Book cover. Image from the internet.
Title: Enthroned
Series: King Arthur and Her Knights
Author: K.M. Shea
Tags: Arthurian Legend, Medieval, Fantasy, Time-travel
Every once in a while I find myself taken with a book or a series. For reasons I cannot even begin to explain, I have fallen for the series King Arthur and Her Knights. It is a sweet, lovely series of seven books, the first of which is titled Enthroned.
Book cover. Image from the internet.
The premise is simple: while on vacation in Britain, American born Britt Arthurs is pulled back in time to the time of Legendary King Arthur. Specifically to the time when Arthur pulls the sword out of the stone. The real Arthur has run off with a shepherdess and Britt is recruited to take his place. Yup, it is a silly idea. And yes, I can certainly find flaws or at least things I don’t like. But mostly I found the series charming.
I like Britt. I like her largely practical view point, especially as she is a little older (in her mid-twenties). I like her open way of speaking, her strength with a sword and various flaws. Yes, time travel is a tricky beast to write about. This one had some good ideas, the spell dealt with the language barrier. Britt’s slightly unusual past explained her skill with the sword and competency when riding. I found it entertaining that her modern slang was not understood by those in medieval england.
Book cover. Image from the internet.
The author neatly dealt with the issue of Britt’s gender. I like that from the very beginning, there was a core group of powerful individuals in on the secret. It certainly made the cover up of her sex more believable.
I was especially pleased that the author dealt with the idea of bringing knowledge of past events to the past. Legends are twisted and reshaped over time. The stories we tell today are not the same stories that were told 200 years ago about King Arthur, so it is not unreasonable to assume that the actual events are also different. Now, you do have to accept magic exists for this world to work. But internally, I found it consistent.
Arthurian legends have often been a miss for me. I am no expert in the history of King Arthur and perhaps that was a boon in this case. Over the years, I was turned off Arthur largely by the betrayals. Like Britt I struggled to like Lancelot with his affair with Guinevere. So, this Lancelot and Guinevere were fun to read. Especially as the main character was largely biased against both parties. Granted, I also struggled with the encroaching domination of Christian beliefs as they squashed out the pagan rituals, a topic not covered in this series.
Book cover. Image from the internet.
I have two complaints that I would level at the story. As much as I loved the ending (spoilers to come), I found the paradox of time-travel set up by the last chapter disheartening. Especially as it was such an easy fix. I know the author is trying to be cute and have everyone connected, but really, I would have been happy, if the Knights and Fairies who came forward had not interacted with Britt during her childhood. Poof – no paradox to deal with.
My second complaint is: the books were too short. I loved the little daily scenes about the castle and interacting with the different knights. I would have loved to see Britt interact with even more of the people of Camelot. Mostly, I would have loved to read more about her adventures. Each of the first six books is about 125 pages, with book seven being a more satisfying 290 pages.
Book cover. Image from the internet.
Yes, there is magic. Yes, there is time travel. But most importantly there is adventure, sword-fighting, a hint of romance and all the chivalry you could want in this series. Also, a strong female character backed up by other strong females! I loved this series and for right now it is my obsession. So, I bequeath five stars on Enthroned, Enchanted, Embittered, Embark, Enlighten, Endeavor, and Endings.