Princess Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed a stranger: the charismatic King Arthur. With magic clawing at the kingdom's borders, the great wizard Merlin conjured a solution—send in Guinevere to be Arthur's wife ... and his protector from those who want to see the young king's idyllic city fail. The catch? Guinevere's real name—and her true identity—is a secret. She is a changeling, a girl who has given up everything to protect Camelot.

To keep Arthur safe, Guinevere must navigate a court in which the old—including Arthur's own family—demand things continue as they have been, and the new—those drawn by the dream of Camelot—fight for a better way to live. And always, in the green hearts of forests and the black depths of lakes, magic lies in wait to reclaim the land. Arthur's knights believe they are strong enough to face any threat, but Guinevere knows it will take more than swords to keep Camelot free.

Deadly jousts, duplicitous knights, and forbidden romances are nothing compared to the greatest threat of all: the girl with the long black hair, riding on horseback through the dark woods toward Arthur. Because when your whole existence is a lie, how can you trust even yourself?

I love a good King Arthur retelling, but because there are so many adaptations out there, I’m pretty picky about which ones to indulge in. Thankfully, The Guinevere Deception ticks all the boxes of what I'm looking for in an Arthurian story: there's a badass, magic-wielding Guinevere; a simmering love triangle; action-packed sword fights; and exciting deviations from the dusty original that keep you guessing.

As the title suggests, the book focuses on Guinevere, a young woman sent to Camelot to marry King Arthur in order to secure a political alliance. But Guinevere is not who she says she is. She's less a demure princess than a fierce, kind-hearted warrior and witch, tasked by Merlin with protecting Arthur from a grave danger destined to attack him from inside Camelot.

You might think you know the story of King Arthur, but in this book nothing is at it seems. The Guinevere Deception leaps off the page with a gorgeously detailed medieval setting, and its intricate mystery—not to mention forbidden romance—captivated me from page one. (Plus, I won't spoil it, but the reveal of one of Arthur's knights made me want to fling the book across the room in glee.) You'll love this book if you're looking for a historical fantasy that breathes new life into a classic story, infusing it with magic, romance, and women who are not to be trifled with.