CW: assault, mentions of rape, misogyny

Read as an ARC via NetGalley. Pub Date: June 17, 2023

Rarely in the ancient legends is the woman actually the villain. More often than not, she’s been portrayed that way by the men telling the tales to explain her lack of malleability. The witch who knew too much; the wild sorceress who could not, or would not, be controlled. The innate moral failing, naturally, lies within the woman herself, not in the men surrounding her. But when the women tell the story, the narrative changes. The healer who learned outside of the conventional methods; the survivor who reclaimed her power. Not a moral failing, then, but an unapproved reallocation of power. So it should be no surprise that Morgan le Fey is portrayed just as frequently as a villain, the opposition to glorious King Arthur’s reign. But what if that isn’t what happened?

I love this book. I loved everything about it. Morgan is fierce and unforgiving and wickedly smart. She knows when she cannot win a battle and knows when she absolutely can, and she has no reservation about wielding that power. She is kind and good and wild. I have no words for how amazing this story actually is.

I’ve always loved the King Arthur legends; heroic knights and mysterious wizards and the amazing battles they fought. And it always struck me as completely unfair that the person with the most potential, the strongest and most fearsome being in many of the stories, had been transformed into the bad guy. Morgana, Morgan le Fay, King Arthur’s half sister hell-bent on destroying him. That’s not how she started in the legends, though. Her legends begin, first and foremost, with her power. And this story does an amazing job of embracing that origin.

I could go on for pages and pages about how amazing this book was. I could tell you that everything about it paints Morgan as strong and clever and free. That my very first note about this book could sum it all up very neatly: *immense amounts of Feminine Rage* I could tell you that, for many readers, she’s going to feel incredibly relatable, and you’ll ride the highs and lows of her life right alongside the character. I could even attempt to put into words the absolutely feral screeching my soul has been emitting since I finished this book. I could tell you all of those things, but you really should go read it for yourself.

Morgan Is My Name - Likewise Book Reviews

3 Reviews