The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty

 

Summary (from the publisher): Sometimes legends don't tell the whole story.

After the sudden death of her boyfriend, Vera would have been happy to spend her life completely unnoticeable, washing bedsheets and cleaning toilets in a Glastonbury hotel. But everything changes when a strange new guest reveals himself to be Merlin and drags her back to seventh century Camelot, a place she knows only from legends. He tells her that only Vera (or Queen Guinevere, as Merlin calls her) can right the course of history and save Arthur' s kingdom from the will of a power-hungry mage.

There' s one enormous problem: Guinevere was the sole witness to the curse that's now draining the kingdom of its magic, and Vera doesn't remember anything from that life. And with Camelot' s peace ebbing ever closer to shattering, she's running out of time.

Working with Merlin' s magic to retrieve her long-lost memories brings more questions than answers: why is it that King Arthur, who treats his subjects with such benevolence, can' t even stand to look at her? And why does that make Vera' s soul feel like it' s splitting in two? What robbed her of her memories in the first place... and, most importantly, why?

As Vera is about to discover, in a world of legend and power, the secrets of her memories are only the beginning. 

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review!

I love a time travel plot and was very drawn to this Arthur/Guinevere retelling. Plus, the cover is gorgeous!! In this story, we meet Vera, who was raised in modern day Glastonbury as the mostly unnoticed daughter of a hotel owner. But that all changes when one day Merlin shows up, tell her that she's actually Queen Guinevere, and he's there to take her back to seventh century Camelot. It turns out that Guinevere was horribly injured and Merlin used his magic to restart her essence, and she was born and raised again modern times. But her life is crucial to Arthur, and she is needed in her former life. 

I loved the idea of a modern woman going back in time as queen. And I loved the tension and build up between Arthur and Guinevere. But while I liked a lot about this, there were several areas that gave me pause!

• Why doesn't Vera question this news more?? If someone showed up and said they were taking me to the 7th century, I would not just calmly get ready and go with them. 
• Why is Vera so critical to Arthur's rule? Obviously, she is his queen, but the book never really explained why she is so crucial to his kingdom. I think this explanation would have helped me as a reader understand why they were trying so hard to recreate her after her fatal injury. 
• So many F bombs. Why does everyone say the F word so much? It just got gratuitous. 
• I struggled with my suspension of disbelief with the magic system. We're supposed to believe the Camelot period was not so medieval as we've been led to believe and the society relied heavily on magic that gave them tap on lamps, running water, etc. I guess I would have bought in more if this had been historical fiction plus time travel alone.  

I did really love the extra chapter at the end that gave a summary of the story from Arthur's point of view! I felt like it filled in some of the gaps. This ends on a cliff hanger that sets up well for the next book.

Stars: 3