Rating: 4 stars
CBR18 Bingo: And (literally in the title)
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own. This book is on sale now.
I don't know if Croucher intends this to be an ongoing series, but readers should know that this is book two, and this review is probably going to contain some spoilers for book one, Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (which I read earlier this summer, but will not be reviewing because I'm already WAY too far behind on my non-NetGalley reviews. It's getting depressing how much I'm procrastinating on reviews).
Anyway, on to the actual review.
Gabriel is doing his best to be a good king after his father was killed in a botched rebellion, but keeps having to hide in cupboards to deal with his panic attacks. Princess Gwendoline (his twin sister) is doing her best to represent the royal family, picking up the slack for her struggling brother. She keeps writing letters to Bridget, the kingdom's only lady knight, who very pointedly is not responding. Bridget is not doing her best, or even well at all. After wielding a replica of Excalibur in battle while defending the royal family from the rebellion, she is no longer jeered, but celebrated at knight's tournaments, but can't seem to find the will to compete anymore. The sound of weapons clashing or the smell of blood makes her feel sick. Arthur, Gwen's former betrothed, has stopped using alcohol as a coping mechanism and is genuinely friends with Gwen now, so that's good. However, he keeps seeing Gabriel, mostly from a distance, and it's obvious that he's struggling, and Arthur can't do anything to comfort or help him.
The only ones from the first book who aren't having a pretty miserable time of it at the start of the book are Arthur's squire, Sidney and Gwen's ladies' maid, Agnes, who are disgustingly in love with one another and refuse to let their friends' moping get in the way of their happiness.
The rebellion was successfully squashed, but Gabriel's new and progressive policies are not being very well received by the populace at large. They don't really see why they should take their kids out of the fields to put them into schools; what good is reading anyway? Camelot's fiercely capable PR-woman, Lady Oakley, has decided that recreating the Round Table, with a series of loyal knights who will also travel around the country looking into all the strange occurrences that are being reported, will be just the thing to boost Gabriel's popularity. Gwen, Arthur, Bridget and Sidney, along with a selection of other knights, including Gabriel's cousin, whose father led the rebellion against HIS father and ended with Gabriel very reluctantly becoming king, are also along for the ride. The cousin doesn't seem to share his father's views, but is handsome and charming, and Gabriel doesn't like how friendly he and Arthur are getting.
One of the reasons I'm choosing not to review Gwen & Art Are Not in Love is that it was fine, but not really all that memorable. It introduces the setting of an alternate history version of our world, with a cast of mostly queer characters (Sidney and Agnes are pretty much the token straights). I never cared all that much for the plot or the characters, but because all that establishing work was done in book one, they had a chance to become more interesting in book two, I guess.
While going on a rather meandering quest throughout the land, Gabriel, Gwen, Brigdget, Arthur, Sidney and an assorted band of other knights (including another lady knight) investigate strange occurrences that may have ties to the old Arthurian myths, and along the way try to come to terms with grief, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, jealousy and insecurities. They meet some interesting individuals along the way, and without spoiling too much, all end the book in a much better place than they started it.
Based on this second book, I will read more about The Camelot Disasters if Croucher decides to write more in the series.
Crossposted on Cannonball Read
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