Jerry Cooke
4.75⭐️ - A powerful retelling of Arthurian legend, with sweeping sapphic romance, and elemental magic!
"It made me angry, I realised – the gaping mouths and knowing looks between neighbours, not an ounce of sympathy among them. Morgan’s grief might be loud, it might be furious, or even ugly, all things we women had been taught to circumvent, but at least she was honest about how she felt. She wore her heart on her sleeve. I wished I could be a little bit more like her in that."
Lady Viviane's arrival in Camelot comes with much expectation from her father about gaining alliance through marriage with Arthur, but she's truly no desire to marry to prince. In fact, she's far more interested in spending time with the wild and adventurous Morgan. Having gained tutelage from the mysterious Merlin, the two begin to dream of charting their own course with their new power, but life in this court is not so easy and freedom has a price.
As machinations of kingdoms being danger, elemental magics cause chaos and grow a threat to the grown, and Viviane and Morgan must support each other and their closest allies to survive the darkness that emerges. With so much stacked against them, it becomes hard to know if a future is possible in this realm, or even in the Otherworld.
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Menzies brings her love of lore and legend to bear in this beautiful and bittersweet retelling. It was such a powerful story of these two women (three, if you include Guin, who also had a pretty hard time of it) carving their own path in this incredibly patriarchal world they lived in. The way that Merlin is given a treatment as a powerful but devious letch, flipping that common assumption of him as a wise and benevolent sorcerer, is really satisfying, honestly. I very much enjoyed him getting his comeuppance.
Viv and Morgan don't have the easiest relationship at times and the way that they react to things is intensely human - feelings of jealousy, betrayal, etc. forming breaks in their interaction with each other, but always finding their way back ultimately. The way in which Viv allowed Morgan space and grace to be open with her feelings was really affirming - being reminded that it's okay to break down sometimes. I also enjoyed the truth to their respective desires - their eventual paths being ones that felt right for their respective drives and specialities.
A really wonderful fantasy debut and such a well written tale.
4.75⭐️ - A powerful retelling of Arthurian legend, with sweeping sapphic romance, and elemental magic!
"It made me angry, I realised – the gaping mouths and knowing looks between neighbours, not an ounce of sympathy among them. Morgan’s grief might be loud, it might be furious, or even ugly, all things we women had been taught to circumvent, but at least she was honest about how she felt. She wore her heart on her sleeve. I wished I could be a little bit more like her in that."
Lady Viviane's arrival in Camelot comes with much expectation from her father about gaining alliance through marriage with Arthur, but she's truly no desire to marry to prince. In fact, she's far more interested in spending time with the wild and adventurous Morgan. Having gained tutelage from the mysterious Merlin, the two begin to dream of charting their own course with their new power, but life in this court is not so easy and freedom has a price.
As machinations of kingdoms being danger, elemental magics cause chaos and grow a threat to the grown, and Viviane and Morgan must support each other and their closest allies to survive the darkness that emerges. With so much stacked against them, it becomes hard to know if a future is possible in this realm, or even in the Otherworld.
----------------
Menzies brings her love of lore and legend to bear in this beautiful and bittersweet retelling. It was such a powerful story of these two women (three, if you include Guin, who also had a pretty hard time of it) carving their own path in this incredibly patriarchal world they lived in. The way that Merlin is given a treatment as a powerful but devious letch, flipping that common assumption of him as a wise and benevolent sorcerer, is really satisfying, honestly. I very much enjoyed him getting his comeuppance.
Viv and Morgan don't have the easiest relationship at times and the way that they react to things is intensely human - feelings of jealousy, betrayal, etc. forming breaks in their interaction with each other, but always finding their way back ultimately. The way in which Viv allowed Morgan space and grace to be open with her feelings was really affirming - being reminded that it's okay to break down sometimes. I also enjoyed the truth to their respective desires - their eventual paths being ones that felt right for their respective drives and specialities.
A really wonderful fantasy debut and such a well written tale.