This was a great continuation of the first book! I really hope that we get more in this world. The characters are amazing, and I love the creativity of this story.

A fantastic second installment to Once and Future. In this one, they head back in an effort to retrieve the grail. So many familiar characters grace the stage as new school meets old school in a delightful Arthurian Retelling. The welcome appearance of a dragon makes it extra awesome. See what else we had to say on our latest Teen Title Talk: https://teentitletalk.podbean.com/e/teen-title-talk-internment-and-the-sword-in-the-stars/

Book two. This series shines! The Arthur/Lancelot twist got me in the end, but I saw the Merlin heritage from the end of the first book. The story progresses in an odd time for ant with the time travel and Merlin aging backwards, but it works and makes the story even better for it.

This was an absolutely perfect conclusion to this imaginative, funny, inclusive, and heartfelt duology.

I was a bit worried about this book since I knew it was going to be a time travel book but I really loved the first one so I was hopeful I would be able to get through it, but unfortunately I could not. I read about the first 40% of it and after putting it down for several days figured I would just skip to when they got back to the present timeline. Well that was at about 80% so I started again at that point and within a short amount of time Merlin's ridiculous origin story was revealed and a bunch of other weird hand-wavey nonsense and I just could not finish it. The first one was cute as a futuristic King Arthur retelling with awesome queer and POC characters but this one was - to me - just a mess. I'm sure there are a lot of people who will enjoy this conclusion but I would have preferred something a bit less ...timey-wimey.

What a surprisingly fun read! I was approved on Netgalley for this book before I even read Once & Future. After reading Once & Future and not really liking it all that much, I thought that I'd DNF this book and have to swear to myself to not request pretty books again when I haven't read the first book(s) yet 😅✌🏼 Lucky for me that I really enjoyed Sword in the Stars.

Writing style: There's nothing special about the writing itself. The world-building and continuation of certain plot points could have been written better, but it never felt like an infodump so that's good.

Characters: I didn't really care for the characters in the first book, but has certainly changed in this one. I'm still not super invested in any of them, but they did seem rounder and more... Well, just more, I guess.
My favorite character is Merlin. He's just so fun to read about!

Story: The story of the this book is super different than the Once & Future and I loved it way more. Once & Future was one infodump after another and there was a lot of building up to important things only to never get to those important parts... Sword in the Stars gave me everything that I wish I had in Once & Future.
Best part of the story has to be that their stories made a full circle within different time periods. I love how everything came together and I went all 'OH I SHOULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING' this book totally blindsided me and I don't mind one bit.

Sword in the Stars was an enjoyable read and I'm giving it three stars.

The writing style was not for me. I did not enjoy the jumping back and forth ... the whole story was kind of weird for me honestly.

Wow, I really enjoyed reading these books! They're such great stories, I love the fact that they're gender bent King Arthur retelling. Well, the first book is more of an extension, while the second one is more of a retelling, since they're back in the original. Yeah.

I love that this is set way in the future, that Ari is a girl, and that Merlin is a teenager. It's a great mix of elements that were just so enjoyable to read. And that this world is pretty diverse in terms of gender identity and sexual fluidity, as well as skin tones, since Ari is from the planet Ketchan, were people of Arab descent settled, and how Ketchan is their identity, not Arab. Also, English is now called Mercer, because of course the evil company that they're after changed culture stuff.

We got Ari's perspective and we got Merlin's. Ari has the more important story in the first book, she does her Arthur quest, and does pretty well, with all the big reveals and such. But it's not quite enough, and Sword in the Stars is more Merlin's book. We learn so much about him, and he does come into his own in this book, which was pretty great to read!

Both characters learn and grow over the course of these books. Because there's a whole year gap in the first book, with an unseen, but know it happened training montage. Plus the whole, Gwen and Lancelot bit. As for Merlin, he has to confront aging backwards, and then in the second, being gay in a pretty restricted and backwards time. But I enjoyed both of their journeys, the growth that they both went through, as well as all the story reveals and how everything wrapped up story wise!

Loved reading these stories, they were so enjoyable to read and it was great to have widespread representation!

This duology is such a wild ride.

Once & Future was a sci-fi retelling of Arthurian legend set in the future, in space, with a slowly aging backwards Merlin and the forty-second reincarnation of King Arthur as teenaged girl named Ari. That book left off with our squad preparing to travel back in time to the original Knights of the Round Table to steal a magical artifact with the power to help them defeat the megolomanic Mercer corporation's stranglehold on the galaxy.

While Once & Future was very much a sci-fi retelling, Sword in the Stars feels much more like historical fantasy with a few sci-fi elements. Upon arriving in the Dark Ages of Old Earth, our squad learns that they have a strange part to play in the original King Arthur's court, and that surviving this time period won't be easy. Especially when they must contend with Merlin's hostile "older" self and period-typical sexism and queerphobia.

Like the first book, this one is sort of all over the place in terms of plot. However, either it was a bit tighter than Once & Future, or I went in knowing what to expect, but overall I do think the plotting seems stronger in Sword in the Stars. Though the pacing is definitely still so strange and different from anything else I've ever read! Though I think it kind of works for this story, which is fast-paced and action-packed and just a little silly; whereas a slower and more deliberate storytelling style would greater expose the plot holes and inconsistencies and make for an altogether less enjoyable reading experience.

Seeing how the authors adapted Arthurian legend for this tale was so interesting, and definitely kept me engaged. But it is the diverse cast of characters that really makes me love this duology.
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♛ Ari (Arab and multi-gender attracted) is the latest reincarnation of King Arthur, who must disguise her gender and her relationship to Gwen in order to survive Camelot's court
✶ Merlin (mlm) is de-aging dangerously fast, while needing to contend with his past "older" self and face some inner demons
♚ Gwen (biracial Asian/European descent and wlw) has taken on the role of the original Queen Guinevere, though she must hide the fact that she's pregnant from her new husband King Arthur
⚨ Lam (Black, gender fluid [they/them pronouns]) must contend with misgendering in the Middle Ages, but finds solace and purpose in helping the confused non-binary people of the time period (also they were one-handed in the first book, but in retrospect I don't know if that was ever mentioned in this one??)
♠ Val (Black, mlm, demiboy), Gwen's wiliest adviser and Merlin's sort-of boyfriend, has been missing since the group appeared in the past, and might be being held captive by an evil foe
♜ Jordan (ace) must battle restrictive gender roles in order to continue protecting Gwen as a knight
☁ Nin is a powerful magical entity who has forced Arthur and Merlin into this reincarnation cycle for unknown reason, and may be our heroes' greatest threat
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This book explores the characters of Gwen, Lam, Val, and Nin more deeply than the first book did, and Merlin especially really shines in Sword in the Stars. I do wish that there had been more interaction with some of the Camelot characters-- even King Arthur was only shallowly included in the story.

There are definitely little things throughout Sword in the Stars that don't really make sense, but the story is still pretty enjoyable if you just ignore them. (view spoiler) The most irritating thing for me, though, was some of the language used around gender from characters who are supposedly from a time where humanity has moved beyond any form of queerphobia. For example, at one part Ari says she's, "[not] packing man pieces," in reference to hiding her gender for the purpose of masquerading as a medieval knight. In this gender-utopian future, would people still be referring to body parts as gendered? Also, when Gwen has her baby, because it has a penis they say that it is "assigned male", but in a gender-utopian future why are babies being "assigned" anything according to their genitalia (especially these characters in particular, who are not doctors and can "assign" whatever the fuck they want)?? So in some ways, the world isn't the most well-thought-out.

I really love the way this retelling plays with character archetypes, not only in the relation to the Arthurian characters but also generally in relation to traditional storytelling. The characters might think they're playing out a age-old story, but they're constantly learning that patriarchal, racist human society has re-written the story to mask the truth. "Heroes" are stories-- real people are much more complicated and may play many roles throughout their lives.

Overall, despite some weird discrepancies and strange pacing/plotting, I really have loved reading this duology. This is such a unique take on Arthurian legend, filled with diverse and archetype-smashing characters. The references to other Arthur retellings (including BBC's Merlin and Disney's The Sword in the Stone-- the last chapter even breaks the fourth wall and mentions this duology) made me giggle. It's so apparent that the authors put their heart and soul into this series and had a fun time creating it; and indeed I had a fun time reading it.

I have this problem where often, when I love the first book in a series, I'll end up sorely disappointed in the second book. This often makes me very hesitant to pick up any sequels.

But because I loved Once & Future, I did really want to read the sequel. And I'm so glad I did, because this book was at least as fun as the first one. I love how queer and diverse a cast this duology has, and I loved the way it showed that history was a lot more diverse than we're taught.

Where Once & Future is mostly a sci-fi reimaging on the King Arthur stories, Sword in the Stars is an interesting mix of historical fantasy and sci-fi. I thought this genre mix was very well done.

One thing I missed in the first book was seeing the character's personalities fleshed out enough. I was glad to see that this was done more in depth in the sequel, and the book packed more of an emotional punch than the first book did, at least for me.

All in all, this was a really great end to a super fun duology.

Whew. I liked the first one a lot and I still love how queer and diverse it is. But this was an effort to get through. The good moments were really good, but it was so confusing and the structure was chaotic and the pacing was somehow too fast and sluggishly slow at the same time. I would say maybe I should have reread the first one, but I'm not sure that would have helped my confusion.

This was such a disappointing book for me that had a lot of missed opportunities and was incredibly disjointed in the narrative. It tells the continuing story of Ari, the 42nd reincarnation of King Arthur, as she attempts to retrieve a magical cup from Camelot.

The Positives: The cast of characters is very diverse, which is always great to see.

The Negatives: The plot was just all over the place and it was hard to keep things straight because the action jumps from one thing to the next with little build up or explanation. The characters seem forced in their behaviours and just don't have much authenticity. This could have been a really fun fish-out-of-water scenario with people from the future being transplanted into the Medieval past, but instead, they didn't seem to struggle to adjust at all, which was a massive missed opportunity. The writing was disjointed and hard to follow.

Overall, I really didn't enjoy this book and wouldn't recommend it.

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

Love. Love. Love. Ugh. So amazing! I love this duology so much, and it is SO IMPORTANT!! I love these characters. I can't wait to see what else these authors write together!! Absolutely amazing, and it is so bittersweet that this story is over! I will definitely be rereading this in the future, though!

I was so excited when I was approved to get this, as I loved the first book so much and I was not disappointed at all in anyway. This book was amazing, from page to to the end I couldn’t put it down, it was a rollercoaster of fun, emotion, action, me verbally crying out as I read, just brilliant! I loved the focus on Merlin, as it seemed to be he got more focus here than in the first book and I loved this development and of course I love him too so that helps. Ari in this book does seem to be less focused on than Merkin, but she’s definitely a focus for the action. I do love a strong woman ! This book just like the first is wonderful, in fact I think this is even better than the first and I recommend both these books to everyone m guaranteed to make you smile.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I received a complimentary copy of Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy from Jimmy Patterson Books through Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Sword in the Stars will be released on April 7th!
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In the sequel to Once & Future, a King Arthur retelling set in space with tons of LGBTQ+ representation, Ari and her crew are going back in time to Camelot to steal the Holy Grail. Since Sword in the Stars is a sequel, I'm not going to give much more detail about the plot since it could ruin Once & Future for those who haven't read it! Instead, I'm going to talk more generally about the things I adored about this book. More than anything else, I loved Merlin's storyline. Since Merlin has been aging backwards throughout both books, going back to Camelot means dealing with his physically older but emotionally younger self. This plotline beautifully addresses learning to love and accept your past self even when you don't like who you used to be. For me, Merlin was easily the biggest star of Sword in the Stars and I simply adored him and his journey. Ari was once again another favorite of mine. I love a strong woman with a sword, I can't help it. Just like Once & Future, Sword in the Stars is full of great characters, LGBTQ+ and POC representation, and lots of banter and humor. I'd highly recommend this duology to anyone who loves retellings, LGBTQ+ lit, and wants to read something that will put a smile on your face!

I LOVE this story so much! The continuation of Ari and Merlin. What are they getting into? You'll have to read it to find out. However, the writing style was so well written. The plot points were executed well. And that inciting incident....wow. The entire story flowed like a river. A MUST READ.

This book has a bit of a slower start for me than the first one had to get a little over 100 pages in and then it started to warm up a little, but once we finally got a round table it was just wooooo. We get to find out who Merlin's parents we're and I was just like WHAT!?! I just I don't even know how to process it all. I have my faults with the book but they are out weighed with the good so I definitely enjoy this book.

It Is going to be so hard to not bumble my way through this because I frickin’ ADORED this book. I loved it with every part of my being. When Amy and Cori said that they pulled out all the tricks ever and gave it their all, I was not expecting to be sundered by just how astonishing this end product was going to be. I. WAS. NOT. PREPARED.

That being said, let’s move on to why this book is so amazing. We find ourselves in the middle ages and our band of heroes is disparate. Stakes are high from the very first moment as several of our heroes are missing and Merlin has aged backwards into puberty. And everything that commences is just awe-inspiring.
At its heart, this story is about identity. We see so many different struggles with respect to identity. Lam with the binary genders so rampant in the middle ages, Ari with having to masquerade as a man and hiding her true gender, Jordan with the roles that come her gender and the being forced into them, Merlin with his old self’s narrow worldview, and even King Arthur with the weight of being king. And something about that is so poignant; because it remains true even if you do not suddenly find yourself living in the middle ages, hiding your true self from everyone.

All the little complaints that I had with the last book–about the aspirations and motivations of characters being a bit thin or the plot moving too fast–disappeared into thin air with this one. We get to see our favourite characters and watch them grow as the plot keeps us on our toes constantly; with new dangers and old, looming.

Even though the place (and time) has changed quite drastically and our characters have gone through much transformation themselves; they remain the characters we fell in love with, hard and fast, in the last book.The huge amount of foreshadowing is extremely beautiful, in retrospect. The book gives us this 4K HD view with surround sound; and wraps up the entire thing with sweet, pretty bow. Literally everything about this book is perfect, there is nothing I can pick at and dissect to make it seem even mediocre. Everything is created with such lethal precision; even the time travel, which is where most people go wrong.

To conclude, this book is beyond remarkable; it can take all my stars and the blood from my veins, if it so desires. I so absolutely do recommend this book for its wonderful representation of a bevy of LGBTQ+ characters; and the enchanting and endearing Arthurian retelling.

This was such a fun romp - full of heart and diversity and adventure. It was a little bit longer than it needed to be and the last 15% strayed into melodrama, but this is such an important story for all the queer kids out there who want to have adventures and feel seen. Championed by a young woman in a same-sex marriage with the love of her life and a gay man aging backwards and unraveling his own history... With nonbinary polyamorous, demimale, asexual, trans, and many other demographics (including black, Asian, and Middle Eastern racial diversity!) - we have an Arthurian legend for the 21st century.

This one deals with a lot more emotion than the first book, though there are fewer characters in the primary cast. It felt like characters were being removed from the narrative to narrow the focus. A little distracting since I had been expecting the other characters to be a lot more present, but this was important particularly for Merlin's growth.

This really was Merlin's story, not Ari's (which was weird to me, despite him sharing a lot of screentime with Ari in the first book), and it felt like a lot of Ari's dwvelopment was sidelined in favor of Merlin's growth. Ari was a vehicle for action while Merlin was the driving force of the story. Not bad, just not what I was expecting.

I think the dramatics of the last 15% were what really keep me from giving this 4 stars. It was just too much. Though I am definitely going to check out more of these authors' works - because I love the diversity and the wholesome supportiveness these characters have for each other.

I'll start by saying that I still think this concept is incredibly cool, I love the idea of incredibly queer Arthur's popping up in the 'cycle' (a story idea I think we've all encountered at this point) and a lot of the different strands of this story are very interesting. I liked the Lancelot/Arthur/Guinevere exploration in this book, I thought that Merlin looking into his own curse was a great plot point - I didn't even mind the time travel which I thought would annoy the heck out of me, actually it kind of works with everything this book was trying to do.

But oh boy was this book trying to do a lot.

That was my biggest takeaway in pretty much every facet of this story - why was this a duology? There was so much ground to cover, so many different aspects to take in, a whole host of characters who deserved their own storylines - the fact that this book crammed all of that in made everything feel rushed - there was no space to develop the writing from book one because the whole book is spent desperately trying to fit in the fifteen different storylines and ideas. On their own, each of them could make for a fascinating book that really delves into the representation of various identities - but all put together it just didn't work for me.

This played out most significantly towards the ending, which felt like the big ending of a trilogy had been squeezed into twenty pages - it was frustrating and more than that it just felt odd!

I think it's worth noting, for those that don't enjoy reading such things, that this book has a pregnancy plotline - for me it's not that I can't read pregnancy plotlines I just find it alienates me from characters (being pregnant is not a personal aspiration). Some may quite like this storyline, some might find aspects of it difficult - I just think it's worth mentioning that it is there.

Overall, I wanted to love this book, and I think if it had been three (or even four) books following the story from different perspectives I would have done, but this book has no space to breathe which just leads to it falling a little flat.

I don't want to diminish the work the authors have done in bringing a book that celebrates so many different identities into the world - I think it's admirable and the representation was wonderful - I just wanted more from the execution of these books. I'll look forward to seeing what comes next now this duology is at a close.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Sword in the Stars is out April 7th!