Mistress of Legend by Nicole Evelina
Publication Date: September 15, 2018
Lawson Gartner Publishing
Paperback, eBook, AudioBook; 412 Pages
Series: Guinevere's Tale, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction/Arthurian/Fantasy
Source: This book was given to me by Historical Fiction Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
Having escaped death at the stake, Guinevere longs to live a peaceful life in Brittany with Lancelot, but the threat of Arthur’s wrath quickly separates the lovers. Guinevere finds herself back in Camelot, but it is not the peaceful capital she once knew; the loyalty of the people is divided over Arthur’s role in her death sentence. When war draws Arthur away from Britain, Mordred is named acting king. With Morgan at his side and a Saxon in his bed, Mordred’s thirst for power becomes his undoing and the cause of Guinevere’s greatest heartache.
In the wake of the deadly battle that leaves the country in civil war, Guinevere’s power as the former queen is sought by everyone who seeks to ascend the throne. Heartbroken and refusing to take sides in the conflict, she flees north to her mother’s Votadini homeland, where she is at long last reunited with Lancelot. The quiet life she desires is just beginning when warring tribal factions once again thrust her into an unexpected position of power. Now charged with ending an invasion that could bring an end to the Votadini tribe and put the whole island in the hands of the Saxons, Guinevere must draw upon decades of experience to try to save the people she loves and is sworn to protect.
My Review: In the Arthurian legends, Guinevere ends her days in a convent. In Mistress of Legend, Guinevere does not spend her life in the nunnery. After the fall of King Arthur, Guinevere decides to return to her mother’s homeland. Once she arrives, she tries to spend her days in peaceful bliss with Lancelot. However, political factions want Guinevere to become a queen and a general. Reluctantly, Guinevere leads an army to protect her people from the Saxons. Can Guinevere succeed in saving her people or must she witness the downfall of her kingdom?
In Camelot’s Queen, Guinevere was an active and brilliant queen. However, in Mistress of Legend, Guinevere went back to being a passive character as she was in Daughter of Destiny. Guinevere is again manipulated by others. She lets them control her and weakly submits to their will. She does not have the strength to stand up for what she wants or believes. It is not even her choice to become the leader of an army, but she is forced to do it. Therefore, I was extremely disappointed in her character. She had so much potential, but it was not executed well. She became a background character in her own story.
Overall, this novel is about duty, forgiveness, and identity. The romance with Lancelot was not developed, and he became a stereotypical character. There was not much going on in the novel. Most of the action happened at the very end. The ending was very abrupt, and I was surprised that it just suddenly ended. Despite these flaws, I thought the final novel tied up all loose ends nicely. I also loved the battle between King Arthur and Mordred. It was clear that the author was knowledgeable of Arthurian myths. Mistress of Legend is a novel to be enjoyed by fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley, Lavinia Collins, and Ruth Nestvold.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords
A box set containing Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, and Mistress of Legend
Priestess. Queen. Warrior. Experience the world of King Arthur through Guinevere’s eyes as she matures from a young priestess who never dreamed of becoming queen to the stalwart defender of a nation and a mistress whose sin would go down in history. Throughout it all, Guinevere she faces threats from both foreign powers and within her own court that lead her to place her very life on the line to protect the dream of Camelot and save her people.
This compendium of Nicole Evelina’s two-time Book of the Year award-winning trilogy – Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, and Mistress of Legend – gives fresh life to an age-old tale by adding historical context and emotional depth. Spanning more than three decades, it presents Guinevere as an equal to the famous men she is remembered for loving, while providing context for her controversial decisions and visiting little-known aspects of her life before and after her marriage to King Arthur.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords
About the Author:
Her writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Independent Journal, Curve Magazine and numerous historical publications. She is one of only six authors who completed a week-long writing intensive taught by #1 New York Times bestselling author Deborah Harkness.
Nicole is currently working on Mistress of Legend (September 15), the final novel in her Guinevere’s Tale historical fantasy trilogy and researching two future non-fiction books. She also teaches online writing and business classes for authors at Professional Author Academy.
Her website/blog is http://nicoleevelina.com and she can be found on Twitter as well as on Pinterest, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and Tumblr.
Giveaway:
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a boxed set of The Guinevere’s Tale Trilogy in paperback (US only) and one set in eBook (international)! To enter, please see the Gleam form below.Giveaway Rules:
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on January 3rd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– PB Giveaway is open to US residents only & eBook Giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Mistress of Legend
Comments
Post a Comment