Such a beautiful story and charcaters.
I was mesmerized with the writing and the characters.
Highly recommend

AMAZING!!!
I could not tell this book was written by a first time author because it was so wonderfully written. So many excellent details that kept it interesting while also so clearly building an entire world. My imagination had a field day!
The characters were wonderfully written and I loved every single one. Each had such excellent depth to them that is hard to find in so many books nowadays.

My favorite part wasn’t just one thing but truly how the world building went hand in hand with “day in the life” type chapters that kept with the plot but also gave insight on the every day lives of the Arthurian characters I knew so little about at the start. I wish more books had this style to them!

All in all it was a 5⭐️ read for me and I loved every second

(Warning this did have more language than I had expected)

The story is amazingly unique and yet you feel all the good feelings you get from the most well known stories.
The characters are the strongest part of the book! Each one is well thought and extremely well written!
I can’t wait to read more from this author!!!

The story was well developed and yet entirely original. I found the characters tangible, enough that I could imagine myself ramming Arthur's head into a brick wall and could hear the sounds of pain he would make (what a doorknob). The pacing was a little bit slower than I'd usually go for but the buildup and moments of tension were well worth it. Will be highly recommending!

Beautiful prose, lovely world building, dynamic characters in complex and compelling relationships, love, loss, darkness and light; whimsy, wonder, and woe all wrapped up into one book. I adored it. This story grabs you by the throat and won't let you go till the very last word. A crazy fun read with laugh out loud moments, heartwarming friendships, and giggle inducing romance perfectly balanced by the darkness of the human condition. This book doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of depression, grief, and violence, while not overwhelming the reader by a barrage of angst. The modern twist to this book gave a freshness and levity that I never knew I wanted from Arthurian legend and I simply couldn't get enough. From knights playing poker to rock-paper-scissors, I never knew what to expect but enjoyed every second of it.

While a few things didn't go the way I would have predicted or wanted, I could never not love this book. Even when it surprised me it made sense, with a tight and masterfully woven plot where every moment seemed interconnected, and its mysterious bread crumb trails had me constantly on my toes. Lafferty's skill shines in this book and leaves me both inspired and waiting eagerly for more.

After multiple 6 A.M. reading nights, I can confidently say "La Vie de Guinevere" was the most fun I've had reading a book in a long, long time.

OH MY GOSH.... I am going to need 5-7 business days to fully process the work of art that this Camelot retelling/time-travel/magical realism/romantasy epic. La Vie de Guinevere is perfect for lovers of retellings with a dash of Outlander, but make it Arthurian with some "Lost in Austen" BBC elements.
I adored so many aspects of this book and I cannot wait to see what Paula Lafferty gifts us with next.
Lancelot was the perfect mix of a Golden Retriever and Ken. I just love Vera and his banter. And don't even get me started on the man, the myth, and the chosen king, Arthur. I think La Vie ensured he lived up to his legend and more. Get ready to swoooooon!

THANK YOU, to NetGalley and Paula Lafferty for an ARC of La Vie de Guinevere. You best believe I am off to purchase my "trophy" copy.

You can find La Vie here at the Late Backer Kickstarter store:
https://la-vie-de-guinevere-deluxe-edition.pledgebox.com/preorder

4.5 rounded up. The story felt familiar but fresh, a fantastic new take on the Arthurian legend. Absolutely loved this book, and can’t wait for everyone I know to read it so we can obsess over it together!

I have never experienced what they call a "book hangover"...until now. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time. Thank you first of all, so much to Paula Lafferty for allowing me to be an ARC reader for her first book. I wouldn't say that I knew what to expect going in to read La Vie De Guinevere, but we all know the story of King Arthur, and Iet me just say... the spin and twists that she put on the characters of not only King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, but also Merlin, Lancelot, etc.. were absolutely mind-blowing! The magic, romance, plot, and characters had me captivated!
Present day Vera is lonely. After suffering a huge loss, all she has is her loving parents and her work. No one else seems to bother with her. She is likable but people always seem to forget about her. Merlin shows up and breaks the news to her that she is actually Queen Guinevere and must return to her time to make everything right again. The relationships in this story had me hooked from the start. The slow burn and tension were chefs' kisses. Vera was my favorite, but Lancelot was a close choice as well. The way Paula wrote his character and described him and his actions had me smiling non-stop, I adored him! I highly recommend this book to everyone! Little bit of mild spice toward the end. Toward the end, I was literally crying, but I can't tell you what happens. You will love what happens after sobbing. The ending leaves you with a cliffhanger, but you will be in love with the story!

Time traveling. Action. Adventure. Romance. And at its very core, friendship, true friendship that laughs when you laugh and hurts when you hurt. This is the journey one takes when reading La Vie de Guinevere. The story sucks you in from the very beginning. Vera captures you with her realness, a depth that is so very human. It is this humanness that makes her so compelling, as well as the other characters who come alive due to the authors prowess with words and story telling and weaving this world as if with magic. The world of Camelot is so much more than what the legends say and so are its people. This is a definite must read.

I’ve looked forward to reading this book since I first heard Paula Lafferty talk about the premise. The fact that I was able to be an ARC reader is just the best news I could have received.

We follow Vera who is about as average as they come. Forgettable. One day she meets an older man who says he’s Merlin. (Yes! That Merlin! 🧙) He tells her she is actually the legendary Queen Guinevere and she has to go back in time to save Camelot.

The story had me hooked from the first page and I couldn’t put it down! The relationships between the characters are fun, heartbreaking, and so real. If you love Arthurian stories, medieval escapades and amazing bestie banter, this is absolutely the book for you!

What if everything we knew about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table was wrong?

Vera, a modern-day woman living a quiet life in Glastonberry, has her world turned upside when Merlin arrives on her doorstep to inform her that she is, in fact, Queen Guinevere of legend. Vera must travel through time to return to Camelot to help solve a curse which is slowly draining magic from the kingdom. If she refuses, the world as she knows it will cease to exist, so she reluctantly sets out to save the world.

Vera has no memories of her life as Queen Guinevere, and only subtle feelings to help guide her. Camelot is nothing like she expected. How could history have gotten so many things wrong? The architecture is spectacular, magic is commonplace, the knights have a rectangular table, and there’s even indoor plumbing! However, not everyone behaves as they should. Guinevere’s loving husband, King Arthur, can’t seem to stand the sight of her, while Lancelot behaves as her most loyal friend and ally. Was Lancelot and Guinevere’s fabled affair the one thing history managed to get right? With the threat of Saxon enemies rallying against King Arthur, Vera must work quickly to fill the role of Queen Guinevere and unlock her trapped memories in this unfamiliar version of history or the fabled Camelot will fall before it’s even had a chance to rise.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story moves along at a good pace and jumps into the action very quickly. This is certainly a unique and fresh take on the Arthurian legends, filled with magic, mystery, and romance. This book was an easy read and very entertaining. There were some great and unexpected twists and many moments which may make you laugh out loud. Vera is a great protagonist who has no problem jumping in and doing things, or with speaking her mind, yet doesn’t come across as a “girl-boss” which I love. She has real fears and doubts, she struggles, but she is compassionate to others, and she tries her hardest and stays true to herself throughout the story. She felt like a real person that I could relate to.

As I was asked to give a fair and unbiased review, here are the two things I didn’t love about the book.

There was one point in the story which felt on the verge of being too convenient. Very early in the book Vera voices her concern of being able to understand anyone in 6th century England. Merlin’s assures her that the magic which transports her back in time will help translate, so she will sound normal to them and vice versa. “That’s just the way that magic works” type situation. While this initially annoyed me, once I got further into the book, it fits the vibe of the story and ultimately I think the story is better off for it. It did a decent job of saying “Hey, this is a thing I know would be a problem, I took the time to address it, now you don’t have to worry about it and you can enjoy the story”. And I honestly can’t think of how it might have been accomplished better, so this ends up being appriopriate to the story and works well.

The second thing is 100% personal preference, and that is I get really annoyed when characters don’t talk to each other. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it is fairly obvious from very early on in the book and from the author’s marketing/social media that initially Arthur does not want a lot to do with Vera. He ignores, avoids, or snaps at her to varying degrees throughout the first half of the book and refuses to explain his behavior, but luckily it doesn’t drag on too long, and when he does finally start talking to her, I believed his character motives for his behavior. In other words, it made sense for his character to act that way given what had happened. Even if I don’t like a trope, if it makes sense in the story and to the characters, then that’s all you can really ask for, which in this case it did. So again, the author handled the trope very well and it was fitting for the story line. So if these are the types of things that also tend to annoy you in books, I encourage you to give this book a chance to see how the author made them work.

In summary, I love this refreshing version of medieval fantasy which does not take itself too seriously as Vera brings a healthy dose of 21st century fun to 6th century England, complete with swearing, high fives, rock paper scissors, and more. Overall the author did a good job subverting expectations, which is always a nice surprise. This book leaves you feeling warm and cozy, and more importantly, ready for the sequel. For this author’s debut book, I think she absolutely nailed it. Job well done.

***I received an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The story sets forth with Vera, living in modern day Glastonbury, struggling after the death of her boyfriend. A mysterious man shows up claiming to be the wizard Merlin and informs her she is desperately needed back in time in the seventh century. There's only one problem, Vera is apparently the legendary Queen Guinevere and she has no memories of her past life. And so begins the overwhelming quest of recovering Guinevere's memories, memories that could hold the key to saving the kingdom and their last chance to save magic before it disappears from the world forever.

It has been a long time since I have read a novel quite literally errorless in terms of 3rd person pov, with seamless dialogue and nearly endless fantasy action that drives the plot and doesn't stray from it. The characters develop gradually but have significant personality impact from beginning to end. There is magic, mystery, romance, action and humor (also known as Lancelot)!

The lines were not too wordy for the sake of material, each metaphor, adjective, and line HAD A PURPOSE, and brought on emotional context to both the scenery and the people. This novel spares no piece of your heart. There was something inherently human about the characters that I absolutely loved. Even amidst the contrast between modern day and the seventh century, both time periods stayed respective to one another. The locations and backgrounds were so well described that I found myself still imagining them even while starting other books weeks later.

If you are looking for an Arthurian fantasy with the ability to fully absorb you directly into the pages, look no further, this is the one! The plot twists were not only shocking but also so entirely original, that I am left with nothing to compare them to. I highly recommend you give this one a try even if romantasy isn't your cup of tea. What an impressive series starter! And now we wait patiently for book 2!

I would like to sincerely thank Paula for the ARC! I am so excited to have jumped on board in the very beginning and now watch the start of something so legendary that she has created! Can't wait to unbox my physical deluxe edition in October!

Firstly, I want to sincerely thank Miss Paula for giving me the opportunity to be one of her ARC readers. I've followed her journey from fairly early on and seeing her achieve what she has has been really inspiring as an aspiring self published author myself. I cannot express my thanks enough.

The story starts with Vera, a resident of modern day Glastonbury, who is struggling after the death of her boyfriend. So when a mysterious man shows up claiming to be the wizard Merlin and offers to take her back in time to the seventh century, she agrees. There's only one problem, Vera is apparently the legendary Queen Guinevere and she has no memories of her past life. And so begins the quest of recovering Guinevere's memories, memories that could hold the key to saving the kingdom and their last chance to save magic before it disappears from the world for good.

As someone who's read, watched and studied various versions and retellings of the legends of King Arthur, I absolutely adored this take and its creative aspects. Paula changed just enough for it to be riddled with new and exciting twists while keeping enough for it to feel true to the source. The time travel aspect helped to add another layer of intrigue that was woven with a rather fascinating magic system that I'm really hoping we learn more about.

But I definitely think that while the world building was great, this book was character driven in all the best ways. The characters were so well written, they had very distinct personalities and were individuals that felt relatably human and realistically flawed. I fell in love with (most of) our main characters right away, particularly Lancelot and Gawain just because they were so sweet, but I adored our heroine Vera as well and couldn't help but cheer her on, as for Arthur I think I respected him more than loved him like the other characters but he was sweet too. Your standards in men will definitely be raised lol. All the side characters were amazing as well and made their own impact on the story, they weren’t just cardboard cutouts there to advance the main characters development or the main plot line, they were each memorable in their own way. Everyone's emotions had an impact on the story (and me considering I cried an ungodly amount of times for various reasons) and the relationships between the main cast were so pure. The found family was absolutely adorable and balanced humor and genuinely emotional moments really well and you could just feel that they truly cared for one another. Those tender moments, whether purely platonic or romantic or something else entirely, were so touching to me. And obviously I can't say much but I will say one particular relationship really touched me as an aromantic because it was this easy intimate relationship between friends (forehead kisses and all). So seeing that relationship held just as high as the romantic ones, acknowledged as equal, really meant a lot to me because you don't see that done often and it was so beautiful. So for me personally, the emotions and relationships as well as that found family was definitely a huge part of why I loved this book so much.

The deeper themes of acceptance and healing made me cry more than once and I think it was the perfect time for me to read this because I ended up starting it shortly after my first suicidal thought after a year clean. Which was… really hard if I'm being honest. And I can't explain why but it really really helped me get through the fact that I was starting all over again.

Another thing that really stood out to me was the pacing. I have ADHD, which lately has been making it <i>really</i> hard to read, so much so that it feels like a curse. But I had absolutely no problems reading this in every minute of my spare time! And this isn't a short book. The questions and mysteries had me spinning theories like crazy (maybe half of which were correct lol) and looking back there was some really good foreshadowing there.

Overall this was an incredible debut novel that absolutely will live up to the excitement! La Vie de Guinevere was full of mystery and humor, wholesome relationships and bitter rivalries. A top tier found family and a mysterious villain. I would highly recommend it to fantasy fans who enjoy character driven stories with deeper themes and lessons, or just those who like Arthurian tales or fantasy retellings.

I received this as an ARC through NetGalley, but I’d been waiting anxiously to read it since discovering the WIP on TikTok forever ago.
This story is a fun and interesting take on the legend of King Arthur. The mystery makes a reader question everything they thought they knew about the legend and what really might be true. The magic and life of the world only add to the enjoyment of reading it. If I had to choose, I would say that Lancelot is my favorite, and I would like to think that many will enjoy his characterization. All and all, this was a great read, and I would gladly re-read it. My only complaint is that now I have to wait for book two!

La Vie de Guinevere is an exhilarating journey brimming with adventure, romance, and enchantment. The legend of King Arthur is already a magical one, and in La Vie de Guinevere, Lafferty reawakens the wonder of the original stories by transforming these legendary characters into multifaceted individuals that resonate deeply with readers. As a reader you feel like you are part of the court, and you become emotionally invested in not only Vera's journey but also the relationships, dynamics and mysteries of the side characters as well. One minute you're chuckling at a jibe aimed at Lancelot the next you're muffling your screams over the actions of a certain mage... The story itself is steeped in history and folklore, and reads like a classic fairy-tale, a love letter to legends and myths that have transcended time. This was such a fantastic read and I can't wait to see what happens next.

La Vie de Guinevere is full of adventure, romance and magic. Paula has taken well-known characters from the legends of Camelot, including Arthur, Lancelot and Merlin, among many others and she has made them even more complex, giving them further background stories and making the characters her own. The story follows Vera, our heroine as she is set on a quest of sorts, thrown out of the comfort of her life and normality, that has her questioning everything that she has ever known.

Throughout the book, you will be laughing along with the characters, you will be frustrated for them, perhaps even frustrated with them! However, no matter what you are feeling at any particular moment, you will be pulled in and hooked on the story from the very start. It is clear to me as a reader that a lot of research and time has been put into the writing of La Vie de Guinevere, every aspect of the story has been thought about and finely tuned to fit into the plot.

This book has inspired me to look into the legends and people of Camelot, a subject that I had never been intrigued by before! I can't wait to see what is up next for Vera and the gang. A fantastic five star read.