king arthur – Lu is lost in books

HELLO AND WELCOME TO MY STOP FOR THE CAMELOT BETRAYAL BOOK TOUR!

A huge thanks to Tbrandbeyond tour for this chance!

The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising #2) by Kiersten White

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Publishing Date: November 10, 2020

The second book in a new fantasy trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, exploring the nature of self, the inevitable cost of progress, and, of course, magic and romance and betrayal so epic Queen Guinevere remains the most famous queen who never lived.

EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.

Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde, Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight, and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere–the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn’t belong. She never will.

When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere’s younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving–Camelot, or herself?

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you so much, Random House Children’s and Delacorte Press, for the chance to read and review this book.

In Camelot king Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence and queen Guinevere is at his side, but even though she accepted this new role, Guinevere fights against the feeling of not belonging. Plagued by nightmares and lost memories, Guinevere isn’t able to find her place in Camelot, not with her friends, each of them occupied with their own problems and troubles: Brangien pining for her lost love Isolde, Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight and Arthur, with his kingdom to deal with and less time for her.
When the younger sister of the real Guinevere comes to Camelot, Guinevere has to struggle with more and more deceptions.

The Camelot Betrayal is the second book in this new fantasy series and it explores magic and its consequences, romance, betrayals, memories and loss.
Like the first installment, The Camelot Betrayal is full of plot twists, magic and questions, with an intense main character who is struggling to understand who she is, what memories are real, what really happened and is happening around her and Camelot.
Hurt and betrayed by Mordred, fascinated and scared by him and by the Lady of the Lake, Guinevere tries to fit into a role made for someone else, wondering what and who she should be. Wife? Sister? Queen? Witch?

While Arthur is busy with politics and the Dark Queen, Guinevere has to deal with missing memories, intrigues, romances and more and more questions about everything. Her character is really complex and relatable in her wondering, in her trying to do the right thing, protecting her loved ones and her city.
Interesting her thoughts about magic and its aftermath, about her own intricate feelings about Arthur and Mordred and Merlin.
The Camelot Betrayal is full of strong female characters, both old and new, characters determined to protect, fight and save and do the right thing.

In a world mixing politics and magic, roles and romance, enemies and allies, The Camelot Betrayal is an intriguing sequel, full of plot twists, sweet and intense moments, magic, love and friendships.

Here there are my top 5 reason to read The Camelot betrayal.

Like in the first book, the magic used by Guinevere is peculiar and intriguing, made of knot, intricate knots, casting spells to protect her city and the people she loves. Her magic, her art is subtle, but intense and powerful and even though it costs her physically, Guinevere is ready to do anything to save and protect.

In a world of knights and people obsessed over king Arthur and his strength, women are the real protagonists. The Camelot betrayal is feminist, studded with women able to make their own choices, to fight, to love and protect, refusing to be in men’s shadows.

All the women in this book are fierce and determined, brave and stubborn, with their own plans and agency, their own strength and who refuse to stand still and wait for some man to save them.

I loved the presence, more prominent in this second book, of Brangien and Isolde and their love, so sweet and full of understanding and support.

Mordred is a very captivating, complex and deceptive character, his intentions unclear and his plans unknown to anyone.

Merlin. Like many other characters in this series, Merlin’s intentions are unclear and mysterious. It feels like his hands are everywhere, controlling and steering many characters’ fate, their opinions about him complex and not always positive.

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling and Bram Stoker award-winning author of the And I Darken trilogy, the Paranormalcy trilogy, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, Slayer, The Guinevere Deception, and many other novels. Kiersten lives with her family in sunny San Diego, California, where she perpetually lurks in the shadows.

Author Links:

Website: http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kierstenwhite

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkierstenwhite/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3027554.Kiersten_White

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KierstenWhite

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43908050-the-camelot-betrayal

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Camelot-Betrayal-Rising-Trilogy/dp/0525581715/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1208YJGY5IDI3&dchild=1&keywords=the+camelot+betrayal&qid=1600374080&sprefix=The+Camelot+Betrayal%2Caps%2C219&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-camelot-betrayal-kiersten-white/1136466624?ean=9780525581710

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/The-Camelot-Betrayal/9780593305485

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-camelot-betrayal/9780525581710-item.html?ikwid=The+Camelot+Betrayal&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=02ae108b89b933baf1063754bc0588ec

Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780525581710

TOUR SCHEDULE: The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising #2) by Kiersten White

Giveaway (US Only):

Finished copy of The Camelot Betrayal. The giveaway ends on November 16^th.

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/fc15a59515/?

ARC REVIEW

432 pages

Published March 3rd 2020 by Sourcebooks Fire

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. A huge thanks to SOURCEBOOKS fire for this!

TW:

Rin Chupeco’s book deals with issues like homophobia (against Alex and Loki’s fathers), racism, child abuse, abuse, bigotry, poltical stance on immigration, police (ICE agents) abuse of power.

THE PLOT

Tala Warnock is the descendant of Maria Makiling, a Filipine heroine able to negate spells and she lives in a world where magic is strictly controlled, a modern world where magic and techonology are both present and connected.

In Invierno, a boring town in Arizona, magic rarely works and thanks to her family’s ties to the country of Avalon (unreachable, frozen and bespelled for almost 12 years) they are chosen to protect and guard the heir of Avalon, Alexei, taking care of him against people and countries who want to exploit his kingdom’s magic for their cruel ends.

While both Tala and Alex try to have a normal life, going to school, to parties, trying to have boyfriends, their life are abruptly changed when the firebird, one of the Avalon’s deadliest weapon, appears to Alex and the Snow Queen, presumed dead, attacks him. They are forced to run, leaving the town, helped by Tala’s family, by the Bandersnatchers, a contingent of young people, teenagers, tasked to protect their heir.

On the run, in a kingdom she thought lost, Tala is confronted with family’s secrets, magic and the need and desire to protect her best friend and understand her own powers and story.

MY THOUGHTS

I really liked Wicked as you wish. In the beginning, to be honest, I found the worldbuilding a bit confusing, but while reading everything clicked and I found myself involved in this amazing story.

Set on a Earth where fairytales’ characters like Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat, Arthur Pendragon and so on and where places like Avalon, Wonderland and Beira, the Snow Queen’s kingdom are real, the reader is pushed right away in a complex and captivating world.

It’s almost possible to divide the book in two parts, the first one, set in Invierno and the other one in Avalon. In the first part, the reader get to know Tala and Alex, their secrets, Tala’s being a spellbreaker, Alex being gay and closeted and the Avalon’s heir in a world not so different from our own, except for the magic.

The firebird, the Bandersnatchers, the Snow Queen change everything and Tala is separated from her family, with a friend to protect and she’s is forced to rely on herself and her new friends, in their attempt to reach Maidenkeep and to try to save their kingdom, but their trip is full of surprises. Ice wolves, secrets, frog marsh king, profecies, dooms and fights.

During the trip the reader, through Tala, get to know the Bandersnatchers, their bonds, friendship, families, powers and weapons and Avalon’s story. One of the things I loved the most are the characters. I loved the diversity in this book. Tala is biracial Filipino, Alex is gay, Loki is non-binary, Chinese-Canadian and was adopted by two men, Ken is from Japan.

Tala is smart, brilliant and determined and in a situation where she’s utterly unprepared, but where she’s eager to learn and fight. Betrayed, full of question, she’s focused on their mission, willing to do anything to protect her best friend and save Avalon.

The Bandersnatchers are amazing, I loved them so much. Zoe, who is the leader of the mission, is brilliant, sensible and weighed down by the responsiblity of protecting a stubborn and with attitude heir. West, whose family is naturalist, so doesn’t know many modern things, is funny, cute in his questions and he’s a Roughskin, a shapeshifter. (I laughed so much while reading him shredding his clothes and Zoe complaining about him being naked.)

Ken,with his magical swords and their hidden powers, is playful and funny. Loki, with their magical staff, is a ranger, resourceful and without them and their sense of direction, they would have been stuck in the forest forever. Cole with his scary scythe, his attitute and his secrets is the brooding type, but with his heart in the right place (I hope). And Nya, the latest addiction, full of surprise and ready to be part of their group and adventure. I want to know more about them, from Zoe and her boyfriend (and his bond with Alex), West’s shapeshifting, Ken’s explanations and joke, Loki and their fathers’ love and their powers.

I LOVED the firebird. Like the bantering between the Bandersnatchers, the firebird was unbelievably funny and I laughed so much reading the scene with it in it, like when he blew raspberry or rolled his eyes.

Alex is another interesting character, with a painful past. When he was five years old he saw his parents being killed and was saved and taken away from Avalon, before the frost hit the kingdom. He spent all his life hiding, running for his life, shuttled from one family to the other, until Tala’s family, who was forced, with the firebird’s arrival, to leave Invierno and run away. Coming back in his kingdom, destroyed, frozen and hurt by the Snow Queen and her vendetta is painful and for most of the book, in Avalon, Alex is rude, hurtful and full of lies and secrets, keeping himself away from Tala and the others. I hope he and Tala will find a way to be more honest around one other in the next book.

Complex are the “villains” in the story, like the Snow Queen, her story and past really interesting, like her vendetta and obsession and Ryker, who is a intruing character, his past and his reasons for his loyalty painful and raw to read. I liked Ryker, a lot, and I can’t wait to know more about them, their full and bigger plan.

Amazing are the side characters, like Tala’s family, Lumina and Kay, their love and relationship strong and inspiring, and Lola Urduja and Katipuneros, a group of old warriors, unbelievably tenacious and ready to do anything to protect their families and heir and the Cheshire, a mastermind.

Interesting and unique is the use of profecies and dooms, so important in this world that a certain kind of doom can get some priviliges. It was amazing trying to decode the Dame’s and the priestess’ predictions, while reading! Fascinating the magic and the concept it comes with a price, usually a physical one. Brilliant and funny are the chapter titles, like (In wich government agents are assholes, but what else is new or In which Loki uses a toothpick and Ken loses a fight with a library)!

TO SUM UP

Above all, I really loved this book. I loved how the author deals with important themes, like abuse, homophobia, racism in Wicked as you wish, talking about the political tension in their world, the power abuse, the countries’ stance on immigration and so on. At the same time it’s a journey of discovery, of trying to do the right thing, of protecting others, of taking back a kingdom, of learning things about others and oneself.

The characters are amazing, the story is full of mysteries, plot twists, fairytales characters and this mix of modern world and fairytales was amazing and funny. I can’t wait to know what will happen next.