The planets were cool but in need of developing. The intimacy of past fights and romantic dallying wasn’t flushed out enough to feel like the characters had chemistry, so the entire thing felt rushed. The history between the characters, especially Gwen and Ari, felt forced. It felt like chunks of development were missing, like I was reading a draft of a standalone that later got decided to be split into two novels. The end sequence with the medieval planet and dragon slaying/riding was dope, but that about sums it up. There’s a few references to the ‘old’ gender roles and sex characteristics of today’s standards, like when Merlin gets scolded for assuming someone’s gender and Ari hooks up with a ‘fluid’. No one is straight and everyone is fabulous. What I liked about the novel was the overall setting, the legend of King Arthur, and the vast amount of LGBTQIAP+ representation. I gave it a 3/5 stars, good for fans of fantasy and sci-fi like Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff, Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke, and Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Following along are the knights of legend, a quirky crew who don’t need your gender roles and are here to start a galactic revolution. Merlin wakes up out of his sleep to find himself in a 17-year-old body and one last chance to end this cycle once and for all. If you’d like to check it out, readers follow Ari, the 47th reincarnation of King Arthur and currently on the run from the corporation that controls the galaxy. I agree she’s doing great things for the queer community and I appreciate her character representation, but the book overall fell flat to me. Unfortunately, I have never been able to really like Carpetta’s writing. As was the case with The Brilliant Death, I was incredibly excited review this book due to its incredible idea and gorgeous cover. Once again Amy Rose Capetta delivers a cool queer fantasy, this time co-written by her partner Cori McCarthy. *A sci-fi retelling of The Once and Future King set in space where King Arthur is a girl and everyone’s gay*

Once and future amy rose capetta