3.25/5. Releases 8/18/2023.

For when you're vibing with... campy Arthuriana feels, a very light shade of gray "dark" heroes, interdimensional antics, and talking cats.

Suddenly transported to Avalon, Gwen is kept held captive by Mordred, the Prince in Iron. Though feared by many, Mordred is gentle with her--but with with secrets and her life at stake, Gwen doesn't know if she can give in to their mutual attraction. Which might be a good idea.

I loved Kathryn Ann Kingsley's Tenebris trilogy--but I don't know if I've quite found the right followup in her work yet. She has such a big backlist, however, that I'm willing to try more; and if you're looking for something a little dark that skews somewhat younger (while definitely not being YA) this could be right book for you.

Quick Takes:

--Tonally, for the sake of comparison, Kingsley's Tenebris books are a bit gory, solidly dark (if funny and at points a little campy), and feature everything from tentacles of "my lover is possessed by a million monsters and I'm in love with all of the above and collectively they penetrate all my holes". This book is more "magical girl has magical adventure, Quest for Camelot But with A Lil Sex, and there's some morally gray stuff but it's pretty light".

--What I think that can be compared to is ACOTAR. I definitely got the Sarah J. Maas vibes with this one. Now, that's not a bad thing, necessarily; there's a reason why SJM and her work is so popular. Does it work for me? Not quite. It gives the a work a really young vibe--not so much in content, but in feeling. Gwen is nineteen, yes, but she's honestly a very young nineteen. Another fantasy heroine I've read recently was twenty, and read so much older than Gwen. Yes, you're nineteen, but this is life and death; to me, that would provoke some quick growing up, but that's not for everyone.

All of this makes sense, as the book is comp'd directly to SJM. The other author mentioned is Danielle L. Jensen, whose work I liked a lot more back in the day. I see both comparisons, and the book is definitely heading for a similar sweet spot that doesn't feel quite adult, YA, or new adult to me.

--Part of why I requested this was the mention of Mordred. If you're super into King Arthur and retellings, I wouldn't say this is for purists. I'm not a purist, but it's just very much its own thing. I appreciate the creativity, and it does go a long way towards making Mordred more approachable as a softer love interest.

--The story does feel both rushed and slowed in a way, to me. It's the first in a series and ends on a cliffhanger, which I expected. But you still cover a lot of relationship ground for Gwen and Mordred--a little too much for the length, to me. He doesn't give her much shit and is very quickly entranced with her; she doesn't really put up much of a fight with him. It's fine, I just could use more angst and indecision.

The Sex Stuff:

As per a Kingsley slow burn, there's not much sex in this one. It happens, and it's explicit. It's nothing crazy (I hate to mention this again--the first Tenebris book also had relatively little sex, but what there was.... was hot, and not very tender) but it's good.

So yeah, I appreciate the effort and creativity here, but I do hope that Kingsley will eventually lean back into something a little darker, a little less YA-coded. I'll happily look for that book if it exists! Until then, I do recommend this to those who are looking to scratch that SJM itch--I think you'll be pleased with this.

Thanks to Netgalley and Second Sky for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

This book offers a twist on the classic portal fantasy, with Arthurian aspects and a sassy, magical cat named Merlin! It’s also the first in a new romantasy series, which I always love. I enjoyed the push and pull of Gwen’s relationships with the two MMCs. But would I truly call this a slow burn? Definitely not. Did Gwen feel like a 19 year old in the year 2023? No, she was fully written by a millennial (of which I am one—I can recognize a “doggo” from miles away). And despite being a fantasy, it felt pretty stereotypically trope heavy. Depending on the summary of the second book, I can see myself picking it up, but my expectations are curbed.