Uneven, anachronistic, careless
—
I usually like (rarely love) an Arthurian adaptation. The Matter of Britain is a huge trove of layered tales where we may know the characters and the talking points but the shape of each narrative is what keeps it fresh, from Marion Zimmer Bradley’s feminist revision to Lex Croucher’s YA LGBTQ romp. Uniquely, this adaptation’s main character is the Lady of the Lake, who has had many different names across the life of the saga, and in this is Viviane, a princess from the North who is sent to Camelot as a potential bride for Arthur and a companion to his sister Morgan and another princess Guinevere. At Camelot, Viviane has to contend with the strictures of court but is aided by her friends, all of an age; but Morgan is the one who catches Viviane’s eye, and they both entreat the court magician Merlin to teach them magic. But Merlin has other plans, while prophecies, magic swords, hidden scions and other dangers await as Viviane and Morgan’s hearts become more and more entwined.

So far, so good, right? I was really excited to read what a historian would do with this rich material, perhaps bring a sense of realism and magical lore that has never been seen before in renditions of a quasi-historical Camelot.

What I found was Camelot by way of Aaron Spelling, which would have been amazing, except the language was clunky, sometimes careless:
‘She cast her eyes across my face, paying more attention this time, measuring me up with her gaze. I wondered how I had fared.’

Too many words! It could have been:
‘Then she stared at me, the centre of her attention, taking my measure. How had I fared?’

Or something even better.

And often it’s just so anachronistic, swear words coming from nowhere, language too modern to occupy the historic bubble that Menzies attempts to create, the pacing all over the place. Be anachronistic or be historic, pick one: such an uneven mess.

I failed to be captured by any of the characters, surely not helped by only having Viviane’s narration throughout the book. Yes, we know the plot points of Camelot but in a novel rendition it would have been good to have had some insight into the motivations and other threats swirling around Viviane and Morgan.

Ah, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan: we know how her story ends so perhaps it’s easier to use shorthand. Sigh.

This is an arthurian retelling/fantasy.

Our female main character is sent to Camelot with the aim of catching Arthur's eye and being his bride, but she's competing with Guinevere there. But his sister catches her eye

The two of them are given the chance to learn magic with Merlin but after Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, things kind of changes.

Can they compete against prophecies and will their different kinds of magic work together or pull them apart.

I enjoyed this. The characters are mid teens when is starts so I did have a moment where I thought it was going to be YA, but it quickly jumps ahead a number of years.

Comparing to the characters from BBCs Merlin, (which was my starting point!), this is quite a different take, with aome characters a lot less likeable. Which makes sense given the POV here.

There is a sapphic romance at the heart of this, with some spice. It's maybe not a traditional happy ending, but still fitting for both the genre and the characters.

4 stars

A captivating easy read. I think if you enjoy YA (though I don’t believe it is YA) this might be for you. I have only a little familiarity with Arthurian myth, and enjoyed this take on it. The pacing involves some time jumps, and I wish this book was longer to flesh some of those gaps out more, which is possibly why it feels a little YA vibe.
I loved Merlin's portrayl (even though yes, he is NOT the BBC Merlin we all love), but I really appreciated the creepiness he was portrayed with, that feels accurate to me. Throw in some mythology (10/10 you know I am sold) and this is a really enjoyable read.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Arthurian retellings, and The Lady of the Lake definitely offers a fresh perspective, though I have to admit, it dragged a bit at the beginning. The pacing made it tough to get fully invested right away, but the depth of research and the quality of the storytelling eventually won me over.

When Lady Viviane leaves her mystical lakeside home for the dazzling world of Camelot, she’s set on fulfilling the destiny her father laid out: to win the heart of Prince Arthur and elevate her family. But it’s not Arthur who steals her attention - it’s his sister, Morgan. Fierce, defiant, and visionary, Morgan offers Viviane a different kind of future, one not bound by tradition or expectation.

Under Merlin’s tutelage, Viviane discovers a magical strength within herself, even as her bond with Morgan transforms from friendship into something far more tender. But Camelot is a place of whispers and watchful eyes. As Arthur ascends to the throne, those closest to him begin to pull strings, using Viviane and Morgan as pawns in their own power plays.

This book blends queerness, magic, and politics in a thoughtful reimagining of the legend. It asks important questions about agency, love, and loyalty, even if it takes a while to get going. If you’re in the mood for a slow-burn Arthurian tale with a sapphic twist, this one is worth your time.

I really wanted to love this book. My first Arthurian legend retelling, this one sapphic, focusing on the character of Lady Vivian, who comes to King Uther's court.
I found the writing to be pretty simplistic however, and the dialogue felt very modern. It seemed quite YA, but then there were two explicit spicy scenes that lead me to believe this is aimed at adults.
A book feels more effective to me when it is showing rather than telling, but this book was constantly telling, with a lot of expository dialogue and internal monologue.
I will add though that I did like the ideas and the way it ties in with Arthurian legend.

This was a masterpiece from start to finish! The yearning, the friendship, the magic, the twists and turns?! Perfection.

I really enjoyed this Arthurian retelling, I loved the character of Viviane, I thought she was really interesting and I didn't know too much about the figure of the 'Lady of the Lake' before reading. I very much appreciated how Viviane found herself and began to plot out her own destiny with Morgan.

The portrayal of Merlin here was very different to other versions I have read, but I enjoyed the different take on his character. I also loved Galahad and thought that plot point was a highlight of the book.

This book was very easy to follow and read as YA to me, which I think is how it was marketed. A very enjoyable read, the sapphic take was well done although I would have liked to have seen more between Viviane and Morgan. Overall, very enjoyable!

I enjoyed this book quite a lot. I loved the take they had of Viviane and Morgana. Any book where the two female leads ignore all the men around them to go and get together with each other, is good in my opinion!

The only thing is, and I’m finding this in a lot of the books I’ve been reading, is that they have so much misogyny and sexual assault. So many fantasy books, especially mythology retellings, just have the characters under relentless abuse from the men around them. This one was a bit better than some of them I’ve read, but it felt like every man in the book was a prick. I want to have fun sapphic mythology and get away from the presence of men, rather than being constantly reminded of the worst parts.

Otherall though, this book did some interesting things with the mythology and at least one of the pricks was rooted in the original stories, which did make me feel a bit better. I might have been less annoyed if I hadn’t had a string of books with similar things.

Read for strong female sorceresses and mysterious fae water magic!

Lady Vivianne has had to leave the lakes of the far North for Camelot. Here lives Arthur and she has been verbally requisitioned by her father to capture his heart. In these uncertain Mediaeval times pacts between neighbouring kingdoms was essential to keep ones kingdom and inheritance. It was the norm in Mediaeval Society. However, Viviane is enraptured by Morgan, Arthurs half-sister. Morgan who has always been fierce and contrary sees a different path for Vivianne and herself. In this Mediaeval land of knights and Kings, can these two women rewrite the rules of love and magic.

In this poignant and evocative rendering of one of the Arthurian legends, Menzies tells the reimagined story of the Lady of the Lake. It is first and foremost, Vivianne’s life story. Here, in Camelot Viviane discovers herself and her destiny. Or maybe, she chooses what her destiny should be. This is a bold and imaginative sapphic retelling of the Arthurian legend. In doing so Menzies portrays a vastly different persona of Vivianne and Morgan. She has deftly woven the magic and gore of this period into the plotline. I read each page with my heart in my mouth. I was egging both protagonists onward to triumph in their various trials.

Menzies has sensitively portrayed the issues that these two women faced. Woven into her narrative were all the other characters in the Arthurian legends. Against this backdrop it certainly wasn’t easy for both women to forge a new path. I liked how Menzies was aware of the problems they would encounter in hitherto a world of men only. The entire novel evolves around these two women and the decisions they make. Vivianne and Morgan take centre stage while the rest of the cast are relegated to the side lines. This is a bold statement. As any reader of Mediaeval fiction knows it’s usually the opposite. The darkness and danger was palpable. I invite readers to delve into this spellbinding and courageous reimagining of Mediaeval times.

The Lady of the Lake is a new arthurian retelling, focusing mostly on a blossoming love between Lady Vivienne and Morgan.

I really enjoyed this novel and the way the magic was woven throughout, I also particularly enjoyed the different portrayal of Merlin in this retelling.

We follow Vivienne and Morgan as they grow up around Camelot and learn magic from Merlin. The prose is beautiful and kept me reading, I could not put this down!

The only drawback was in the exploration of Vivienne and Morgans relationship, some times it felt a little rushed and I didn't get to know them in their relationship very well.

I am absolutely in love with this sapphic retelling and cannot wait to read more from Menzies,

I have been watching Jean’s YouTube channel for a while, and really enjoy the content she makes, so I was excited when she announced she had an adult novel being published. When I discovered that it was a sapphic retelling of an Arthurian legend, I knew it would be exactly my kind of read.

The prose was poetic and a delight to read, as I would expect from the way Jean speaks. The characters were beautifully imagined, with complex relationships which felt very realistic. Magic was gently woven throughout the book, and I enjoyed reading about Viviane and Morgan’s exploration of their skills. The friendship that develops into much more between the two protagonists was lovely to read and really felt like a genuine experience of a first love. I adored this retelling of a familiar story with the feminist focus. There were events in the book, that although set a long time ago, will be chillingly familiar to most women. It was incredibly uplifting to see Viviane overcome setbacks and find her own freedom and happiness. A truly magical read, I highly recommend this book and am keen to read everything the author writes in the future.

Unfortunately this ended up being a DNF for me...

I really wanted to love this and to support it's Scottish author (being Scottish myself) but I couldn't get past the very basic writing.

It reads painfully YA and I didn't find myself drawn to any of the characters. They all felt too childish to me. I think with more fine tuning, this may have been good.

I hope the author continues to improve her craft, but having read some excellent Arthurian retellings, this one doesn't stand out at all for me.

3.5 ⭐️ - I really enjoyed the book and the premise of a sapphic retelling of Arthurian legend. The author did a good job with Viviane and Morgan’s relationship and it’s journey felt natural and not rushed. I also enjoyed the portrayal of Merlin we rarely see in the media and I felt pulled into the world. But toward the end some scenes felt a little unnecessary and the dialogue slightly dulled higher impact moments of the story

A mesmerising read that drew me in from page 1. Beautiful author craft, a captivating story and some really great characters.

The Lady of the Lake reimagines the myths of Camelot, focusing mainly on the women of the tales. It’s fun and entertaining, with a central relationship and fresh perspective that develops the original content. You can tell that a lot of research went into this book and I loved reading the author’s note at the end, which provided insight into the creative process.

Although I loved the overall idea, the writing in this felt very young to me, especially for a book being marketed as an adult romantasy. The central romance progressed far too quickly and I didn’t feel like we got enough of it — I would’ve liked to see more scenes between the two characters. I very much enjoyed the sapphic love story, I just wanted a bit more from it.

From a plot perspective, there were lots of interesting storylines and the narrative was very fast-paced and exciting. Characters were reinvented in new and interesting ways, with a few surprises across the book.

If you’re a fan of the medieval period, enchanting characters and a magical setting, then this is a good one to add to your tbr!

Thank you to @michaeljbooks for the NetGalley arc!

I really loved this Arthurian retelling focusing on Viviane and her love of Morgan Le Fay and also seeing Merlin from a different perspective. This book is so well written and I did not want to put it down.

This is a fun, sapphic remaining of the arthurian story following the Lady Vivianne as she navigates growing up in camelot, becoming a sorceress, falling in love and learning how to live with all of that in Arthur's Camelot. There are some nice plot points in this, some interesting takes on magic, and the character interactions were enjoyable. Morgan was the love interest and arguably i would have liked the story more from her POV. It was a little slow for me, lacking in tension at times but overall a fun read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a clever queer retelling of the Arthurian myths. I loved the characters, the settings and that the author decided to show a more realistic version of Merlin.

One of the best mythology retellings I've read in a long time! The characters, pacing, magic and plot all hit perfectly, I loved my time reading this. I also appreciate that it's a stand alone novel. I would thoroughly recommend this for fans of mythology retellings in general but specifically Sophie Keetch's 'Morgan Le Fay' series, and TV shows like Merlin and Once Upon a Time. Thanks so much to Netgalley and Penguin for this ARC and of course to Jean Menzies for writing this fab book.

Wow what a book I have been following Jean since her early booktube days and I loved this book.. Her writing is so very atmospheric a wonderful Arthunian retelling.. I loved the slow burn romance and magic world building.
I loved the dynamics of the characters who came alive on the page. I wold recommend this book to anyone who has an intrest in or has watched the tv series Merlin. I also love they way her Scottish influences enhanced and already maystical,amgical story.
Thank you to Netgalley and Publishers for the advanced copy of this book it was amazing.