Ms. Pendragon

The Sacred Circle #1

by Michele Lang

Sheâ s running out of timeâ ¦can Gwen stop an ancient curse from destroying Camelot and New York City?

Gwen, killer NYC litigator, finds out she's the reincarnation of Queen Guinevere. To save New York, she must go back in time to fix the disaster she caused in Camelot.

Magical nonsense? Not when thereâ s an evil being lurking in her refrigerator, intent on capturing her. Not when Merlin, great mage of Camelot, pops up in the Big Apple on a motorcycle in search of her. And especially not when Gwen finds out that the sexy maniac holding a sword to her throat is Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelotâ ¦and her husband.

Gwen is both the Queen and the curse. Sheâ s Ms. Pendragon. And sheâ s the only one who can rescue the pastâ ¦and the future.

A wicked and witty tale of love in Camelot, this is a reissue of Michele Langâ s first book!

Genres: Arthurian

242 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2006

About the author

Michele Lang writes supernatural stories set in futuristic places: the stories of witches, lawyers, goddesses, cops, bankers, demons, and other magical creatures hidden in plain sight.

Visit Michele on the web: www.michelelang.com"

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this twist on the Arthur and Guinevere story. The author made it her own tale. I look forward to reading the next book to revisit these characters.

[Arthurianmaiden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this novel and somehow, even if I liked it and I am very glad I just bought the sequel, it is very difficult for me to write this review because some parts of the novel really confused.
First of all, I liked it. This is a romance novel but it's clear that the author researched arthuriana. I also liked the characters, especially Viv, Gwen and Mordred who is a villain with some traces of redemption potential now and then (probably in the next book?), while I was a bit wary about Arthur.
In the rest of the review there will be spoilers!
I love the concept of going back in time, knowing the mistakes of Camlann, and changing the end of Arthur's kingdom. Said this, as much as I appreciated it, I was also confused by the necessity of having Guinevere and Lancelot in modern times. This was for me the most confusing part, because in my opinion it also deleted some layers as Guinevere doesn't seem to have any emotional memories of her past in Camelot or her betrayal and story with Lancelot in Camelot. It is confusing and a bit irritating to see Arthur being so angry for her, when she doesn't even remember doing anything with Lancelot (and the character is irritated too, so I was quite glad). Still, I think that the convuluted necessities to have Gwen from the future is more of a introduction/need for the next books than the real need to have the story told in a certain way. Because it would have made a lot more sense (emotional and in the narrative) to simply have Gwen, Arthur and Lance starts again before Camlann. I also felt a bit wary of Arthur and Gwen relationship, which was sweet, but was based on the fact that Gwen was basically another person. I am not sure I liked it.
As I said, I also loved many things. I loved the ending, with Arthur and Guinevere leaving Camelot and facing new quests in modern times, I liked how the author used the concept of the Queen as the person who gives legitimacy to the king and even the romantic scenes between Arthur and Guinevere.
Hopefully in the next book the plot will be more linear and we will learn more of Guinevere and her past, or at least we will see if and how she will remember. Also. Mordred. I am very very glad he'll be in the next book.

[Flying Off The Shelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have nothing but good things to say about this book. It is an excellent retelling of the original story. Michele Lang brought the past familiar characters into characters we know in the here and now. She also modernized the story through her changes of their names, mannerisms that are both old and new, as well as giving them modern jobs. The fact that she made Gwen a lawyer was particularly amusing. As far as these new characters compared with their older counterparts, Michele Lang made them stronger and more rounded.

In regard to the way she writes, she is awesome! She drops you in the her world and has you learning about it as the characters do. This is definitely one of the most important elements of any book, if you can't feel for the characters than the story is hollow. You will love and hate some of the characters. Her humor is deadly! Be prepared for strange looks when you laugh out loud.

When I finished this book I was craving the next!
You will need to know how this story ends.
Overall this book gets a 5.

See more reviews at http://flyingofftheshelves.blogspot.com/

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite a silly book no doubt about it. But it was super enjoyable and I couldn't put it down.

It's got action, romance and melodrama and perfect for a fun read. The character of Gwen was well-done to.