The Guinevere Deception

Books | JUVENILE FICTION / General

3.7

(388)

Kiersten White

"Fascinating. . . . Kiersten White has taken the best parts of the Arthurian legend and made them all her own."--Renée Ahdieh, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn series. A new fantasy series set in the world of Camelot that bestselling author Christina Lauren calls "brilliant," reimagining the Arthurian legend . . . where nothing is as magical and terrifying as a girl. Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution--send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife . . . and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name--and her true identity--is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot. To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old--including Arthur's own family--demand things continue as they have been, and the new--those drawn by the dream of Camelot--fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself? *THE FIRST BOOK IN THE CAMELOT RISING TRILOGY* "A rare and enviable mix of impeccable writing, heart-stopping action, lush scenery, and complex, relatable characters . . . brilliant!" --New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren "Stunning. . . . will leave every reader hungry for more." --Somaiya Daud, author of the Mirage series

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More Details:

Author

Kiersten White

Pages

352

Publisher

Delacorte Press

Published Date

2019

ISBN

0525581677 9780525581673

Community ReviewsSee all

"This was so good! Guinevere is my new favorite character of all time! I think Arthur could be more considerate but I guess he's all right."

Sarah

"Reread: I think I appreciated this more the second time around and obviously saw more clues as to what would come. Guinevere, queen, not queen, is a very complex character. It's hard to get to know her because she barely knows herself. But I think her quite interesting in that manner. Elizabeth Knowelden did very well narrating and made the writing seem even more lyrical. Great world building. Everything organic even the buildings and the unique magic system. The characters seemed real especially Lancelot felt like a old trusted friend. Of course Mordred was my favorite I mean forest green eyes and sneaky to boot. Arthur was a sexist pig who pretended not to be. *fuming* This story definitely surprised me the first time around. From reading the summary of my owlcrate subscription I didn't intend on liking it. The story left out a bit much during my initial read but this time I enjoyed the enigma. And even more excited for The Camelot Betrayal. The mystery of Mordred kept me flipping the pages or in my case not pressing pause. He was very dark and sweet. The story did pick up in the end giving you much to ponder. But I didn't understand the choice Guinevere made at the last. It kind of made me mad and a little sad. I felt almost the whole world was manipulating her and she chose wrong. We will see."

Ashley

"Excellent purple prose."

AutisticJester

"I'm so happy to own this in hardcover. It's one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. Deception is used in more ways than one in the first book of the trilogy. Guinevere has no memories except what she has been told by Merlin. She isn't really Guinevere. The real Guinevere is dead and whoever or whatever she really is has been lost. Her goal is to protect King Arthur at all costs and the best way to do that is to pose as his wife. Such a great series!"

Carson

"I want to read more but I know how it ends :/"

Anna Im

"I loved this book and totally consumed it! Just very well written, engaging from start to finish, completely believable characters, and I couldn’t predict the plot! Now onto the spoilers... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Okay... I cannot be the only one who wished that Not-Guinevere would have chosen the way of magic and went with Mordred!!! **** people! Also, YES LANCELOT!!!"

Reading into the Void

"9/10, loved this retelling!"

E L

Erin L

"This story has a “First Knight” meets “A Discovery of Witches” sort of vibe, and it’s awesome! There’s a lot of elements in the story that harken back to the original Arthurian legend, but also of other retellings of the tale such as “Sword in the Stone”, “Merlin”, etc. All that being said, the story has its own, original flare. I can understand why some reviews are saying they’re not a fan of the fact that Guinevere/not-Guinevere has memory loss and that it sort of negates her reasoning for wanting to protect Arthur and Camelot for Merlin’s sake, but this is just the beginning of a trilogy! I would guess we’re going to be getting a lot more about her background in the coming installments. And also, I like to think that Guinevere grows to love Camelot and Arthur for her own, rather than simply following the orders of a wizard she may or may not believe in anymore. As to the romance aspect, I too was a little disappointed that things didn’t develop more, but they’re developing on a more realistic level, not a fairytale level. There’s more story to come, the characters will have time to build on their relationships... hopefully!"

Meg K

"Ok, I’m going to be honest- I thought it was a bit slow. I liked the idea for the plot, but I thought that it wasn’t very well executed and I was a little bored. It took me a while to get through it."