Review: The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising #1)

Title: The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising #1)
Author: Kiersten White
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Owlcrate
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

Review:

Princess Guinevere has arrived in Camelot to marry King Arthur. However, she isn’t the real Guinevere. She is a changeling that took the princess’s place at Merlin’s request. Guinevere has been sent to Camelot to protect Arthur from an unknown magical threat. As Guinevere learns more about the kingdom and tries to figure out the mysterious threat to Arthur, she realizes she doesn’t know much about herself and the world around her. Guinevere has to learn more about herself to get to the truth of Camelot.

I read stories about King Arthur when I was a kid, but I had forgotten the details before reading this story. I googled the story when I started it, so I did get some minor spoilers for the story. There were some twists from the original tale that modernized it and made it original.

This is a great introduction to the series. There were many hints of things to come. Guinevere’s past is a mystery, which I’m hoping will be explored in the next book. I had a lot of questions at the end, but these made me interested in the next book.

I really enjoyed this story!

What to read next:

Have you read The Guinevere Deception? What did you think of it?