Book Review: Legendary by L.H. Nicole

Legendary – L.H. Nicole

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Author: L.H. Nicole

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

First published: February 2014

Edition: eBook

Pages: 286

Blurb:    (Taken from Goodreads)

Aliana Fagan spent her childhood travelling the world, dreaming of legendary heroes and mythical lands. But after the sudden death of her parents, she hides behind the safety of her camera and her art until a vivid recurring dream compels her to dig into her father’s research about Avalon and Camelot. When she is hurled into a magical realm by forces she thought were only the stuff of fairy tales, she finds herself thrown into an adventure she could never have imagined. Nearly everything she thought she knew about Arthurian legend was wrong.

The independent eighteen-year-old is shocked to find that the people of Avalon think that she is the Destined One, the only person who can summon King Arthur back to life from his hidden chamber. Most surprising of all is that it’s up to her to lead the Knights of the Round Table on an epic quest – an adventure that will transport them across the seven magic realms to reclaim all that has been lost so they can defeat the evil Mordred for good. But first, she must bring the ancient warriors into her world and reunite the with their lost brothers. Chaperoning the legendary knights-with-a-chivalry-complex as they navigate the modern world is a constant challenge, and she certainly never thought she’d be caught between her intense feelings for the noble Sir Galahad and her growing friendship with the King.

To fulfil the prophecy, Aliana will have to discover the meaning of friendship, bravery, loyalty, true love, and forgiveness. But can she do it all in time to save the realms from Mordred’s impending Armageddon?

History of my copy: I received a free copy of Legendary through YA Bound Books in exchange for an honest review.

I jumped on the opportunity to read this book as soon as I got the offer. A modern girl having to save Camelot? Sounded exactly like my kind of book! (If you didn’t know, I’m rather obsessed with Arthurian legend. You can blame the fact that I live near Tintagel, Arthur’s supposed birthplace, for my adoration of anything related to the myth.) I was, unfortunately, rather disappointed.

Plot: The plot basically involved Aliana somehow ending up in this mystical land where she meets a dragon who convinces her to save Sir Galahad, who then gets her to save King Arthur. And that’s as far as I read because I couldn’t take anymore. I guess the plot had potential, but Nicole just really didn’t know what to do with it.

Setting: The setting was the only part of this book, besides the potential idea, that was even vaguely alright. It wasn’t a massively descriptive world building, but it was certainly sufficient to get across the places in which Aliana found herself. It wasn’t, however, amazing enough to carry the rest of the book’s downfalls.

Characters: I think the characters were what really ruined this book for me. I was going to criticise this whole book for the ‘absent parent’ thing that seems to be a recurrent theme in YA books (convenient ‘sudden death’ so the story can take place, ugh) but then when typing out the blurb, I realised that Aliana was 18. Sorry, what? She was petty, pathetic, a complete idiot… how on earth is she 18? I was more mature as a 12 year old! She spent literally the entire time going ‘oh how hot is Galahad? Oh Arthur is gorgeous! How shall I ever choose?” Girl, these are grown men from hundreds of years ago and you’re about to save the kingdom, stop being a little girl. Ugh, she was annoying and had no regard for the safety of others, nearly getting them killed numerous times because she’s smarter than a clever dragon. She also blushed every time the spoke or even looked at her? You’re a grown woman? You should not ‘swoon’ every time a bloke glances your way.

               Then there’s the dragon that was so unnecessary? Not sure what he added to the story. Stuck out like a sore thumb.

               And Galahad and Arthur (and no doubt the rest if I had ever got that far) had no characteristics beyond being good looking. Great. Real good heroes. Definitely going to defeat Mordred with a swish of their pretty locks. Ugh.

To read or not to read: Really don’t read. I mean, even if this is your kind of book, I’d be honestly surprised if you could make it to the end. It had the premise of a fantastic plot, but had totally ridiculous characters and a writing style that just really didn’t work well. Not a single part of it was actually enjoyable to me.