A charming book that would be right up the alley of a lot of my students. Very lighthearted and an easy read. Definitely going to recommend it.

While this one didn't download for me I did end up seeking out a copy myself. I found this to be an enjoyable read even though the ending seemed a bit rushed. Overall it was a sweet funny read.

2.5 stars

Teenager Kit Sweetly works as a serving wench at the Castle, a medieval-themed restaurant. Kit's brother is a knight at the Castle, something Kit dreams of being. However, the company policy is that only men can be knights. Determined to become a knight not only for the pay rise, but also to change things at the Castle, Kit replaces her brother during a show where she reveals her identity.
Kit gets into trouble with management, but she isn't going to let that stop her from her quest to get rid of the Castle's gender restrictions. Along with her friends at work and the power of the internet, Kit makes a plan to change the mind of the Castle executives.
Can Kit and her friends become knights?

Going into this book I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the blurb intrigued me and I thought I'd give it a go.
Kit was a relatable and (mostly) likeable protagonist. Her family didn't have much money so Kit had the added pressure of having to help pay towards bills as well as doing schoolwork and trying to get a scholarship. I felt for Kit and wanted things to work out for her, but there were a couple of occasions where she annoyed and frustrated me - one time in particular was when Kit decided she wasn't going to do something and then gave in when someone else told her to do it. 
I liked Kit's brother, Chris, and their relationship. I also liked Kit's best friends, Layla and Jett, who were very supportive.
The diversity was really good in this and was probably my favourite thing about the book.
The romance didn't over-shadow the main plot, which I appreciated. While it wasn't one of my favourite romances, I did find it quite sweet at times.
The plot was good overall and I liked the theme of challenging gender restrictions. However, I did lose interest once or twice and it took a little while for me to get back into the storyline. I wasn't as invested as I could have been in what happened and I definitely wasn't gripped or on the edge of my seat, unfortunately.
The writing style was easy to follow and I liked the pop culture references that the author included.

Overall, this was a mixed but mostly enjoyable read.

This was a lovely contemporary novel aimed at young adults. 'Working as a wench ― i.e. waitress ― at a cheesy medieval-themed restaurant in the Chicago suburbs, Kit Sweetly dreams of being a knight like her brother. She has the moves, is capable on a horse, and desperately needs the raise that comes with knighthood, so she can help her mom pay the mortgage and hold a spot at her dream college.'
The plot really drew me in and I devoured this book in one sitting. There were so many contemporary pop culture references including game of thrones which I have never read or watched so they were lost on me. There were many friendship testing moments in this book.

I love a YA book with a strong feminist undercurrent as much as the next 30 year old, but I was torn on this book. Pros: Yay representation! Yay interracial relationship and romance on all ends of the LGBTQ+ spectrum! Yay for girls fighting (Medival) gender roles and the patriarchy! But unfortunately, there were also cons that detracted from the story. I felt there was too much attention to detail, an overwhelming amount of pop culture references, a rushed romance, and a lack of resolution on the friendship plot line.  It is a pet peeve of mine in books with strong feminist undercurrents when main character is a bad friend, or does not great things to their friends and never seems to learn their lesson. This was still a good story, and I am excited to see where the author goes from here.

Jamie's The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly is a amazing and funny story about going against the patriarchy! 
Nerdy! Fun! Knights! Jousting! Friends and frients to lovers. This book has everything!

This was a really cute book! Having grown up on the Song of the Lioness series, this would have been me in high school if we had something like the Castle near by. It is a fun read and I honestly would love to see some more from the point of view of the other characters. A great idea to write about and a really great read!

I heard a peer raving about this book so I knew I wanted to give it a try. It was full of nerdy awesomeness, feminism, and best friends to lovers romance. I'll read most anything with medieval/Ren fair vibes (though this one was a dinner theater). I am not usually one to like the keeping a big secret troupe (since it never goes well) but this one had enough other things to love that I enjoyed it. I do wish the motivation was given more backstory to give it more depth as well. This was a fun story with diverse representation (again, could have been explored more) and I hope those characters get their own books in sequels.

I went into this story expecting a similar kinda light hearted feel to one of my absolute favorite adult romances, Well Met, with lots of fluff and cute romance. That is not at all what this story is. Instead this is a YA contemporary feminist/fight the patriarchy read, about a girl who just wants the chance to be equal, and be able to be a Knight at the medieval themed restaurant she works at. This was a book about Kit's personal growth and her being a champion for the little guys, full of feminism and all kinds of diversity (as well as the power of social media and trending). There was also a lot of hard truths and realities in this story, about poverty and struggling and how sometimes you have to let go of your dreams and live in the real world.

There were a lot of random history lessons in the story that I was not really into, but that is just me and I am sure others will love the details. And there were a lot of long random memory flashbacks, which were nice to help prove a point/establish relationship dynamics but not my favorite for staying current in the story.

My favorite part of the book was the relationships. While I was hoping for a swoony romance, the relationship focus was on friendship and family. Kit had the best older brother, he was her best friend/support system/cheerleader and I loved seeing them be there for each other. Instead of being overprotective and cautious, he encouraged her to step out of her assigned gender role and was willing to face the consequences if it meant his sister could have her chance (in case you couldn't tell, I hearted Chris). Kit also has two best friends who do anything within their power to help Kit and I loved how supportive they are.

Where do I begin? THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY was a fun, feminist-lensed and FIERCE romp through Medieval Times (the restaurant/attraction, not the time period)!

The prose was fresh, fast-flowing and fun to read. The plot hooked me in from page 1, and each of Pacton's characters are SO diverse, individual and well-written. I absolutely loved the sibling relationship between Kit and her brother, Chris -- the latter was authentic and supportive (albeit a bit overprotective), and I felt that Pacton wrote a sibling bond down to a T -- something difficult to find in YA fiction. 

The diversity and representation of the characters was phenomenal: the love interest is half-Indian (and, side note, he's just INCREDIBLE, swoon-worthy and all-around amazing!!); Kit's best friend is openly bi, and dates another woman throughout the novel; one of Kit's co-workers -- an integral secondary character -- is a transgender woman; and another one of her co-workers is non-binary and uses "they/them" pronouns. There's even a moment where Kit reflects upon her OWN privilege, which was something I've never seen before in literature, and was a pertinent addition to the narrative.

The action is top-notch; the details are SO well-described throughout -- Pacton's setting was incredibly immersive, and since finishing the book, I've been filled with an immense desire to head to the nearest Medieval Times and enjoy a turkey-leg dinner and a show!

Plus, the little details that Pacton included -- the nods to A KNIGHT'S TALE, the mentions of Joan of Arc and other bada** Medieval women, the fact that there was a literal *Knights of the Round Table* scene. -- were just TOO GREAT. 

UGH. I cannot shower this book with any more praise. I absolutely LOVED it. If you're looking for a fun, fresh, relevant novel that's a little on the lighter side (but carries an INCREDIBLE message), definitely give this one a try!

This book was cute, but I’m not sure the descriptors can go much further than that. I liked the gender equality theme, but felt like it could have been even deeper than what it was. I loved all of the geeky references, especially LOTR, but that does not necessarily a great book make.

This one was pretty cute. I thought it was a little bogged down in references, but I liked the characters and the overall story.

“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.

I loved every single part of this book! Although there are many comedic moments, it also discusses some really important issues. My female students are going to love Kit!

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.