The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

The Guinevere Deception (Camelot Rising Trilogy, #1)

by 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

Reviewed by tweetybugshouse on

4 of 5 stars

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This book started out as a two for me as it was very slow to get to the meat of the story. It simple and boring i read quite a few of this author book and i was expecting a bang out of the gate. Maybe it cause i know the Arthur stories and read many of them. The one thing that really bumped this story to a four is that it does what many of those do not it centers on Guinevere and other female characters to where you almost forget your reading a Arthur retelling.

The story at the heart of it is a deception story and our king is all in the know about it. Their are small secrets and then their are big ones. Kirsten White is the master of dark materials and this one has hints of it but i have a feeling now that all the ground work has been laid the remaining books in this serious will take that hint of darkness and it going to splash all over the story.

This is one novel that you have to wade into it takes sometime to get the ground work laid and I not usually a big fan of these kind of stories. I want the meat but in this case it paid off to get the ground work. Now that it been laid i really excited to see where the rest of this retelling is going.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 6 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 6 December, 2019: Reviewed