Sophie Keetch's Le Fay is a mesmerizing continuation of Morgan's story, breathing new life into one of the most fascinating characters of the Arthurian universe. Keetch’s vivid prose and deep understanding of Morgan's complexity make this novel utterly captivating. Morgan is brought to life as a powerful, nuanced figure whose strength, ambition, and humanity shine through every page. Keetch's storytelling seamlessly blends rich mythology with a modern sensibility, creating a tale that feels both timeless and fresh. For fans of Arthuriana or anyone who loves a beautifully crafted narrative, Le Fay is an absolute treasure and a worthy successor to her first instalment of this tale (Morgan Is My Name). I can't wait to see what Keetch writes next, whether it is the third instalment of this tale or something different altogether!

The story of Morgan continues, a woman working hard to build a life. How interesting and finely woven. Was captured from the beginning. Incredible time period and very hard topics are within this book to transfer the reader to a different world than today's.

This book picked right up where Morgan is my name left off. The first half of the book has a slower pace which I appreciated as we could see the dynamic between Arthur and Morgan. I would've have like to have seen more of the siblings especially a slower decline of their relationship. I did like that we did get to see the shaky relationship between Guinevere and Morgan. I'm happy to say I still hate Guinevere in every Arthurian retelling. Even in the original source material I always thought her annoying.

There is a character that makes a come back that I was over the moon to see and how this character shook things up in the story. This time around Morgan could not catch a break and she had one betrayal and traumatic experience after another. I already know that her story is supposed to be tragic but it doesn't make it easier to read. I knew I had to expect the death of one of my favorites but I was not ready for it. After everything that has been done to Morgan I'm ready for the third and final installment. I'm ready for Morgan to BURN down Camelot and everyone in it. I just need her to get some vengeance on all those who have wronged her and maybe some justice. I especially want to see Guinevere eat dirt and Arthur to realize he's lost everything before he dies. I'm only saddened that Merlin will escape her wrath.

Once again Sophie Keetch did not disappoint with her colorful writing. I always love how she builds up the scenes but it's how she describes the magic being used that is my favorite. I hope that in the next book we can see more of the magic as I can never get enough of it. I definitely recommend this book and series.

"And they should fear me, the power I possessed, and the bright, ravenous rage that now fuelled my every breath. From that moment onwards, even I did not know what I was capable of."

Sophie Keetch's Le Fay tracks Morgan's journey from her ambiguous morality to in the first book Morgan Is My Name to... still ambiguous morality, even with the incredible premise, through all her losses suffered, despite the number of times she threatens to burn everything, and against all the potential antagonists.

Like the first book, there are some good secondary characters, but all the antagonists are one-dimensional men... the King of Gore returns of course, but even Merlin is portrayed as weirdly one-dimensional, and it takes some imagination to fit a potentially jealous credit-stealing male academic mentor like Merlin to a brilliant student like Morgan into the lecherous misogynist trope.

This book could have explored more of Morgan's relationship with Arthur and Guinevere, and how it devolves, but all we hear is the number of times Morgan says Arthur was her dear brother and she his trusted advisor. It would have been great to actually see Morgan help Arthur with any of the various aspects of running a kingdom, but we only see her help plan a tournament at the beginning of the book while trying to avoid Guinevere. Accolon's return starts off childish squabbles between them, which might have evolved into a mature relationship, but given the many number of times we hear that, it gives the exact opposite impression. And finally, we really should have seen Morgan explore her magic and study healing to the fullest extent here, but this is overridden by trying to blame Merlin for introducing dark magic to Morgan. Morgan le Fay's magic should have been the one thing that was completely hers!

In short, could have, would have, might have, should have is my review.

And all of this in Keetch's writing style, which I enjoyed in the first book, but was just too descriptive in this book.

"To hear him tell it so plaintively was to feel it as the truth—Arthur’s truth, different from mine but no less lived and felt. I gazed across at this man, this King, my brother, his eyes shining silver with grief. His argument was convincing and logical, and blisteringly, devastatingly wrong."

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada publishing group for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🌟🌟🌟
[3/4 star for the premise; Half a star for the characters; Half a star for the story arc; 1/4 star for the writing; 3/4 star for the world-building- 2 3/4 stars in total, rounded up to 3 stars.]

Such a great story about a character that does not see much book time. I could not put this down and wanted more!

A devoted mother, adoring sister, and talented healer, Morgan can be rather hot-headed in her pursuit of freedom. While I think her intentions and goals are ultimately good, and I'm definitely still rooting for her, she's far from perfect. I appreciate that she can acknowledge how her words and actions can sometimes create more trouble for her.

Since we are only seeing Morgan's perspective, we only know as much as she does. I sometimes wish I knew what another character is doing, or their intentions behind their actions. However, to know those things would make this an entirely different story, so not really a complaint. The writing gives a great balance of being in her head without providing too much detail. We cover a lot of time and a lot of ground, but I felt invested the entire time.

We get much more magic in this installment as Morgan develops her talent. She dedicates time to practicing, learning from others and finding a less draining source for her magic. She advances her abilities in healing and manipulating the natural world. In and out of Camelot, Morgan's life has been a bit of a rollercoaster. I was often hesitant to pick this up because I didn't want the story to end, but whenever I did pick it up I didn't want to put it down. I'm loving this version of Morgan and I'm both nervous and excited for what's next.

The extra half point is solely because I'm absolutely onboard with supporting this woman's wrongs. And after everything that came to pass in this one, which somehow felt worse than book one, she deserves all the wrongs she wants.

Mostly because I'm exhausted by everyone. I'll admit, some of this can be attributed by the constant rehashing, even within the same conversation, of arguments or beliefs or worries. And then, later, we'd revisit things once again as if it hadn't been done to death already. It made the telling of the story, navigating the motivations of the characters, moving the plot forward, glacial. The pacing was so slow it was almost non-existent. I feel like this could've been done better; that we could've had a more compelling and engaging retelling with everything we know, the familiar paths, just totally (mostly) flipped. Instead, it's a lot of a pain with little reward.

I started to feel so disheartened that I didn't think I would be bothering with book three but the end brought me back to Team le Fay and I want to see her take them all down. Yes, you heard me, all of them. So, yeah, I'll be reading on.

2.5 stars

Two years have passed since Morgan has fled from her husband for Camelot. But Camelot is not the glittering haven she thought it would be. Her husband is constantly trying to take their son back to Gore, she is at odds with the Queen, and Merlin is a constant presence in Arthur’s rule. When Morgan’s first love reappears she finds her whole life turned upside down and her only way forward is to learn more of her powers. This path, however, will come at a terrible cost paid in blood and misery. And at the end of the path she will emerge as Morgan Le Fay, with hate in her heart.

I finished this book feeling like I had been punched in the gut. I really enjoy this version of Morgan, a woman who is just trying to find her own happiness in a world made to keep her down. You can definitely see how she becomes the ‘villain’ of the Arthur legends. I felt so bad for her later in the book when she saw her son again, but I was also frustrated with her when it came to the scabbard and … well I’ll stop there for spoilers. I think this is meant to be a trilogy but there is still so much more of the legend (Lancelot and Mordred) that I just can’t wait to see Sophie Keetch’s take on it. Now that Morgan is a woman reveling in her power I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Rating 4 stars
*I received a review copy from NetGalley for my voluntary and honest review

I was not aware that this book was the second in a series when I picked it up, but I had absolutely no issue reading this as a stand alone. Everything is well introduced, the characters well established, and the world building is perfect. The pace is a little on the fast side, with years happening in a few paragraphs, or one day taking over a chapter. This does add, somewhat, to the fairy tale element of this, as it is an Arthurian story about how Morgan Le Fay became the enemy of Arthur and Merlin.

Of all the characters, none of them are fully fleshed out. They remain archetypes — the cruel queen Guinevere; the pretty and well-meaning Arthur; the manipulative Merlin, and as for Morgan Le Fay …

Morgan, a Queen of a neighboring country, acts like a spoiled teenager. While she says the right modern words about it being her body, her choice, her freedom … she comes across like a fool. She constantly judges other women harshly — and the other women in this book are never treated with kindness, resigned to being harridans, handmaids, or victims — and at every turn denies every olive branch offered to her. When her brother offers her a position of some security and power, she accepts! But she doesn’t want to do the work for it. Morgan wants no part of the society she lives in, doesn’t want to obey the rules … not to defy them because they are wrong or immoral, but because she can’t be bothered. Her only friends are her handmaids over whom she has power.

She lives in Camelot as the Queen’s lady in waiting — with that being the polite fiction about why she can’t go home to her abusive husband. So she does her best to offend the queen, to never apologize, and to not do her duties by the queen. She is so very lucky Arthur loves her or Guinevere would cast her out of her entourage and, without that protection, back to her abusive husband.

When she’s dealing with Arthur, she makes it clear she shares his vision for Camelot. But she wants to hear nothing about Merlin, the man who influences her brother’s every action, the man he leaps to obey. Why? Why does she have no interest in the person manipulating her brother, the one protecting her, the one she supports and loves and who is her king? When she wants something and Arthur doesn’t give it over immediately, she sulks and snaps and picks a fight. Morgan picks a lot of fights.

Morgan is not a pleasant person. She’s spoiled, entitled, angry, sullen — and most certainly not a feminist. But I don’t mind difficult characters, though Morgan isn’t my favorite; her whining got on my nerves more than a few times. Even so, the magic lessons with Merlin were interesting, and watching her stumble and flail her way into one bad decision after another was almost entertaining; given a chance, she would always make the strangest, most childish of choices. The writing was lovely and the Arthurian world feels real and lived-in. (And the cover is absolutely gorgeous.)

Despite all of my nitpicks, I will be eagerly looking for the third book in the series!

I spent most of July offline at a school for work, and this book was my most anticipated read for when I got back. It picks up a few years after where Morgan Is My Name left off, and it dives right into the thick of it. I love Morgan as a character for how relatable she is with her stubbornness and occasional temper, her ability to recognize and learn from her mistakes, and her courage to stand up for herself. Le Fay takes us further into Arthurian legend and begins to solidify itself as a true villain origin story. Pick these books up of you enjoy retellings, a strong FMC, and beautiful writing.

In the second installment of The Morgan Le Fay trilogy, we see Morgan going on her own arc, coming into her own power and realizing what she is capable of.
Unfortunately, this book dragged for me. I got lost in a lot of the descriptions and didn't feel a great connection with Morgan. The arc in this book is a great set up for what will come in the next book, but I found that even the action couldn't quite keep my attention. The time spent with Merlin learning her power was the hardest part for me to get through, which took up quite a bit of the first half of the book. As someone who is pretty unfamiliar with Arthurian legend, I felt that the downfall of the relationship between Morgan and Arthur came out of nowhere and didn't really have much basis. It seemed out of character for this to happen when we look back to the relationship between them preceding the break.
I do think Keetch does a great job creating fleshed out side characters. Ninianne was an extremely interesting character that has a great story, even though she isn't often the main focus of the scene. Even Robin, a young boy Morgan helps, felt like a real person and whose feelings translated off the page.
Overall, I think this book just wasn't for me. I could see the descriptive language being very lyrical to a lot of readers. I could also see Morgan as a strong female character appealing to a wide audience. I simply struggled with the pacing and connection with the titular character.

Morgan is unfortunately going through it.

After escaping her terrible marriage at the end of Morgan is My Name we hope that this will allow Morgan the chance to flourish, to build her library...to write her book about women's anatomy...to raise her son in a place that inspired hope. Yet Camelot is not the ideal world that everyone else believes it is. Arthur is being whispered to by Merlin & his wife Queen Guinevere both of whom have decided Morgan is their rival. She is incredibly intelligent & politically savy but there is little room for her to do that as she expected to be a quite dutiful woman. Well that is until her abilities could be used by a man and then Morgan is living under Merlin & Ninianne's tutelage for a year. This allows her to truly realize just how powerful her natural magic is especially compared to Merlin who lacks where she excels.

This book fully explores the ideas of female rage, betrayal and yet there are stories of such beautiful love weaved into it all. Morgan's love for Alys and Tressa is one of my favorite parts of these novels and I am intrigued as to where it will go as Morgan is at war with Arthur. The mother's love Morgan has is so powerful and had me getting incredibly emotional throughout the novel. Romantic love is another aspect of Morgan's life and I was captivated by it, the relationship between those two was so moving and full.

4.5

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for the e-arc!

As someone who can be relatively picky with retellings, I find Sophie has a unique and captivating way of keeping me entranced. I'll be honest, I wasn't quite sure who Morgan was prior to reading Morgan is My Name but once I started I couldn't stop. Having the opportunity to read her story further is amazing.

They way Morgan can feel her anger and her femininity in one go continues to be why she is one of my favourite main characters. This story involves it all; adventure, chaos, drama. It literally has everything you could want!

An excellent continuation of this growing trilogy. Reading "My Name is Morgan" first is essential, as this one picks up right where that left off. This trilogy is going to become essential reading for fans of Arthurian legend and everyone with a healthy dose of pent-up feminine rage - it's the full backstory that Morgan has always deserved.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you netgalley for letting be read this book. I was hoping to have this read and reviewed before it came out, but I had to read the first book, My name is Morgan. I loved this retelling of King Arthur and Morgana. It was a great read with lots of action that kept me hooked and waiting to see what would happen next. I can't wait until the next book comes out to see what will happen next for Morgan Le Fay.

CW: References to DV/r@pe, some gore

Don’t mind me, just sobbing my eyes out and raging against the patriarchy over here…

Morgan has escaped an abusive marriage and fled to a life of relative peace in Camelot. The longer she stays, though, the tighter the restrictions on her life become, pushing Morgan far beyond the breaking point. With her world crumbling around her yet again, the cost to rebuild it has never been so high.

Do you want to see a villain arc that makes perfect sense? Congratulations; you’ve found it. When I wrote my review for book 1 in the ‘Morgan le Fay’ series, “Morgan is my Name,” I mentioned Morgan’s frequent, almost constant, depictions as the villain. The evil sorceress, bewitching the beloved King Arthur and doing her best to corrupt his shining, sanctified reign in Great Britain. I also mentioned that I’ve always hated this interpretation.

Powerful women have always terrified men, but perhaps especially in those days long past, in that shining era of virtuous might and gallant knights. Watching the incredible skill with which the author has woven Morgan’s story leaves me, to be completely honest, at a loss for coherent words. I’ve tried and failed numerous times to fully explain what this story encompasses, and I simply cannot. Six years of Morgan’s life, six years of struggles and triumphs and heartbreak and rage, all delivered so beautifully that it’s left me nearly speechless.

I could attempt to go on, probably for an exorbitant amount of time, about how marvelous this book was. How engaging, how detailed, how absolutely breathtaking it was. How excited I was to get to read this next installment about Morgan’s life. None of it would be enough. The talent it takes to tell a story like this, with all its subtleties and intricacies, to put something so universal and yet so unique into words, is amazing, and it has earned every ounce of praise that it will receive.

Simply put, I don’t have the right words. My heart is positively screaming about this story and I don’t know how to explain it to y’all. The immersive and heart-wrenching plot, the ferociously determined main character, the inevitable and crushing descent as everything in her life falls to pieces, the depth of emotion that pours out of every sentence in this book. There’s no world in which the right words could ever be found to adequately convey what this book does within its pages.

To be perfectly clear: this is an absolutely incredible story. It’s both healed and broken something in my legend-loving soul to see Morgan get the explanation she deserves. The healer, the scholar. The woman who would not be constrained by mere men. Bring tissues and a stress ball when you get ready to read this one, and try not to break anything when you throw the stress ball. Morgan’s long been feared as one of Camelot’s greatest threats; it’s time we all saw how she earned that title.

Ahhh where do I even start?! I just finished this beauty recently and im still reeling over everything that happened. 🤯

Without spoiling anything, Morgan is a force and her rage is strong. I love her need for knowledge and freedom. Freedom to choose love, academics, sorcery… she’s so unique in her world which causes people around her to fear her and question her motives.

This story is full of love, friendship, learning, betrayal, heartache, loss, and vengeance. It’s exciting, romantic, and captivating. Sophie’s writing is beautiful and I can’t wait to read more of her work. I found myself highlighting and tabbing so many lines and pages!

I highly recommend this series if you like:
✨court and political intrigue
✨knights and tournaments
✨magic
✨betrayal
✨grief and loss rep
✨swoony closed door romance
✨found family
✨ Arthurian legend

Well... Sophie Keetch yanked out my heart, stomped on it, dropped kicked it, and then gently placed the bruised and battered version back into my chest. I am unwell, furious, and in love.

Le Fay, the second installment in the Morgan le Fay series, continues the furious retelling of a literary villainess. Morgan is loyal to her brother Arthur, but unfortunately this comes at great costs, which beckons her "villain" era—said with quotations because there are many villainous characters.

The language and style pulls me back to early medieval times, while also providing a intimate warmth through the lives of the characters. Keetch writes her characters with finesse, especially with the many-faceted titular character. Le Fay continues to explore themes of home, power and politics, friendship, family, and forgiveness.

Chapter 15 is absolute perfection and will likely be one of my top chapters of 2024.

Book two of the of this incomplete trilogy did not disappoint. I was so excited to get the opportunity to read this eARC, after being completely blown away by Morgan Is My Name.
Le Fay is a can't miss for anyone who loves Arthurian Legends, it has the perfect balance of political intrigue and magical elements written in the most captivating way.
This installment continues following Morgan, King Arthur's half sister. Delving into the complex nature of the women's lives during medieval times and the entitled attitudes of the most men. This beautiful book is packed with suspense and heart-wrenching realism as we read through a different perspective of Arthurian legend we think we knew so well.

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys; Arthurian legend, closed door romance, betrayal, found family, political intrigue, tournaments, and magic

I was provided with an ARC of #LeFay courtesy of #PeguinRandomHouse and #NetGalley

I have been enjoying this just as much as Ms. Keetch's first book in this series which at the beginning I thought would be tough to compete with but in actuality I think I enjoyed it just a touch more.I'm a fan of the King Arthur legend so it wasn't hard to love this book.It is well written, thought out, action packed, compelling and I dare to hope we see a third book in Morgan Le Fay's story.