constant2m's review against another edition
5.0
What if King Arthur had been born a girl instead of a boy? Legend explores that very story.
Alena grew up as a maid in the palace, constantly on the brink of expulsion for refusing to submit to the authority and unwanted advances of knights and noblemen. Unlike anyone else she knew, she thought that class and caste should not matter and all should be treated equally. She also continually asserted, to the dismay of the duke and others who employed her, that while another might own her services, no one owned her body. It's a great rallying cry. Things began to change quickly when she overheard a plot to assassinate the duke and found a sword in an anvil and quickly grabbed it for the knight she was assisting in a tournament. As soon as Alena became the center of attention, she knew she didn't want it. Could she become queen? Should she become queen?
Legend could have easily parodied The Sword in the Stone, but Nicole's writing made it believable. There were almost too many anomalies in Alena's life. She didn't know who her parents were but had been sent to the castle instead of abandoned. She taught herself to read. She stood up to anyone who treated her wrongly, regardless of their social standing or the number of times she had already been rebuked for doing so. And those are only a few of the unusual characteristics of Alena. The idea of a woman becoming queen, and a maid at that, was also ridiculous and horrifying to so many people even after they watched her pull the sword from the stone on several more occasions. This wouldn't be a neatly resolved story. And it's definitely not a joke.
I'm curious to see how Alena grows into her role and eventually accepts the mantle that legend tells us she must. Sarah Colton narrated all of the voices perfectly. I could listen to her all day (and almost did, since I finished the book in less than a day). I received a free audiobook through StoryOrigin and have reviewed it gladly.
Alena grew up as a maid in the palace, constantly on the brink of expulsion for refusing to submit to the authority and unwanted advances of knights and noblemen. Unlike anyone else she knew, she thought that class and caste should not matter and all should be treated equally. She also continually asserted, to the dismay of the duke and others who employed her, that while another might own her services, no one owned her body. It's a great rallying cry. Things began to change quickly when she overheard a plot to assassinate the duke and found a sword in an anvil and quickly grabbed it for the knight she was assisting in a tournament. As soon as Alena became the center of attention, she knew she didn't want it. Could she become queen? Should she become queen?
Legend could have easily parodied The Sword in the Stone, but Nicole's writing made it believable. There were almost too many anomalies in Alena's life. She didn't know who her parents were but had been sent to the castle instead of abandoned. She taught herself to read. She stood up to anyone who treated her wrongly, regardless of their social standing or the number of times she had already been rebuked for doing so. And those are only a few of the unusual characteristics of Alena. The idea of a woman becoming queen, and a maid at that, was also ridiculous and horrifying to so many people even after they watched her pull the sword from the stone on several more occasions. This wouldn't be a neatly resolved story. And it's definitely not a joke.
I'm curious to see how Alena grows into her role and eventually accepts the mantle that legend tells us she must. Sarah Colton narrated all of the voices perfectly. I could listen to her all day (and almost did, since I finished the book in less than a day). I received a free audiobook through StoryOrigin and have reviewed it gladly.
nbjackson's review against another edition
4.0
*I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
In case you guys haven't noticed I've been on a fairytale retellings binge.
Legend is the story of Arthur pulling the sword from the stone and becoming King....wait no.
Legend is the story of a young maid, Alena, who knows nothing but servitude and abuse accidentally becoming Queen. No one accepts a girl, let alone a maid as ruler of all of Camelot but the witch who put the sword in the stone insists Alena is the rightful Queen.
Alena doesn't understand why she can't accept her role in life as a thing not a person with free will and it gets her in trouble. The other maids don't like her and her superiors go out of their way to make her life miserable. She sees becoming Queen as a huge mistake at first but eventually vows to treat everyone equally and takes on the role.
Alena gets really angsty and more and more distressed as the book continues. However, this is forgivable because she is only a 16-year-old girl. Angst is to be expected. She isn't that strong of a lady beyond the innate magic in her but hopefully, in the sequels, she will grow in both her physical and mental strength.
I recommend this to anyone looking for a book fighting classism from a female perspective. This tells the dirty truth of what happened in the courts behind the veils of knightly "chivalry".
In case you guys haven't noticed I've been on a fairytale retellings binge.
Legend is the story of Arthur pulling the sword from the stone and becoming King....wait no.
Legend is the story of a young maid, Alena, who knows nothing but servitude and abuse accidentally becoming Queen. No one accepts a girl, let alone a maid as ruler of all of Camelot but the witch who put the sword in the stone insists Alena is the rightful Queen.
Alena doesn't understand why she can't accept her role in life as a thing not a person with free will and it gets her in trouble. The other maids don't like her and her superiors go out of their way to make her life miserable. She sees becoming Queen as a huge mistake at first but eventually vows to treat everyone equally and takes on the role.
Alena gets really angsty and more and more distressed as the book continues. However, this is forgivable because she is only a 16-year-old girl. Angst is to be expected. She isn't that strong of a lady beyond the innate magic in her but hopefully, in the sequels, she will grow in both her physical and mental strength.
I recommend this to anyone looking for a book fighting classism from a female perspective. This tells the dirty truth of what happened in the courts behind the veils of knightly "chivalry".
saccalai's review against another edition
3.0
Alena is not satisfied with her life and refuses to give herself wholly to being just a maid. When she accidentally pulls a magic sword from a stone, her whole life changes and she discovers that there is a lot more to her story than she ever knew.
While she doesn't agree with the way things are and continues to fight back for her own rights, she also seems to scorn anyone else who has aspirations for a better life. There are quite a lot of contradictions in the book and I found the olden days language seemed a bit forced.
I really like the idea for the story with the combination of Robin Hood and Sword in the Stone. I hope there will be more about Alena's friend Liam in future books.
In terms of the narration, I felt like the accents were all over the place.
While she doesn't agree with the way things are and continues to fight back for her own rights, she also seems to scorn anyone else who has aspirations for a better life. There are quite a lot of contradictions in the book and I found the olden days language seemed a bit forced.
I really like the idea for the story with the combination of Robin Hood and Sword in the Stone. I hope there will be more about Alena's friend Liam in future books.
In terms of the narration, I felt like the accents were all over the place.
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