees. Knowing that the man she loves might one day betray her, knowing that her best friends might one day despise her. It's an intense burden and much like how Elaine lives, the book jumps among timelines, slowly weaving a portrait of the past, the present, many possible futures and Elaine's place within it. It's melancholy and often heart-breaking as you slowly come to know and understand these figures from myth with tightly entwined destinies.

I think for some readers this is going to be too slow. It really takes its time and uses repetition to allow the reader into the experience of Elaine's life constantly seeing visions of possible futures. It's messy, but love and found family are at its heart. I think there's something valuable here. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Note that due to the nature of the story being retold, this book deals with suicide and suicidal ideation.

"Maiden, Mother and Crone"

This is a feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend. The young Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, Elaine and Lancelot as they grew up in Avalon with the Fae and formed their relationships.

Then returned home to Camelot where magic was outlawed other than Merlin each of them having some power to hide other than Arthur. Arthur has to prove himself and LET the quests begin! 

All the while Elaine the seer is seeing multiple endings for all of her friends, her found family. She's trying to make the right decisions to set them on different paths not knowing if she's solidifying the right or wrong path. What a very significant and heavy gift to wield. 

To be able to see how many different ways your heart will break but still choose love is bittersweet.

I love reading the authors note at the end it usually gives you a look inside why they shared this story with you. And this book was started when the author was 14, which we also learned from the foreword, but from reading Tennyson's Lady of Shalott and connecting it to the images of her in the tower.

This retelling giving Elaine all of the power and the one who made all of the decisions to lead the fiercesome five into legend.

Thank you berkley pub and net galley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review. 

This was also my Book of the Month choice for last month.

The only reason I finished Half Sick of Shadows was to write a review on it. I did not enjoy this book at all.
The story follows Elaine of Shalott, who grew up with the beloved characters Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana on the isle of Avalon. Elaine is cursed with the gift of Sight, which offers her unwanted glimpses into the hundreds of possible futures she and her friends could inherit. When the time comes for Arthur to journey to Camelot and claim his throne, Elaine and the others join him and enter into a grand story of danger and sacrifice in order to ensure the future of their kingdom.
Or so the summary says.
Where I was promised a grand adventure, I found a story where half the time was spent in either the future or the past. To its credit, it added to understanding the chaos of Elaine’s Seer mind, but it didn’t afford enough time in the actual present for a compelling story to unfold. Switching between tenses, sometimes all in a single chapter, was extremely confusing and hard to keep track of each individual storyline: past, present, and future. Each time the tense changed, I had to take a step back and reorient myself with Elaine’s current age, her surroundings, and whether or not it was a reality set in stone or just a possibility glimpsed in the future.
Adding onto that, the story itself was a big letdown. It seemed all traveling and politics, which wasn’t at all what I expected; it dropped the tension to a slow, monotonous pace that struggled to keep me rapt. The climax, even, left me thinking, “that’s it?”. The only real tension lay in the relationship drama.
AND THE RELATIONSHIPS! Everyone was in love with each other! No spoilers, but it felt forced and unrealistic to me for that many people to be romantically involved one after another.
The only thing I enjoyed was the cast of characters, and even so, that may just be because of my love for Arthurian myths. It’s hard to say with retellings. But that aside, each character had unique motives, fears, and pasts that displayed wonderful character development on the author’s part. I’ve always been partial to Guinevere, and I found this portrayal of her refreshing and lovable.
On the whole, I rated this 2/5 stars. I would not recommend this to a friend, though my tastes may also be different than yours! If you like politics, this book would probably be better suited for you than it was for me.

I received this book as an arc on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who knows next to nothing about Arthurian legend I really enjoyed this book. I went into this book assuming it would have much more of an epic fantasy feel, which it did not, but what I did find I enjoyed.

The structuring of the book made it very interesting to read, jumping back and forth between past, present, and different possible futures that Elaine foretells. I think had the book been entirely linear it would have fallen flat as much of the story was things we as reader's needed to know but weren't necessarily gripping-your-seat exciting plot lines.

Despite her magic, as a character Elaine felt very real to me I saw a lot of myself in her and her choices which kept me reading waiting to see what she would do and how she would handle the situations she was in. I liked that we as readers got to see her struggle and search for answers. Elaine wasn't perfect and she never claimed to be, quite honestly she was a flawed person but that is the biggest part of what I enjoyed about this book.

What I will say is that if you are someone who relies on plot heavy, quick paced stories to keep you entertained this book is not for you. It is what I would call a more introspective and discovery based narrative. While reading you aren't really focused so much on what is happening as on Elaine, her choices, and what you think the outcomes will be. I found myself intrigued more because I was making guesses, and trying to imagine what I myself would do in her place.

In all I really enjoyed reading this book. I would caution readers that there is a lot of build-up and a much smaller resolution. The ending is very open to interpretation in my opinion, something I think my AP English class would have debated endlessly. I enjoyed the characters greatly, and I loved the way Laura Sebastian rewrote Arthur's story away from a perfect all powerful King into something we all could relate to.

Half Sick of Shadows is a unique retelling of the classic King Arthur story. It follows an oracle named Elaine, along with her best friends, the sorceress Morgana (Arthur’s sister), the half-fey knight Lancelot, the rightful heir of Camelot Prince Arthur, and Arthur’s true love, the magical Princess of Lyonesse Guinevere (or Gwen). Switching between Elaine’s past, present, and visions of the future, we learn that the five friends were groomed by their mentor on Avalon, an elderly oracle named Nimue or the Lady of the Lake, to ensure that Arthur becomes the King of Camelot and declares peace between the humans and the fey, at whatever cost. Throughout the book, Elaine and her friends must decide how far they are willing to go to ensure the best possible future for Camelot.

Firstly, before reading this book, I only had a vague recollection of the King Arthur story, so I am sure that I missed a lot of the references and connections that Sebastian made in Half Sick of Shadows. Therefore, this book is ideally suited for fans of the King Arthur legend and perfect for fans of medieval fantasy and retellings, including fans of A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer and The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. This book deals with themes such as appearance versus reality, fate versus freewill, quest for power, death, growing up, love and heartbreak, court life, good versus evil, knowledge versus ignorance, heroism, friendship, and the role of women. It is important to note that this book may be a trigger for people struggling with depression and/or suicide.

I found this book to be a bit confusing because it was constantly switching between the past, present, and future visions. It was frustrating because when Elaine is scrying the future, she is only seeing one of many possible outcomes; nothing is guaranteed and Elaine struggles to figure out how to obtain the future she covets. It was quite scary for me to read about all the ways that Elaine and her friends’ futures could go catastrophically wrong. Whilst this book was slow to start with, it got significantly better once it got going!

First off, it was very interesting that Elaine was the main character instead of Arthur. It was also great to see how Elaine, Morgana, and Gwen were strong and powerful on their own and were constantly challenging the traditional expectations of women in Camelot Half Sick of Shadows had a little bit of everything, including action, adventure, quests, romance, royalty, friendship, magic, and so much more. Lastly, my favourite thing about this book was that I thought that the ending was totally fitting yet unexpected!

Fans of retellings and Laura Sebastian’s other novels (including Ash Princess) are sure to love Half Sick of Shadows.

Thank you to Ace (Berkley Publishing Group) and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

Half Sick of Shadows is the adult fantasy debut of author Laura Sebastian- great for fans of The Once and Future King!

The book follows Elaine of Shalott, who is cursed to see the future. She’s certainly a lesser known character in Arthurian legend, but that doesn’t stop her from having a profound impact on the lives of her more famous friends, including King Arthur, himself. In a beautifully feminist retelling of “The Lady of Shalott” ballad by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Elaine finally gets a story of her own.

While it isn’t necessary to have background knowledge of the Legend of King Arthur to enjoy this story, it undoubtedly yields a greater emotional payoff to see the characters you thought you knew portrayed in a new light.

The most notable achievement in the novel is the representation of strong, multi-dimensional women. Classic portrayals of characters like Guinevere and Morgana often lack dimension and vilify women. However, in this retelling, the women are deliberate, brave, and essential. And most importantly, Elaine, the character no one remembers, is a character with astounding agency, moral conscience, and fierce loyalty.

Overall, this is a fantastic fantasy debut. The originality in illuminating the women of Arthurian legend is undeniably refreshing, and readers will no longer overlook the Lady of Shalott.

4.0/5.0

Where do I even begin.... the "Legend of King Arthur" meets the "Lady of Shallot." While I have always enjoyed Arthurian Legend, this retelling comes from Elaine's, the oracle's, point of view. The beginning was the rough as there was a lot of switching between past, present, and future tense, making it difficult to follow to at times. Once King Uther dies though, and Arthur returns to Camelot to claim the throne, there isn't much in the way of switching. And that is where everything sucks you in. We all know the legend of King Arthur. We've all heard of the Evil Witch Morgan, how Lancelot and Guinevere betray Arthur, how Mordred fatally wounds Arthur in battle. Elaine has seen all of these things happen, in a million different ways, but she has also seen a happily ever after and it is that tiny spark of hope that keeps her moving forward. She is Arthur's main advisor and will always put his needs first, he must become King. He must take the throne and claim his birthright, and she will do what is necessary to get him there.
I haven't cried towards the end of the book in a very, very, long time, but I did with one. The author does a great job of building hope, of making you think that maybe, just maybe, that thin shred of hope will be the path this time, but as I said in the beginning, we all know the story of Arthur and what happens in the end. And it was a slap in the face.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Arthurian Legend, or even enjoyed reading the Mists of Avalon. You won't be disappointed.

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian is a feminist retelling of the classic Arthurian myth told in the perspective of Elaine.

Elaine is an oracle. She has to power to see the future and all it’s possible outcomes. On the island of Avalon, Elaine learns of the ancient prophecy about her and her friends. When the time comes, Elaine, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana accompany Arthur to become king of Camelot. Threats are everywhere outside of Avalon, and Elaine knows that some of those threats are among their own circle of friends. As visions come true, and paths narrow, Elaine must decide how far she is willing to go to save Arthur.

I love the way this book was written. The jumps in time and possibilities make for a very unique perspective. Laura Sebastian breaths new life into an old, classic tale and twists it in magical ways.

Elaine Shalott is protected from the cruel courtiers of Camelot and from the visions that plague her by the machinations her mother, a women driven mad by trying to prevent the visions they share. When the beguiling Morgana comes to court Elaine's life is changed forever. Instead of trying to prevent her visions she embraces them, and joins Morgana on the magical isle of Avalon where she receives training from the Lady of the Lake herself. In Avalon Elaine befriends Arthur, Gwen and Lancelot and though she will do anything to help her friends, her visions offer flashes of those friendships ending in a myriad of devastating ways. When King Uther dies, the Elaine and her friends travel to Camelot to help Arthur claim his throne. Elaine uses her visions to guide Arthur's path to the throne, visions that hint at betrayal and tragedy. The more Elaine tries to change fate, the more she fears she is cementing the path she fears the most.

Half Sick of Shadows is a refreshing new adaptation of Arthurian legend that gives agency to its women and weaves new magic into a familiar story.

A wonderful take on a legend from a refreshing and looked over point of view. Having the story told from Elaine's view point allows for such an interesting take to be told.

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian is a reimagining of Alfred Lord Tennyson's Lady of Shallot, asking what if she wasn't cursed to her tower?

I loved this book from the first page, but it feels hard to review. It reminded me of A Witch's Heart both in being mythological and from a woman's perspective, but also beautifully written and introspective. I loved following her visions, the time jumping, and piecing it together. I loved the drama and relationships. I love how this story follows multiple main characters but is told only from Elaine's POV.

But like Witch's Heart, I don't think this will be for everyone. It's beautiful, but it's a little tricky to follow if you don't like time jumping to begin with. I was swept along with no complaints, but I'm having a hard time articulating past that. I vibed with it, and it haunts me still.

Thanks @netgalley and @berkleypub for a copy to review.

I read Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian when it first came out, but didn't like it enough to read the rest of the trilogy. I didn't care much for the world, and I wasn't interested in the doomed romance. Half Sick of Shadows has so many elements of Ash Princess, but they're elevated and way more intriguing. Even though it's based on the Arthurian legend we all know, the introduction of shifting visions gives us new possibilities the story could turn to so we never knew how it would really end. I also liked the jumps between past, present, and future in the storyline and the modern dialogue juxtaposed with the setting. The ending was fairly satisfying. Good for someone who liked Circe by Madeline Miller or Ariadne by Jennifer Saint.

This was an amazing Arthurian retelling and might just be my favorite one of all time. Told from the perspective of the Lady of Shalott, Half Sick of Shadows tells the Arthurian legend in a really fascinating way. As an oracle, the Lady of Shalott can see the many different futures of everyone in the story and it allows the novel to let the reader see not only what happened in the past and what is happening now but what might potentially occur. I thought this was handled brilliantly and it genuinely made the book seem unique. The glimpses we had into the future were wonderfully written and really rewarding if you are at all familiar with the story of King Arthur and his knights.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

Everyone knows the modern story of King Arthur: The hidden Prince Arthur reappears from obscurity to claim his father’s throne, but to prove his lineage he must draw a magical sword from a block of stone- a feat no one but the rightful heir can accomplish. When Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, the young prince takes the throne of Camelot and rules over a golden age of peace. But he is ultimately betrayed by those closest to him, and so the great kingdom of Camelot falls, and King Arthur dies with it. His body is taken to the mystical island of Avalon, there to sleep until he is needed once more.

The story of the Lady of Shalott is less well-known among the myriad stories of the Arthurian expanded universe, and the version Sebastian draws upon in this case is Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s 1832 poem, ‘The Lady of Shalott’, in which a young woman is locked away in a tower. She is cursed to always weave a magic web upon her loom and to only look at the world using the mirror in her room. She is content to while the days away like this until she sees a newlywed couple and declares, “I am half sick of shadows”. Soon enough, she sees the handsome Sir Lancelot in her mirror and decides that, curse or no, she will forsake her weaving and go out to see the world. And so the Lady of Shalott leaves her tower, takes a boat down the river, and beholds the kingdom of Camelot before she dies.

In Laura Sebastian’s adult fantasy debut, Half Sick of Shadows, Elaine of Astalot, aka Elaine Shalott is given a chance to tell her story. She is an oracle who’s spent the past several years learning about magic on the mystical island of Avalon, where she, Arthur, his half-sister Morgana, Guinevere, and Lancelot run free among the fey (or fay), use their magic freely, wear whatever they want, and are free to have sex with with whomever they want. Until one day, King Uther Pendragon dies, and Arthur is sent to the court of Camelot to take up his father’s throne. But Arthur is not the only contender for the crown. His half-brother Mordred also has a strong claim, and the sorcerer Merlin backs Mordred and Mordred’s wife Morgause over Arthur. To prove his worthiness, Arthur must accomplish a set of impossible-seeming tasks. And so he, Elaine, Morgana, and Lancelot set out together to aide Arthur. But for the women of the group, achieving it may be as much punishment as victory, for the stifling court of Camelot is not friendly to women, and has made magic illegal. Elaine must choose whether or not she will stay with Arthur, or if she will help Morgana keep her powers, for Elaine has seen visions of a future where Morgana betrays her half-brother– to his death, and the end of Camelot.

It is clear that Laura Sebastian is familiar with modern Arthurian stories. And it’s clear that she knows that you, the reader, also know the modern Arthurian stories. And she knows that you know that she knows all about them. With that in mind, she lays out a story where the reader is inescapably aware that things are going to end very poorly for the charismatic Prince Arthur. Sebastian also finds it necessary to explain precisely how all the characters met on Avalon, and so constantly interrupts the narrative to provide a series of flashbacks that do little but prove that, with a slight costume change, the main characters would fit right in to a modern teen television drama.

But just in case having myriad flashbacks wasn’t enough to distract from Elaine’s present-day story, the narrative never lets the reader forget that she is an oracle with many, many visions of the future. And so the book is replete with flash-forwards (written in future tense), wherein Elaine describes how things could and will go wrong, either during Arthur’s quest or far in the future if/when he becomes king. In all those visions, she sees Morgana betraying Arthur to his ultimate death. And then Elaine does next to nothing to prevent all of this. And so, instead of a story presenting a young woman slightly unmoored from time, the reader gets a story so intent on its past and the future that it neglects the story it is actually telling. The characters banter, argue, and banter again before bemoaning the fact that most of them are voluntarily doing what they’re doing. A climactic battle scene provides a confused perspective on feminism and a slippery grasp of politics, but does show that Sebastian has at least a passing familiarity with Margot Adler’s 1979 study of paganism and witchcraft in America, Drawing Down the Moon.

Feminism is also meant to be at the center of Half Sick of Shadows, though Morgana, the Strong Female Character, is more upset about being expected to wear her hair up, wear a corset, and have tea with the other women of the court than she is about real gender equity. Because, apparently, having to style one’s hair, wear underwear, and be polite to one’s guests is the sign of living under a tyrannical patriarchy. Morgana is also upset about magic being illegal, but magic is illegal for everyone, not just women. So where Sebastian could have made a statements about female empowerment, women lifting each other up, or about powerful men listening to women’s advice, Sebastian chose instead to focus on the old chestnut that Victorian corsets (otherwise known to women of the late 1800s as “everyday underwear”) are symbols of oppression.

Arthurian retellings have been an evergreen subject over the past 1200 years, and especially so in the past decade. In Half Sick of Shadows, Laura Sebastian attempts to let Elaine of Astalot, the Lady of Shalott reclaim her story and provide a fantastical Pre-Raphaelite-esque tale of love, destiny, and betrayal. Instead, we get an anachronistic mishmash of elements from Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’, and BBC’s Merlin that is half sick of its own story– so much so that it would rather dwell on its past and future than keep its mind on where it is. The result is a bland tale of a group of young people who would rather not grow up, because that involves making difficult decisions and facing the consequences of their actions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ace for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion.