La Vie de Guinevere

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.

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.

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.

This was an unexpectedly good read! I have read several retellings of Arthur and Guinevere, all good but not spectacular, and find that this is the best so far! It is different from all the rest and stands out as one that I can read over and over again. There were certain parts where I thought, "OH, NO!" thinking it would turn around and become typical but I was wrong. I simply needed to be patient, and find that it is certainly not typical at all - now, my only regret is that I will have to wait for the sequel to see what is next in this version of Arthur and Guinevere.