The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising #2)

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The Camelot Betrayal (Camelot Rising #2)

Kiersten White

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 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 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?

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

(4 / 5) Can we ogle that cover for a minute? Beautiful!

The story continues with Guinevere at Arthur’s side, playing queen. She is struggling with who she once was and how that affects her as queen. Can she keep playing queen with all these questions? Does she want to?

Arthur is a great character. He is kind and brave and responsible, the type of person stories always claim him to be. But his relationship with Guinevere is strained. They are still searching for what their relationship means to each other and even where they want it to go. Arthur’s Camelot always comes first.

I really like Guinevere. She is searching for herself, who she wants to be and how to go about it. This is something I feel we can all relate to. We still don’t have much info on her background, and while frustrating, I still see the point of it for the story. It makes me excited for the final installment where hopefully we get the answers.

I’m a bit nervous for where the romance is headed in book 3. There is talk of two potential love interests and I don’t like either of them. I’m hoping it will all be wrapped up nicely in a bow at the end because I’m obviously too invested! I’ve enjoyed this series and can’t wait for book 3.

Thank you to Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out Nov 10, 2020.

 

Detailed Content Review

Language 

F***-

H***- 1

S***- 1

A**-

B****-

D***- 1

Bas****- 1

Religious Cursing

J****-

Chr***-

G**-

L***-

Derogatory terms etc-

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking

A young woman is given a drink to make her sleep.

“Not even big enough to keep around for fun.” A man says to a young woman as he eyed her. 

Men drink an alcoholic drink. 

Wine is served at a wedding. 

Many at a celebration are drunk. A woman hands two young women spiced wine. One drink is laced with something.

A young woman is given a glass of wine and drinks it all. 

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

*Minor LGBTQ+ aspects included*

A young woman uses magic to be with her girlfriend in dreams.

“…then one day….we were more. It was as natural as breathing.” A young woman speaking about her lady. She was her maid. Their love is talked about multiple times. 

“Love between women is seen as harmless. Encouraged sometimes, even, as a means for high-born girls to expel excess energy with no threats to lines of succession.” 

Men peel off their clothes to their underwear and jump in the lake. “His underclothes clung in interesting ways that … might have required further observation.”

A wife dreams of a man that isn’t her husband. They are very loving dreams. 

Women joke and talk about sex with references to the mens “swords” or “needle.” One comments that because a man is so old it won’t be a problem for his wife and too bad she couldn’t get the 14yo son. 

A young woman kisses a man. He lifts her chin and kisses her again. 

A man and woman kiss. 

Men shout “To the bed!” At the end of a wedding party. 

A young man kisses a young woman briefly. 

A previous king would lock women in rooms that were his mistresses. 

“Pray you are beautiful and fertile; the world has no other use for a girl.”

A young man kisses a young woman. 

“We made the mistake of refusing (men) offer to let us buy our place here with our bodies.”

An unmarried young woman becomes pregnant and her mother sends her away to have the baby in secret. 

A young man kisses a young woman.

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

A young woman cuts her lip to use the blood for magic. 

A young woman uses her own blood for magic. 

Wolves surround a young woman, she uses fire to scare them then burn them. 

Previously, young woman tried to kill her baby half-brother. 

A man is abusive to his wife. No details. 

A man grabs a young woman’s throat and squeezes so hard she’s about to pass out. She uses magic and pushes power into his forehead, scrambling his brain. She starts a fire to cover it up. Many scramble to get out alive. 

A woman is sentenced to die by being burned in a fire. 

A man holds a knife to a young woman’s throat. Many hold knives and swords to him, many circle them with their own swords and knives. A young woman tries to interfere and is punched in the jaw. 

A man holds up a knife and walks toward a  young woman. A dragon spews fire onto the man, he is on fire. A spear is thrown onto the dragon’s leg. 

After a scuffle with soldiers, a drunk man lies unconscious on the floor. 

A young girl has killed a man with a knife (eluding to him killing her mother). The men he is with are known for raping and killing. 

Men attack a camp of women, wanting to claim them. The women fight, one bleeds from a leg, another has blood on her sword. A man throws a spear into a man’s chest. Two soldiers fight with their swords and kill many. A young woman hits a man with a burning stick and lights him on fire. He is burned to death. 

A woman holds a knife to a young woman’s side. 

A man threatens to kill a young woman’s sister then chases the two young women. He brings out a knife but is then stabbed from behind with a sword. 

Two young women create a line of blood to use magic.

Potentially Intense Themes

None.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.