From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes a new fantasy series reimagining the Arthurian legend, set in the magical world of Camelot.

There was nothing in the world as magical and terrifying as a girl.

Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom’s borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution–send in Guinevere to be Arthur’s wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king’s idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere’s real name–and her true identity–is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old–including Arthur’s own family–demand things continue as they have been, and the new–those drawn by the dream of Camelot–fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur’s knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

*THE FIRST BOOK IN THE CAMELOT RISING TRILOGY*

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel! I have been in love with Kiersten’s work since I read Slayer; and I knew that this novel would be no exception. The tale of King Arthur is one of my favorites, and just to have a retelling where Guinevere is the driving force of the plot is everything I didn’t know I needed! Kiersten does such an amazing job writing badass women, and I fell head over heels for this story from the first chapter.

We are introduced to Guinevere as she makes her trek to Camelot; but we soon find out that she’s actually NOT the princess she claims to be. She is a witch sent by Merlin to keep Arthur safe and on the throne, which seems like a simple task at first until she realizes there are dark forces at play trying to emerge and take back what once was theirs. Guinevere must fight through keeping her magic a secret as it is outlawed in her new kingdom, learn who to trust within her court, and juggle the duties of a new fake queen/wife with doing the job she was sent there for. Arthur’s kind heart forces her to grow close to him quickly; like she’s known him for ages. She starts to notice gaps in her memory and begins the journey of figuring out who she really is, where she comes from, and why she is so deathly afraid of water.

The lore in this book is spectacular; it does such a wonderful job of keeping the base story that we have all heard in our English classes growing up but making it much more exciting and easier read in these modern times. The humor is spot on, and so are the gut-twisting battles between good and evil along the way. The magic system is also brilliant. There are so many different kinds, my personal favorite being the knot magic. I think, though, the thing I loved most was Guinevere’s sight when she touched something. It was so beautiful but also heart breaking to see the inner thoughts of a mountain being slowly eroded or an eel who had been baked into a pie. There are so many gorgeous little details that really flesh out this story.

I also related to Guinevere a lot. I too am a child of the forest, and there’s a scene where she talks about how much easier it would be to just be a tree instead of a person. I’ve had this exact thought before. It was so nice to see this strong yet vulnerable character weaving her way through her greatest fears, the uncertainty of first loves, and the constant battle of not just the dark magic threatening their very lives, but also just being around people and knowing how to act without blowing her cover. She is such a well-written main character, and I can’t wait to know more about her as the series progresses. All told, this may be my favorite retelling of the year, and I am so excited to see where the story goes from here.

5/5 stars