quoth_chloe's review
2.0
I am so torn on this book.
For the most part I enjoyed it, I love the diversity in this book, it is incredible!
I liked most of the characters and enjoyed following them and seeing how their stories differed to the original.
It was a really good book for the most part and I’m really interested in seeing where it goes.
However, I felt that a lot of this was rushed.
Gwen and Aris relationship was a huge one, it just sort of happened, there was no build up or chemistry it was just there.
The pacing was off as well, one minute so much was happening so fast and then it stopped and there were weird timeline jumps that added a few plot holes.
I also Could not stand what happened when Ari “died”....
In what universe is it okay to sleep with your dead sisters wife whilst you’re apparently grieving and then get her pregnant???? I could not deal with this, it’s beyond ridiculous and the fact that Ari so quickly got over this. No thank you. I hate how quickly it was shrugged off by everyone except Merlin.
I’m interested in where the next one goes.
For the most part I enjoyed it, I love the diversity in this book, it is incredible!
I liked most of the characters and enjoyed following them and seeing how their stories differed to the original.
It was a really good book for the most part and I’m really interested in seeing where it goes.
However, I felt that a lot of this was rushed.
Gwen and Aris relationship was a huge one, it just sort of happened, there was no build up or chemistry it was just there.
The pacing was off as well, one minute so much was happening so fast and then it stopped and there were weird timeline jumps that added a few plot holes.
I also Could not stand what happened when Ari “died”....
In what universe is it okay to sleep with your dead sisters wife whilst you’re apparently grieving and then get her pregnant???? I could not deal with this, it’s beyond ridiculous and the fact that Ari so quickly got over this. No thank you. I hate how quickly it was shrugged off by everyone except Merlin.
I’m interested in where the next one goes.
darynnmark's review
I probably would've finished if my audiobook rental hadn't have expired, but overall, it just felt like too much. I think the idea of a teenage queen on a planet that is basically a caricature of King Arthur's court pushed me over the edge.
MINOR SPOILER: Getting plopped into the middle of a jousting tournament to hide from a corporation (which seemed to conveniently just disappear), then inexplicably winning? Too much.
There just seemed to be a lot of moments like those, and I wasn't feeling really motivated to finish.
MINOR SPOILER: Getting plopped into the middle of a jousting tournament to hide from a corporation (which seemed to conveniently just disappear), then inexplicably winning? Too much.
There just seemed to be a lot of moments like those, and I wasn't feeling really motivated to finish.
ginger_04's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
aliciamarie89's review against another edition
I really wanted to enjoy this, but the references to pop culture in a sci-fi/futuristic retelling of King Arthur are so frustrating to try and move past. Using Merlin to reference Katy Perry and quote Bohemian Rhapsody had me rolling my eyes and I couldn't continue.
alex_the_reader's review
5.0
I would love to start my review with thanking the publisher for sending me an ARC of Once and Future. Honestly this book got me when i read that it is gender bent king Arturh retteling and that it has lgbtquiap+ representation so i had high hopes for this book and i wasn't disapointed at all. I wanted to mention that we have represtation of gay, pan, gender fluidity and i loved every second of it. At first the story is a little slow but we were meeting the main charcter Ari and her half-brother Kay. Then we were meeting the wizard Merlin and we got to know his backstory. Trought the book i've meet so many amazing side characters that were all been developed and had backstory so i loved that about the book. Even though this book was written by two authors we don't see a big difference bettwen writing styles. As i got deeper into the book the story evolved so much and i couldn't put it down. The ending did quite shoke me and made me tear up. Overall the book was truly great and what i loved most are the characters and the representation of sexualitys.
I gave this book 4.75 stars just because of some issues i had at the start but i think this book will be very loved in 2019 because it is an amazing fantasy book. I wanted again to say thank you to @rocktheboatnews for giving me an opportunity to read and love this book.
THIS BOOK IS ON SALE 26/MARCH/2019.
I gave this book 4.75 stars just because of some issues i had at the start but i think this book will be very loved in 2019 because it is an amazing fantasy book. I wanted again to say thank you to @rocktheboatnews for giving me an opportunity to read and love this book.
THIS BOOK IS ON SALE 26/MARCH/2019.
celestrium's review
3.0
SPOILERS AHEAD
I'm not going to write much but I feel like something had to be said as nobody else appeared to.
Many have mentioned that Ari and Gwen's relationship felt forced or rushed and I agree with both. However, to me, what struck as most toxic of all was Gwen's pregnancy by Kay and Ari's reaction to this. Gwen telling Ari that she requested to be impregnated by Kay, because they thought Ari was dead, as Kay was the closest she could get to it being Ari is just terrible! What a terrible thing to say and for Ari to accept that is just flat out toxic.
This book is wonderous in its inclusivity and reduction of toxic masculinity but this moment truly left a bad aftertaste. I understand that Gwen and Lancelot is always a thing of Arthurian legend but there are much better and more creative ways of tackling that trait and perpetuating toxicity shouldn't be one of them.
I did enjoy this book though. It was creative (for the most part) and a fun adventure, especially as my return to adventure books after a hiatus. It is true the pacing really wasn't consistent but it also didn't have any long, boring chapters devoted solely to travelling so that's a plus.
All in all, it's a fun easy read for lovers of Arthurian legend but expect to take it with a pinch of salt and to enjoy unexpected characters. My final words are simply, Merlin and Morgana (along with Val and Lam) turned into my favourite characters - and they're the ones who are supposed to be baddies (well, Morgana at least), whereas I came to dislike Ari and Gwen as much as Mercer, which I don't think is an intention for the story's heroes.
I'm not going to write much but I feel like something had to be said as nobody else appeared to.
Many have mentioned that Ari and Gwen's relationship felt forced or rushed and I agree with both. However, to me, what struck as most toxic of all was Gwen's pregnancy by Kay and Ari's reaction to this. Gwen telling Ari that she requested to be impregnated by Kay, because they thought Ari was dead, as Kay was the closest she could get to it being Ari is just terrible! What a terrible thing to say and for Ari to accept that is just flat out toxic.
This book is wonderous in its inclusivity and reduction of toxic masculinity but this moment truly left a bad aftertaste. I understand that Gwen and Lancelot is always a thing of Arthurian legend but there are much better and more creative ways of tackling that trait and perpetuating toxicity shouldn't be one of them.
I did enjoy this book though. It was creative (for the most part) and a fun adventure, especially as my return to adventure books after a hiatus. It is true the pacing really wasn't consistent but it also didn't have any long, boring chapters devoted solely to travelling so that's a plus.
All in all, it's a fun easy read for lovers of Arthurian legend but expect to take it with a pinch of salt and to enjoy unexpected characters. My final words are simply, Merlin and Morgana (along with Val and Lam) turned into my favourite characters - and they're the ones who are supposed to be baddies (well, Morgana at least), whereas I came to dislike Ari and Gwen as much as Mercer, which I don't think is an intention for the story's heroes.
readingthestars's review
2.0
Spoilers!
This book...was a roller coaster. And not necessarily for a good reason.
I'm a huge fan of Arthur and Merlin lore ever since the TV show Merlin, so this book immediately seemed interesting to me. An updated version of a classic tale? Cool.
But it was...not well executed. The general premise was good, and setting it in space was different, but the writing was just very lacking. It felt like they were trying to fit a whole trilogy into a single book, and it just didn't work. There wasn't really a direction to the story, I was confused maybe the entire time, and none of the characters seemed fully developed/in character all of the time. It's like they didn't have a good idea of who each character was and made it up as they went. The world building could have been cool, but just confused me and none of it was really explained well.
There were also a lot of continuity errors as far as I could tell? Characters wouldn't leave a scene but then suddenly two characters were having a private conversation. And once they rescued their moms, they literally just didn't show up for the rest of the book. They were mentioned ONCE after they were saved. What happened to them?
I will give this book props for diversity. It had a lot, and it did contribute to the story.
Merlin is always my favorite character, and in this book he just seemed very foolish and silly at times. I know he's a teenager now, but he's been through a lot so I expected him to be more wise and hardened basically.
One of my biggest things with this book was the relationships. They moved VERY fast. Everybody meets each other and immediately they love each other/consider each other best friends and would do anything for them. I understand that for Merlin, but for the others it just seems a bit unrealistic.
And my biggest problem - I love Merlin and Val together, BUT RISKING THE SAFETY OF AN ENTIRE PLANET FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP? AND THEN JOKING ABOUT IT?? I just can't.
As many problems as I had with this book, we'll see if I read the sequel. Like I said, I love Merlin in any reincarnation of this story so if he's once again a focal point in the next book, I may skim it to read about him. I also want his relationship with Ari to develop some more, which seems like it may happen. We'll see.
This book...was a roller coaster. And not necessarily for a good reason.
I'm a huge fan of Arthur and Merlin lore ever since the TV show Merlin, so this book immediately seemed interesting to me. An updated version of a classic tale? Cool.
But it was...not well executed. The general premise was good, and setting it in space was different, but the writing was just very lacking. It felt like they were trying to fit a whole trilogy into a single book, and it just didn't work. There wasn't really a direction to the story, I was confused maybe the entire time, and none of the characters seemed fully developed/in character all of the time. It's like they didn't have a good idea of who each character was and made it up as they went. The world building could have been cool, but just confused me and none of it was really explained well.
There were also a lot of continuity errors as far as I could tell? Characters wouldn't leave a scene but then suddenly two characters were having a private conversation. And once they rescued their moms, they literally just didn't show up for the rest of the book. They were mentioned ONCE after they were saved. What happened to them?
I will give this book props for diversity. It had a lot, and it did contribute to the story.
Merlin is always my favorite character, and in this book he just seemed very foolish and silly at times. I know he's a teenager now, but he's been through a lot so I expected him to be more wise and hardened basically.
One of my biggest things with this book was the relationships. They moved VERY fast. Everybody meets each other and immediately they love each other/consider each other best friends and would do anything for them. I understand that for Merlin, but for the others it just seems a bit unrealistic.
And my biggest problem - I love Merlin and Val together, BUT RISKING THE SAFETY OF AN ENTIRE PLANET FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP? AND THEN JOKING ABOUT IT?? I just can't.
As many problems as I had with this book, we'll see if I read the sequel. Like I said, I love Merlin in any reincarnation of this story so if he's once again a focal point in the next book, I may skim it to read about him. I also want his relationship with Ari to develop some more, which seems like it may happen. We'll see.
iheartkarenmmcmanus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
kgraham10's review
4.0
What fun! A YA queer, race bent, gender bent, space opera retelling of the Arthurian legend.
However, I wish it hadn't ended with a start of a sequel.
However, I wish it hadn't ended with a start of a sequel.