I was so excited to read this book, but I ended up being disappointed. There were a couple of real stand-out moments, but on the whole I was underwhelmed.

Firstly, the things I liked! I did like that we got to explore an Arthurian character who is less familiar to us, as well as exploring different aspects of the other more well-known characters. I particularly enjoyed seeing the darker side of Merlin, and the more nuanced side of Guinevere; they were both explored in unexpected ways which I really liked.

Everything else fell a bit flat for me. The writing style was inconsistent and often tonally at odds with the setting, which is a shame as I have enjoyed what I’ve read of Jean Menzies’ non-fiction. The actual romance barely seemed to feature, and didn’t have any emotional impact on me. There was an interesting attempt to include mythology from other countries too, which would have been very effective if it had been executed slightly better. As it was, it felt very jarring.

Overall I was disappointed from this book, perhaps because I had such high hopes going in. There are some interesting and thought-provoking moments but on the whole I wasn’t particularly taken with it.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

'The Lady of the Lake' is a divine piece of storytelling. It tells the tale of the women of Camelot in an enchanting retelling. With a whimsical medieval setting, we follow our main character Viviane on a quest to discover herself, learning elemental magic along the way, as well a beautiful sapphic bond unfolding between her and the King's sister, Morgan.

This novel was a wonderful and unique twist on the classic Arthurian legend. I loved the blend of mythology and folklore. I felt the wholesome and heartwarming inspirations from the bbc's Merlin, which I adored as a child, although the version of Merlin we see is a much darker one. The bonds between our female main characters were strong and powerful and perfectly displayed. Our female leads were courageous and spectacular.

This author's writing style was vivid and magical. The storytelling had such a dream-like quality. I have a critique that feels like a positive and negative one at the same time, which was that the plot felt quite 'hazy' to me. It's the only way I can think to describe it. The story didn't feel as though it was powering through or being strongly lead anywhere. It felt like the progression of the story was very natural and free flowing - following the lives of the characters as they grew. There weren't any large conflicts or anything confidently pushing the plot ahead until the very end, other than of course the impending prophecy that hovered over our story.

The pacing was quite slow for this one, despite the book not being super long. A part of me feels like it could have been even longer, so more background about Camelot could have been included for those unfamiliar with the original tale.

Despite my thoughts on the plot and the slower pacing, I never found myself bored, and I definitely felt transported to another realm while reading this. The author has captured a very special feeling for this story. It was a beautiful reading experience.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this!

*I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) for free in exchange for an honest review*

4.5*

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the eBook.

This is the first Arthurian retelling I’ve read and I loved it. My retellings up until now are only from Monty Python and the Holy Grail and BBC’s Merlin. So, the Lady of the Lake was quite a new character for me.

I loved Jean’s telling of the story and Viviane was a brilliant character to follow around Camelot. Viviane and Morgan are meant to be and I will not accept any other version now. This book was beautifully described and has made me want to delve more into the legend (although maybe I want it to stay this way).

I do wish we got to know some of the other characters a bit better as I bet Jean would put an even better spin on them too. That’s me just being greedy though!

I read Jean’s debut fiction novel a while ago and I love how diverse her writing can be. I do have her queering of the Greek myths book out of the library so can’t wait to give it a read. An author who can do incredible fiction and amazing non-fiction is hard to come by but Jean is one of them!

P.s. The authors note made me laugh

If you watched BBC’s merlin and always thought Morgan to be quite sapphic this is the book for you!

A brilliant new reimagining of the Arthurian Legands, focusing more on the often neglected character of The Lady of the Lake, or Vivienne as she is called in this imagining.

I really enjoyed this retelling and I loved the focus on Vivienne and her being Scottish and pulling in the lore of Selkies.

In this version Arthur, Morgan, Gwenivere and Vivienne are all friends at court, after Vivienne arrives at court to try to win Arthur’s hand in marriage to make her future Queen. Unfortunately for her Dad and Step-mother, Vivienne doesn’t really have any interesting in marriage or men.

We also meet Merlin who is wildly different to the BBC show, more similar to the old legands and sword in the stone where he is a much more mature man of unknown age or origin but very powerful and not always the nicest guy. Morgan and Vivienne seek his tutoring on becoming sorcerer/ sorceress and so our story unfolds over several years.

I loved the way the author weaved in so many of her own reimagines with the traditional legend.
The stakes felt so high throughout and I enjoyed every moment! It was so well written and constructed I will happily refer to this as the og legend now


Thank you to netgalley and penguin house for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this new spin on Camelot.
The slow development of magic and a sapphic romance.
I haven’t seen such a unique take on Merlin’s character before, this book makes you really question who is the villain.
I really enjoyed the dynamic between ( I want to say) the 2 FMC’s.
A book I would recommend to all lovers of Camelot and the tales of Arthur but who would prefer a badass FMC’s point of view!

Thoroughly enjoyed this, a great twist on the story and the writing was so engaging. Can't wait to read more my Jean!

Fairies, magic, medieval, legends, saphic, feminist, myths with a Scottish taste.

A story that wound me in magic and a taste of the world of the Fae. Absolutely enchanting.

So I knew little about Arthurian legends, bar the image of the wee boy in the Disney film pulling the sword from the stone. I knew there was a round table and some Knights and it wasnt necessarily all that appealing.

However, I loved Jean Menzies' Flames of Albyion, so was chuffed to get accepted for a digital arc. And I am even more pleased about that now having just finished it.

Although the story felt slow to get going and the characters took a wee while for me to connect with, I did fall for Viviane and her life at Camelot. May this world be fill yours with magic, intruigue and justice.

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As an English Lit graduate and avid BBC Merlin fan, I was very intrigued by this concept - and it did not disappoint. The bond between Viviane and Morgan, as they navigate the magic and threats of Arthur's court, immediately endeared me to both their characters. While I've always enjoyed the varied portrayals of Morgan/ Morgana, it was actually Viviane's character who really stood out to me. Her desire for freedom shines through the novel, and blends perfectly with the different elements of Arthurian myth.

This was a much quicker read than I expected, and while the fast pace was definitely what I needed after a recent reading slump, there were a few places where I would have liked a little more exposition. But if you're looking for a taste of Camelot with an original twist, this is a good one to watch out for. And it comes with a playlist!

Books with similar vibes - Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keetch, Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid, Sistersong by Lucy Holland, and Smile and Be a Villain by Yves Donlon.

A fantastic take on Camelot and Merlin. I absolutely loved Viviane's journey in learning about her magic and finding out how strong she really is.

I really liked this book, it’s a new take on Arthurian myths and felt fresh and interesting. The men are pushed to the side and the spotlight is on the women of the tales.

I loved the dynamics between the characters, especially Viviane and Morgan. You can’t help but root for them.

I thought the pace of the story was great and overall just enjoyed reading it. I would definitely recommend it.

This book has officially made me obsessed with Arthurian myths and legends! I genuinely cannot get enough and now need to read ALL the books on this subject. Before now, I vaguely knew some of the tales, mainly through BBC's series, Merlin but I'm now well aware that this was MERLIN PROPAGANDA. He is such a creeep both in The Lady of the Lake and in the original myths, who knew?! Anyway, let me get into the review!

First of all, Jean's writing style is so ethereal and gorgeous, I couldn't get enough and now I'm very upset that I don't like in Camelot with it's sparkling lakes and immense castle :( Her characterisations were very compelling and I was especially drawn to Morgan, with her alluring strong will. I thought the relationship between Viv and Morgana flowed naturally and the chemistry was unrivalled. I also really felt for Guin, with her somber sense of duty and eventual disillusionment with Arthur.

I think this was quite a slow paced book and at times there wasn't too much going on which might have left room for a wee bit more character development or insight into the wider world. However, at the same time, the simplicity works well for folklore and legends and adds to the fantastical elements of these classic tales.

After reading this, I immediately read up on all the well-known tales and couldn't immediately spot nods and references to the 'original' texts which I loved! I think Jean has a brilliant way of weaving the classics with her style of magic and creating a wonderful blend of new and old.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would like to thank both the author and publisher for this arc. Unfortunately my bank account will be suffering due to the amount of Arthurian set books I will now be buying!

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. Thanks to the author Jean Menzies, Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced reader copy.

I really enjoyed this story and while it had elements of the tv show, it managed to retain it's own telling. Aside from skipping some of the more intimate moments, it had me turning the pages to see what happened next, an excellent representation of the Arthurian tale

Mythology one of my favourite genres if you want to grab my attention with a book then this is my dangling carrot.....A lot of authours have recently taken this genre and made them modern with twists of spice and thus really turns me away from wanting to read them but this book well.....
I love the way we actually stay in the past but there is a slight change to a couple of the stories but it works and didn't take away my enjoyment of the book. Menzies put Morgana as one of the main characters and I love her for it. Whilst I love mythology a lot of books concentrate on main hero all the time but Menzies brings out the background characters and we learn so much more about them. The way she portrays Morgana was just delightful and I'm so glad she has put her down as being evil and corrupt like 99% of authors do. This story gives a different version of the story about The Lake of the Lake and I hope Menzies carries on with this story as I feel it's not quiet finished yet...

More of a book aimed toward YA audiences but any from this age up it can be read by anyone...

I don't think I spent a moment of this book not stressed - the stakes felt so high all the time and I was forever on the edge of my seat. I was fascinated by how this novel took the Arthurian stories that I'm quite familiar with and wove something completely new and so unsettling. So many plot points in this seemed to be built around ethical conundrums and the push and pull effects of secrets vs shame. Definitely enjoyed following each thread and seeing how all the prophecy pieces (doomed narrative anyone?) came together. As a whole, I was reminded of Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keech which I read last year, only with more of a romantic relationship focus taking place in this one.

And right at the end of the book I have to admit the author's apology to BBC merlin fans really did make me laugh. But Menzies is so right, not every Arthurian retelling is going to be sunshine and roses!

I LOVED this Arthurian retelling book. This was a book about Vivienne, the Lady of the Lake as she finds her way through life at Camelot.

As a fan of the BBC show Merlin I knew this would be a book for me. Of course it’s very different but I think that adds to the story that you’re not entirely sure what way it’s going to go. I really like reading from Vivs POV because it’s rare that you would and a different insight.

I do wish we got a longer build up of Morgan and Vivs relationship and got to fall in love with Morgan and her personality but I feel like we didn’t really get that. There’s quite a lot of time jumps throughout the timeline and wished it was more obvious how much time had passed between some chapters and the ages of characters.

I really enjoy just how much detail has been put in to this book and how much care Menzies has for this story. Thank you to NetGalley and Jean Menzies for the ARC and the opportunity to read this beautiful book.

I was really intrigued and excited by a sapphic retelling of Arthurian legend, and by a focus on the lady of the lake from the original stories where she is so often left out. The latter is achieved well.

However, this novel fell flat to me. Though it is classified as adult (presumably due to trigger warnings of sexual assault and death during childbirth, as well as two random sexual scenes which… random is certainly the word for them; they felt entirely dropped in for no real reason and with no buildup), the writing reads like poorly written YA. There is far more telling than showing, or both combined unnecessarily. It stopped me being drawn in.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the characters, but especially for a book promoted as a sapphic reimagining, the sapphic relationship was so swift it felt shallow to me. We saw very little of the pair falling in love, they just sort of… competed for a while and then each said they liked the other and that was that. I would’ve liked to see more of the love story. Similarly, the worldbuilding seemed to rely too much on labels, using a presumed knowledge of the Camelot setting to reduce the amount of worldbuilding actually happening.

I really wish I could’ve said I loved this book, because I was intrigued enough about the plot to read it to the end (hence the 2 stars), but it just felt too flat. That being said, it is still a nice reimagining purely for the focus on the lady of the lake in particular, so if you're interested in learning more about her character do give it a go and you may enjoy it more than I did.

The Lady of the Lake follows Viviane, a maiden who is sent to capture the heart and hand of Prince Arthur but instead finds herself looking more towards the fierce and headstrong Morgan leading to a perilous situation. This book is a standalone novel.

I adore Arthurian legend and this was a great addition to ones I have read previously especially considering it was a sapphic retelling.

The characters were all well written and they felt very realistic. I particularly enjoyed the direction in which Menzies took all the characters and I felt like I got to meet a whole new side to those I know from other books/films/TV shows. Merlin’s character specifically was very unique due to the perspective which Menzies decided to write him in and I enjoyed the further explanation as to why this direction was taken in the author’s note.

The relationship between Vivaine and Morgan was very sweet to watch blossom and I enjoyed the scenes between the two immensely throughout the book. The one problem I had with this is that I felt like there could have been more. I got the sense that Morgan was a very complex and detailed character and Vivaine brought out hints of that throughout their interactions however this was only scratching the surface. The book, like many others have said, would definitely have benefitted from a dual POV or just further insight to their relationship.

The writing style was enjoyable and easy to follow. It gave off incredible imagery and the care with which Menzies put into writing this, researching the legends/fables and developing the characters was truly evident throughout.

With that being said though, the first half of the book did feel like a slog to get through however it did pick up in the end and then I struggled to put the book down. It was an enjoyable and pleasant read.

Overall, I think this would be good for those who like Arthurian legend, a first love romance, sapphic writings and two lovers at risk.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.

Sapphic Lady of The Lake retelling? Immediate yes.

I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book, while I think it dragged at some points in the beginning the short chapters keep it pacy and once it picked up I didn’t want to want to put it down.

The Lady of Lake is a hugely under explored character in the Arthurian legend and I think this did a really good job of keeping her main story elements while adding new and interesting parts to her story.

I do think it could’ve done with giving the characters a little bit more depth, I did enjoy the romance and particularly liked that the women in this didn’t have to give up all ‘feminine’ traits to be considered strong characters and I honestly just would’ve liked to have seen that explored even further.

But overall, I really recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this title.

I was really excited to read this book as a huge fan of Arthurian legend but unfortunately this did not work for me. Imagine BBC Merlin where Lady Viviane is a guest at court being taught magic by evil Merlin.

My main issues with this were that I found the storyline jumped a lot without making it clear at times, the writing felt more YA than an adult romantasy (apart from the two or so random explicit scenes), and I didn't feel like the characters really built up a rapport or chemistry. Arthur and Guin in particular felt quite one dimensional, at least until Lancelot rocks up.

I do appreciate the author's effort to make this more traditional using Merlin as a villain and absolutely adore the incorporation of a Sapphic love story. I found the final 15% where everything came to fruition was definitely the best part, the plot itself was great and I could definitely see the appeal there- hidden Lake palace and all.

I would recommend giving this a go, especially if you are a fan of Arthurian legend.