Guinevere Deception

King Arthur but with a feminist slant that isn’t just making Arthur female? Sign me up. Avalon High by Meg Cabot is one of my favorite books ever TBH, and the Disney movie bastardization sent me into a fit of depression for weeks. But reading The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White made me want to reread Avalon High in the BEST way. It’s fun, windy, and a fun play on the original story we all know.

Guinevere is not Guinevere, but she is the Guinevere she needs to be as she marries young King Arthur. She has been sent to protect him despite magic being banned from Camelot, and as she searches out the threats against him she realizes it is going to be difficult. As she works her own magic, there is dark magic afoot, a patchwork knight trying to get closer to the king, a banished woman accused of witchcraft, and the father that Guinevere left behind when she became Guinevere. I won’t ruin who that father is here, but you figure it out pretty quickly. Doing magic in Camelot is dangerous, but Guinevere is willing to do what she must to protect Arthur, protect the kingdom, and protect those around her. She’s got a great relationship with her lady’s maid, there’s some sexual tension on two different fronts, and some GREAT lines I underlined, and I rarely do that.(I won’t spoil it but it has to do with a sun comparison and I SCREAMED because I related to it sooo hard).

The Guinevere Deception is the first book in a new series by Kiersten White, who is also doing the Slayer series, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a trilogy (It’s called the Camelot Rising Trilogy) but maybe there will be spin-off novels, novellas, story, etc. Can’t wait to see what happens next!