Legend

Legend by Nicole Zoltack this is a great story to read. This is a great story with really strong characters and a great story. This is the first time I ever read anything by this author and I really enjoyed it very much.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Alena is a maid in a Duke’s household. She is full of herself believing that all people should be treated the same. This does not endear her to the other servants in the household. Knights are fighting in a tournament and she is tasked with tending to one of the contestants. He has need of a sword and Alena rushes to retrieve one lest he go into the combat less one. She sees the sword in the stone (knowing nothing of its value) pulls it out. The rest of the story revolves around Alena and her people. I was given a free copy of this book at my request and this is my honest review.

What if King Arthur had been born a girl instead of a boy? Legend explores that very story.

Alena grew up as a maid in the palace, constantly on the brink of expulsion for refusing to submit to the authority and unwanted advances of knights and noblemen. Unlike anyone else she knew, she thought that class and caste should not matter and all should be treated equally. She also continually asserted, to the dismay of the duke and others who employed her, that while another might own her services, no one owned her body. It’s a great rallying cry. Things began to change quickly when she overheard a plot to assassinate the duke and found a sword in an anvil and quickly grabbed it for the knight she was assisting in a tournament. As soon as Alena became the center of attention, she knew she didn’t want it. Could she become queen? Should she become queen?

Legend could have easily parodied The Sword in the Stone, but Nicole’s writing made it believable. There were almost too many anomalies in Alena’s life. She didn’t know who her parents were but had been sent to the castle instead of abandoned. She taught herself to read. She stood up to anyone who treated her wrongly, regardless of their social standing or the number of times she had already been rebuked for doing so. And those are only a few of the unusual characteristics of Alena. The idea of a woman becoming queen, and a maid at that, was also ridiculous and horrifying to so many people even after they watched her pull the sword from the stone on several more occasions. This wouldn’t be a neatly resolved story. And it’s definitely not a joke.

I’m curious to see how Alena grows into her role and eventually accepts the mantle that legend tells us she must. Sarah Colton narrated all of the voices perfectly. I could listen to her all day (and almost did, since I finished the book in less than a day). I received a free audiobook through StoryOrigin and have reviewed it gladly.

What if the legendary Arthur of Briton had been a girl?
This medieval sword and sorcery adventure follows the life of a young foundling, raised (more or less) by a nobleman who finds her on his doorstep.She spends her life working as a maid in the castle, until one day, when a series of circumstances forces her to become much more.
Legend is a much grittier and less chivalrous treatment of medieval England than your run of the mill fairy tale, but the characters are interesting, and for the most part likable and the plot is engaging and fun to read even if it borrows heavily from the Arthurian sword in the stone legends.
Sarah Colton is an excellent narrator which makes Legend a pleasure to listen to.

I found this to be a feminine version of King Arthur. It has the potential to be a great series. I only took a star away because it is a cliffhanger and I like my books stand alone. I got this book from storyorigins and this is my voluntary and honest review.