Super cute. Super sassy. Super witty.

Strike that. It looks like I'm trying to sell glitzy fashion to tweens. 

3.25 stars. But it is super cute and fun and all that stuff.Werewolves are wearing top hats! Just the names alone are awesome, and I really hate off-the-wall names 99% of time, but how can you not love the idea of mechanical butler named Frowbritcher? I'm pretty sure that Carriger is one of the only people who can pull off all of the strange names with finesse.

And I don't even know what this means, but I want to start saying it -

"So I can be a puffed-up poodle-faker like you?"

Parasol Protectorate fans are probably going to flinch when I mention that I think I liked E&E a slight bit better than Soulless for book 1 of a series. I get that Soulless had more snark and overt humor than E&E did, but I took to Sophronia's fresh and spunky attitude more than I did Alexia's musings about her large nose. I laughed out loud when Sophronia considered a purple flannel night garment to be salacious (to quote her : imagine that!). 

Gail Carriger's writing style is sort of a weird thing to explain. She has all of the parts present which make for an excellent book - unique characters, harrowing situations, charming imagery, witty banter, etc. - but there's something about the sum of the parts which doesn't quite register in my brain as a complete success. 

Every time I would pick up the book, I'd read a few chapters and be entertained, but I could never go much further in one sitting. I felt like I was on this constant loop of intricacy, and I couldn't make my brain stop moving enough to take it all in large doses. Imagine going to the same tea party every day. The tea is good. The company is good. The conversation is interesting. But you feel like you need to get off the tea party for a minute and have pizza and beer. That's what I feel like when I read Carriger. 



In small doses, the words are charming and fun and stimulating. In large doses, I want to wander off and read something else. And that's why it took me a couple of weeks to read the book, even though I liked it. 

But sometimes, it's okay to slowly savor the things that are good. I'm looking forward to savoring book 2 of this series.

Magical vag strikes again.

Fion. Lancelot. Arthur. Mordred. Spin the wheel of fortune, and hope you pick the right man. I probably would have taken Fion right off the bat and would have never gotten a chance to meet the others because I thought he was pretty awesome. The very first guy who takes an interest is a hot, nice, witty guy with an accent, who is also a king? Sold. Story over.

Actually, since Gwen didn't sleep with all of the men, she must have a magical aura instead. 

Spoilers ahead. Yes, I mean it. This time, I'm not going spoiler free. I notice that I tend to want to post spoilers when something is bothering me and I need to write it down for my own sanity, hah. Please don't read on if you don't want the book spoiled. 

Queen of Camelot would have been a solid 4 but there's one thing I can't get over. WTF was up with that foreshadowing prologue? The way it tied in with the end...uh...yeah. 

Gwen had a few moments which made me scratch my head. The reasoning of hers that it was okay to kiss Lancelot on the lips as long as Arthur was around hurt my brain. And don't get me started on the "we're almost about to die" scene where she missed a big opportunity. For the sake of the reader, that loyalty should have been put on the back burner when good ole Lance and Gwen were convinced that they'd never live to see Arthur. I wanted the famous scandal. WHERE WAS THE SCANDAL?!?

Lancelot had a few moments of his own. He started off so swoon-worthy, then the hardcore loyalty sort of fried his brain. Did I detect a few moments of simpering? I think I might have. MAKE ME SWOON, PUPPET. 

Arthur...I don't even know what to say. His faith in Gwen was admirable, if a little stupid. 

But I kid, sort of. My men complaints are so minimal. I felt Lancelot's loyalty, admired Arthur's justice, and yearned alongside Gwen as she longed for both men who were equally brilliant in their own way. 

Do I believe that Arthur was Gwen's soul mate in the end? NO. I believe that she loved and admired him. I believe that she felt him worthy of her undying devotion. However, I had a hard time believing that she shifted all of her focus from Lancelot to Arthur at the end. Why? Because Arthur died? So she can't love Lancelot in close proximity now, even though THEY FLAUNTED IT IN FRONT OF ARTHUR FOR ALL OF THOSE YEARS?

You'd almost think with my capslock ranting that I disliked the book, right?

The writing was beautiful. The emotions were powerful. The story had me by the throat. I honestly loved the book...up until the end sort of pissed me off.

I didn't expect a super happy ending. But the self-sacrificing seemed pointless when there came a time that it wasn't necessary anymore. 

That said, for any story to have me wanting to discuss and hope and speculate like this one did, I do consider it to be a success. There were so many powerful and emotional quotes that I would have liked to have included, but then I would have been here all night copying them. So, no. It's not happening. 

Oh, and mothereffing Mordred. Not that any of his behavior was unexpected. But still.

I'm honestly glad I read the book, and hope to read Galahad's (Lancelot's son) story in the near future. 

Thanks Leea for the buddy read/discussion thread/phone question & answer session!