The Guinevere Deception is the story of a young woman who deceives a kingdom to save its king. It is about the testing of loyalty, perseverance, and love in the face of danger and disarray. It combines modern ideology with ancient lore to create an intriguing and twisty bent on the Arthurian legends. It is wonderfully imagined and dully written.

Author Kiersten White set out to strengthen the female characters of the Arthurian legends, but once again we have the beginnings of another poorly developed love triangle in which love is determined by the amount of spark in a touch. Is she falling for Arthur, the boy king who is so busy running a kingdom, she is always lamenting that he’s never around to get to know? Or the other person, who she thinks is snake-like one moment and her BFF the next?

Guinevere spends most of her time poorly investigating a threat by jumping to huge conclusions, floundering when she doesn’t know basic things, and always seems to be confused. Confused about who she is, what she should be doing, who she has feelings for, and who is telling her the truth. White’s female characters may not be sex fodder, but they definitely aren’t strongly written either.

In fact, no one is strongly written, and the characters fall flat. As does the story and writing. Most of the story is told rather than shown and the plot points the author does try to foreshadow are hammered in and obvious.

I finished this book because I love Arthurian legends and I wanted to see what the author did with it. However, the writing is not particularly beautiful or rhythmic. The story moves slowly and isn’t well crafted, not are the characters. It’s intriguing enough to want to know how it finishes but not particularly well written.


Positives:

Genderbending and twists on a few Arthurian legends


Negatives:

Writing is mostly telling, not showing
One dimensional characters
Clunky, monotone writing at times
Dull and uninspired love triangle


Things that might matter to some people:

Slight LGBTQ representation. Some kissing. No language.

I've always loved the King Arthur legend, and as I have long been a fan of The Mists of Avalon's female-driven tale, I was curious to see how this book would play out.

Although the pace was a bit slow, I was intrigued by the story early on. I liked how Guinevere was portrayed as more of a strong-minded character, with a fixed goal of protecting Arthur, rather than as a decoration. The mystery about who she is, and what exactly her role is to be adds to the draw of the story. I especially liked how Guinevere is clearly a clever character, rather than the absentminded bimbo that she is often portrayed as in other tellings of this story.

Perhaps the aspect of this story that appealed to me the most is how the pieces of this tale that we take for granted are turned upside down - gender roles, sexuality, and race are not fixed in this version, which is a pleasant surprise. Since some parts of the story were changed, I was left questioning what else would change. Would the hero still be the hero? Would the villain change? I was not disappointed in the outcome. The author kept some parts the same, but the story was still unpredictable, so that I wasn't bored with the story. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series!

The Guinevere Deception is a reimagining of Camelot legends, which I'm not very familiar with past recognising character names, so I didn't know what to expect from this one. Regardless I had a great time reading it. It had magic swords, brave knights, women doing secret magic, a fairy queen, dragons, and an all around fun escape into Camelot with a bit of modernization for the female characters to shine.
Fast-paced and kept me wanting more. It did leave quite a lot of unanswered questions to answer in the next installment and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.
I loved Kiersten White's And I Darken trilogy and The Guinevere Deception is another hit in my book.

I received this copy from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

I choose to read The Guinevere Deception, because it was a new and modern perspective of the story of Guinevere. In this book the real Guinevere is dead and in her place Merlin, exiled from Camelot because of an anti magic policy, sends his daughter, a forest witch, to protect Arthur from an unknown danger. So the new Guinevere finds herself in a world different from hers, married to a man she didn't know. At least, in her deception least Arthur knows her real identity, while she's forced to adeguate herself to a new life as queen and protector.
During all the book Guinevere tries to and investigates possible dangers against Arthur, using her knot magic (interesting bit, but never expanded), what she knows to protect the realm, while struggling to be a queen and to be wanted and loved by Arthur (thing that annoyed me a lot, since she went to Camelot for a mission and seemely falls in love after a day).
I found many characters flat, so one-dimensional, Arthus above all.
Arthur is constantly seen as the stereotype of the great king, so good, loyal, the savior of the world and, as soon as she meets him (basically after five minutes) Guinevere is already besotted by him and would die for him. Arthur's character is flat, without any depth. He's beautiful, he's strong, he's legendary, he's solving borders problem, he loves his knights and people, blah blah blah. It was really annoying to read and I really wanted to shake the main character.
Mordred is seen as a young knight, Arthur's nephew, winking and flirting all the time with Guinevere, a misterious character and almost a stalker, since Guinevere finds him everywhere she goes, and, of course, she's intruiged by him. Brangien, her maid, is sweet and I liked her story with Isolde, but, same as before, there are things put there without any explanation or development. She loves Isolde, No words about Isolde herself, where she could be, how to reach her. Nothing. There is an Isolde. An Brangien who knows magic and even though Arthur forbidded didn't flinch when she discovered her queen practices it. On the contrary, they became even more friendly to each other, sharing magic secret and picking up ingridients. OK.
Nothing about the knights, sir Percival, Sir Bors....they seemed like puppets, put there and stop. Vaguely interesting Guinevere's investigation towards the patchwork knight and Lancelot as a woman was intruiguing, above all if the author develops her relationship with the queen in the future, but for now, like many other things, it's put there. Like a plant. Without any kind of attention, or attempt to develop. Lancelot had so much potential, her being a woman, fighting to gain her place beside Arthur, fighting for him and her queen, her disgregard of women clothes, but it wasn't expanded, wasn't evolved. It was "revolutionary" only because she's female.
So, I didn't like how many characters (basically everyone) lacked of depth and development, just put there. I liked the idea of a strong witch sent to protect the king, a queen to protect the king, but it fell short since Guinevere was fooled both by Arthur and her father. For almost all the book the girl runs around doing almost nothing, if not simple magic, trying to discover a misterious threat to discover Merlin fooled everyone, tricking her.
I didn't find Guinevere the strong character the author wanted to be. She's always saved by others, always feeling sick because she overused her magic, always so absurdly ignorant about the world things.
I was appalled reading about the scene with her period and her ignorance in almost everything, from period to baby teeth, to sex. The idea her magic or Merlin's left holes in her memory became almost an excuse and it was more annoying that anything else. I really, really hated seeing the damsel in distress used as a plot. She should have been a witch able to protect herself and an entire kingdom, not to be seen as a young ignorant and besotted woman, who falls in love with three people at once. Mordred is the spark, Arthus is the warmth, Lancelot is something else...NO. Please, not. I expected a different character. I hoped in a different character and I was annoyed in how many times she was defenseless and not reacting.
I was a bit disappointed in the language, too, but I could get behind that if it was used for a modern retelling, but..,it wasn't. The set is medioeval, the language is of today and I'd appreciated a coherence.
There are not major twists, no great exploits. The main character feels she doesn't have a purpose, but even her confusion, her loss of purpose isn't well developed and after a very predictable choice, she resigned herself to be with Arthur, with Camelot, even though she sees the faults in Arthur's reasoning of banishing magic, renouncing to be with Mordred and choosing her duty as queen against the dark queen. I'd loved to see Mordred more explored and the Lady of the Lake and the Dark queen too, because this book felt like too many things put together and none explained or almost no plot, until 60%. The reading was a bit slow and it was dragging in the end, some choices (Like getting back to Arthur) really predictable. I'd love to see her as "villain", choosing to free herself of another cage, trying to learn more about her life and magic.
3.5 stars

I really love Kiersten White's writing. I've read a few of her previous titles (The Conquerer's Saga and Slayer) and I've enjoyed the way she takes well known stories and adds new and intriguing layers. Unfortunately, The Guinevere Deception fell a little flat for me. While I was intrigued by the plot, I found the characters to be rather one-dimensional and the setting felt inauthentic. There was language used and actions taken that felt wrong for the time period, as this took me out of the story on a few occasions. I love the story of King Arthur and I love Kiersten White enough that I will definitely be revisiting this story when the sequel comes out, I was just left with a lackluster feeling after finishing this first book in the series.

This was such an interesting take on Arthur and Guinevere's story. I'm always a sucker for retellings of Arthur and the knights so this was right up my alley. There is so much I want to say but I can't without spoilers. I definitely recommend this one. It has magic, kingdoms, twists, and mystery. There wasn't a lot of romance which didn't take away from the story but I hope we will get more in the sequel. The characters were so lovable too and I was trying to figure out who was actually bad and who wasn't. Lots of surprises

4/5 stars

This is my first ever Kiersten White book, therefore i can't compare this to her others works. A constant critique that people gave this is that her other books are better. I enjoyed it! The writing style took a while to get into but then it became so easy to get into. The book was fine. What didn't make me rate this higher was because i thought that there was going to be more emphasis on the forbidden romance. I can't even believe that i'm saying that!

If you love fantasy, magic, Arthurian Legend or all three, this is definitely going to be your new favorite thing. I really got sucked into the world that White has created and I loved seeing these iconic Arthurian characters brought to life in new and interesting ways. The story is full of adventure and it’s set to the perfect pace. The writing strong, the characters well-developed, and I really don’t have much in the negative to say about it.

The only thing holding me back from a perfect score is my own personal pet-peeve of love-triangles, though this statement must come with a caveat, because I can’t honestly say whether or not there is one – which is confusing, I know, but the overarching story isn’t done yet, so it is what it is and you’ll just have to read it to see what I mean!

I would recommend this book. It’s fantastically written, I loved the characters, especially Guinevere, the main character! I think anybody who loves fantasy, even those of you who only sort-of like fantasy, will enjoy this book. It has magic and the world is new, but White doesn’t go heavy on the exposition. Also, if you even have a passing knowledge of Arthurian legend, the characters and the places will be familiar enough that it will not be confusing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
****
The Guinevere Deception, first in a new trilogy takes a new look at the Arthurian lore. Guinevere, a changeling taking the place of the real Guinevere, is sent to be the new, young, boy King Arthur’s wife by Merlin to protect Arthur from outside threats.
She meets many a character that those familiar with Arthurian legend will recognize, some in different shapes and sizes but familiar all the same.
****
An interesting story with an exciting concept and one I was really excited about reading for I am a huge lover of all things Arthurian and love a good retelling. I both really liked this story for what it tried to do but feel a little let down for what it did do.
The story is very slow at the beginning, it takes a very long time for much of anything to happen. There are hints to things to come and lots of questions to ponder that are still not answered (worry not, there are 2 more books to get those answers to come in the future though).. Guinevere is hinted at being a strong, take charge character in summary and ended up being a damsel in distress more often than not (hopefully her strength over comes in the next books).
What I did like: Guinevere was a very compassionate character who definitely has a hint of fire in her and I really hope it burns brighter in the forthcoming books, Arthur because how can I not?, Brangien is a fierce and loyal lady to have at your side and I hope for more of her, Lancelot is the best gift of this novel, and last but not least I of course loved Mordred because how can I not? 😂🤣

THE GUINEVERE DECEPTION is an incredible new YA fantasy that combines a dark mystery, magic, and romance/love into a gorgeous, page-turning package. I was completely swept away by the story, which completely brings the legend of King Arthur to life through the eyes of Guinevere. Here, Guinevere has been sent to marry Arthur, and we learn rather early that she is hiding a dark secret- she is not Guinevere.

Camelot has been founded on Christianity, and magic has been outlawed. This is not to say that magic has disappeared- rather, magical creatures have been banished and those humans practicing magic killed or exiled. Guinevere has been sent with a mission to marry Arthur in order to stay close and protect him against an unknown magical force. Merlin was sent away as a magical creature, but he still knows something is coming for Camelot, and so, he sent Guinevere to help.

There are many twists and turns in the plot that kept me completely hooked all the way through. I also have to give huge props for all the characters who are so well-built and completely unique. For instance, Mordred, Brangien (her lady's maid), and Lancelot were all so three-dimensional that I was as wrapped up in them as Guinevere. Arthur is also not a simple character, and I am still not sure if I really liked him, but I am curious to see how he will evolve in future books. I actually really enjoyed that he was complex enough not to just simply love, and it is easy to understand how Guinevere felt.

This book. I feel a little lost in describing it, because it was completely engrossing and completely delicious and now I have a massive book hangover. If you enjoy fantasy, retellings, and/or complex characters, pick up this book- it does not disappoint. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book in the trilogy.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Oh, what an amazing premise and damn, what a devastating flop. <em>The Guinevere Deception</em> by Kiersten White should have been all sorts of brilliant, but instead turned out to be nothing more than a major disappointment. And really, what that all comes down to for me is the fact that I can't get behind this as an Arthurian retelling. I have a rather strong love for stories that are centered around Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the round table and therefore I suppose I can be rather picky about the changes I'm willing to accept in a retelling. <em>The Guinevere Deception</em> just went a bit too far.

I think the most ironic thing about this tale is that the originally intended premise that the synopsis suggests was amazing and in so many ways I would <em>love </em>to read a story like that. What's unfortunate is that the story the premise promises is not really the story we got. Instead of a story about Merlin's apprentice sent to marry Arthur under the guise of being his Queen in order to protect him from magical threats in Merlin's absence, this very quickly turned into a tale about a helpless young girl who was taken advantage of and needed others to save her repeatedly despite having supposedly powerful magic herself.

I had really been dragged in by this concept of Guinevere having married Arthur for his safety and protection, especially as it pertained to the well-known tale of her affair with Lancelot. And I was genuinely excited for the prospect of seeing a retelling with this reasoning behind Gunievere's choices. I was over the moon excited to meet this version's Lancelot as well. But as with so much of the story, Lancelot was an opportunity for brilliance that fell flat as well. This is such an incredible shame because the identity of Lancelot was genius. And yet it was somewhat destroyed by poor character development, predictability, and a lack of attention.

The villains were incredibly subpar and the plot twist regarding who was actually in grave danger was so utterly ridiculous and irritating that this book could have been written beautifully and I would have hated it still just for this dumb plot. I did not pick this book up wanting a damsel in distress who needed protecting. I did not pick this book up because I wanted to read about a girl getting saved by others. Were there not the bit about the patchwork knight, this book would be entirely devoid of any feminist elements. And even then, it's not enough.

I don't even think this passes the Bechdel test. And that's <em>bad</em> because that test isn't even <em>hard</em> to pass.

And then there's the fact that the novel, in so many ways, was a literal embodiment of <em>dull</em>. The plot was dull, the events were dull, Guinevere was dull, <em>Arthur</em> was dull, Lancelot was dull, Mordred was dull...I could go on.

But the worst part of this whole novel was the damn love triangle. I don't think I could stress enough how much this love triangle <em>infuriated </em>me. I spent a good portion of the book denying that it was a thing and another good portion of the book rolling my eyes and groaning aloud in frustration. And just to put it into perspective for you all...the second love interest is not who you think it is. Worse yet, it comes from a rather disturbing version of Arthurian stories that doesn't follow the more common ones.

Though I suppose there should be some credit due to White since the fact is that this love interest does basically follow his typical plot-line. I just honestly couldn't bring myself to appreciate this as a retelling of a story that I've loved for much of my life. There are certain aspects of the story that I find worth reading in reimaginings. This love-pairing or seduction was not one of them. And after Guinevere was reduced to this meek little thing in need of rescuing, I just really regret reading this book in the first place.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

First off, can we mention how gorgeous this cover is? I really enjoy Kiersten White's novels. She has a wonderful way of crafting her main characters that make them real - they're not perfect or totally imperfect; they're relatable. They're full of a wide range of feelings and are really deep. I never really hate or love any of them; I enjoy them all. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed book 1 of a new series! Usually book one is kind of a "welcome to a brand new series let me get you started..." but this one started out with a bang and left you wanting more. I love all things Arthurian and the changes that the author made were PERFECT. I cannot wait for book two to come out!

Thank you to the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is an enchanting brilliant reworking of Arthurian legend. I cannot wait to read what happens next.

Kiersten White, already demonstrably talented at reimagining legendary figures in her genderbent trilogy about Vlad(a) the Impaler, has once again taken a timeless legend and made it new without losing any of the emotional power which has helped the stories persist through the ages.

Although the stories of Arthur and Camelot have been treated as the epitome of the romantic ideal of courtly love, with fair ladies constantly in need of rescue and/or wooing, White's telling eschews such an interpretation, and instead uses Guinevere's story to demonstrate the strength of women. A woman called Guinevere who has no true claim to that name is sent by Merlin to protect his one-time ward and pupil in the aftermath of a war against faerie which meant the prohibition of magic (and Merlin, himself) within Camelot. She is to be a hidden dagger, a secret sorceress, defending the king as his queen, and she bears the burden with grace.

Throughout the book readers encounter familiar names, sometimes assigned to unfamiliar faces but no less true to their characters, except, perhaps, made more more human. White acknowledges the likelihood that there were indeed queer folks in Camelot, just as everywhere else, and brings these characters to the forefront, giving them agency separate from Guinevere, like the real people they are. To avoid spoiling anything, I will simply say that White may have fiddled with genealogy a little bit to make all of the characters of approximately the same age, but the members of Arthur's convoluted family tree remain essentially the people Mallory wrote them as, despite modernity's inclination to imagine them otherwise.

This is a book that I began and finished in one morning because I wanted so very badly to know what had happened to Guinevere and who she had been before the story began, and what she would do next. White's prose and plotting made this an almost effortless task, pulling the reader in and holding them fast until the final lines. I have great hope for the sequels.

DNF at 100ish pages. The love triangle is not working for me, and I'm continuously frustrated by the pacing and the fact that it seems suited for a more middle grade audience. Not for me, but YMMV.

Posted to Goodreads: Guinevere was sent to Camelot to marry the young King Arthur and united Camelot with her father's kingdom. However, Guinevere is not who arrived in Camelot. The new queen of the kingdom is actually a changeling who has taken Guinevere's place to protect the king and country. Can the new Guinevere save Arthur and his land from a great threat or will they fall to outside evils?

"The Guinevere Deception" but, unfortunately, this book didn't quite live up to my expectations. Kiersten White created an interesting and new take on the Camelot mythology filled with interesting characters however it didn't feel as if the characters did much for the first two-thirds of the book. The book's first couple hundred pages moved slowly and felt as if it was filled with exposition that wasn't actually needed. However, the last third of the story was able to save book with a quickened pace and the introduction of the evils threatening Camelot.

I received this complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Listen. I had such high hopes for this novel and when I was approved for the ARC, I was excited beyond what words could say. Having high expectations is always tricky because so often, I find myself set up for disappointment, my experience coloured by my own impossible expectations. But this book delivered and I cannot wait for the next book!

Ever since I read the Magic Tree House series when I was younger and watched the 1998 Merlin mini series in school, I've adored the legend of King Arthur. And a year ago, I discovered the free WIP Guenevere interactive fiction game, which reawakened my adoration of Arthurian stories (I highly recommend it). As such, when I found out about this upcoming novel, I was so excited.

As the summary states, the Guinevere of this novel is not actually Guinevere but a changeling, sent by Merlin to protect King Arthur. Pretty early on, there are several signs that there is something more to her than she knows and I can't wait to see if my suspicions are correct. Although I held several reservations finding out that she was 16, she was an enjoyable character and I actually quite liked reading about her developing relationships with the other characters. She's dynamic and strong and as a reader, I keenly felt her frustations about her own mysterious/missing identity. She's not perfect but that only made her character more believable and relatable. The other characters as well were fun to read about; there's not a lot of emphasis on the knights as Guinevere mostly interacts with women, but Brangien and Isolde's relationship was a surprise I quite liked and Dindrane was an unexpected delight. King Arthur felt perfectly in character with the stories of legend: good down to the core. He's truly good and devoted to bettering Camelot but that is also one of his flaws. He's idealistic and his mission means that he'll never quite be satisfied with what he has, he'll never be able to settle down/give his undevoted attention and love to one person. Which sets up the love triangle quite nicely.

<spoiler> Lancelot is a woman and although Guinevere spent a majority of this book attracted to both King Arthur and Mordred, I am still clinging on to the desperate hope that the series will follow the stories of legend and that Guinevere and Lancelot will fall in love with each other. If that happens, this series will truly cement its place in my heart. This possibility alone makes me so impatient for the next book! </spoiler>

The magic system is quite fascinating with its need for equal sacrifice and though I felt like the book only dipped its toes into the true depths and potential consequences of magic, I'm excited to see Kiersten White delve into it more in subsequent books.

And to address some comments about anachronisms in this book. They're there. It's not 100% historically accurate in terms of manner, vocabulary, etc. But I wholeheartedly agree with what Neil Gaiman has said on the matter of Arthurian storytelling. The legends themselves are filled with inaccuracies and anachronisms and to stick to pure historical accuracy is to sacrifice some of their original magic.

Overall, I absolutely devoured this book in a matter of hours and it was a captivating introduction to a series for which I eagerly await the next book. <spoiler> Please let Guinevere and f!Lancelot be a thing </spoiler>

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!! I was in Camelot, I’m in love with King Arthur and maybe Lancelot, and this book! Guinevere finally got the back story she deserves and she is my hero!! The story was magical from the beginning and I read it in one day. The descriptions made me feel like I was there! I laughed out loud like a crazy person at the coffee shop while reading on three separate occasions. Read this book!

This was a really great read! I really enjoyed reading this book, would definitely recommend. This is a good book for all ages.

I think everyone has an image of what they imagine Arthur and Camelot to have been like - regal, spellbinding, breathtaking, surreal ... and deadly. But I've never seen anyone put that picture to words or screen - until now.

White has created the perfect Arthurian world to tantalize the imagination and tease the senses. Right from the start, it's easy to get lost in the mystery of all that could have been.

Guinevere herself was a refreshing character. Strong but not unbreakable, bold but kind, lost but determined to find her way.

The one downside to the story however ... and it became a major one for me was the dialogue. I realize White wanted this book to feel classical and regal ... but the dialogue between characters was so stilted, formal and lacking in realistic contractions that it will takes months for me to not picture Arthur as a robot ...