This was such a fun listen! The narrator does a great job of conveying the teen angst of adolescence, while also being compelling during action scenes. The pacing wasn’t my favorite because it just seemed like the last 15% went by really quick but I appreciated that the characters in this installment all had their storylines wrapped up- no cliffhangers! There are some qualities to the writing that make it more evident this is a debut, but I’m not sure if that is just a YA-thing or not.

Overall, 4/5!

When I came across this book, I just knew I wanted to read it! The title, the cover, and the blurb were all up my alley however, the book itself was not what I expected. Unfortunately, it seemed a bit dull, considering what it could have been. A story about Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, and their teenage daughter, Rosemary, living in the 21st century, having to protect Rosemary from dark magic and an ancient prophecy sounds amazing and could have been so great, however majority of the book seemed to be about regular high school stuff- attending football games, walking through halls, hating the principle. It just wasn't enough action for me..

(ARC provided by Netgalley, RB Media, & B.P. Sweany)

First off I LOVE the narration here. Absolutely delightful.
The story is silly. It is beyond fun. I just know this is something my husband would enjoy. It isn't my usual read or listen and I was still having a blast listening to this.

Who doesn't love a story with a new twist on the Arthurian legend? And The Sword and the Sophomore is an interesting...if not altogether new...twist, bringing parts of the legend into the modern day. Since I'm not the target YA audience, I'll let go of my annoyance with how the teens interact with one another...as I often have to do in real life. :-)

I was pleasantly caught by surprise a couple of times by some turns of the plot and was impressed by the author's willingness to allow characters to grieve...even if I felt the grief was passed over a bit too quickly to be thoroughly explored.

The Sword and the Sophomore does contain both language and teenage sexual content. The language is not pervasive and the sexual content occurs before the start of the book or is handled as fade to black without any overt descriptions. My biggest concern with the sexual content is a particular scene in which Rosemary deliberately puts herself into a position that she must then get out of. Not all boyfriends are as understanding as Benz, and I was uncomfortable with how lightly that scene was handled.

Speaking of Benz... I was granted ARC access to the audiobook of The Sword and the Sophomore. Overall, I was pleased with the narration...apart from a few accent slips. My one real beef with the audio version is how the possessive form of Benz was pronounced...Benz's. I expect that the narrator was faithful to the author's choice, but "Benz's" grated on my nerves from its first use, and I never got over it. I would have strongly preferred "Benz' father" or would have preferred a different choice of names altogether. For most listeners, it will likely not be an issue, and had I read the text instead of listening to it, I could have easily made the adjustment myself.

Overall, I enjoyed the read and will likely continue with the series when it is available.

Thank you, NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Wow, this was great! The legend of Camelot weaves through the story. Rosemary sarcasm is great and direct. I love that there no “if only I said that” I have screamed at the many times. The pace was great and the story neatly tied together. No ending that left dangling, but totally curious and waiting for additional books. Thanks so much NetGalley!!

…the narrator is so good …Emyrs is back and am bursting with excitement to be listening to this audiobook.

I immensly enjoyed this audiobook, the narrator does an amazing job showing emotion and changing accents which i belive was very hard to do considering one charachter was welsh
Beautifly done audiobook of an amazingly written novel

I'm so glad I got to enjoy this arc. What a fun story. It gave me a lot of once upon a time tv show vibes But very much with its own twist. I loved Rosemary and how she handled the news of her life. She was her own hero in so many ways but never lost sight of her friends and family. For sure recommending this book to friends when It comes out.