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Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Last Knight by Nicola S. Dorrington

~~~Blurb from Goodreads.com~~~

Seventeen-year-old Cara Page knows what mark she's going to get on her English test next week. She knows in three days her history teacher is going to be late because his car broke down. She knows she's going to give the new boy a nose bleed on his first day.

She knows because every night she dreams of the future, and every day those dreams come true.

Now she's dreaming of a boy, and a future that can't be real. Because if it is, then everything she thought was myth and legend is actually true, and there is an evil coming that will tear the country apart.

Lance Filwer is a boy with secrets of his own, and a past full of mistakes he can't undo. Cara is his second chance, his chance to succeed where he failed before - if only she'll trust him enough to let him help her.

Cara needs to know what's happening, but the answer lies in a long forgotten past, and an ancient legend. To find it Cara will have to travel into the depths of Wales, and the heart of ancient Britain.

With Wraiths, creatures from the darkest of myths, dogging her every move, Cara knows it's only a matter of time before they catch up with her. And myth or not, they will kill her.

Her only hope is Lance, and the birth right she must claim, if she is to prevent the future she has foreseen.


 ☆☆☆ & 1/2

First and foremost, I am a sucker for pretty much anything Arthurian or Arthurian based. I love the tale and it's just not because of the whole Lancelot/Guinevere forbidden love. It's the era that it's set in, it's the forward thinking that Arthur had (which was far beyond his time) of equality. So, with that being said, I saw a recommendation from another author for Nicola S. Dorrington's The Last Knight. So I read the blurb and I wanted to read more and it was free on Kindle. I'm thinking this book is meant to be read by me so I downloaded it from Amazon.com.

While it's definitely an YA read, it is a good book. Definitely a unique take on a timeless tale. I had a hard time putting it down. I will admit there are things that bothered me. Cara seems to start off in the typical YA heroine position - semi-depressed, rough/uneasy childhood, very downtrodden with your singular parental figure* (there is more to the parental aspect but for sake of spoilers I will post it at the bottom of this post) who's world is suddenly rocked by a boy (who doesn't listen to the gossip about her and goes out of his way to make sure she's okay...etc) she doesn't know but instantly trusts. I know this is a common trope in YA and it works - it does there is no denying that - but it still bothers me.


There other thing that chafes me is this book is good - really good but the editing is sometimes hit and miss. There were parts where I had to reread things a couple times to determine what the other was trying to say or where two thoughts had collided but the sentence wasn't quite there. I know this is a self published book and I absolutely commend Nicola for putting her 'baby' out there for the world to see because if she hadn't the world would be missing an unique and amazing take on the Arthurian legend. The editing didn't stop me from finishing the book but I feel it is something that should be mentioned.

The book is set in England which I loved because it worked for the story but readers may find that some of the terms used for things are different than they are used to. Trainers for example instead of sneakers or shoes; lift instead of elevator or jumper instead of sweater. All in all though, nothing that would stop one from finishing a book. I do love how Cora gains confidence throughout the book and seems to accept her place in the universe though I wish that there was a bit more equality in her reasoning sometimes.

The pacing in the book is good, though there is a lot of realism stretching (the driving times/scenes for example) but nothing that would make one roll their eyes in my opinion. The book ends as if it could be a standalone novel (which it was intended to be) or the beginning of series. I did contact Nicola via her Twitter account and she did confirm that she is working on a sequel for it.




~~~About the Author (from Goodreads.com)

Nicola S. Dorrington is a 29 year-old writer from England, currently living in the Cayman Islands, where she procrastinates by staring at the ocean.

THE LAST KNIGHT is her first novel, set in a wet and mythical version of the country she left behind.

She fully expects to one day be a crazy old cat lady - only with dogs.


Contact her on Twitter @NSDorrington


Where To Buy:
     Amazon
     Barnes & Noble





*About Cora's parental situation - both her parents are alive and she has interactions with them both, however her mother is not mentally sound to be a parent and her father while described as a lovable man and father is sort of cast aside/left in the dark during his daughter's escapade.

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