This book feels a bit like a TV series. I keep expecting this to feel like a tight, fast-paced fantasy series, but it feels more like a TV series. This one specifically. That's not bad in any way, but most of this book is side quests/filler that have one or two little details that will be relevant for the finale or the build-up to the finale. It didn't feel like the second book in a series. It is disappointing because I want that fantasy series that keeps moving etc and this is not it. It's a lot of interpersonal drama and not a fantasy epic.

I do love White's writing. It keeps me engaged even when the plot is meandering. I like how she's playing on the original tales and tropes. I'm such a sucker for anything Camelot. Obsessed with the TV series Merlin, and other retelling books such as [book:I Am Morgan le Fay|606935]. I think she's doing some things that are different and I am guessing how certain tropes are going to play out, especially with the way she has already subverted a lot of the original story.  I like that this feels new and unpredictable despite being a Camelot story. That's what I look for most in a retelling. The impressive part is taking a story everyone knows and turning it into something that feels new while it still fits within the sense of the original.