With the long awaited arrival of the Round Table, Britt introduces questing and a code of honor to her young knights. While Britt tries to sneak off on the first Order of the Round Table quest with Sir Gawain, King Pellinore, and the newly knighted Sir Tor, Merlin receives word of a threat against Britt’s life coming from the north.
Tensions are high with Sir Lancelot acting as a general pest, Sir Kay’s determination to swaddle Britt in safety, and Merlin’s complete failure to see Britt as anything more than a trusted friend.
Can Britt survive the upheaval and establish the Round Table as a place of honor and chivalry?
My pen name is K. M. Shea, but my readers—I prefer to call them Champions—call me Kitty.
I love to write funny, clean stories with strong characters. Books like that are among my favorite to read so naturally I love writing stories like that as well. My philosophy is that life is tough, so books should be something that makes you relax and laugh!
Britt has been in England for a year and half now. She is ruling and she is preparing for the round table to show up and preparing for the oath for not only her knights to take but herself.
Another plot on her life is starting. She is trying to deal with Lancelot and Guinevere being in the same place. Plus she is starting to get closer to Merlin.
This book seemed to be more of a filler than anything else but every series needs a filler.
I really enjoyed jumping back into Britt’s world of Camelot (ironically at the same time my family picked back up with watching BBC’s Merlin, lol) and the addition of the knights going on quests plus seeing her grow further as King Arthur.
While the tiff between Britt and Merlin made me cringe with sad sympathy (because I like them together!), I really liked the addition of Merlin and Lancelot’s POVs as they broaden the story more and show us what a sly scumbag Lancelot truly is. Ick, I do not like him one bit. 😡 Sir Tor and Blaise were fun too and probably my favorite parts. ☺️
Content: violence and fighting (not detailed); Merlin is a wizard
I love this series by KM Shea about King Arthur and his knights but I have to say in my opinion this is the weakest so far. It's still a great, fun and engaging read but I felt like not a huge amount happened.
Guinevere and the round table have finally arrived at Camelot and no surprises about which of the two King Arthur is happiest about. The scene where they both arrive and Arthur walks right past Guenivere was hilarious. Other than introducing the concept of the round table to the knights and encouraging them to start going on quests not much happens.
Lancelot is lurking around, making a nuisance of himself, there are a couple of death threats and Merlin and Arthur have a major fall out.
It's still a good story. I just didn't think it was as exciting or funny as the previous books. Also much as I love him I'm getting a bit frustrated with Merlin' s blindness to what's right in front of him.
**Review of the series as a whole rather than the individual books.**
KM Shea lets you know right up front what her stories will be. They will be some type of fantasy (usually), end happily and neatly tied up and are meant as a break from life rather than to be deep thinking. This series delivered exactly what was promised.
This is more of a series of novellas except for the last book that is full length. It's a fun story reimagining the King Arthur Legend. In it, a young woman named Britt is brought from modern day back in time after she touches the legendary sword. It seems the actual King Arthur has run away and Merlin places a spell on the sword to bring someone back that has all the needed attributes to fill the role. What he doesn't even consider is to specify the gender in his spell.
The 7 book series details adventures as Britt poses as King Arthur. She goes about finding her round table and the knights that will belong. KM Shea plays with the mythology and has a bit of fun with it. I enjoyed the stories and Britt as well as other characters' evolutions. Sure it could be far fetched at times but I always give fantasy book a lot of leeway. If you need tight plotting and things to make perfect sense then maybe look elsewhere. This series is not meant to stand up to that kind of seriousness. It's simply escapist, fun reading with a story around a strong female character. There is the faintest whiff of romance that doesn't really even manifest until the end and then only trace amounts.
Even though I'm loving the entire series, I think Embark is my favorite book of the bunch :) The round table has finally arrived with Guinevere and it's hilarious how Britt greets it over the princess with all her knights watching. Britt makes someone unexpected a knight and then has EVERY knight take an oath at the round table, GREAT scene and SO WELL WRITTEN!!
More and more women are learning Britt's secret but so far everyone is respecting the secret. Merlin and Kay are more protective of Britt than ever before with rumored plots on her life, making things more amusing when Britt sneaks out. There's a betrayal in the midst...also, one of the BEST parts of this book is when Britt meets Merlin's mentor, Blaise. He is just an extraordinary character! Can't get enough of this series.
It's been a long time since I indulged myself with Britt's story. I truly missed her and Merlin but I resist myself from reading this when it came out earlier this year because I know it will just torture me to wait for the next book to come out.
Embark started off a few weeks where Embittered left off. Guinevere is now in the court and so is the Round Table. I'm so excited with this additional character, unfortunately, Guinevere and Lancelot wasn't in the picture all the time. I am not complaining though because I love how the story move to the knight's quest and finally meeting Merlin's mentor, Blaise.
As for the characters, I still love Britt and she makes me laugh all the time. I guess that's one reason why I like this book. It is short but it still entertains me.
And for those who are shipping Britt and Merlin, this is our chance to shine! It's still complicated but at least it sheds some light for this ship and I'm happy where it is going. I can't wait for the next book and the rest that are still in progress. I just wish the next books will be much longer because I can't seem to get enough of Britt and her adventure in the Medieval time.
This is a fantastic series. I didn't even mind buying the 4th book on its own after purchasing the first 3 in a bundle.
One of the things that sets this series apart is that Britt, our protagonist, is more than just a narrator things happen to, she is an enjoyable character to follow. Oftentimes I find I like the male lead, but the female feels like more of a plot decide than a person--happily that is not the case with Britt Arthurs. She is a rational woman in her mid-twenties making the best of her unusual circumstances & seems to be aware that she can't elevate her personal desires over the commitments of the role she is forced to play. A refreshing turn for a woman in YA fantasy.
flat, boring, cliche. i can't even remember the whole story of this book anymore, it all starts to get very blurry, like i was reading a daily journal of a boring kingdom. but i'll try to summarize it so i don't feel like i waste a huge amount of my time reading (or staring at nothing) and proof that i still have the ability to read.
it all started with the arrival of empty headed Guinevere, twin of Britt (in intelligence) and the round table. it was unfathomably ridiculous how Britt insisted on this table and go through a lot for it just so she can fulfill a dammed legend that she could actually manipulate. and then she ordered her knights on a stupid quests that sounded completely made up (like what the fuck, suddenly there was a deer, a girl, and a dog crashing into a palace and suddenly got kidnapped in front of this so called knights but no one moved to do anything, they have to let them got away first and then chased after them, i wont even try to understand this anymore, i'll get more stupid) and of course she had to ran away and joined the quest because she felt like she had to (typical spoiled american girl), and of course her babysitters (read: knights) were mad about it. and then some boring attempts that (sadly) failed, Merlin and Britt met up with Merlin's mentor, and then Merlin finally realized Britt had a feeling on him, got mad, threw some hurtful words, they didn't talk for days? weeks? who cares, and then another (sadly) failed attempt on Britt's live that is obviously from Lancelot (of course, the last chapter proofed i was correct), and then it ended with Merlin mulled over his obvious feeling for Britt. can't wait to get this stupid story over with. so sad my kindle unlimited is still a few more weeks🙄
Britt and Merlin's romance was easily predicted from the start but when they finally mentioned it here, it sounded absolutely forced and somehow very cliche (after a huge fight, the guy finally realized he had a feeling for the girl and now there was nothing else he could think about beside her and blablablablabla).
Lancelot's behavior was unreasonable and don't have any purpose except to be the villain of the story (i guess this was due to the author's own personal hatred?). all the ladies in the courts were stupid and useless too except for Britt (meanwhile, i thought she was the king of those foolish ladies), and the story didn't even have anything interesting, or entertaining, or wisdom about it. complete trash. UGHHHHH. can't wait to finish this. i will never read a book from a second-rated author anymore. 😤
bright side: this stupid series motivated me to read something more useful and actually have a literature value so i don't waste my time reading something so boring and cliche.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First of all Ms Shea's retelling are fresh & well developed still fit the original stories. She puts very interesting twists in. This series, retelling the legend of King Arthur is a great example. Arthur is actually a 20 year old female from the 21st century who was pulled back in time when she accidentally draws the sword from the stone. The real Arthur has run away so Britt Arthurs must take his place. That is the basic premise. This is book 3 of the series & I look forward to starting book 4. I love that Britt has some knowledge of the legend & this dislikes Lancelot & Guinevere because she knows they destroy Camelot. Shea acknowledges issues that would naturally arise and in book 3 introduces a budding love between Britt & Merlin, who is much younger than the legend implies. I look forward to how she solves that. I've also read & enjoyed her Fairytale retelling each has a link to a well know tale but also a huge twist that makes them lots of fun.
I love that when Lancelot does ANYTHING, even just exist, Britt gets annoyed with him and does not hide it lol. Her intuition does seem to be justified as it becomes clear that he is not as chivalrous as he appears. But the dynamic is definitely fun. I also really liked the dynamic between Merlin, Britt, Blaise.
I loved the first scene where Britt is anxiously awaiting for Leodegrance's party, and everyone thinks she is really excited to see her supposed future wife Guinevere, but when they arrive she runs past Guinevere without a glance to see her Round Table.
Guinevere also finds out that Britt is a woman in this one(I think). She handles it rather well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
FINALLY, a recognition of attraction between Britt and Merlin. Soooooooo long coming and soooooooo worth it. No kisses yet but it’s gonna happen, we all know it will. Yes!!!!!! Okay, I’m going to be girly for a moment (excuse me for this) PLANT ONE ON THE GIRL ALREADY!
Okay, whew, got that out of my system for the moment. I’ll try to rein the hormonal surge for the rest of this.
Lancelot is finally showing some true colors… the jerk. It had better been for a deeper reason than the hint we are given because WHAT A STUPID THING TO GET WORKED UP OVER!!! Yeah, it definitely goes deeper than jealousy- he’s not to be angling for the throne after Britt is finally assassinated?
I loved this whole series! I got the first book free somehow, and was totally hooked. To be clear, when I saw the title and heard the synopsis I totally eye rolled. Really -King Arthur is a girl and time transported?!! But then I read it and I LOVE the series. The twists from the original story were great- a sexy Merlin? It took some getting used to, but now #yesplease. And sometimes when life is hard or I’m dealing with conflict, I think “what would Brit Arthurs do?” I highly recommend the whole series.
All 7 books should be combined into one book, because not enough happens in any one book past the first to be a book, but it you are reading thru KU it doesn't matter too much.
Very engaging story.
SPOILER
... Britt's feelings for Merlin are unceremoniously revealed to him and he's an idiot. But by the end you get a glimpse or two into Merlin's head.
Why more is not done about the poisoning makes no since to me, but hopefully we'll see more in the next installment.
This book (this series) is surprisingly solid and good. I like the characters, the plot, the mythology, all of it. Basically, it’s not 5 stars because it’s not a great book. It’s somewhat simple, the writing isn’t amazing and I’m not considering rereading the series. The books are also really short, I read 3 in one day. But this works out well because they’re all on kindle unlimited and the entire series has already been published. No worries on the waiting for the next book front.
Entire series review: At first it was slow, but then I couldn’t put it down. It definitely had ups and downs, but it was a fun and clean read. Had a few slow moments where I thought I would quit mostly because I wanted to know if the love interests ended up together. The end was a very interesting twist.
I love this one! Britt does more adventuring out with her knights, and eventually Merlin finds out that Britt likes him. They end up fighting, but in the end, Merlin realizes he cares for her too. I really liked the development!
This is an excellent series with readers that are interested in action, a little romance, and a very strong female lead. It lacks gore and racy details, but that only makes the plot stronger!
“People usually don’t deserve it; that’s why it’s called mercy. I hope you will remember this feeling and offer mercy to others as a result- even when they hurt you and cause you pain.”
Britt Arthurs and her knights are making me a better person. Highly recommend for a quick uplifting read!
Still fun and easy to read, but I'm a little disappointed that Lancelot is as predictable as the main character thinks he should be. I'll definitely keep reading the series, but I wanted the main character to be wrong about him.