Half Sick of Shadows

Written by Laura Sebastian

Narrated by Ell Potter

"Laura Sebastian is the next Madeline Miller. . . . a fierce, fresh, lyrical tale that will enthrall until the last page."--Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Huntress

A Popsugar Best Summer Read of 2021
A Bibliolifestyle Most Anticipated Summer 2021 Sci-fi and Fantasy Book

"Magical, haunting, unique--I haven't been so excited about an Arthur book since I read The Once and Future King ."--Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author

The Lady of Shalott reclaims her story in this bold feminist reimagining of the Arthurian myth from the New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess.

Everyone knows the legend. Of Arthur, destined to be a king. Of the beautiful Guinevere, who will betray him with his most loyal knight, Lancelot. Of the bitter sorceress, Morgana, who will turn against them all. But Elaine alone carries the burden of knowing what is to come--for Elaine of Shalott is cursed to see the future.

On the mystical isle of Avalon, Elaine runs free and learns of the ancient prophecies surrounding her and her friends--countless possibilities, almost all of them tragic.

When their future comes to claim them, Elaine, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana accompany Arthur to take his throne in stifling Camelot, where magic is outlawed, the rules of society chain them, and enemies are everywhere. Yet the most dangerous threats may come from within their own circle.

As visions are fulfilled and an inevitable fate closes in, Elaine must decide how far she will go to change destiny--and what she is willing to sacrifice along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Jul 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9780593410059

Laura Sebastian

Laura Sebastian was born and raised in South Florida and has always loved telling stories-many apologies to her little brother who often got in trouble because of them. She currently lives in London with her two dogs, Neville and Circe. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling Ash Princess series, Half Sick of Shadows, and Castles in their Bones.

Reviews for Half Sick of Shadows

[Adri Digirolamo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to love this, but the back n forth with past, present and future was hard. I liked the different spin on the Arthur story. I felt like the whole book I was waiting for “the big thing” to happen, and something sort of did but left me feeling a little blah.

[melissarochelle_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed this immensely despite the trigger warning (some dark days ahead for these characters). Makes me wanna read Arthurian tales.

[anniik_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

TW/CW: Suicide, talk of sexual situations, fantasy violence, talk of incest

RATING: 3/5

REVIEW: Half Sick of Shadows is the story of Elaine, the Lady of Shalott, and her connections to King Arthur, Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot. It is a feminist retelling of the traditional myth.

I really wanted to like this book. I love Arthurian legend and I love fantasy, so this seemed like the perfect book for me. But this book took me forever to get through, and I had to push myself not to DNF it. There’s nothing that stands out as being wrong with it, except that it’s just, well, boring. It’s always bouncing from the past to the present and then the future and never giving us enough of anything to actually connect to it. I loved the idea, but it just didn’t work for me in the end.

[jthierer_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I suspect this is one of those books that you either fell completely under its spell or you deeply disliked it. The structure is odd--the action takes place both in flashback, in present day and in visions the main character has of the future, all while playing on the presumed knowledge the reader already has of the Arthurian legends. I can very much see how the structure would turn folks off, but for me the characters were so strong that I didn't care that I didn't always clearly understand what was happening. The description of Avalon made me desperate to go there, I wanted to be Gwen's friend, and I wanted to tell off Morgause. In other words, I wanted more of this book even as I was drawn into the inevitable end.