At the beginning of this series, in The Guinevere Deception, Merlin sends an imposter in the place of a dead Guinevere to marry King Arthur and use the limited magic she possesses to secretly help protect him and Camelot. Merlin is sealed away in a cave, and Arthur has forbidden the use of magic in the kingdom. This Guinevere (she doesn’t have any memories before the time she spent with Merlin) wants to carry out her duty. She believes in the cause but is always aware of her position: she’s not the real Guinevere, or a real princess.
But she makes friends in Camelot and she and Arthur are a good pair. The kingdom is running smoothly but is facing a threat from the Dark Queen, made corporeal at the end of the first book. Guinevere starts to wonder more about who she really is and what Merlin’s motivations were. She sets out at the end of the second book, The Camelot Betrayal, not just to find the Dark Queen and protect Camelot, but to find out the truth about her past.
In this final book, she finds herself necessarily joining forces with the sorceress Morgana and her son, Mordred, in hopes that Morgana can help her. It’s challenging: she has to be very careful how she deals with the conniving and clever Morgana. On top of it, she has to face the feelings she has for Mordred. They clearly have chemistry, but she has a duty to Arthur and Camelot, and Mordred has shown he cannot be trusted.
When she finally learns the full truth about who she is and how she came to be, Guinevere is devastated; she wants so much to right a terrible wrong, but if she does so, she could not only destroy herself but leave Camelot and her friends without her help.
In this conclusion to Kiersten White’s reimagining of the tale of Camelot, Arthur and Guinevere, a girl with no history or claims to a throne, with just some minor magical ability, has to figure out what is right for those she loves, for the kingdom she wants to protect, and how much she deserves from a life that was stolen. It is definitely a feminist remaking, with female characters of all personalities and abilities playing important roles in making their world not just safe but a better place.
The Excalibur Curse in particular is very “girl power” and turns the legend around in various ways to rewrite the story and give recognition and rights to women. It sometimes felt a bit heavy-handed with White’s eagerness to make Camelot more equal between the sexes, but overall I enjoyed the story and how it came together.
Rated: Mild. Profanity includes around a couple of instances of moderate profanity, a few uses of mild language, and a few instances of using the name of deity in vain. Sexual content includes kissing and implied sex. There are a few mildly crude references. Violence includes hand-to-hand combat with swords and knives and fistfights, as well as some mentions of blood and injuries.
