Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 448 Pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

"Beware, beware three maidens fair
With bloody hands and divine air.
Help not the girl whom others blame
She'll burn the world to ash and flame.
Trust not the girl with the golden crown
She'll take what's yours and watch you drown.
And my Lily Maid will scream and cry.
She'll break them both and then she'll die."

Trigger Warning in this book for Suicide

Along with Greek mythology, one of my lifelong obsessions (dating back, probably, to when I first glimpsed Sam Neill in the 1998 Merlin miniseries on Syfy, when it was still Scifi) is Arthurian mythology. I've always had such a fascination with the characters, and I have to admit I've rarely come across a well-done Arthurian story. I was really taken by surprise when I saw Laura Sebastian's Half Sick of Shadows as one of Book of the Month's June picks, because it had somehow completely flown under my radar! 

"I am half-sick of shadows," Elaine Astolat, Lady of Shalott, famously declares in Lord Alfred Tennyson's lyrical poem, which consists of 20 stanzas (19 in another version). She is afflicted by a strange curse, doomed to forever weave images on her loom, and to only ever glimpse the world through a small handheld mirror. The Lady of Shalott is perhaps even overshadowed by her own death, in which she dies of heartbreak over the knight Lancelot, and floats down the river to Camelot, a lily clutched in hand.

In this retelling, Elaine is cursed with visions, which come unbidden to her in her sleep, and later, under the careful tutelage of the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, at her beck and call through weaving on her loom. Her childhood is spent trapped in a tower in Camelot with her mother, until the wild and tempestuous Morgana returns to court and they strike up a fast friendship. Morgana urges Elaine to come away with her back to Avalon, where the Fey have reigned since they lost the war with Albion. She does, and when she arrives she meets the lost Prince Arthur, the strange and beautiful Lyonessian Princess Guinevere, and the half-fey Lancelot, who she will go on to love.

Soon, Elaine realizes that her power is more a curse than a gift. Urged to never share her visions with those they involve, lest she bring them to fruition, Elaine is lonely, but wise and trusted. She, along with the others, are raised for one purpose: to see Arthur crowned. Everything, their friendship, their love, and even their very selves, are pushed to the side to see the task done. But Elaine cannot accept the future that lies ahead -- one of broken promises, treasonous friends, and her own heart broken by the very man she so wants to trust. Can she stop it? Or is the future already set in stone?

I very much enjoyed this new take on the Arthurian myth, told from the POV of a character rarely utilized. I loved each character, and each new vision Elaine discovered, of a bitter and hate-filled Morgana, or of her and Arthur heartbroken by their lovers' betrayal, made my own heart ache. I was especially taken with this new spin on the much maligned Guinevere, and was pleased to see her not relegated to the same old adulterous harpy role she so frequently fills. A refreshing take on the old with a bittersweet ending, Half Sick of Shadows is a perfect choice to inspire new lovers of Arthur, Morgana, Lancelot, Guinevere, and the oft-forgotten, Elaine.

Book Review: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Length: 308 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

"It was the women, always the women, be they helpless serving girls or princesses, who paid the price. Cursed to roam the land without refuge, transformed into a shambling bear or lowing cow, or burned to ashes by the vengeful white armed goddess."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Violence, Gore and Mention of Rape

I have always, since my earliest memories, been enamored with Greek mythology. Now, that same love extends to all mythologies and folklores, but the tales of Zeus and Hera, Artemis and Apollo, the ill-fated Cassandra and the murderous Medea, will always have a special place in my heart. When I saw Ariadne by Jennifer Saint was one of Book of the Month's May selections, I knew I had to have it!

Ariadne is best remembered for giving the crimson thread to the hero Theseus, allowing him to find his way through the labyrinth and destroy her monstrous brother, the Minotaur. Then, cruelly, she is abandoned on the island of Naxos. But there is more to the story.

Told in alternating POV's between Ariadne and her younger sister, the doomed Phaedra, Jennifer Saint's Ariadne gives the story back to the women, who have so often born the brunt of the God's ill-will. Ariadne, at first resigned to die on Naxos, discovers that she has caught the eye of Dionysus, the God of wine, fertility, festivity, and general indulgence, and soon comes to meet him. She is wary, as she knows well what happens to mortals favored by the Gods.

Phaedra is married to Theseus, who tells her Ariadne was killed by a snake on Naxos. Never really believing him, Phaedra tries her hardest to gather power and learn just what makes a Queen. I generally preferred Phaedra; she was strong-willed and fiery, as opposed to the sometimes boringly good Ariadne. Phaedra's downfall comes in the form of Theseus' son by Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, Hippolytus.

While sometimes I felt the prose fell a bit short, I truly enjoyed reading these legends come to life. With only a few differences from the original mythology, it was bittersweet to follow these fabled women to their fates. I am eagerly anticipating Saint's next novel, Elektra, which will tell the stories of three women from the doomed House of Atreus: Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Elektra. Be sure to pick this up if you're a mythology lover like me!

Book Review: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian
Length: 352 Pages
Genres: Historical Romance (Gay)
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

"Percy realized he had it all wrong when he told Kit that honor is just spite dressed up; spite was honor when it was the only weapon you had against someone more powerful."

A special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for minimal Blood and Violence

Kit Webb, also known as highwayman Gladhand Jack, has been forced to give up a life of crime due to an injury on his last job, and now whiles away the hours working in his own coffee house. It's a good life, respectable and...boring. Enter the mysterious Edward Percy, a 18th-century Fop to the nth degree, complete with powder and a heart-shaped patch on his upper lip. Kit is fascinated by him -- he is beautiful, rich, and everything Kit hates. And shockingly, he knows just who Kit is, or rather, who he tried to leave behind. Percy wants Kit to do one last job: rob his father. Little does either man know, how much their histories intertwine, and how much they'll grow to care about one another.

I was thrilled to be approved for an ARC of this! I previously read Hither, Page by Sebastian (eagerly awaiting the sequel!) and loved it, so I had high hopes, especially since it is set in 1750s England, a time period that is sorely underutilized. I've also always had a fascination with legends surrounding highwaymen, so it was all around win for me. I adored both Kit and Percy, and loved their enemies to friends to lovers storyline. A perfect read for a day of relaxation, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb will leave you smiling ear to ear.

Book Review: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
Length: 480 Pages
Genres: High Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an ARC of this novel!

"'Kill me or save me,' murmured Malini. 'But do something, Priya.'"

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence and Gore

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri is undoubtedly a fantastical feat -- layers upon layers of exquisite worldbuilding, a cast of morally grey characters, and a magic system that is as fascinating as it is deadly, it is a sure win for those read A Song of Ice and Fire and wanted more (and might I say, better?). The first in a trilogy inspired by the epics of India, we follow several characters, with the heart of each warring faction represented by the Ahiranyi maidservant Priya and the imprisoned Parijat Princess Malini. 

Priya serves in the Mahal, the palace where the regent and his wife live in sanctity in wild and diseased Ahiranya. When Malini is sent against her will to live in the Hirana, a temple with a changing and treacherous pathway that once housed people and children with forbidden powers -- fueled by the dangerous waters that lurk beneath the temple -- until they were deemed a danger to Parijatdvipa by the Emperor and burned alive. Malini herself narrowly escaped such a fate, and is forced to live in solitude by her tyrannical brother, the Emperor Chandra. She wants nothing more than to see him gone, and her elder brother, Aditya, on the throne. She will do anything to accomplish it, including getting closer to her new maid, Priya, who has startling powers, and a history she refuses to remember. What neither expect is the complicated feelings that bloom between them.

This is a long book, and less interesting POV's sometimes made it feel even longer. Despite loving so much about it, from the history to the wonderfully scheming main characters to the gorgeous writing, I oftentimes found myself wishing it had been cut down just a little. But don't let that deter you from the amazing first book in a new series! A must-read for any fantasy fan, check this one out when you're wanting to sink deep into a mythology, a new world, and people that might just be...a little monstrous.