Review: The Guinevere Deception

I have had an ARC of The Guinevere Deception sitting on my shelf since June 2019, staring at me. Finally, I picked it up and started reading it then *boom* – I get the ARC of Camelot Betrayal and it’s game time.

It took some time for me to get through and read this book, but not because it was bad. The opposite. It was amazing.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes a new fantasy series reimagining the Arthurian legend, set in the magical world of Camelot.

There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

I really like how this book was set up. I’m familiar with the Disney version of King Arthur, but haven’t read the original tale, so I don’t know anything about the original Guinevere. So going into this I was a little nervous that I was going to be lost but Kiersten is so amazing and she made it so easy to get into the book.

We have an impostor Guinevere, a changeling in her place to marry King Arthur, who is there to protect him from evil forces rising against him. Merlin has been banished, unable to help from the inside. And in the real Guinevere’s place? Merlin’s daughter.

With impostor Guinevere, we get to see all the knights of the round table, except for Lancelot. Mordred, Arthur’s nephew, steps in to help Guinevere adjust to life in Camelot along with her maid Brangien. I loved Brangien, I thought she was a great friend to Guinevere and while she was a bit one dimensional in the beginning, once she became more of a fleshed out character and really blossomed, I began to love her more and more.

Mordred on the other hand, is great from the beginning. I could tell from the get go that Mordred always wanted to be by Guinevere’s side and it kind of irked me. I liked Guinevere and Arthur together – I don’t want Mordred coming in and wrecking this relationship! Arthur is as charming as legend says – the Golden Boy who saved Camelot from his father. I loved each moment Guinevere got with Arthur, although I wish it was more often. He’s such a great character and every second with him I was swooning.

In terms of the plot, I was hooked from the beginning. There were some slower moments in the middle as Guinevere gets more comfortable with her new life, but we quickly learn that everything is not roses and sunshine in Camelot. I wish we had more moments like the beginning, showing Merlin and False Guinevere’s relationship, but I know more will probably be revealed over the next two books.

Once we got more into the book I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to absorb every second of the magic in this book and never stop. Plus, all the battle scenes are really cool too! Guinevere is such a fun character to follow around because not only is she having to pretend to be someone she’s not, she also has to hide her true self from even those who might know her more intimately. It’s like layers upon layers of false identities that I’m not even sure Guinevere knows who she is anymore. And I loved it.

Overall, I really, really liked this book and I’m so excited to read Camelot Betrayal!! The Guinevere Deception gets a .5 // 5 stars from me!

If this book sounds interesting, check out Legendborn by Tracy Deonn or Once and Future by A.R. Capetta & Cory McCarthy!

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