The Excalibur Curse (Camelot Rising Trilogy, #3)

by Kiersten White

The gripping conclusion to the acclaimed Arthurian fantasy trilogy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White finds Guinevere questioning everything—friends and enemies, good and evil, and, most of all, herself.

While journeying north toward the Dark Queen, Guinevere falls into the hands of her enemies. Behind her are Lancelot, trapped on the other side of the magical barrier they created to protect Camelot, and Arthur, who has been led away from his kingdom, chasing after false promises. But the greatest danger isn’t what lies ahead of Guinevere—it’s what’s been buried inside her. 

Vowing to unravel the truth of her past with or without Merlin’s help, Guinevere joins forces with the sorceress Morgana and her son, Mordred—and faces the confusing, forbidden feelings she still harbors for him. When Guinevere makes an agonizing discovery about who she is and how she came to be, she finds herself with an impossible choice: fix a terrible crime, or help prevent war.

Guinevere is determined to set things right, whatever the cost. To defeat a rising evil. To remake a kingdom. To undo the mistakes of the past...even if it means destroying herself.

Guinevere has been a changeling, a witch, a queen—but what does it mean to be just a girl?

• ISBN10: 0525581758
• ISBN13: 9780525581758
• Publish Date: 7 December 2021
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 4 June 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780525581758

Reviews

[thepunktheory]

Full review on my blog!

Man, I wanted to love this book, I really really wanted to. I was so smitten with this series, the idea, the whole premise is so much down my alley. By all means this finale should have thrilled me.

Unfortunately I somehow found it lacking. The worst thing is, I cannot even put my finger on what exactly it is that bothered me. Don’t misunderstand me, this is not a *bad* book. But for a finale it felt rather weak and in the bigger picture of the series it just can’t quite compare to the first two novels. This was so anticlimactic.

As intriguing as some of the ideas were, the characters didn’t live up to that. Guinevere feels less and less fleshed out with every page. I guess this is to some degree intended but it annoyed me. She is so indecisive, some of her decisions barely make sense and even in the bigger picture of the plot it only makes for a weak addition, so it’s not even justified. It gets even worse with some other characters like for example Arthur. That dude is just an idea on two legs. To me he has no depth, just no nothing at all. Lancelot is an intriguing character but it’s so similar to what is going on with Arthur. Both of them just remain so bland, they aren’t fleshed out enough.