Fun fact--I am a sucker for any Arthurian legend retellings. So much so that I applied for a grant to chase down information about Arthurian legends in France and England and I got it! More on that later, but I think this YA novel by B.P. Sweany was a cool and original entry into the rapidly expanding list of Arthurian retellings. It's chock full of teenage angst and antics...plus magic, time travel, and a rather unfortunate prophecy for MC Rosemary.

There were aspects of this story that I found frustrating, particularly Rosemary's feelings/angst around her ex-boyfriend Benz. However, I'm no longer a teenager, and that means there are some things that I'm just not going to "get" anymore. Overall, I really liked it, and I'm looking forward to more books in this series! I have a lot of questions!

I waffled back and forth on this one. It wasn't what I was expecting it to be, but in the end, I was so hooked. Also, so very upset that this book still hasn't released yet, which means I have to wait for the next one. Some things cannot be left the way they have, and I'll have to sit with this heartache a little longer.

Dramatics aside, I don't know if there is a standard route for an Arthurian Legend with a time travel twist to take. With enhanced abilities, a prophecy, and an all too real portrayal of high school life, I was in for a ride with this one.

I loved the twists and personal takes that were made on the Arthurian side of this book. I didn't always love the high school drama - only because it was too good. In the sense that it was frustrating and believable, and there wasn't a clear fix to the problems that came up. No right answer to make everything go away, or make you feel better.

Heartbreak was embraced. Friends were kept and introduced. Family secrets were discovered.

I am so ready for the second book.

I did listen to the audio version of this, and I was left feeling a bit neutral. On a positive note, the story was easy to follow for an audio version. I didn't find myself having to go back, because narrative pacing or voice choices made me miss something. I liked Emris's (not sure on spelling) accent, which was a bonus for him being my favorite character. Downside, I can be very sensitive to sounds, and some moments were a bit too shrill for me. Ear discomfort and heart palpitations aside, the audio as a whole was enjoyable and I was able to finish the whole book!

♡𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰♡
2.5 round to 3 🌟
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𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 :
•ya
•fantasy
•teenage issues
•coming of age
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DNF @20%, this book just wasn't for me.
The narrator, Tami Stronach, did a good job.
Will recommend to people who enjoy YA Fantasy with coming of age vibes. Will also attempt to reread at a later time.
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♡𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 July.9 ♡
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Thank you, Netgalley, and RB Media for the (ALC)-Audiobook for my honest review.

This book was just OK, better than 3 stars since I read it pretty quickly. If I could, I'd give it 3.5 stars.

What I liked: interesting tie-in to the King Arthur legend. Compelling enough to keep reading.

What I didn't like: there was something a bit off-putting about the main character, that made her less relatable. She's naturally good at everything physical (running, gymnastics) and gets angry at the school principal for noticing (what?). It could be that she's an angsty teenager who is both madly in love with her boyfriend but also doesn't want anything to do with him. She tries to navigate a strained relationship with her parents, but even that seemed flat in how it was portrayed. I thought the author could have done a better job developing the plot about the mysterious curse. Again, it felt flat. There's a curse that some long lost relative (?) is going to come and force MC to have his child (?). And then MC's dad comes up with this orb that has magic seawater in it that can allow MC's evil grandmother to appear spontaneously to threaten her (yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous).

Audiobook: not bad. Narrator was clear and did a good job at different accents. What would have made it better was if she changed her tone when doing different characters. Some of the dialogue was hard to follow because some of the characters sounded the same. If it wasn't for the different accents of some characters, I wouldn't have been able to tell who was talking at some points.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, author B.P. Sweany, narrator Tami Stronach, and RB Media | Recorded Books, for this ARC/ARL.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! B.P. Sweany perfectly blends the teenage girl world, heartbreak, and the fantastical realm of Arthurian lore into an interesting and compelling story. While I usually have a hard time with audiobooks, due to being very picky with narrator voice, Tami Stronach did an amazing job! Tami absolutely nailed the voice of Rosemary Banson, our witty and fierce protagonist, and also the other characters were done extremely well! Especially Emrys!

If you want a story that blends high school drama with Arthurian legend, "The Sword and the Sophomore" is your next listen!

I am a sucker for an Arthurian legend retelling and this one did not disappoint. This book also offered some rather different elements than some of the retelling that I have previously read. This book actually gives us a glimpse into the future. You can expect time travel, curses, magic, swords, Merlin, and regular teenager life. The plot was not predictable and the characters are well developed.
As a YA fantasy this book has a lot to offer teens - and readers that enjoy YA fantasy, like me. I couldn’t put it down. I listened to the audiobook in just a few sittings. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, especially her portrayal of the protagonist - she nailed teenage girl attitude.
Thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for a review copy of the audiobook. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

This was captivating YA fantasy that re-imagines the story of King Arthur but in a modern world. Rosemary Banson, a typical high school student, discovers her connection to the legendary king, setting off a whirlwind adventure filled with magic, drama, and teenage romance.

This book take you on a journey filled with evil creatures, flying horses, and of course the Excalibur. However, the pacing in this book felt very inconsistent, and the ending felt rushed leaving me with questions and unresolved plot holes.

The characters, particularly Rosemary and the teenage Merlin-like figure Emrys, are well-developed and relatable, adding depth and charm to the story. Sweany's writing is sharp and witty, Tami Stronach's skillful narration complemented the story very well.

Overall, I would recommend "The Sword and the Sophomore" to anyone who is a fan of YA fantasy.

I started this book without a lot of knowledge about it. But when I tell you it was everything I had been looking for in a book, I mean it. The story was really good and so intriguing that I did not know what was about to happen at anytime in the book. Truly I don’t have a lot to say because I don’t want to spoil anyone but one thing I would recommend is to listen to it. When I started reading, I did not expect it to be a retelling of King Arthur story but it just made it all more special and so cool. I enjoyed the characters and the plot of the story. I think it was even better because I was listening to it and not reading it. Another cool added thing was the way the time was represented as a sphere, it was just genius.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise is interesting: main character Rosemary discovers she has mystical powers and is descended from time-traveling Guinevere and Lancelot of Camelot, reminiscent of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson stories. The opening chapters are engaging and the lore is cool. There are certainly interesting moments. However, the plot is slow to build and I struggled to connect with the characters or really feel their connection with each other. Rosemary comes across as self-centered and snarky the entire time, and the relationship twists feel forced. There’s a strong sexual theme running through the story and the climax was a little triggering for me as a survivor of abuse. The conclusion left me more confused than anything else.

Listening on audiobook didn’t help, because I struggled to catch the details of the lore. And, oddly, the narrator’s accents kept changing. I know why — some characters are from ancient England, others from modern-day Maryland — but it was hard to follow. If you love lore and can follow an audiobook format well, you might enjoy it.

There is are a multitude of reasons why I no longer work at a high school... Teenage drama and angst are at the top of my list! While I thought I would be getting a small portion of angst but lots of magic and knights with this book, it turned out to be the reverse. I know that its the first in the trilogy and subsequent books will have all that I want, I don't find myself drawn to continuing this series.

As an adult I go into YA books knowing the characters may not be to my liking or that I will find them slightly annoying but Rosemary takes the cake, she is insufferable. The narrator did an excellent job with her character, and an amazing job overall with the story. It just wasn't for me.

I was really drawn to this book by the premise, especially since it is a retelling (I usually love retellings) but sadly, I just could not get into this one and dnf'd it around the 63% mark. I just really felt I could not connect with the characters and their personalities/actions sometimes did not feel well rounded or realistic - if that makes sense. I also just felt no sense of urgency or compulsion to continue going, the plot felt flat.

However, I really enjoyed the narrator and all of their accents! Thank you to Netgalley and RB media for this audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was an excellent YA modern age fantasy about a high school student who finds out she has family ties to King Arthur. While I thought it was a little slow in the first 20% or so, once the prophecy (since there’s /always/ a prophecy) was found out and explained things started picking up. While our FMC was a bit annoying at times, I thought it kind of fit her teenage personality. I think my favorite part of this book was one of our sidekicks, an aging in reverse mage who is her guide through this discovery of her family lineage. This book had plenty of magic, high school drama, teenage romance, and lore retelling. I’m excited to read the next two in the trilogy!

this is great.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. I requested this book because the cover and the name suggest some mystery some adventure and it did not disappoint.
Recommend it strongly. love to listen to the next parts

“Excalibur’s Keeper? Me? The girl who loses her iPhone when she goes to bed at night, and then ends up searching for it using the flashlight—on her iPhone?”

Well, this was not your typical Arthurian retelling, and I’m here for that!

❤️ Entertaining, easy read
❤️ Fun twist on the Arthurian legends
❤️ Hormonal teenage Merlin
❌ Inconsistent pace
❌ Rushed ending
❌ Main relationship

Trigger Warnings: violence, blood and gore, coarse language, beheading, attempted rape, attempted murder, death and grief.

Plot:
Rosemary Banson is a typical teenager. Or… is she? She’s always been stronger, faster than everyone for reasons she can’t explain. And when a strange, but friendly foreign-exchange student who acts way beyond his years comes into her life, things start to get weirder and weirder, with evil creatures, flying horses, the magical sword Excalibur, a prophecy, and more.

Although the plot was rather linear and straightforward, I was excited to know how it would unfold. It was a fun, light, smart, entertaining story that helped get me out of my seasonal reading slump. However, I wish the pace had been worked on more thoroughly, as there was some dragging in the first 75%, and then the rest felt a little rushed. I’m also not a fan of how some aspects and relationships were dealt with at the end, with an unnecessary romance plot twist that felt forced. For most of the book, Rosemary is basically obsessed with her ex, Benz, and then all of a sudden there are 3 love interests. I guess I wasn’t better at 16, but it still felt unnecessary—especially after all the emphasis that was put on Rosemary and Benz’s (toxic) relationship.

Characters:
If you follow my reviews, you probably know by now that I can be… hard on MCs. I get annoyed easily by characters who keep making bad decisions or who are immature and needlessly confrontational. Who knew I’d love an actual TEENAGER FMC? At first, the whole “dork, but hip” and “effortlessly popular” thing was getting on my nerves. I thought Rosemary was self-centred and rude. But she grew on me, especially as her relationship with Emrys began to develop.

Emrys was my favourite character. What’s not to love about a hormonal teenage Merlin? I’m pretty sure a teenage me would have had a crush on him.

But, seriously, Rosemary’s parents… how useless and dull can one be? Very often, it felt like Rosemary and Emrys were the adults in this story.

Writing:
The writing was sharp and smart, with great banter and humour.

Audiobook:
The narration was on point! Loved it.

I really liked what the narrator did with accents and voicing different characters, that was really enjoyable.
Though sometimes, especially when the main character was talking, I couldn't tell what was thoughts, what was actually said out loud, what was just narrator comments, which sometimes got a bit frustrating.

Now for the book itself.
Hoo boy
I forced myself through the first part because the main character is just so incredibly annoying. She's this Not-trying but still popular outsider, already so special, and then becomes even more special. So self centered that it honestly surprises me she still has friends by the end.
Maybe, with a different main character, i would have enjoyed this book a lot more...
Though, most of the time, it felt like nothing was happening. The description of this book made me believe there would be actual time magic and other magic happening
but then 90% of the book was just generic high school teen drama.
The last about 15% where stuff actually happens felt incredibly rushed, the only time the villain actually shows up is cringy and feels incredibly forced.


That said
I did enjoy this book. May not sound like it, but really, I did.
Emris is an incredibly interesting character, and towards the end Rosemary (main character) actually started becoming bearable. though it still annoyed me that she basically didnt know what she wanted. But that can be glossed over. She's 16 after all.
For a teen drama, this was a fairly good one. Characters that seemed flat in the beginning, having clichees one sees all too often in these types of stories, ended up actually having some substantial depth to them and rising far far above these clichees.

But even for the first book in the series, this was a little too much setup, and too little happening.
Aaaand the romance was slightly unbelievable, as it didn't build up at all.
Just suddenly
poof yes that's happening.

I wished we got some more of certain characters, like the main character's mother, who is always said to be this total badass but then only has one scene where she shows for half a second what she can do.
This could have been much better, but it wasn't bad.

Tried and failed. I couldn't get into this audiobook, the narrator wasn't nice to listen to and I couldn't get through the first few chapters even though I tried. The way it was told sounded boring and it was dragging. DNF.

This book was pretty fun. I did get mildly confused on the familial relations but the main character, Rosemary, was just as confused as I was so it added to the experience. It was very much a goofy Y/A book with a not like other girls FMC, a quirky best friend, and 2-3 love interests that seem to only be love interests because Rosemary was bored. I got mildly frustrated with Rosemary at times. but in the way I would get frustrated with any 16-year-old making dumb 16-year-old decisions. I was also confused at the dynamic between Rosemary and Merlin. Romance was hinted at, but the characters did not interact romantically at all. However, this was a book that knew what it was, and it did that well. It was a quirky little YA fantasy book, and it did a good job being fun and enjoyable. Additionally, I listened to this as an audiobook, and I greatly enjoyed the narrator. I do not know that I would have like the book as much without the narrator, but I think she did a great job. My reading experience was greatly enhanced by the narrator.

Really captivating! I love the sass of the main character. so many twists and turns. You fall in love with the characters with how well the relationships are written. My negatives about this book I had was that I wished it gave more background knowledge about the history, I felt it was rushed or just mentioned briefly to make the scene make sense. The other negative I have is the incest. I understand that this is a YA so it is age appropriate to talk about but it doesn't add to the story nor should it be aimed at the 16 year old character.. It ends up being a good portion of why the character is being targeted. Overall, it was a good book and really enjoyed the voice actress.

I did not know what to expect going into this book! I had never read about King Arthur before, so this was my introduction!

I love this book, I do not have a single negative thing to say about it. I am a reader who LOVES reading action scenes, and this book had a great amount of them, as well as drama, all mixed together. I flew through this book, and I am going to be impatiently waiting on the second book to come out.

I did not give spoilers to any book friends that I have, however, I did tell them that this book needs to be on their radar whenever it comes out in July.

The character Rosemary was a very likable teenage personality, which is different for me! I usually become easily frustrated by teenage characters. (Ex. The Summer I Turned Pretty, Belly) She responds as reasonably as she can to all the new changes in her life and kicks ass while doing it. I appreciate the detail of her personality, and how I was able to understand her thought processes throughout the book.

Secondly, I LOVE MERLIN! He is such a sweet person, and makes me so sad at times throughout this book, especially when he talks about his wife. I cannot imagine living for so long and living so far past your partner that no one else remembers her except him. The thought breaks my heart.

Lastly, I found that this book made me want to look into King Arthur stories more, and watch the Merlin shows! Just so I can get more understanding of who the books characters are based on.

AMAZING BOOK!! I will be buying the physical copy as soon as it comes out.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Interesting premise, it just didn't draw my attention as much as I thought it would. Decent story overall and I think would be a well liked by many. The narrator did a good job.