The Story of Silence

This book was such a delight, and absolutely tugged on my heartstrings. The characters were all so lovable, the plot was well done, and it was just so complex and interesting that I couldn't put it down. I also really enjoyed the exploration into gender and sex in a historical setting. I wasn't a huge fan of the pacing, but I can overlook that. Overall, I had a great time, it was a beautiful story, and I highly recommend it.

Very interesting take on a trope that I haven’t seen much of before. I’m finding that the historical MM books are a little hard to find but when you do, they are fantastic! This one is no exception to that. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to dip their toes into historical MM. Its interesting, dynamic, and one I’ll reread again!

Very fascinating retelling of legend. Not my favorite version of trans narrative, but an interesting addition to the genre.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I had never heard of the poem this novel is based on, but I am always down for an Arthurian retelling. And I was not disappointed.

This was such a remarkable story about Silence's search for understanding of their own identity and their place within the world. I loved how the author switched around Silence's pronouns as they explored what it means to be born a woman, raised as a man, and all around be expected to pigeonhole their sense of self into what everyone else thinks should be.

I loved Silence's character, who, while being good and true and brave and everything a knight should be, but also be flawed and worried and secretive. The relationships that they built, especially with characters like Griselle were so wonderful to read. As soon as I had finished I wanted more stories of Silence as they continued to grow and change.

It does have some issues with pacing. It feels very slow and meandering, which sometimes worked, but sometimes felt like too much dragged. And I personally didn't like the epilogue, but I did understand how it plays into the idea of the story you tell about yourself versus the stories others will tell about you.

This was a fantastic new addition to the Arthurian canon, and I look forward to adding it to my own collection, as well as searching out more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360 for this ARC.