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marta_correia 's review for:
The Guinevere Deception
by Kiersten White
The Guinevere Deception was my first read from Kiersten White and it is a bit of a mixed bag for me... There were elements I really liked and others that disappointed me, becoming an overall average fantasy.
The strongest element of this book for me was the world building, particularly, the presence of the more tradicional magic, how it is rooted in Nature. The descriptions for the forests and other natural settings were really enveloping, the power and importance they held was palpable. I definitely enjoyed that aspect of the story and writing a lot!
As for the plot, I liked it in the first part of the book, the premise was good and with potential for an original and powerful twist. However, from the middle point onwards, it went downhill for me, with repetitive scenes and a climax that left me underwhelmed. The antagonists are predictable (guessed it from the beginning), the resolution predictable and the motives predictable. I really didn't like the arc of our main character with those final revelations, her potential is wasted and the way she is made to believe in something instead of being trusted with the facts was, in my opinion, just a lazy way to keep the reader guessing, because the narrator herself is as much in the dark as we are. There was little logic to quite a few things. Also, the Arthur-Guinevere-Mordred thing: unnecessary and eye rolling...
The characters had ups and downs, I wasn't impressed with any of it, but, aside from some things revealed about the main character, I didn't hate any of it either. Shoutout to the scene where Guinevere has her first menstruation! You rarely see that in fantasy and I appreciate it and liked how it played out.
All in all, I actually enjoyed my time with this book, there were a couple of surprising things happening, but that second half had too many plot points that frustrated me. I recommend this book if you like fantasy with traditional magic and a medieval setting.
There is one particular big question that is left unanswered, at least for me, and me wanting that answer is what is going to make me read the sequel. Also, Merlin: I want to know more about him, his motives and how will his schemes unfold in this version of the Arthurian legend!
The strongest element of this book for me was the world building, particularly, the presence of the more tradicional magic, how it is rooted in Nature. The descriptions for the forests and other natural settings were really enveloping, the power and importance they held was palpable. I definitely enjoyed that aspect of the story and writing a lot!
As for the plot, I liked it in the first part of the book, the premise was good and with potential for an original and powerful twist. However, from the middle point onwards, it went downhill for me, with repetitive scenes and a climax that left me underwhelmed. The antagonists are predictable (guessed it from the beginning), the resolution predictable and the motives predictable. I really didn't like the arc of our main character with those final revelations, her potential is wasted and the way she is made to believe in something instead of being trusted with the facts was, in my opinion, just a lazy way to keep the reader guessing, because the narrator herself is as much in the dark as we are. There was little logic to quite a few things. Also, the Arthur-Guinevere-Mordred thing: unnecessary and eye rolling...
The characters had ups and downs, I wasn't impressed with any of it, but, aside from some things revealed about the main character, I didn't hate any of it either. Shoutout to the scene where Guinevere has her first menstruation! You rarely see that in fantasy and I appreciate it and liked how it played out.
All in all, I actually enjoyed my time with this book, there were a couple of surprising things happening, but that second half had too many plot points that frustrated me. I recommend this book if you like fantasy with traditional magic and a medieval setting.
There is one particular big question that is left unanswered, at least for me, and me wanting that answer is what is going to make me read the sequel. Also, Merlin: I want to know more about him, his motives and how will his schemes unfold in this version of the Arthurian legend!