The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
kelleyannelyse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
brynncar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
writingcaia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When young she feels cursed by her ability to see the future, her mother stifles it fearing for her as magic, which only the fae or fae descendants have, is banned from the kingdom by Uther Pendragon, father of Arthur and Morgana, who have been long away from the court of Camelot raised by the fae in Avalon with their two friends Lancelot and Guinevere. Until, one day Morgana, in a visit to court, meets Elaine and convinces her sheâs blessed and should go back with her to Avalon.Â
You all know of Arthur being the foretold king, of his mad witch sister Morgana, of Guinevere and Lancelotâs betrayal, of Merlin, but not like itâs told in this tale.
Here the women have voices, have reasons, theyâre the force of the tale, specially our lady of Chalot, and love and betrayal, going mad or sad is not as simple as you may think.
The narrative is complex as itâs being told solely by Elaine, it starts as the friends are about to leave Avalon in their twenties finally returning to Camelot to fulfil their destinies. And, it starts with her knowing all the events that will come to pass in their near future, and theyâre not good, not at all, then she goes back to the past to explain how it all started, their friendships, Arthur and Gwenâs love story, Morganaâs magic, and Lancelot⌠but, then sheâs having a vision into the future in the past, then in the present, the visions are always similar but evolving, as Nimue, the lady of the lake, has taught her the future changes, but as you follow Elaine back and forth, they donât really seem to, and she knows it all. Living and loving with the knowledge she has is not easy, the decisions she has to make harder still, and thatâs mostly the plot of the book, the arc of this one character as she juggles how to lead Arthur to his destiny without the âbadâ things having to happen even though she doesnât see a way to avoid them.
I really enjoyed the book, but the strange narrative the going back and forth, the repetitive visions, knowing only the other characters by how she sees them and tells them (not shows) was sometimes a bit too much, still if that doesnât bother you I definitely recommend it.Â
It was a refreshing take on the mythical stories of these characters, if dark and sad.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
tc_booksandmore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual content
mackenziem12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
amandabw425's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
shadesofkate26's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
rstegema's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gore and War
the_book_griffin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Toxic relationship
readwithde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Let me start with the good parts, the loyalty and camaraderie and love between the main characters, the difficult choices and grey areas of life, the weight of power and responsibility for the future, the interwoven fates of Gwen, Elaine, and Morgana... it was so rich with detail and life and possibly.Â
As for the not-so-great parts, Elaine became a bit annoying to me.
I also felt like I needed 2 extra chapters, just to detangle what may have changed, if anything.
Overall, I love this version of the story, and I love the focus on how the women of Camelot could not be themselves, how Gwen, Morgana, and Elaine spent their entire lives being trained to sacrifice themselves for Arthur's sake.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and War