Welcome to Litsy!

The premise for this sounded so intriguing, but even reading the first 30 pages proved to be a chore. The pacing was uneven and the story was all over the place, starting in the middle of the action and dropping bits of info that should have clarified but there was far too much going on. The Illumicrate edition is especially beautiful and I would have loved to have it on my sci-fi shelf, but sadly this was a hard pass for me.

I really enjoyed seeing such diverse representation in this novel! To me, that is its strongest case for a solid pick. But I didn't care for the writing and thought it could have used more polishing up. It felt repetitive and stagnant in the parts of the book where there wasn't major plot development happening. 3.5-4 star book.

Confession: I never read Once & Future even though it‘s been sitting on my shelf for a year.

But now with sequel in hand, I‘m ready to power through these!

An interesting take on the material. I grew up on these legends & so because I love the originals I'm perhaps not as objective on this as I should be. This story was good, not stellar, but good. There was however great gender & sexuality representation of characters. My biggest complaint is that I could not stand Gweneviere. I wanted to just skip over her whenever she was on the page but it's King Arthur so that's not really a thing you can do.

I was really hoping this was going to be good. I bailed after the main character was grinding in a club looking to make out with someone. I like it when stories are re-told and add things like “in space”. But this was lacking. I think some people would find it entertaining so I say give it a try it just wasn‘t for me. The cover is beautiful this photo doesn‘t do it justice.

Trying my hand at getting in on the booktube conversations with a good old fashioned book haul. Excuse some of the roughness of this video as I get into the swing of things, but if you‘d like to join me check it out https://youtu.be/uQYTF7Ek5fs

We were supposed to be in FL by now, but the condo we rented is on the coast in Brevard County which has announced some mandatory evacuations. Backup plan was Hilton Head, but since they may also get hit by Dorian we are heading to Boone, NC in the mountains tomorrow. On the bright side, we had time to hit the Barnes & Noble #bookhaul event this morning. Left so many pretties behind, but excited about these. Hope all on the East coast stay safe!

Unfortunately, this was a total bust for me. I had such high hopes for this book because the concept was refreshing. In all honesty, this book felt pushy on their beliefs (which I agree with!) and extremely fast paced. All the characters were sex crazed. It came down to underdeveloped plot and characters 😞

I have a giant stack of library books, many purchased books I haven‘t read yet, and many anticipated releases in the next couple months....but B&N is having a bookhaul so I had no choice really.

Once & Future has been on my radar for a while. When I saw B&N has it on sale for 50% off, that was too good to resist. #booksale #bookhaul #YA

... Not wrong.

James Patterson and JP Presents were buy one get one free this weekend. So I finally broke down and bought once and future. And since I had a free one I couldn‘t pass us the new MG co authored by Gravensteins (Mr Lemoncello). Plus I really need to catch up on the Disney reversal series. Since I had the first 2 in paperback and I think 4, I have been trying to stick to Pb. I believe I have the Ursula title as a galley. Man I need to inventory.

I was excited to read this book because gender bent King Arthur in Space! But I was a bit disappointed. It often felt like it was trying too hard, the characters seemed underdeveloped, and I wanted more ancient Arthurian backstory. I will probably still read the sequel, though. Merlin was my favorite character (and the most interesting, imo) and I want to find out more about his backstory. 3/5 stars.

Back in the airport - got here super early so plenty of reading time 👍

3 1/2 stars. This is a fun spin on King Arthur and his court, where King Arthur has reincarnated 42 times and this time is a woman named Ari and Merlin has aged backward to a teenage boy. All the other original characters from King Arthurs court are here, gender fluid and their roles discovered as the story progresses. It is a creative, light and fast paced read that you don‘t have to think too hard to enjoy.

So I read my first book for the #bookjunkietrials on team #bard
I really enjoyed this SciFi retelling of the Arthur legend. It‘s diverse and has a found family that I adore.

The first challenge at Elven guard is done and I got past those elves by brushing up on my political skills that I learnt from this book 😉

Onwards to the hallow isle and my atmospheric read!

Starting my first book of the month. It‘s Monday and I need to have all three bookclub books read by Friday. No pressure, right?
#currentlyreading #amreading #julytbr #bookjunkietrials #bard

This book is EPIC. Queer characters, rebellion against a monopolistic shipping company, queer romance, settings in space. Ugh. I LOVED it. Definitely one of the best new reads of the year. #queerreads #YA #queer #KingArthur #Merlin #Camelot

Finally recovering from the latest round of #summerblues nonsense. Thanks for all the well wishes. Dark Phoenix movie (uneven but better than expected!), Red Lobster meal, and Wizards Unite later, I‘m trying to finish this book and plan studying. Does anyone know anything about the #Holberton school?
#underemployedadventures #xmen #queerread #marvel #pusheen

Really cool concept and amazing characters!! 😍😍

The plot wasn't the best though. It was kind of just like a series of scenes that didn't fit together. Like a movie maybe?? I would LOVE to see a movie adaptation

Overall a solid and diverse retelling of King Arthur! (in outer space!!) 🌟🌟🌟🌟

#kingarthur #scifi #ya #lgbt

#booksandboardgaming but I‘m not playing today

Reading before work. It‘s my 3 year @HappyLitsyversary ! At #BarnesandNoble celebrating. Free tall beverage for members with purchase right now (you get the coupon when you buy something). 🙂😎#underemployedadventures

The summertime blues have hit hard (anyone else get this? It‘s like reverse SAD) and I‘ve been all kinds of depressed and in (mostly mild pain). There‘s only so much Good Omens fanfic a person can read (Aziraphale/Crowley FOREVER ❤️) so giving this #queerread a try. #underemployedadventures #summertime #summerblues #queer #YA #KingArthur

THIS BOOK. The characters are super lovable and compelling, and it's 100 percent adventure all of the time. Queer, gender-flipped King Arthur retelling in space that is hilarious and refuses to take itself too seriously?? What could be bad? Nothing. Oh, except it broke my heart into about a thousand pieces. But, all Arthur stories kind of have to do that. ⬇️

Typically I find time jumps irritating...Let's see if it holds true for this one

Placement essays are graded. It‘s all downhill for the rest of the quarter!

Awesome amount of LGBTQ+ rep in this book and i really expected that from these authors. The idea of a sci-fi queer King Arthur retelling got me so excited but it fell flap unfortunately. The writing itself isnt bad but the authors just didnt take any time to relationship and character build. That was hastily thrown together and you just had to be told that there was chemistry between people. They needed to slow the plot down and develop the ppl

I'm kinda nervous since I've heard so many "meh" reviews and I am so anxious to read it but here we go

My wrap up for #bingoathon! The multicolored stars represent With the Fire on High, the red rose is for Twice in a Blue Moon, and the blue flower is Once & Future. I'm not finished with Once & Future, but am counting it anyway. I didn't use Crown of Feathers bc I chose not to finish it, and I'm not done with Hot Dog Girl yet either! But it's been a pretty good reading week altogether - 2 five stars, and in the middle of 2 more promising reads!

I love the tone that this book has so far! 😍 It's both sci-fi and fantasy, but doesn't take itself too seriously. Hope it keeps this up as the book progresses - excited to see how much progress I can make with it tonight!

I‘m participating in Bingoathon this week while working on #BookFitnessChallenge. I‘m curious to see if I can actually finish 9 reads, my 31 books goal isn‘t going super well but if I can do it over two months I‘d still be super proud of myself. The point was to be reading more and I‘m definitely doing that, Litsy has been such a help to me because I feel like I‘m reading with friends and the accountability and inspiration is amazing.

Merlin has known Arthur through 41 reincarnations. Yet, the 42nd brings an unexpected twist to the story: Arthur is a woman.

I LOVE this book. I did not expect it to be the first of a series, but I now have high hopes for the second one. I do think such a small group of people would not be SO diverse in our world, which makes it a bit unbelievable - but who knows what the future could bring. In any case, Once and Future is a new favorite of mine!

"That's what resistance looks like, Merlin. It's not one glorious, shining victory. It's a torch that you keep burning, no matter what." ~ Gwen

I really enjoyed this gender-bent King Arthur retelling! There were some things that bugged me, mainly that a few developments felt a bit rushed, but the humor and the diversity more than made up for that. Can't wait for the sequel!

#OnceandFuture #AmyRoseCapetta #CoriMcCarthy #GirlKingArthur #scifireads

I was afraid this new Arthurian retelling would be a disappointment, but I LOVE it. One could argue that there is such a thing as “too much diversity”, but the authors create a world that is naturally inclusive. I am willing to believe that such a world would encourage people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity, thus leading to more diversity in a small group of people than there would be in our society.

I've been delinquent in my #MarchPreorderMadness finale! Have a sword.

Based on the stars, it seems I might be in the minority in enjoying this book. I enjoyed this retelling of the Arthurian legend with the modern twist; lots of queer romance and fluidity with sexuality and gender.

The “tone” on the novel might not be for everyone, but I found it an easy read and really enjoyed the audiobook version.

Just in for consideration for the Rainbow List! How gorgeous is this cover??

Spotted this in bookstore, looks good! Cant decide if it will hold my attention though......

Episode 38 of the Brit Lit Podcast features book publicist Charlie Morris, who talked to the podcast about:
- what her job looks like day to day
-what to do if you aspire to work in publishing
- the groundbreaking book she‘s been working on
- and more

When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to be the newest reincarnation of King Arthur. Then she meets Merlin, who has aged backward over the centuries into a teenager, and together they must break the curse that keeps Arthur coming back. Their quest? Defeat the cruel, oppressive government and bring peace and equality to all humankind...

I picked up this ARC at #yallfest this year. King Arthur in space! It was a little meta but very fun.

Starting out strong with a T. H. White quote!

Excited to dig into this one!

Guys, gender-bent ONCE AND FUTURE KING 🤩