The second book in a new fantasy trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White, exploring the nature of self, the inevitable cost of progress, and, of course, magic and romance and betrayal so epic Queen Guinevere remains the most famous queen who never lived.EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE IN CAMELOT: King Arthur is expanding his kingdom’s influence with Queen Guinevere at his … Queen Guinevere at his side. Yet every night, dreams of darkness and unknowable power plague her.
Guinevere might have accepted her role, but she still cannot find a place for herself in all of it. The closer she gets to the people around her–Brangien, pining for her lost love Isolde; Lancelot, fighting to prove her worth as Queen’s knight; and Arthur, everything to everyone and thus never quite enough for Guinevere–the more she realizes how empty she is. She has no sense of who she truly was before she was Guinevere. The more she tries to claim herself as queen, the more she wonders if Mordred was right: she doesn’t belong. She never will.
When a rescue goes awry and results in the death of something precious, a devastated Guinevere returns to Camelot to find the greatest threat yet has arrived. Not in the form of the Dark Queen or an invading army, but in the form of the real Guinevere’s younger sister. Is her deception at an end? And who is she really deceiving–Camelot, or herself?
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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.
As I said in the other review. After I finish te first book, I just need continue my reading, I wanted know what is happening with Guinevere, Arthur, Lancelot and Modred and in this second book, again envolve us. I felt like I was in Camelot with others. Now Guinevere don’t have only one threat around, she needs worry with people near her too? And Merlin what he did? He saw all what is happening when he could see the future? Who is Guinevere in the end?
Ahhhh… I’m crazy to read the other book… Again, I recommend you read it.
Now it’s time to start “The Conqueror’s Saga” while I wait for the next book. 😉
This cover is just gorgeous, let’s take the beauty in for a minute.
Now, the characters are fantastic and it has wonderful world building, however it moved to slow for me to really enjoy and I felt like it wasn’t getting anywhere. I got lost numerous times due to the all over the place plot and it didn’t feel like there really was one.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
Rating:
2 ½ out of 5 stars rounded to 3 stars
I loved the development of Guinevere’s character and her relationships with everyone. The revelation of Guinevach and reappearance of Mordred brought interesting twists to this tale that I really enjoyed.
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
Dive back into Guinevere’s story where the stakes are higher, the mysteries and enemies continue to lurk around every corner, and where every choice comes with consequence.
In The Guinevere Deception, Guinevere knew her place, she was a protector and an imposter. Now that she is queen lines begin to blur. She still feels like a fake but her choices affect everyone around her. She tries to prove her worth and is willing to do practically anything to protect Arthur and Camelot, but as the fallout of her choices mount and new problems continue to rise Guinevere feels the crushing pressure of the crown whether she is the true queen or not.
The second installment of the Camelot Rising series is a story of choice and consequence, it’s a story of identity and belonging, and it’s a story of sacrifice and cost. White has done a wonderful and insightful job of bringing to life this story and these characters, especially through Guinevere’s introspection, all while masterfully navigating a love square. That’s right, a freaking square!
Love triangles can be hard to do justice to, how do you balance the romance to give both love interests equal spotlight while also guiding the reader toward a resolution that will leave one party alone. Well White decided to up the ante and add a third love interest and she has somehow pulled it off perfectly. No matter who you want Guinevere to end up with, be it Lancelot (the correct answer) Mordred (acceptable…I guess) or Arthur (but why though?) White has done fan service to all three love interests in a way that felt completely organic and added to the story rather than taking away from it. An amazing feat that I am still not sure how she was able to pull off.
The twists and turns in this story constantly kept me on my toes. There were endless ups and downs that kept the pacing perfect. The emotional upheaval of the story tugged all the right cords. Book two is heavy and White does a great job of showing how devastating Guinevere’s struggle can be, while also showcasing hope and growth.
Guinevere continues to be best part of this story. She is strong and raw and her arc and development are absolutely perfect. She is flawed but in all the best ways and she always gives so much of herself despite not even knowing who she is. Guinevere is the heroine Camelot truly deserves. I love everything about Guinevere and cannot wait to see the conclusion of her story.
Through Guinevere’s story White has weaved a magnificent tale from the King Arthur lore that for me surpasses its source material in every way.
“She drifts on the breath of the stone, through halls and rooms and then out to the streets, running like channels of a river down to where the lake waits, cold and ancient and eternal. Water always finds a way back to itself.”
Late last year when ‘The Guinevere Deception’ by Kiersten White was released, I was enamored first by the beautifully unique cover style and then immediately afterward by the concept of the story. I was excited to get a copy in a subscription box, but already at that point I had a long list of commitments to fulfill before getting to any casual reads and by the time I was able to fit one in.. unfortunately it had gotten shuffled around out of sight.
So, needless to say.. with my penchant for jumping into series specifically on book two.. and I don’t know why this has become a thing with me.. but it absolutely has, I jumped at the opportunity to read an ARC of the follow-up.
‘The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising Trilogy Book 2)’ boasts an equally beautiful cover design and sounded, if possible.. even more exciting than the series debut.
Generally speaking, I enjoy the idea of reinvention. Be that in reference to cover songs, remixes, film franchise reboots, or retellings.. I love to see what a creator might choose to do with inspired source material. Obviously, sometimes that has really disappointing results.. other times.. something truly special happens.. and entirely new life is breathed into that older work.
This is one of those situations.
Like many, I love the tales of Camelot. Merlin and Morgan.. Arthur and Guinevere.. the Knights of the Round Table.. these are the kinds of stories that continue to inspire throughout time. Though the legends of Tristan and Iseult (Isolde) are believed to have influenced the Arthurian tales, here.. in White’s tale.. they find a place alongside the legends of Camelot.
“It is more valuable to anticipate a blow than to avoid it. If I know which direction a blow is coming from, I can move with it instead of against it.”
In this book, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere have defeated their enemies once and are expending their efforts on ruling Camelot. Arthur, already comfortable in his role as King and Guinevere seemingly going through the motions while trying to find her place. Despite the evident closeness between herself and those around her, she continues to feel apart from everyone.
With her dreams swallowed up by visions of darkness and power.. familiarity in unfamiliar places.. and a deep sense of foreboding, Guinevere is constantly looking over their proverbial shoulders in expectation of an attack. Each little discovery seems as if it should make her feel more secure, but something still feels wrong. Nothing appears to be quite when she was taught it was, but she questions her own judgment and it seems the threat could be coming from anywhere.
Guinevere and Arthur are exceedingly kind, caring, likable characters. I find it interesting that a premise could be built on such polarizing lies and contain no feelings of negativity toward those carrying them out. Despite their secrets, they truly only want to do as much good for as many people as they possibly can.. and who can fault them for that?
Sure, along the way.. some pretty bad things go down.. but it’s difficult to feel sorry for those on the receiving end, when all they do is ask for it.
“Do not imagine us whiling away our days in foolishness. Imagine us as the adder, curled and coiled in anticipation of the strike.”
I loved the gender flip of Lancelot and how it’s handled. It was impressive to see it both addressed in how the female night might be challenged by her role at the same time that she never seemed to be held down by it. She’s as strong and able, more so in most cases.. than any other knight. Unlike Brienne in Game of Thrones, there’s no great inner-conflict about who she is. There’s no struggle to be as tough as the men and still soft enough to carry a love story.. and I genuinely applaud the author for that.
Other than the obvious small-minded comments of the occasional side character that imply the way she’s viewed is more stereotypical.. her gender is never actually an issue for her when it comes to carrying out her duties. She’s a knight first and does no worrying over finding a partner as if not having one in some way makes her anything less.
“She is movement and chaos, brightest life and sharpest death. There is no patience in her, no sense of the power of performing the same action over and over and over until eventually a different result is achieved.”
The story is rich visually, has an intriguing.. if not unfamiliar.. magic system, and has plenty of page-turning events to keep you from putting the book down. The author’s prose is elegant, without being overdone. Not unlike the dreams Guinevere is subjected to.. it flows like water itself.
I’m desperate to read book 3 already and hopefully get more of Mordred.. who has definitely caught my eye.. so I’ll be making my way back to the first book soon as well. Don’t miss out on this wonderful retelling. You’ll be so glad you gave it a chance.
(More reviews like this at Betwixt The Sheets.)
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)
After the way the last book ended, I was very anxious going into this one. This was such an amazing second book to the series! There was so much character development here. Guinevere is trying to figure out where she belongs and who she can trust in this world that she’s been thrust into. I really enjoyed watching her character grow in this book. I really liked seeing her bond with Sir Lancelot develop. I do not like King Arthur for her though. I am hoping Mordred is going to be her love at the end of the book but we will see!
Thank you netgalley and publisher for an early copy of this book.
I was hoping for more from this one. The overall story is very interesting but this book was a lot of stop and go. It didn’t know which direction to go in. No real focus on any one foe. Did learn some more background on Guinevere but it is still a bit confusing. I will read book #3 just to see what will happen.
3.5*
“Life that could turn to death with a shift of the wind. Unpredictable and brilliant and beautiful and terrible.”
I dove into The Camelot Betrayal excited for the love square, and to finally get some answers about Guinevere, not Guinevere. Unfortunately I feel like the love square lost the edge of my favorite angle , and I think we have even more questions about who Guinevere is. That’s not to say I’m not longer intrigued, because the potential triangle that is left really was built in this one. A continuation of Mordred’s understanding and just the magical chemistry he has with Guinevere. The deep friendship and connection that Guinevere has with Lancelot. Lancelot is full stop devoted to her queen, and it’s just. sigh . I love that both potential love interests want Guinevere to be her best self even if they have two very different versions of showing and achieving that. Arthur, my sweet baby love. I love him and I wanted him to be end game, but in this book he was questionable. His priorities are different and j respect that, but we shall see. For him to be back in the game things in book three have to be majorly different, and unless the author shocks the heck out of me, I don’t see it coming.
Ok into the non-romantic plot, who the heck is Guinevere? What the heck is the Dark Queen planning for Camelot? We still really don’t fully know, maybe some clues are dropped or maybe I’m just playing aloof, but I feel hopeful for what we will learn and end up with in book three. I feel like in TCB Guin was working hard to protect Camelot and figure out who she is and what she wants, whiles keeping up with her secrets and appearances. She of course falls into many bad circumstances along the way, because would she be not Guinevere without being kidnapped or held at knife point? Probably not. I loved that throughout this story we met new characters, and they even had their own stories that added a layer to Guinevere’s story. I also sort of liked that we got growth from those around her while she felt she was at a standstill. It’s like she’s being held underwater and swimming and swimming, but she can’t get where she wants to be. I’m just hoping in TEC she breaks out from everything holding her back, gets some answers, and maybe some love too.
If I said I know what to except going into the next installment, I’d be full stop lying. I think that there are so many potential avenues for what will go down in the finale of this series, and I’m excited for it and to finally have some answers. I think this was a good second book, because it added some new characters and some new questions. Sigh, is it 2021 yet?
“…It felt anything but safe. It still felt right, though.”
This was one exquisite puzzle piece being laid down after another. All the intriguing pieces and yet, the puzzle gets even more dangerous and difficult. Our Guinevere is still trying to be so many different things, protector, queen, daughter, wife… she’s trying to navigate a world where she’s not sure how to lead or whom to trust. She has so many questions and there are so many possibilities for her.
I really want to like Arthur and ship Guinthur so hard! But I can’t help longing for that epic love story where the hero would do anything for his lady fair. I know he’s a king and that Camelot must be a priority but Guinevere deserves a love story that transcends worlds and duties.
And then there’s Mordred who I’m falling for and so desperately want to trust! Hello Mr. Tragically Misunderstood Male! He has so many endearing qualities and I suspect that if Guinevere truly decided upon him, he’d be the greatest love in her life. Eesh!
Lancelot is… I’m not sure! I see her needing to be accepted completely within the inner circle and my heart hurts for every rebuff she faces. It’s not an easy path she’s taking and it’s hard to get a kingdom to change its traditions.
This is an angsty read and I loved every second of it! I cannot wait for the next book because I seriously need all the words! I absolutely adore this author! She gives us such a complex range of emotions, thoughts and frustrations. It’s so very easy to get lost within her words because you quickly find the story has taken you over.
There wasn’t much improvement with this sequel. I am still not a fan of Guinevere. She is terribly naive and I did not agree with almost all her decisions which saddens me because I thought for sure she would grow on me with the sequel but nah. It just didn’t happen and that is okay. It’s obviously this isn’t for everyone and I am left unsure if I will read from this author again in the future. I think the only positive was the strong friendship and connection between the Queen and Sir Lancelot, and Mordred. The chemistry between those particular characters was undeniable that oftentimes, I forgot about her growing feelings for Arthur.
Considering everything—it’s definitely a ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ read. I can understand why most readers will gravitate towards this YA fantasy retelling but my issues with connecting with the characters and immersing myself in the storyline was problematic and affected my reading experience. I didn’t care enough to finish this and I hope other readers can at least find some joy with this release.