I am in love with this series. I love the direction that the series is heading in, I love the characters and the unique spins that Kiersten White has put on this story. I really enjoyed watching Lancelot and Guinevere's relationship grow throughout this book. This book had a lot less action then the first book but that didn't take anything away from the story. This story was more about backstories, intrigue and mystery. I cannot wait to read The Excalibur Curse and will sit here impatiently until it is released.

The Camelot Betrayal delves deeper into Guinevere's story. Guinevere is still struggling with the reversal of roles and in her relationship with Arthur. When her sister comes to town, Guinevere must invent ways to avoid her. When they travel out of town to a wedding, not everything goes at it should. A fantastic follow up to the first book.

3/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishing for providing this review copy !!

It somewhat suffers with second book syndrome with lots of plot and character building still happening but i'mm still invested in reading the next books of the series

I found the plot of this sequel to be interesting, but I didn’t like how it was executed. It felt like a lot of info-dumping and hastily thrown together. The ending also happened very suddenly and while I understand it was supposed to be a cliff-hanger, it didn’t seem like the right moment to end it. I really liked the first book in this series and wish this one was better.

Soooo, I read The Guinevere Deception right before this one. I hadn't planned on reading that first book. There are way too many books on my TBR already. However, when I saw the cover of the sequel, I just had to rearrange my TBR for November and make these books fit. I'm a sucker for a good retelling and this one definitely worked for me. To be honest, I often had to remind myself that Sir Lancelot is a woman lol, but I love the friendship Guinevere and Sir Lancelot have. I also loved reading about Brangien's special bond with Isolde. I was impressed how Kiersten White merged the story of King Arthur and the story of Tristan/Isolde/King Marke in this retelling. I tip my hat! Great job!

The reason I only gave 4 stars is that my mind often drifted a bit when the story slowed down. Historical fiction is not really my cup of tea. I think that's why my mind started wandering a bit since this book was definitely a slow burner at times.

Thank you, Netgalley, for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Camelot Betrayal is the second book in the Camelot Rising trilogy. I loved this book just as much as I loved the first (find my review here!) As I said in the review for the first book, this is a retelling of the myth of King Arthur and Camelot, but it is focused instead on Guinevere. I still know little to nothing about the original mythology, but this was fun for me. I think it was more fun for me because I didn’t know anything about the mythology. I didn’t have anything to compare it to other than the vague idea of the story that Arthur claimed Excalibur.
We follow Guinevere after the events of the first book. She’s trying to figure out who she is. She has little to no memories of her childhood and she’s confused. She’s supposed to be playing the part of Guinevere the Queen and finally feels like she might be figuring out how to do that. I really liked that Guinevere was trying to figure things out for herself. I think this made for a really interesting emotional journey. She has several important relationships, with her lady’s maid, her knight, and with Arthur. Relationships are always changing and growing, and that’s clear in this story. I liked this aspect of the story too. Guinevere’s still trying to figure out the right thing for her and for the people around her. She becomes more aware throughout the story that she might not be doing what’s best for her friends and she tries to change that. I liked Guinevere. She’s kind, but strong. She wants to do the right thing, and tries to, and feels guilt when there are consequences from her actions that she did not expect. I just really liked her.
I also really liked the development of her and Arthur’s relationship. It’s slow and sweet. They both want similar things, but Arthur feels guilt for how and why Guinevere came be to in Camelot. I liked seeing their relationship change from the first book. I don’t like the love triangle aspect. I’m team Arthur all the way, though the other choice is certainly intriguing.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the series so far. I’m very excited for the conclusion. I love all the character, main and supporting. I think my favorite part of the story though is the intrigue of the secrets that Guinevere thinks she is figuring out. I can’t tell what’s true and what isn’t. There’s so much that she doesn’t know and it really kept me wanting more. I loved how little pieces were tied together through the characters. I’m very eager to get all of the answers to the questions that I have from this book.

I like this take on the Legend of King Arthur and how this story centers on Geneviere and magic, and I’m a huge Kiersten White fan, but I’m not sure this series is right for me. I didn’t love the first book, in fact I forced myself to finish it, and this one was kind of the same. I don’t know why I struggle to get into this world and connect with these characters so much, but I just can’t.

The Camelot Betrayal is the continuation of the fantasy retelling of King Arthur. In a world where kingdom comes before love and magic is forbidden, readers continue on Guinevere’s journey of magic, friendship, love, fealty to the kingdom, and self-discovery.

In the second installment, White brings readers into the complicated and confusing head of Guinevere. After being betrayed by a love, learning how to wield powers for the good of the kingdom (the same powers that could put her in jeopardy of being found out), and blaming herself for the wickedness that plagues the land, Guinevere has more going on than she can handle. We discover the inner workings of our protagonist in a real way: both her strengths and her weaknesses.

While I enjoyed the character building, I felt that the story lacked a little action. Typical for most trilogies, I wanted to be “wowed” and felt a little disappointed. This felt like an entirely different plot line and, I believe, could’ve been emitted from the story entirely without losing any substance. My only objection is that I enjoyed learning more about the relationship between Guinevere and Mordred.

The Camelot Betrayal is a story of the power of friendship, loyalty, and how our own minds can betray us. White brings readers a story of a protagonist who questions herself: her decisions, her friends, and even those closest to her heart; a protagonist who has flaws but is loved despite them, will do anything for the people she loves, and most importantly, who learns from her mistakes.

I absolutely loved this book! Seeing Guinevere struggle with her place at Camelot and at Arthur's side made for an interesting story. And this book made me love Brangien even more!! You really get to see more development of all of the characters.

I only read brief excerpt not a full book review.
It seem that Gweiniver is growing up. I saw some maturity in her character that made her more interesting. Her friendship with Lancelot is strong. I'm not sure about Arthur, he's such a dud relationship wise (IMHO) what about this other guy ? We shall see. I can't wait to get my hands on the whole book

I was so excited to read this sequel to THE GUINEVERE DECEPTION; a book I read last year and really enjoyed. Kiersten White just does such a good job at putting her own spin on a story that is so well known and so much a part of our literary culture. I did feel like this book was slower in pace and had less of an impact than the first book, but I loved the way it set up the story to continue in the series finale!

I have been obsessed with Arthurian legends for years so when the Guinevere Deception came out, I was immediately hooked. The Camelot Betrayal was a fantastic book that I devoured in (basically) one sitting.

I cannot thank Netgalley and the publisher, Delacorte Press, enough for giving me this digital arc in exchange for an honest review! I do want to apologize before my review as I had received this e-arc prior to publication but only finished the book last night. 2020 has been a hard year for everyone and I was "going through it" as well - I had picked this up much earlier but due to my numerous reading slumps, I felt it would be unfair to read this in a time where I was feeling averse to reading and wanted to give this book the fair shot it deserved.

The Camelot Rising trilogy has quickly placed itself amongst my favorite fantasy series of all time (of all time!). Partly because I love Arthurian legends but also party because the execution of Kiersten White is near flawless. It's a phenomenal read - a slow burn with great build up to action with extremely likeable characters (even the "villains" - they are so morally grey and it agonizes you to adore them because you KNOW they did wrong things...but you also understand why they did it - but I'll get into that later).

This book is very much a second book in a trilogy but doesn't fall victim to second book syndrome, nor does it feel like filler at all. For much of the story, all is well in Camelot. King Arthur is expanding his kingdom, Guinevere at his side. People are thriving ahead of the harvest season.

But is all really well?

Guinevere is facing haunting nightmares and questions her ability to act as a queen should. She feels unsettled and like she doesn't belong and so she acts in hectic ways, all in an effort to find herself and prove her worth as queen and, ultimately, a hero.

White explores these concepts of self-assurance and acceptance really well. Guinevere's desperation to find herself is really palpable and causes the reader to question those same questions (not in a bad way, just retrospectively). All the while, the character building of Guinevere and her friends is done really well. This was clearly a book of growth - for Guinevere mostly, but also for Mordred, Morgana and Arthur too. I loved watching the budding relationship between Guinevere and Arthur... but also Guinevere and Mordred. I normally despise love triangles (just a personal preference, it's totally okay if love triangles are your favorite trope!) but the wavering of Guinevere's feelings for Arthur (who represents the light and goodness that Guinevere so desperately craves) and Mordred (who would accept Guinevere despite it all for who she is now, not her potential) wasn't annoying. It was really heart-wrenching because you could see how Guinevere despairs in her efforts to reconcile both desires.

The one part of the book that made me a little *uncomfy* is Guinevere and Lancelot's deepening relationship. I adore the gender-bent Lancelot and I adored how much more their relationship became in The Camelot Betrayal. I would never assume to presume a thing about an author's sexuality, but at times I felt as though this particular relationship felt slightly like queer-baiting. I have probably shipped Guinevere with Lancelot - especially given their very well known (and tragic) love affair; however, the Camelot Betrayal. If Lancelot is queer and has unrequited feelings for Guinevere in the context of this trilogy, I would like to see that explicitly portrayed in the final book of the series.

Finally, given how the book ends, I will be praying to the Netgalley and publishing gods to grant me the e-arc for the finale. I screeched when the book ended, absolutely dismayed that I would have to wait until sometime in 2021 to read what will clearly be an action-packed finale. Maybe this is a premature statement, but I feel as though all the character and relationship growth in this book will play out perfectly into the next.

It took me a bit to get into, that is my fault completely for reading the first book too long ago. But it still sucked me in, I was INVESTED and now I'm left on a cliff hanger and NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

This is the second book in the Camelot Rising trilogy by Kiersten White.

EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom's influence with Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series. I like this one as well but I feel like it is mostly filler before the conclusion. Kiersten White weaves a classic, well known legend with exciting changes. She does it so beautifully that the original seems wrong. Sir Lancelot is a woman, there is a twist on the Tristan & Isolde fable, Guinevere is a changeling. I am impatiently waiting for the conclusion of this story!

Unfortunately, some things fall short in book two. Isolde’s rescue seems like an afterthought thrown in the middle with no real tie to the story. The sister’s story could have revealed so much more about the real Guinevere’s past, instead it felt rushed and glossed over. There also seems to be more to Lancelot than can be addressed in the final book without losing main focus.

All in all, I am excited to read the conclusion of this Arthurian retelling and am impatiently awaiting book three!!

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me this arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really The Guinevere Deception, the first book in this series, when I read it last year. It had an interesting premise and was a great twist on a classic tale. I really wanted to love the second one too, but sadly it came down with a case of “second-book” syndrome. It was extremely boring and I honestly had no interest in reading it. The only reason I finished it was because I haven’t read an arc in a while. The characters were boring and didn’t really change throughout the story. Nothing exciting happened. There wasn’t any exciting scenes that made me hold my breath. It was a very flat story. I also don’t really like the storyline with Guinevere’s sister. It doesn’t really add anything to the story. I also can never remember that Lancelot is a woman in this version. It’s confusing and I wish her name was changed slightly so it was more obvious. Overall I really wanted to like this second instalment but I didn’t. It was boring and useless to the storyline.

You know it’s a good book when you fall so completely into the story that you don’t even care that you didn’t read the first book in the series! This one is so good, I will definitely be getting ahold of the first one so that I can love these characters even more!

I love Arthurian legends and this series is a refreshing twist to be told from the perspective of Guinevere. I love White's writing and her prose is beautiful. The characters just don't get fleshed out enough for me and I still feel like some of the diversity included feels forced for the sake of being current and diverse. I would still recommend it and I still enjoyed it but I am left wanting more.

This was an enchanting sequel to The Guinevere Deception. This book was action-packed, character-driven, and provided some really good follow-up stories to some of the secondary characters. I loved watching Guinevere grow as she tries to re-find herself in this adventure. Would recommend both The Guinevere Deception and the Camelot Betrayal to my patrons. Looking forward to book 3.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

This is an excellent, if not a little stagnant, sequel to the first book. It holds all the wonderful tenets of excellent storytelling and writing and does well to continue us down the path of character exploration. However, in regard to the plot, it didn’t feel like this book moved as quickly or with as much purpose as the previous; there is a noticeable slow-burn aesthetic in this book, both in regard to plot and to relationships. We focus primarily on Guinevere’s character development and her relationship with herself to discover who she really is. I’d say her portrayal is real, if not at times callow, but she is a more loveable and whole character who is driven by realistic passions and riddled with an internal struggle that any reader can understand.

Although slow, there were considerable twists and exciting storylines that will intrigue readers who prefer, perhaps, narrative-driven stories. I won’t divulge too much on the plot, but I am excited to see where this goes, especially with the ending leaving me wanting.

Thank you Netgalley for an earc of this in exchange for an honest review. I wish it was a better one but I had to DNF.