Disclaimer: I received this audiobook from the publisher on Netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own. 

 

Book: The Sword and The Sophomore 

 

Author: B.P. Sweany 

 

Book Series: American Martyr Trilogy Book 1 

 

Rating: 2.5/5 

 

Diversity: Deaf character 

 

Recommended For...: Young Adult readers, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Arthurian, King Arthur 

 

Publication Date: July 9, 2024 

 

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy 

 

Age Relevance: 15+ (pregnancy, labor, drugs, religion, sexual content, romance, gore, attempted sexual assault, underage alcohol consumption, violence, death, grief) 

 

Explanation of CWs: There is one scene involving pregnancy and labor. There are some romance and mentions of sexual content, but nothing is shown. There is one scene where there is an attempted sexual assault, but nothing graphic is shown the most that happens is the attempt. There are mentions of marijuana. There is some religious (Catholicism) mentions. There is some violence and blood gore. There are a couple of scenes of underage alcohol consumption. There is some death and grief. 

 

If This Was a Taylor Swift Song: The Prophecy 

 

Publisher: Th3rd World Studios 

 

Pages: 297 

 

Synopsis: Arlynn Rosemary Banson is an atypical sixteen-year-old—the cool, popular outsider, effortlessly straddling the line between divas and dorks. Her forever young mother, Jennifer, is dedicated to making her life awkward by trying to be her friend. Her father, Alan, is a workaholic history professor who barely acknowledges his family’s existence. Her boyfriend, Benz, the quarterback and homecoming king, has just broken up with her, while her best friend, Joslin, bears reluctant witness to Rosemary’s romantic drama. But nothing prepares any of them for a Welsh foreign exchange student named Emrys Balin. Emrys looks like a teenager, but he seems to act much, much older. Rosemary discovers she is part of the Lust Borne Tide, children born to the royal line of King Uther Pendragon who are imbued with mystical powers after being conceived in lust. Rosemary’s parents are Guinevere and Lancelot, banished by King Arthur to twenty-first century suburban America prior to Rosemary’s birth as punishment for their affair. Rosemary is the third in the Lust Borne line, after King Arthur and his son Mordred, the latter of whom has traveled to the future to continue the line of the Lust Born Tide by retrieving Rosemary and returning her to the late fifth century to conceive a child with her. But Rosemary has other plans—plans that involve training under Emrys and kicking Mordred’s butt, as long as it doesn’t interfere with prom or getting back with her boyfriend Benz. 

 

Review: I felt like this was a good story. I like Arthurian based stories and I felt like this was a good plot for one. The story was strong and I was definitely interested in the ending as the story went on. I felt like the characters were well developed and overall it was a decent story.
 
 However, I wasn't that pleased with this book. I feel like most of the story wasn't focused on the plot but rather on random side issues that didn't even come into the plot later. The climax of the story came about 85% into the book. The pacing was off throughout the read and it felt more like a first draft than a nearly finished read. I found myself wondering what the point of the chapters were multiple times throughout the book and I definitely think it could have been a smaller story given what was plot relevant in it. Definitely not my favorite read, but one I felt was interesting in it's own right. 

 

Verdict: It was good, just not for me.