Rosalind Miles

A feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend is seen through the eyes of its heroine, Queen Guenevere, who is courageous and beautiful even when she is forced to choose between her king and the noble knight Sir Lancelot.

Queen of the Summer Country : a Novel

Guenevere

Amanda

*4.5 stars* First, let me say I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Having read bad reviews, I was a little scared going in. But I was not disappointed at all. 

While I can see the similarities to The Mists of Avalon, this book by Rosalind Miles paints Guenevere in a much better light than Mists. On the flip side, Morgan Le Fay is now our antagonist; she’s pure evil unlike the same character in Mists. I would love an Arthurian retelling that doesn’t have any evil female bad guys. Let’s stop pitting the women against each other and focus on the real bad guy: Merlin. 

Anyway, this book was a little slow at the beginning and took a bit to set up. Once it got going though, I could hardly put it down. And while I did find myself skipping or skimming over the POV sections dealing with the Abbots, monks and nuns, they weren’t long and there weren’t many of them. It should go without saying that this novel is at its strongest when our heroine, Guenevere, is narrating/her POV. It really didn’t need any other perspectives. I’d have been really happy if it was first person. 

This book has some incredibly enchanting writing. I loved the prose and descriptions. It was truly beautiful and worthy of Arthurian legend. 

Don’t even get me started on the romance. You don’t want to, but Miles makes you root for Guenevere and Lancelot. I love them!! The author handled their story very well, delicately even, and I want more. 

I would highly recommend this book and think it deserves to be added to Arthurian legend canon (did I use that phrase correctly?). Guenevere is an awesome character. This book was lovely. 

Guenevere Queen of the Summer Country : a Novel

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