It takes two: Read a coauthored book.

[baronessekat]

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


2.5 stars

Ari is a girl running from the Intergalactic Mega-Corporation Mercer. They run everything and rule through controlling resources to all the planets. Ari's birth family came from the only planet that defied Mercer's rule. She's all that's left.

She manages to escape Mercer through the help of her adopted brother and they crash land on the nature preserve known as Old Earth. There she finds a sword and begins the latest cycle in a Millennia old saga. Ari, it turns out is the 42nd incarnation of King Arthur. Or at least that's what the weird young man who shows up, claiming to be Merlin, tells her. Now it's up to her and her friends (who are all incarnations of the Knights of the Round Table) to bring down the Big Bad and unite all of Mankind so that the seemingly never-ending saga can finally end.

I really wanted to like this book. Sadly, for me this was more a book of promise and potential and not all that satisfying. There were things that I liked. I liked that there is a non-binary character. Ari is female and Gwen is female and they do get married. There are several non-traditional partnerships (I am not surprised given the two authors are a non-binary couple).

But for the story... it felt kinda contrived, strained and there were points where it seemed to jump around and things just happened for no real reason. Would I recommend the book? Maybe. Will I seek out the next book? Probably not. I've been done with the audiobook for 10 minutes and had to struggle while writing this review to remember details.

The only good thing was Laura Fortagng's reading. She has a voice I would listen to again.



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