The Other Merlin

By: Robyn Schneider

Narrated by: Rosie Jones

Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR!—Publishers Weekly

"Simultaneously heart-pounding and hilarious, Robyn Schneider gives us a veritable romp through Camelot fueled by adventure and romance."—Kerri Maniscalco, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Kingdom of the Wicked and Stalking Jack the Ripper

Channeling the modern humor of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, bestselling author Robyn Schneider creates a Camelot that becomes the ultimate teen rom-com hotspot in this ultra-fresh take on the Arthurian legend.

Welcome to the great kingdom of Camelot! Prince Arthur’s a depressed botanist who would rather marry a library than a princess, Lancelot’s been demoted to castle guard after a terrible lie, and Emry Merlin has arrived at the castle disguised as her twin brother since girls can’t practice magic.

Life at court is full of scandals, lies, and backstabbing courtiers, so what’s a casually bisexual teen wizard masquerading as a boy to do? Other than fall for the handsome prince, stir up trouble with the foppish Lord Gawain, and offend the prissy Princess Guinevere.

When the truth comes out with disastrous consequences, Emry has to decide whether she'll risk everything for the boy she loves, or give up her potential to become the greatest wizard Camelot has ever known.

©2021 Robyn Schneider (P)2021 Listening Library

Critic reviews

BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR—Publishers Weekly

BEST CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR—OUTSTANDING MERIT—Bank Street

BEST FICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS—Young Adult Library Services Association

A RISE: FEMINIST BOOK PROJECT SELECTION

★ "Schneider’s first foray into fantasy, a clever trilogy starter based in the King Arthur mythos, changes most of the canonical facts but gets everything that matters right in this funny, sharp, romantic, magic-filled book."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ "Rollicking humor, wry wit, and smoldering romance flourish amid political intrigues."—Bank Street College of Education (starred review)

"Charming and sharply hilarious, Schneider’s entrance into historical fiction is such a natural fit, demonstrated by the strength of her storytelling and joyous voice throughout this fun, clever (and queer) tale."—Buzzfeed

not optional

first new book I've read/listened to in quite a while. I'm hooked. great job

Great performance, but why coffee?

First of all, I enjoyed Rosie Jones’ performance. I found her voice pleasant and her characters easy to distinguish from each other.

Where it falls apart for me is the story. I personally felt that it was very adept at undermining any tension or stakes it tried to establish. Without getting into spoilers, characters are introduced that seem like they have potential to be interesting villains but instead quickly become friends, mortal peril and intense personal conflicts are both overcome in a matter of paragraphs, and deeply held secrets are revealed without triggering any of the potential repercussions that forced them to be secrets to begin with. I never felt that any of the characters were truly in danger, and I never felt that they encountered an issue that wouldn’t be solved uneventfully by the next chapter.

My biggest issue with the story is one that is admittedly very small and nit-picky, and I know how silly this sounds but I just had to tell someone. It is honestly the entire reason I wrote the review. Why are the characters drinking coffee??? Arthurian legend is usually attributed to happening in the 5th and 6th centuries. Coffee wasn’t introduced to Europe until the 16th, over a millenium later. Even assuming that it is set when Thomas Mallory published his famous (and anachronistic in its own right) Le Morte d’Arthur in 1485, coffee is still decades away from reaching England.

I know how trivial that complaint is, and that it would likely not bother or even be noticed by many listeners, but the reoccurrence of the drink in a plot I already had issues with was grating. However, despite these grievances, I do not think I could rate the book lower than 3.5 stars overall. I dearly love the Arthurian legend and interpretations of the story, and this personal bias combined with the vocal performance swayed me. The plot itself, even with these annoyances, kept me entertained enough to finish the book as light listening material. While I can’t say that it is my favorite book or even my favorite interpretation of Arthurian legend, I also can’t say that I don’t recommend it- assuming the listener doesn’t mind the occasional cup of coffee.

Loved it!

Found it on Booktok and loved listening to this well written and fun book!

Easy Listening

I usually listen to audible to fall asleep at night. I found this narrator very soothing and really enjoyed this modern take on The Once and Future King more than I thought I would!

Just okay

The premise held promise but the story was as superficial and contrived. Not worth the credit.