The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

Camelot Rising #1

Published November 5, 2019 by Delacorte Press

352 Pages

Goodreads Summary: 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?

Review: I started off reading this book during a reading slump so for the first 8% I was a little out of touch with what was going on. I was really intrigued by Guinevere’s personality and back story. She is not all she appears to be, hence the title of the book. There are so many twists in this book that I’m not even sure how much I should say about the story or characters. When I got out of my reading slump, this book clicked so well with me. I loved everything that was going on and was on the edge of my seat. I was starting to ship Guinevere with a character who was NOT Arthur about halfway through. There is a mysterious character referred to as the patchwork knight and I was so sure I knew what was going to happen with this person but I was really surprised when I hit that particular twist. I’m not completely familiar with Arthurian legend but I really loved how Kiersten White approached this retelling. SUPER shocked about the major twist at the end. I seriously cannot wait until the next book comes out. I will definitely be buying myself a copy of this book and recommending it to fantasy fans.

4 stars

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.