G1058 Book Review of Daughter of Destiny by Nicole Evelina
Author: Nicole Evelina
ISBN: 9780996763288
Publisher: Lawson Gartner publishing
Part of a Series: Guinevre's Tale Trilogy
Type of book: King Arthur, loyalty, England, Queen Guinevere, Avalon priestesses, 491-496, friendships between women, old and new traditions, tournament, Isolde, Elaine, Morgan, prophecy, the sight
Year it was published: 2016
Summary:
Before queenship and Camelot, Guinevere was a priestess of Avalon. She loved another before Arthur, a warrior who would one day betray her.
In the war-torn world of late fifth century Britain, young Guinevere faces a choice: stay with her family to defend her home at Northgallis from the Irish, or go to Avalon to seek help for the horrific visions that haunt her. The Sight calls her to Avalon, where she meets Morgan, a woman of questionable parentage who is destined to become her rival. As Guinevere matures to womanhood, she gains the powers of a priestess, and falls in love with a man who will be both her deepest love and her greatest mistake.
Just when Guinevere is able to envision a future in Avalon, tragedy forces her back home, into a world she barely recognizes, one in which her pagan faith, outspokenness, and proficiency in the magical and military arts are liabilities. When a chance reunion with her lover leads to disaster, she is cast out of Northgallis and into an uncertain future. As a new High King comes to power, Guinevere must navigate a world of political intrigue where unmarried women are valuable commodities and seemingly innocent actions can have life-altering consequences.
You may think you know the story of Guinevere, but you’ve never heard it like this: in her own words. Listen and you will hear the true story of Camelot and its queen.
Fans of Arthurian legend and The Mists of Avalon will love Daughter of Destiny, the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy that gives Guinevere back her voice and traces her life from an uncertain eleven year old girl to a wise queen in her fifth decade of life.
This book has been short-listed for the 2015 Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction.
Characters:
Main characters include Guinevere, daughter of Leodgrace, half Votadini and half Roman. Guinevere has the sight where she can witness events as they are happening, and she is also extremely confident and strong in herself. She willingly becomes a priestess of Avalon, and she often seems to be in a fate not of her own making. She also has a first love, Aggrivane, with whom she desires to be. There is also Isolde, Guinevere's best friend and also a ward at Lord Pellinor's castle. Isolde is a captive Irish princess and she tends to be resourceful, clever, fearless and a bit impulsive. She tends to be more concerned with her own needs. Elaine is the seventh child and is dreamy, beautiful, meek and timid as well as someone who suffers from extreme mood swings. There are also Elaine's parents, her mother and father. Her mother is extremely religious as well as strict and unsympathetic and narcisstic. Her father possesses some authority, but its not as visible as that of Elaine's mother.
Theme:
Things are not as they seem
Plot:
The story is in first person narrative from Guinevere's point of view. I loved what seemed to be everything about the novel, from the characters to the plot-line as well as the characters and the attention and detail that the author used in her tale. I loved learning about Queen Guinevere's past, although I often felt that she tended to focus a little too much on others and not herself. I think the tale itself was definitely the strongest point in the novel because while I haven't read previous stories about Queen Guinevere, I did like getting more background about her. I also liked how she developed male characters and the personalities she had given to her characters. I really look forward to reading the next two stories about Queen Guinevere. I also feel that some familiarity with King Arthur tales is a requirement because with a lot of characters I was confused by their actions.
Author Information:
(From HFVBT)
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | IBOOKS | KOBO | SMASHWORDS
About the Author
Nicole Evelina is a historical fiction, non-fiction, and women’s fiction author whose five books –Daughter of Destiny, Camelot’s Queen, Been Searching for You, Madame Presidentess and The Once and Future Queen: Guinevere in Arthurian Legend (nonfiction) – have won more than 30 awards, including three Book of the Year designations.
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.
Opinion:
As a teen in late 90s to early '00s, I grew up on fairy-tales where the heroine has to be virtuous and where hero could do whatever he wanted. I never questioned nor wondered why. However, when I read about Queen Guinevere and her love affair with Sir Lancelot while King Arthur was away in Bulfinch's mythology, I remember being haunted and consumed by the tale, because Queen Guinevere literally shattered my point of view. I never dared to ask or even think about her past and only thing I was concerned about is why she had an affair with Sir Lancelot when she should have been loyal to King Arthur. Enjoying and liking Queen Guinevere was the furthest thing from my mind when I began DAUGHTER OF DESTINY by Nicole Evelina, and its a testament to the creativity and skill she possesses that I can say I will never see Queen Guinevere the same way again. (I read her paper about Queen Guinevere, and was curious about her books.)
This is for HFVBT
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, December 31
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Review at Curling up by the Fire (Mistress of Legend)
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Review at Curling up by the Fire (Mistress of Legend)
5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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