The Camelot Betrayal: 2 (Camelot Rising Trilogy)

My Rating: 4.25 starsContent Warnings for the book: physical abuse, emotional abuse, violence, and misogynyRepresentation: two sapphic side characters (in a relationship with each other), bisexual main character (confirmed by the author)I absolutely adored the Guinevere Deception. Its sequel was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020, and it did not disappoint. While the first book was about Guinevere facing the outward dangers of Camelot, this book made her look inward – creating circumstances and obstacles for her that required her to not just rely on her magic, but also her will power and inner strength. Although it did take me some time to understand the ~vibe~ of this book; when I did indeed get it, it made me shed many a tear and reflect on my own self. In other words, it was a wonderful experience that I did not see coming, but really liked.I really liked how this book built and somewhat confirmed the theories I had formed and then made me doubt them. It was at once frustrating and enjoyable. Frustrating because I felt outsmarted and enjoyable because it never once dropped in ball in trying to amaze its readers. I admired how this managed to be consistent with always having its focus on Guinevere. Which is what sets this series apart from other Arthurian retellings, the fact that it is about Guinevere, the queen who was relegated to being a wife and the object of desire of a great knight. The book constantly reminds me why I loved the first in this series, because of how it changed the characterisation of Guinevere and Lancelot. Making them both fierce women, with skills to be dangerous and giving them both baggage that brought them together.Although, I was kind of disappointed that a romance between Lancelot and Guinevere did not develop, it was also a sort of relief. Since, it was really interesting to see Guinevere trying to navigate her feelings for both Arthur and Mordred. The book made these feelings complicated, rather than giving them simple designations like good or bad. And it carried this same instinct to other characters and mythical stories in its world. Although it had established certain well known characters from Arthurian myths – such as Merlin, Morgan Le Fey and the Lady of the Lake – through stories and appearances in the last book, it changed the lens we looked them through.I found it to be immensely intriguing to see Guinevere constantly question everything – the truth of her being, her feelings for Arthur and Mordred, her wild and destructive magic, her place in the court and Camelot. This book was character driven as well as plot driven, and I found that to be an incredible strength that I could not resist. I also liked the contrast it set up with problems that Guinevere faced as a person, as a witch and as a queen The introduction of Guinevach, the sister to Princess Guinevere was a really fun obstacle to encounter.My only complaint is that up until a certain point in the book, it felt very lackluster. It managed to pick itself up pretty soon and became very enjoyable, but it felt like it had a false start. But I loved this book and am eagerly looking forward to the next! The ending was really unexpected and mysterious and I can’t wait to find out more.

The Camelot Betrayal is the second book in the Camelot rising trilogy by author Kiersten White. It's been a while since I've read book one and it took me a while to get back into the story and back into this Camelot.Guinevere have accepted her role, but she still can't find her place in all of this. And Sir Lancelot, who's a woman in this version, is in love with her Queen. A forbidden love of course. But those two really have a chemistry. And with Mordred we have a love triangle. Forget Arthur. He's there but whatever...With how this book end, can't wait to start reading the last book in this serie.

dopo il primo capitolo, ero catturata dalla magia. Questo libro mi ha un po deluso, pur essendo ben scritto.

The media could not be loaded.  Capa dura com aspecto de MDF ou papel cartão, design preto que desbota muito perto com o tato, por isso tive que retocar com uma caneta preta permanente. Folhas grossas e levemente amarelhadas, e com uma diagramação favorável.Recomendo para quem coleciona hardbacks ou quer um edição especial de um livro adorado. Não vale muito a pena de outro jeito.

I picked up the first in this series, The Guinevere Deception, on a whim drawn in by the magical cover and while I was skeptical, I overall loved it. Retellings are not usually appealing to me as I almost feel like it’s been there and done that. I know the story, so why would I read this new version? However, The Guinevere Deception did a great job of keeping me engaged and rooting for Guinevere and her several love interests. Needless to say, I was excited to pick up The Camelot Betrayal and see what happens! I absolutely loved the cover; it stands out when most covers blend in and the colors are gorgeous together. Honestly, it’s one of those books that has such shelf appeal to me that I would pick it up without knowing much about it based on the cover alone. In a world of de-cluttering my home and the convenience of my Kindle, I’m very picky about books I purchase in physical form, but this one earns its spot easily on my shelf.I’ll be honest, the Camelot Betrayal suffers a little bit from second book syndrome in my opinion. It’s almost like when you’re playing the video game Skyrim and you deviate from your main quest to wander aimlessly around the woods only to end up right where you needed to be all along. We get there, there’s major story progression at the end, but it takes us wandering for a while.While I wish that the book had more of a linear, concise path to story progression, the side quests of The Camelot Betrayal are still enjoyable. We meet with the dragon again, we rescue a damsel in distress, we learn more about Guinevere’s lineage and previous life, and we meet the sister of the real Guinevere. Most importantly, we get some small growth in the love… square?I’ll be honest – I’m a sucker for doomed romances. I want to see where it fell apart in all of its gory details, it’s heartbreaking, emotional, and more than likely tragic. So, while we know in the standard Arthurian legend that Guinevere ultimately ends up with Lancelot (if White sticks to the traditional legend) – I want to know where it falls apart. How does she scorn both Arthur and Mordred? Will this retelling deviate? Will Lancelot being a woman affect the outcome? I can’t wait to find out.Because this book ends on a huge cliffhanger (maybe even worse than the first book!), I’m anxiously waiting for the final installment of this series to see how Guinevere comes into her own and who will stand by her side.

“𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝘂𝗹𝘀𝗲𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁.”—Kiersten WhiteGuinevere has accepted her role as queen. Her relationship with Arthur is growing, but her feelings for Mordrid leave her confused. Worse still, the decisions she makes for her people leave a trail of casualties behind her. When a girl arrives in Camelot claiming to be her sister, she is convinced that Camelot is under attack from within. Can she get to the bottom of Guinevach’s true identity before Camelot falls to her charms?The Camelot Betrayal is rich with internal conflict. Guinevere struggles with her true identity, her lack of memory, and the consequences of her decisions. She struggles with blame because of what she did in the previous book. Overall, this story is everything I love from a traditional fantasy. Knights, kings and queens, political intrigue, adventure, quests. But also romance and deception. It checks all the boxes.“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆, 𝒊𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔—𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆—𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆.”While magic isn’t heavy in this book, I still really love the magical system and world building. Guinevere’s knot magic is so creative and she finds ways to use it in many different circumstances. Especially when it comes to aiding her in her quests.Once again, I loved the genderbending qualities of this story. Lancelot is still one of my favorite characters. I appreciated Guinevere’s ability to take matters into her own hands. She doesn’t need her husband to save her, nor does she expect or wait for him to. Sometimes to a fault, as we see with the lasting consequences of her decisions.I also appreciated that we began to see some flaws from Arthur. He will do anything for Camelot. But he also allows emotions to blind him. This comes full circle at the end of the book when his emotions are used against him.That being said, the story ended on a cliffhanger. I have mixed feelings about that because it was frustrating but it also hints at the potential to come. The entire book, Guinevere struggles with her identity. She has so many questions. With this ending, she is finally in a place where she’s going to discover who she really is. We are FINALLY going to get answers! But the wait is going to kill me. 𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝟰/𝟱⭐️