The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

“I do think I have more value alive than dead, but I assume most people feel the same about themselves.”
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. Arthur's knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.
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?

I really liked Guinevere. Most protagonists are full of passion, of emotion, and righteous fire. But Guinevere is calm, single minded, and insanely sweet. She was raised in isolation, and so she’s almost like a child. She isn’t great at reading other people, nor does she know much about the world. All she knows is how to fight, and how to protect. This makes her a very nuanced and fresh character. Arthur is painted as a golden boy, yet Kiersten White still manages to pull out the difficulties of being allied with him. His nephew, Mordred, commiserates with Guinevere in a way that feels shockingly accurate. Still, at eighteen years old, Arthur will shortly be inducted into my teenage royalty hall of fame.
It also feels like it’s been forever since I’ve read a fantasy novel, and I really enjoyed journeying through Camelot. I haven’t read much about Arthur and Merlin, but I liked this retelling. The magic in The Guinevere Deception was relatively easy to understand, but Guinevere isn’t some overpowered godsend. She struggles with magic a lot throughout the novel, both mentally and physically.
The plot is rather roundabout, but I’d call it meandering instead of twisting. Guinevere spends the whole book chasing down one dead end after another; when the actual villain presents themself, the book ends. Aside from that, there are a bunch of issues that are left unresolved at the end of the book. Overall, it felt more like a convenient stopping point than the end of anything. I’m not going to lie, this is one of my pet peeves. There was, however, a couple killer plot twists, so … I’m not that mad.
I found the synopsis of this book to be very confusing. I did not see the word “changeling” used anywhere in the novel, and I have no idea why it is used to describe Guinevere. I still have no idea who “the girl with the long black hair” is (maybe Guinevere? But she’s not a threat to Arthur??).
I picked this book because I genuinely loved Kiersten White’s other book, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. The Guinevere Deception is much sweeter and simpler than Elizabeth Frankenstein (but Elizabeth Frankenstein was a serious anomaly among … all books in the world).
At the end of the day, though I feel like the book did not end on a clear note and could have been wrapped up more neatly, I really enjoyed the fantasy, magic, and royal intrigue of The Guinevere Deception.