“This is about my friends and me getting a chance to be ourselves. It’s about fighting against inequality and showing the world that gender shouldn’t be a bar for any job these days. And it’s about taking a battering ram to the notion that the heroes of the Middle Ages were all men.”

Kit Sweetly has always been the girl with a plan and in this book, she’s focusing all of her efforts on creating equal chances for everyone at her workplace. She’s tired of working as a wench at the Castle, a medieval-themed restaurant – instead, she would like to be a knight like her brother, but the company policy has a strict rule that prohibits women from being knights. Her dream becomes more palpable though as she takes her brother’s place one night and impresses everyone with her skills and competence, becoming even Internet famous after a video of her riding and duelling is posted on YouTube. This new-found fame encourages her to come up with the idea of organising a tournament with the purpose of overthrowing the sexist policies and to create equal opportunities for everyone at the Castle.

I think some of the best aspects of this book were diversity and the friendships between everyone at the Castle. It was easy to see that friendships were the core of the whole book and even when Kit was trying to do things on her own, not involving her friends because she wanted to protect them or she didn’t want them to bail on her plan, they were still the force that kept her going. Without them, she wouldn’t have been able to do much. And I feel like without those amazing and rewarding friendships, the Castle wouldn’t have resisted for as long as it did. As I was reading the book, I definitely felt like I would have loved to work there because of how close-knit the group was. I enjoyed the family dynamics as well, they were all so devoted and the way they were taking care of one another was amazing especially with how many struggles they had...having to balance jobs, school and so many other responsibilities, yet always finding time to be there for one another.

Moreover, most characters were very nerdy and there were lots of pop culture references that all the other nerds are probably going to catch and appreciate. Kit would always mention great female warriors from Middle Ages and emphasise how wrong the conception that in the past all heroes had been male was, which I really liked because it was both informative and inspirational.

This main plotline of Kit trying to change things for the better at the Castle took over the whole book and even though there were other small plotlines (like her graduating and not knowing yet what college to choose, her family struggling financially, her strained relationship with her father who is a drug addict) – they didn’t seem consistent enough to hold the reader’s attention for long until the tournament become once again central. Besides that, I think the development of the secondary characters also suffered from the close focus on the tournament, which was a shame because they were all very interesting and I would have loved to know more about them. Even the romance, while sweet, felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped. I also had some issues with how Kit was handling her whole plan. I wish she would have involved her friends more and not keep them in the dark as much as she did because this whole thing was about all of them, not only her. I think she underestimated how supportive they were and how much they wanted to help her succeed.

But in the end, this witty, feminist story was one of empowerment and it surely will inspire its readers to fight for equality. The friendships will warm your heart and make you feel like you could do anything as long as you have loyal and supportive people on your side.

This book is sweet, full of feminist theory, and very low-key in terms of conflict. I recommend this read to someone who is looking for a fluffy rom-com sprinkled with some feminist theory.

"This is about my friends and me getting a chance to be ourselves. It's about fighting against inequality and showing the world that gender shouldn't be a bar for any job these days. And it's about taking a battering ram to the notion that the heroes of the Middle Ages were all men."

Kit works as a waitress, or better said "serving wench", as it is called, in a medieval themed restaurant called "The Castle". But Kit got a plan: to go to Marquette Univesity and to become a Knight at the castle like her older brother Chris.
Every night there's a tournament with Knights riding out on their horses fighting against each other but the Castles rules only allows that cis men can become a knight so Kit doesn't stand a chance. Normally...
When Kit takes her brothers place for one show and a video of her as a knight goes viral, Kit tries everything to turn the table and change the gender restrictions at the castle...

"The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly" remembered me vaguely of Moxie, a story about feminism I also really enjoyed.
Kit, who is a real nerd about the medieval topic and whose idols are mostly strong women from the medieval time, is sick of the strict gender restrictions at her working place and being told that only men can work as a knight. And she's not alone with that: Her friends, who are mostly waitresses like Kit, want a change at the castle as well and support her in that matter.

"People across the gender spectrum are now astronauts, soldiers, presidents, and more. To say only men can ride a horse at a dinner theatre? C'mon!"

Soon the reader learns that the gender restrictions are the main reasons why Kit wants to fight the system, but not the only ones: Knights earn more money than wenches. Kit's and Chris' father left the family with all their savings so Kit needs every penny she can get to support her mom and also to save for college. It's unnecessary to tell that Kit's relationship towards her father isn't the best...

The daily struggles of Kit could be those from every high school teenager: working to save money for college, expecting college acceptions, probably not the best relationship to one family member... Of course there's also a little love story and teen angst: "Is it worth ruining the relationship to my best friend Jett and telling him that I maybe like him a bit more than just a friend?" The love story was really cute - I like how Jett supported Kid the whole story and the lovely gestures he showed towards her - but it wasn't the main story of the book and it wasn't too cheesy.
Kit was a "real" character for my, no extravagant teenager but a teenager who also smokes and drinks. You can also tell that she's got a splitted mind about about her father: There are the good childhood memories in contrary to the present where no father is in sight.

What I didn't like about the book have been the huge exaggerations:
1.) The huge differences between Kit and her best friend Layla: Kit's family is poor and I mean that kind of poor that the electricity gets turned off and she really has to think about if she throws the smelly food away or not. Her best Layla belongs to the family who owns a villa, a golf course, a horse stable...
2.) The castle: The castle got hundreds of workers, the got a real riding arena inside the castle and stables so far away from the castle that the horses can't hear the crowd and that the crowd can't smell the horses. No wonder that Kit's chief is afraid that the Castle gets closed because it costs too much. wth.

Anyway, the book was a lot of fun to read and I really enjoyed the story! It bolsters you to use your voice and not accept everything that stands in your way.

This was definitely a predictable read but I mean, come on, surprises doesn't equal greatness. Definitely appreciated the feminism and unstable financial conditions that were highlighted in this one. Though, I wanted to know more about the side characters, especially Jett as a love interest and because he's half-Indian (hehe) so definitely expected more but nonetheless, I'm happy about reading it.

This one was released last week and features a fierce female protagonist who is dealing with economic issues at home and feminist issues at work. Follow Kit and friends (through liberal references to The Lord of the Rings and A Knight’s tale) as they join forces to eliminate the rule that only cis men can be knights at The Castle (a Medieval-Times-esque dinner theater venue). Why am I recommending the book? Besides the fact that it was great, Kit’s best friend Layla is bisexual and a coworker is NB. (Alex’s pronouns are they/them.) Visit my Instagram, Rainbow.Bookworm to see the book’s cover and my favorite quotes.

This book was cute and fun, but not quite what I was hoping it would be. It had a lot of good discussion about archaic gender roles and great representation of what it is like to grow up in a house where you're living paycheck to paycheck, but the rest of the book honestly felt a little.. boring? The writing was pretty average and the plot didn't do anything especially fun or risky so everything just kind of fell a little flat. I feel like this book had an amazing premise but the book as whole didn't really live up to it and I am SAD.

This was a nice, quick read. Kit Sweetly, medieval castle restaurant serving wench, wants to be able to fight as a knight like her brother. Not only would this give her more money to put away for her family and college, it's the principal of the thing. While Kit doesn't get everything she wants in the end, I think that give the story a more realistic feel.

Kit Sweetly is obsessed with everything middle ages, and works as a wench (that is the official job title) at a medieval-themed castle. What she truly wants is to work as one of the knights, like her brother--after all, there were girl knights in the middle ages, too--but company policy allows only guys as knights. When Kit rides out instead of her brother one night, beating her competition to the ground, she kick-starts a revolution not only in the castle but online as well, trying to prove that being a knight should not be gender-restricted. Between college applications, her mum's mortgage worries and her inconvenient crush on her best friend, she starts to realize what it means to fight for what she wants--and what she has to lose.

This is such an incredibly entertaining book! I absolutely loved the setting, and the unapologetic nerdiness of Kit and her friends. (Almost) all the characters were so likeable and enthusiastic, making the whole read an absolute joy. You just start rooting so fiercely for Kit and her cause, cheering her and her friends on as they start dismantling the patriarchic views of the company. It is amazing to see Kit overcome more and more obstacles that are thrown in her way. The cast of characters is incredibly diverse, including bi, non-binary and trans characters. And, of course, you have the underlying message that gender should never be a reason for you not being allowed to work a job.

I massively enjoyed this fun, entertaining and deeply relevant book, and can really recommend it!

Kit is trying to go from wench to knight, in more ways than one. Kit's struggle to climb up the ranks in her work place and in her personal life will keep readers interested. Although this book teeters the line between fun romp and serious contemporary, I felt like the victory of the girl knight would have been all the sweeter if the darker aspects of her life were explored more. The book left us with the hiding from her friends the secret of what her life outside the castles is really like. Although disappointed this plot line was never tied up, I hope that maybe Kit Sweetly or her friends may ride again to conquer this issue.

This was such a lovely story! It was laced with nerdy, medieval quotes and references, which was probably my favourite thing. Overall, the story gave me a modern medieval vibe, and that worked really well! I enjoyed every second of it, and I can highly recommend this book.

Kit Sweetly is determined to trade in her wench skirts for knight’s armor at the medieval-themed restaurant where she works. Unfortunately, due to a sexist corporate policy that states only men can be knights, Kit’s dreams are dashed, along with her hopes for the raise that comes with the position. When her brother, who just so happens to be a knight, is late for a shift, Kit covertly steps in in his place, and rides out to perform in the show. When she reveals herself to the crowd, they go nuts and she skyrockets into internet fame. But just because the crowd supports her, doesn’t mean management is going to change their outdated ways. Luckily, Kit has a lot of spirit and fight and it ready to take on whoever she has to in order to pursue her dreams.

Kit is a very lovable character. She’s sassy and hopeful and knows what she wants, but she also has flaws that get acknowledged and she grows from. I loved her determination and her need to succeed in her quest. I also love that she was able to wrangle so many others who wanted to be knights but were discriminated against and together they worked to change outdated rules. There were definitely some issues with Kit and withholding information, but she made mistakes and learned from them. I really liked her best friend Jett as well and the romance that developed between them.

This was a really sweet story and I can’t wait to see what Jamie Pacton writes next!

*Thank you to Page Street Publishing and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

This was a fun read that showed how gender equality can still be limited. I enjoyed Kit's determination. She is not only determined to be a knight but also is determined to work hard to be able to have the finances to attend college after her addict father spent her and her brothers savings. Kit and her brother Chris were so supportive of each other. That was another aspect that was important in this story. A lot of times siblings in stories are rivals or competitors. Seeing more and more stories in the past couple years that had supportive sibling relationships is refreshing and important for youths to read as well.

If you are looking for a cute contemporary with feminist MC then this is a must read!

3,5*
Pros: As a kid, I grew up around medieval fairs, so this book was a nostalgia trip for me. Revolves around the daily life of the workers in medieval castle attractions. Focuses in equal job opportunities across the gender spectrum, while battling the patriarchy and gender norms. LGBT and PoC characters. Talks about living in poverty and fighting for your dreams with what you have access to.
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Cons: Lack of romantic scenes to foment the leading romance. Unexplored secondary characters.

This book featured:
- a delightfully spunky main character
- an overly optimistic training timeline, but enjoyable character bonding
- a romance between friends that felt generally believable
- a plethora of medieval facts
- a variety of gender identities and sexuality (though most of these characters are not fleshed out in detail)
- a family doing their best while living in poverty
- writing that kept the story moving and didn't bog me down anywhere

This title was overall a pleasant read that I expect will do well with teen readers.

I loved this book. You had believable characters, believable situations, and realistic problems. There were jousts, sword fights, and very defined gender roles at work. I loved how modern day tools (the internet and media) helped redefine how we look at jobs and gender roles. It was done in a serious but sometimes funny way.
I hope to see a lot more from this author.

Important message and a beautiful diverse cast but I didn't love it like I wanted to. Honestly I can't really put my finger on what didn't work for me, I guess the story was just kinda "eh." Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, though I ended up reading the published edition.

Kit Sweetly wants to be a knight. No, this isn't a fantasy book, Kit just works as a serving wench at a medieval themed restaurant where girls are not allowed to be knights. You read that correctly: in this, 2020, this restaurant has a policy prohibiting women from being knights. Kit is obviously not cool with that. She subs in for her brother, a knight, one night and the video of her performance went viral. Can she use her newfound internet fame to parlay that into an opportunity for women?

This book was reminiscent of a late 90s/early aughts rom-com in the vein of The Knight's Tale (which, yes, does come up in the book). It's definitely cute and fun and there's a GRRRRRRRRRL POWER theme that runs throughout the book. Aside from the medieval trappings, it was a fairly routine read. I think it'd make a cute Netflix movie, but I'm writing this review less than a month after reading the book, and I don't have a huge impression outside of "cute, but predictable".

This would be a cute summer read for fans of "A Knights Tale" or those teen rom coms on Netflix. 3 stars - I liked it.

Thanks to Page Street Kids and Netgalley for the eARC, which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly is available now!

3.75/5 STARS

Since seeing this really cute cover of Kit Sweetly, I knew I had to read this book ASAP. This book was a light contemporary with an interesting premise that delved into history but also managed to touch on some heavier topics surrounding family without dragging the whole book down.

I loved the diverse cast of characters and I thought the portrayal of Kit’s family’s financial struggles was carefully balanced by her awareness of her privilege.

What I did not enjoy about this book is the ‘lying to your friends for most of the book’ trope. I think I would have enjoyed it more if they had rallied around Kit and protested together.

Read my full review over at mousethatreads.com!

I really enjoyed the feminist message of this. The cast of characters were also very diverse and there’s plenty of representation. Other than that this was more of a middle of the road book for me. The characters didn’t feel as well developed as I would have liked and the story, while interesting in theory, didn’t grab my attention. The love story between Kit and her best friend seems like an afterthought, especially because apart from some basic information and the fact that Kit thinks he’s amazing I didn’t feel like we actually got to know him (or any of the other side characters). While I still consider this a decent book, I ought to say that I expected more from this.

Cute premise--I used to be involved in medieval circles--even though this is more like a group of actors/employees than people who truly enjoy medievalism as a hobby (except Kit, who wants to study history at Marquette University). I liked the whole smashing the patriarchy thing--really fighting against being the underdog all around (overworked mom, absent dad, just scraping by). With all the various subplots going on, Kit crushing on Jett (even before he became sort of the documentor of the wenches' training adventures), doesn't quite have the punch that it should, but is still nice. As a librarian, not sure who I'd recommend this to , but nice to keep on the back burner.