I had a fun time with this book! The prose is simple but effective, so the reading experience was enjoyable rather than exhausting. You definitely need to be willing to suspend disbelief and ignore some of the things you may know about Arthurian history/legends. My main complaint was the modern language used (this is explained, but I still would have loved to see a little more effort put into making this feel more authentic to the time period). I think I'll pick up the next book when it's available.

I actually loved this book so much & when I realised it’s not released in the UK yet I screameddddd!! (Because I really wanted a physical copy 😭)

Oh. My. Gosh. An Arthurian retelling with Outlander-style time travel and fantasy vibes?! This was everything I didn’t know I needed! The romance had me absolutely kicking my feet!! And the writing? So beautifully immersive, giving just the right amount of detail to pull me in and keep me obsessed until the very last page. I NEED more immediately! Book 2 cannot come soon enough & you bet I’m adding this gem to my collection as soon as it’s published in the UK!!

Thank you for the e-arc Paula!! You’re a brilliant writer!!🥹💖

In this unique and fascinating time-travel historical fiction novel, readers follow Vera’s ordinary life in Glastonbury until one of the hotel guests reveals that he is Merlin, there to take her back to seventh century Camelot to resume her place as Queen Guinevere, wife of the legendary King Arthur. However, Camelot is not at peace and the familiar stories are collapsing, as Guinevere-Vera was the sole witness to a curse that is draining the kingdom of its magic. Teaming up with Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot, and Gawain to retrieve her memories and break the curse, Vera must cope with her new life and role, as well as Arthur’s hatred of her. With a fantastic magic system and some incredible world-building, this novel brings the magic, danger, and epicness of the Arthurian legends to life in incredible detail. With changing iconic characters and their relationships with each other in this new and fascinating novel, readers will explore a new story and magic system with familiar characters and locations, totally challenging readers’ expectations. The characters are complex, intriguing, and absolutely fascinating, and Vera is a flawed but entertaining protagonist coping with her new situation as best she can, and readers will love this new take on the classic legends.

4.5 stars

I had been hearing about this book for months and months before its release, because of all the hype around it and the hype around the Kickstarter for it. Paula Lafferty ran a very successful campaign for it, and has been picking up deals and awards ever since. It’s one of those self-published stories that someone dreams of having, one of those wild success stories.

I admit that I put off reading it until a week before release because I was worried that the hype would make me judge the story more.

But I’m also a big fan of books inspired by or based on Arthurian legend, and so I caved and started reading. And I’ll just say this…I started reading this book at work, and ended up reading about 80% of it, so if I had gone home and continued reading, this would have been a one-day read. Instead I waited until the next day at work to finish it.

I was absolutely intrigued by the set-up of this story, and by seeing how Lafferty was going to portray these characters that I’ve seen so many iterations of over the years. They were fascinating, and it was such an adventure to follow Vera as she tried to put the pieces together of what happened in her previous life/time in Camelot.

The characters, to me, were the shining stars of this story. The bond between Vera and Lancelot was really fun to explore, and what was interesting was how long it took for me to start warming up to Arthur.

I still need to get a finished copy of this book (something that has been slightly difficult because it keeps changing from “available” to “back-ordered.”

I’m going to need this book on my shelf, because I am probably going to re-read it, just to see what connections and foreshadowings and details I missed the first time around. I can’t wait to see what Lafferty comes up with next.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this early review copy.

As someone who is a big fan of Arthurian legend centred fantasy, I was so excited for this release and overall it accomplished what it intended to do. The first few chapters were rather slow which prevented me getting fully invested in the story initially, however once you get into the meat of the story, the depth of the world is encapsulating.
There were times where the connection between the characters didn’t quite translate as much as I wanted, but for a debut novel and start of a series, there is a lot of potential.
I am excited to listen to this story in audio form too as I believe it will add an extra dimension to the story.

La Vie de Guinevere is the amazing take on Arthurian legend that I did not expect and that I loved!
Vera has lived her entire life in the 20th century, barely being noticed, wondering where her life is headed, all until she discovers she is not Vera, but Guinevere. She is THE Guinevere from Arthurian legend, living outside of her true time to give her a second chance at life, but now it’s time to return. She delves into a world she does not know, that expects her to be someone she not only doesn’t know but doesn’t understand. Surrounded by the knights, mages and Arthur himself, she tries to find her way around this world so she can remember her past life or consequences will follow.
This book is so good. It’s so nicely written, the pace, world building and overall storytelling is fantastic. I adored the characters, and had serious iffy vibes for those that I wasn’t meant to like.
Vera’s story is such a beautiful way to see the legend and all its grandeur, through closer eyes and language.

I really recommend this for anyone who loves retellings, Arthurian legend, and honestly just period pieces or romance in general.
My only hope is that I get to read more of Vera’s story and/or of Paula’s writing!

I haven’t had the chance to finish the book, but loved it thus far! Time travel, fantasy, romance, laugh out loud humor— this one has so many great things going for it, I look forward to the time I can dedicate to reading.

I was interested in this book when I saw the TikTok video with the stack of paper. I thought the journey was really cool. The writing style itself didn’t work for me, though, and I think more time spent reading other work and editing this work (and some separation/time away from the manuscript to reflect) would have really helped this story shine. The author clearly has grit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Paula Lafferty for the ARC.

I found the dialogue clunky and the plot a bit muddled at times. The vibes were definitely there and the mythology was strong throughout.

A stellar immaculately conceived and executed fantasy. As someone who has never read an Arthurian legend retelling, I didn't feel at all lost. I feel Lafferty handled the historical time and place very well while simultaneously making it very approachable for a contemporary audience. I underlined so many moving and beautiful phrases. The friendship and romance were off the chart. La Vie de Guinevere is a transporting and vital fantasy novel.

Note: This is Book 1 of at least a 2-part series and not a standalone story. This isn’t readily apparent in the title, cover, description, or the inspiring marketing of this book, so I wanted to clarify that upfront. Many beloved fantasy books are series, so I’m not saying this to discourage anyone from reading it, but rather to provide the context and transparency I didn’t have going into it.

If you are an avid romantasy reader, dismiss my review from your court. Many other reviewers have praised this book for being their cup of tea, served in a golden chalice. Since I only sip sparingly from this genre, it’s entirely possible my review is more akin to swill.

I did love The Mists of Avalon, though. So being gifted a copy of a book about a modern-day Guinevere who must go back in time to save not just King Arthur but the future of the world felt like I’d just pulled Excalibur from the stone. However, about 100 pages in, I started slipping into a lake of confusion. Sometimes, with pronouns like he, it, this, I wasn’t sure what they referred to. Additionally, there were moments when the FMC’s reactions—or lack thereof—didn’t track for me. This book hold so much potential, it just needs another round of polish and edits to really help it shine.

Again, I acknowledge I’m an outlier here. If you disagree with my review, I’ll gladly accept your jousting.

There are truly no words to describe how much I LOVED this book. I’m not usually a big reader of Camelot and Arthurian Lore but WOW. I spent two days in shock just thinking the whole book through trying to absorb everything that I had read.

This was beautifully written giving you enough details to bring you in and keep you hooked all the way through to the end. I absolutely can’t wait for Book 2 of this series.

I would give it 🌶️ for spiciness. I was worried this would delve into spice between Arthur and Vera immediately and forget about the rest of the plot development throughout. But Ms. Lafferty truly knew how to keep us on our toes with the development of their relationship.

The characters really develop and have proper depth that bring you to care for them and root for their happiness. There are some characters that are on the precipice of being developed that we don’t see much of/from in the first book that will hopefully be more in detail in the second book. There are characters that you definitely struggle to like or struggle to hate that will slowly reveal who they are and sometimes your initial feelings to them surprise you.

The plot does develop through the book, although it does get a little slow (feels intentional for build up). I love the development of the story and can definitely see how it’s also setting up for a second book without revealing everything or being too flat in the first book.

I was sent an ARC by Ms. Lafferty through NetGalley for an honest review. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I know.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I had a hard time reconciling the modern vocabulary with Arthurian storyline, which I know is explained away by Vera's ability to communicate normally and be understood, but that wasn't a satisfying reason for me. I think this will be enjoyed by people who love rom coms, portal fantasy, more modern love stories. As someone who loves Arthurian legend of the past, this just wasn't my cup of tea.

This ARC review is so late coming and I apologize for that but if you haven’t already had the pleasure of hearing about this book, let me introduce you to La Vie de Guinevere!

This book was a surprise in the best way—I haven’t read much Arthurian fiction or lore, so I wasn’t sure how invested I would be in this story, but let me tell you, I was HOOKED from the beginning, and it only got better and better as the story progressed.

La Vie de Guinevere opens on Vera, a young adult living her ordinary 21st-century life, when she learns that she is actually Queen Guinevere. THE Queen Guinevere. As would be expected, Vera is a little hesitant to turn her entire life upside down at this revelation, but she agrees to travel back to the 5th century to try and regain her memories.

Besides being a fresh take on King Arthur’s and Guinevere’s story, this book was gripping, exciting, heartwarming, and brilliantly funny. I was always eager to find out what would happen next, I fell in love with all of the characters, and I was obsessed with Guinevere and Arthur’s budding romance.

Speaking of romance, Lafferty promised tension and swoon-worthy moments and she DELIVERED. The slow burn in this book is unmatched and the last few chapters are absolute gold. I have to say that I desperately wanted to know what was going on in Arthur’s head some of the time (we only get one POV in this one) but I felt satisfied with what we learned in the end.

The world building was so well-done as well — it was so effective without needing to be overly descriptive. I felt like I was right there with the characters and now have a burning desire to visit Glastonbury during Christmastime.

All of Lafferty’s characters are so intriguing, relatable, and loveable (or hateable). They each have a distinct voice and personality, and even better, they’re flawed and complex. I just want to be friends with Lancelot and Gawain and Matilda and Percival, train with Arthur, prank Merlin with Vera… I think you’ll really fall in love with this motley crew.

By the way, If you’ve been needing to hear someone tell you that you are worthy just for existing, read this book. Vera’s character growth is centered around this theme and it was really healing to watch her learn that she doesn’t exist solely to serve a useful purpose, even a noble one.

There were a few instances where I felt a little confused about a few of the characters’ actions and how different plot threads were being pulled around, but for how much emotion I felt while reading — the tension, the peril, the angst, the tenderness, the plot twists! — I’m happy to forgive any minor confusions, and I’m sure the series will only get better from here.

It’s hard to believe that this is Lafferty’s debut novel. She is such a good storyteller and I’m excited to see how she grows and how this series progresses (I think there'll be at least three books?)

Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for the eARC! I'm eagerly awaiting book two!

🌶 Tension, mild innuendos, one brief open-door scene in chapter 46
⚠️ semi-frequent swearing (f*ck, sh*t, etc.) attempted r*pe, death, blood, injury, loss of loved one

This was probably the best Guinniver/Arthur/Lancelot retelling I have read in decades. It was very orginal, hed my iterest fully, and my only complaint i that I want MORE.

Creatively this was so unique and wonderful. I love that I was able to read this. The author did a great job you can really tell they put a lot of thought and care into the story the plot and the characters. Its not easy to write about characters that many know well without critisism but she did a great job.

- Main criticism of the book's marketing is it needs to be clearer that this is a book 1, not a standalone read.
Who to recommend this to: romantasy readers that are fans of different retellings. I liked the characters in this a lot, and I think the author tied up the different plot threads well together. I wish the historical setting was more fleshed out, a bit more of the events and culture of the 6th century brought into play.

One of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint.

I'm a huge fan of the King Arthur story and I loved this unique POV from Guinevere. Magical escapism!

I've also pre-ordered the traditionally published copy as I need the trophy on my bookshelf.

Thanks to Paula Lafferty and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Paula and NetGalley for the ARC!

First of all, what a commendable journey for Paula and the story she kept with her for so many years. I was so happy to be able to be one of the first people to read and appreciate it. Jumping into the story, I did not know what to expect. I have always been a fan of Arthurian stories, so I was sucked right into the world. The plot and premise of the story were very intriguing. My favorite character was Lancelot. I cannot wait for the next book.

I have loved the world of Arthurian legend since middle school-- from CS Lewis to Tolkien to elementary reader versions, I'll pretty much read anything related to the Knights and Ladies of the Round Table. Paula Lafferty has done a wonderful job of recreating the lore of the original legends, updated with a modern, time-traveling twist. The magic is intact, even with the addition of a diverse set of characters (Lancelot's story arc? *swoon*). This is a classic strangers-to-lovers romance, plus jousting, intrigue, and horses.
I will admit that I felt the first few chapters were a bit of a slow start, but the rest of the book more than made up for it. I cannot wait for the next book to come out! Definitely one of my top ten favs of 2024.


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