The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White – Review

Published: November 5, 2019

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Series: Camelot Rising #1

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 342 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

There is 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?

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This was a YA book that grabbed my attention from the very moment I saw it. What could be more intriguing than the idea that Guinevere, future queen of Camelot, was not at all who she should be? The Guinevere Deception is an interesting twist on the age old tales of King Arthur and I greatly enjoyed the fact that this is from Guinevere’s perspective. 

The girl who is not Guinevere clearly has an affinity for the forests and it soon becomes clear that her father is none other than Merlin, who was banished from the kingdom. Arthur is trying to banish magic from Camelot so that it may thrive in the world of men, though it pains him to do so, for Merlin was a dear friend. This imposter Guinevere is Merlin’s effort to help Arthur and keep him safe because surely none could reproach the queen and she should be able to use her subtle magic to ward him. 

Guinevere and Arthur are both extremely likable characters from the get-go and while they are married in name both know this is sort of a sham. Arthur knows Guinevere’s identity and wow, I was relieved that there didn’t have to be an awkward, secretive element between them. Even Brangien, Guinevere’s handmaiden, was shockingly likable. Mordred, as I feel he is portrayed in every Arthurian book I’ve come across is slightly untrustworthy and he really tries to make some moves on the queen. Totally scandalous. Actually, he mostly told her that he would love her way more than Arthur ever would because he had to love and care for an entire kingdom which was true. I liked him more than I expected as well, even despite some of his actions later in the book.

There’s a slight element of threat and danger in the book from the Dark Queen who was supposedly defeated years prior, but it was never as creepy or dark as I hoped. Even when she was at her most threatening I was unconcerned for the wellbeing of the characters. The story takes a great deal of time to really take off as far as action goes, but I enjoyed the slow build up and the time given to get to know the characters. 

Overall, this was an enjoyable young adult fantasy and I’ll be curious to see how the rest of the trilogy plays out.