Mistress of Legend by Nicole Evelina
Publication Date: September 15, 2018
Lawson Gartner Publishing
Paperback, eBook, AudioBook; 412 Pages
Series: Guinevere's Tale, Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction/Arthurian/Fantasy
Having escaped death at the stake, Guinevere longs to live a peaceful life in Brittany with Lancelot, but the threat of Arthur’s wrath quickly separates the lovers. Guinevere finds herself back in Camelot, but it is not the peaceful capital she once knew; the loyalty of the people is divided over Arthur’s role in her death sentence. When war draws Arthur away from Britain, Mordred is named acting king. With Morgan at his side and a Saxon in his bed, Mordred’s thirst for power becomes his undoing and the cause of Guinevere’s greatest heartache.
In the wake of the deadly battle that leaves the country in civil war, Guinevere’s power as the former queen is sought by everyone who seeks to ascend the throne. Heartbroken and refusing to take sides in the conflict, she flees north to her mother’s Votadini homeland, where she is at long last reunited with Lancelot. The quiet life she desires is just beginning when warring tribal factions once again thrust her into an unexpected position of power. Now charged with ending an invasion that could bring an end to the Votadini tribe and put the whole island in the hands of the Saxons, Guinevere must draw upon decades of experience to try to save the people she loves and is sworn to protect.
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A box set containing Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, and Mistress of Legend
Priestess. Queen. Warrior. Experience the world of King Arthur through Guinevere’s eyes as she matures from a young priestess who never dreamed of becoming queen to the stalwart defender of a nation and a mistress whose sin would go down in history. Throughout it all, Guinevere she faces threats from both foreign powers and within her own court that lead her to place her very life on the line to protect the dream of Camelot and save her people.
This compendium of Nicole Evelina’s two-time Book of the Year award-winning trilogy – Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, and Mistress of Legend – gives fresh life to an age-old tale by adding historical context and emotional depth. Spanning more than three decades, it presents Guinevere as an equal to the famous men she is remembered for loving, while providing context for her controversial decisions and visiting little-known aspects of her life before and after her marriage to King Arthur.
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My Take:
While the blog tour is for the box set of The Guinevere's Tale Trilogy, I only read the first book in the series. If I had realized how much I would enjoy the first book, I would have requested to read all three books.
Daughter of Destiny is the first book of the trilogy, as I said. There is much to love about this book. I really enjoyed Guinevere's voice - she is presented to the reader as a young girl as she leaves her home to travel to Avalon to train as an acolyte of the Goddess. Her mother is from the Votadini and has instructed her daughter on how to wield a sword from a young age. Guinevere seems well suited to the physical training in battle and it takes some time for her to adjust to the very different world of Avalon.
I loved that the reader gets to learn about what triggered the abrupt change in Guinevere's life circumstances and how that event continues to haunt her through visions that she can't control. The event would certainly trigger PTSD in anyone, but add in the gift of Sight and you have a truly awful experience. As a reader, I really felt like Guinevere was brought to life as a person, not just a figure of legend. I found it refreshing to read about the rivalry between her and Morgan from the viewpoint of adolescent girls, even with all the foreboding of future events.
The novel made it painfully clear just how precarious a female's position was in the world outside of Avalon. Guinevere is made aware of her expected station when she is forced to leave the island due to a family tragedy. While this episode of her life is painful, unfair and downright ridiculous in its pettiness, Guinevere learns a lot and the reader can see her adapting and growing up through it all.
I really liked that the author made sure that the reader was aware of political actors, the situations and various factions involved. The history and politics are actually pretty vital to the story. I really like that. I have to give credit to the author for a great ending --- a cliffhanger of sorts. When I finished the book I was really wishing that I had the box set!
I can happily and wholeheartedly recommend Daughter of Destiny -- I really had a great time reading this book and I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
About the Author
Her writing has appeared in The Huffington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Independent Journal, Curve Magazine and numerous historical publications. She is one of only six authors who completed a week-long writing intensive taught by #1 New York Times bestselling author Deborah Harkness.
Nicole is currently working on Mistress of Legend (September 15), the final novel in her Guinevere's Tale historical fantasy trilogy and researching two future non-fiction books. She also teaches online writing and business classes for authors at Professional Author Academy.
Her website/blog is http://nicoleevelina.com and she can be found on Twitter as well as on Pinterest, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and Tumblr.
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, December 10Interview at Passages to the Past
Tuesday, December 11
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Daughter of Destiny)
Wednesday, December 12
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books
Thursday, December 13
Review at A Book Geek (Daughter of Destiny)
Friday, December 14
Interview at Donna's Book Blog
Saturday, December 15
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views (Daughter of Destiny)
Sunday, December 16
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective (Mistress of Legend)
Tuesday, December 18
Review at Book Nerd (Camelot's Queen)
Thursday, December 20
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Camelot's Queen)
Friday, December 21
Excerpt at Passages to the Past
Thursday, December 27
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views (Camelot's Queen)
Friday, December 28
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit (Mistress of Legend)
Saturday, December 29
Review at Pursuing Stacie (Mistress of Legend)
Sunday, December 30
Review at Jorie Loves a Story (Mistress of Legend)
Monday, December 31
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Review at Curling up by the Fire (Mistress of Legend)
Wednesday, January 2
Review at Book Nerd (Mistress of Legend)
Thursday, January 3
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views (Mistress of Legend)
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a boxed set of The Guinevere's Tale Trilogy in paperback! To enter, please see the Gleam form below.Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on January 3rd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– PB Giveaway is open to US residents only and eBook Giveaway is open internationally.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Mistress of Legend Mistress of Legend
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