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.

December 2019 TBR

Happy December everyone! I can’t believe we are starting the last month of 2019 already. This year has gone by crazy fast. Last month I had a HORRIBLE month of reading. If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you know I participated in this fall reading bingo in September and October…. well I completely overdid it (got a blackout) so once November hit, I had zero desire to read anything. The books I did try to read didn’t exactly go very well. I started The Scorpio Races on November 1st to go along with the setting of the book but I just could not get into it. I’m still only about a third of the way through it and I haven’t touched the book since November 8th. I did start and finish The Wives by Tarryn Fisher though. I was lucky enough to receive an eARC from the publisher and really enjoyed it. Check out my review here. I also started another eARC that I was excited to get approved for but that has been slow going as well. Not that the book isn’t good… I just don’t feel like reading.

But I am hoping to turn things around in December because what’s better than curling up with a cozy blanket and a good book on a cold, snowy night. I’m putting together a very loose TBR so I have some options but also have a general idea of what I want to try and read this month. I have some review copies piling up so I would like to focus on getting those read. A couple of them are sequels to books I haven’t read yet so I’m also going to add in the first book for those.

• The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White – First off I need to finish this eARC since the book was already published on November 5th. So far I’m really intrigued by this Arthur retelling.
• Wonder Woman: Warbringer graphic novel – I want to get this one read but you won’t be seeing my review until it is released per publisher’s request so hang in there until January 7th.
• The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey – I was invited to read this from St. Martin’s Press and it sounds so good that I accepted. It also turns out to be one of the choices for Book of the Month this month so it must be good! This one publishes on December 10th so look for a review sometime around then.
• Blood Countess by Lana Popovic – Ever since I saw the movie Stay Alive, I’ve had a weird interest in Countess Elizabeth Bathory so I am really excited to read this one. This one is scheduled for publication on January 28th.

• Wicked Saints and Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan  – I’ve been really looking forward to this one and now since I was approved for the eARC of the sequel, I’m even more excited! Ruthless Gods is going to be published on April 7th so I may put that one on the back burner until I can get through a few more of these that are going to be published sooner. But I may end up loving Wicked Saints so much that I won’t be able to wait.

• A Curse So Dark and Lonely and A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer – I bought A Curse So Dark and Lonely shortly after it was published because it sounded so good and look at that cover… I then got an ARC of the sequel that is due to be published January 7th so I am thrilled to get to these two this month.

• One More River To Cross by Jane Kirkpatrick – This one I got a couple months ago from the publisher through LibraryThing. I’ve been putting it off because it didn’t quite fit into the bingo I was doing and then in November I just wasn’t feeling reading at all. This one published on September 3rd.

I’m also leaving things open for myself to read any of the books that I’ve purchased in 2019 but haven’t read yet. There were so many that I was excited for but had to put on hold because I didn’t want to attempt them when I wasn’t in the mood to read. Some of those may include:

What are you planning to read in December?

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Expected publication: December 30th 2019 by Graydon House

256 Pages

Goodreads Summary: Imagine that your husband has two other wives.

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don’t care. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself.

But one day, while you’re doing laundry, you find a scrap of paper in his pocket—an appointment reminder for a woman named Hannah, and you just know it’s another of the wives.

You thought you were fine with your arrangement, but you can’t help yourself: you track her down, and, under false pretenses, you strike up a friendship. Hannah has no idea who you really are. Then, Hannah starts showing up to your coffee dates with telltale bruises, and you realize she’s being abused by her husband. Who, of course, is also your husband. But you’ve never known him to be violent, ever.

Who exactly is your husband, and how far would you go to find the truth? Would you risk your own life?

And who is his mysterious third wife?

Review: I am a huge fan of Tarryn Fisher’s previous novels so I was ridiculously excited to get to read her upcoming novel early. Based on past experience with her writing, I was fully expecting something twisted and crazy… and The Wives is exactly that! Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, Tarryn throws in a twist, and then another twist, and another, until I’m not even sure what is happening! What I love about Tarryn’s books are that they aren’t what they seem in the beginning. The Wives appears to be a book about a polygamist marriage but that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what it ends up being in the end. I was completely shocked! I don’t want to say too much about the actual plot of the story because I think this book is one you kind of want to go in without any preconceived notions. If you are into psychological thrillers or Tarryn’s books, I highly recommend checking this one out! You won’t be disappointed.

4 Stars

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

October 2019 Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon

Time for another readathon! I always look forward to participating in Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon because I love being able to read all day long. This one is happening this Saturday, October 26th. Unfortunately I do have a few plans on Saturday so I won’t be able to spend the entire day reading but I am planning to read for as much as I possibly can. I’m not really going to set any goals for myself like I usually do but I did pull together a little TBR to read from. I will be starting Teeth in the Mist sometime during the week but I am including it in my TBR because I’m not sure if I will be able to finish it by Saturday.

• Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor, illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo
• Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich
• The Handmaid’s Tale graphic novel adapted by Renee Nault
• Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco
• Warrior of the Altaii by Robert Jordan

I’m really looking forward to reading all of these books. I’m not sure which ones I will be able to get to but since I am a mood reader I wanted to give myself plenty of options to choose from. I will be working on finishing Teeth in the Mist first and then go from there.

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Are you participating in this round of Dewey’s? Do you like to participate in readathons?

 

October 2019 TBR

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Okay, well it’s almost Halloween so I’m allowing myself to celebrate all month long! October is one of my favorite months of the year because the weather is finally feeling like fall, the leaves are turning, and I love filling my month with Halloweeny movies and books. I’m continuing on with the #hdbfallbingo reading challenge so I have another month full of thrillers, mysteries, and horror reads. I am pretty excited about all of the books that I have chosen for my TBR this month. And of course I’m also leaving myself open to add other books as well since I am a mood reader.

These books will all fulfill a square on my bingo card which makes me happy because I’m finally going to start getting some bingos with these reads.

• Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab
• Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich
• Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
• Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
• The Whisper Man by Alex North
• Tell Me Your Dreams by Sidney Sheldon
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger

I’m also going to be adding a couple of books from my Kindle and hopefully find some good audiobooks as well.  From my Kindle I’m adding:

• Pines by Blake Crouch
• Real Murders by Charlaine Harris
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

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What books are you planning to read this month? Do you like to theme your reads based on upcoming holidays or seasons?