I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Morgan Is My Name by Sophie Keetch. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general.

Morgan Is My Name tells the story of Morgan, daughter of Queen Igraine in Tintagel Castle. Tragedy strikes when Morgan’s father is killed, and the ruthless Uther Pendragon deceives her mother into marriage, and gets her pregnant. Morgan suffers under Uther’s thumb, but is determined to defy him and his rigid, cruel rules. She seeks an education and falls in love with a page training with the knights. Once she reaches her teenage years, she is sent to a convent for a while, where she discovers she has magical abilities. But upon her return to Tintagel, she learns that Uther has arranged for her to be married. Morgan, still wanting to carve her own way, nonetheless finds herself at the mercy of powerful men. She’s sent across Britain to remote castles, forced to bow and scrape to her husband and the circumstances she’s found herself in. Yet the reign of King Arthur is impending, and Morgan sees it as an opportunity to reclaim her own power—even if it costs her everything from her reputation to her loved ones.

I quite liked this! Morgan is such a tough protagonist, full of righteous determination to overcome the obstacles in front of her, but also a lot of compassion for the people she loves. I also really liked her friends Alys and Tressa; their bond is so lovely. Morgan’s brief romance with the aspiring knight Accolon was fine, but not the most compelling thing. I didn’t dislike it, nor was I that invested, being much more interested in Morgan’s development, both as a character and as a magician.

The magic was a really cool aspect of this. I liked seeing how it manifested in Morgan, and how it echoes the old legends while still being its own thing. I’m somewhat familiar with Arthurian lore, but it’s mostly from Le Morte d’Arthur by Malory (and the musical Camelot, but let’s take that one with a sizeable grain of salt). So my knowledge of Morgan/Morgana is pretty minimal. But one doesn’t need to know the original to get a lot out of this.

There are tons of strong themes here. We explore how tough it can be to claim your own space in a world not designed for or favorable to you; also, concepts of friendship, love, and family are a driving force behind Morgan’s decisions. It’s pretty great, especially as the book moves into the third act and Arthur is introduced. He was a fantastic character, and I wish we could see more of him. That said, though, I do wish this weren’t the first of a trilogy. I would have rather this had been a long standalone—I’d even settle for a duology. A trilogy just seems too long, though I’m sure we’ll see more of Arthur and Merlin (who’s kind of delightfully sinister in this version).

In the end, though, Morgan Is My Name is a really strong book. With the feminist Arthurian retelling aspects of Legendborn and the epic style of Circe, this novel has a compelling tone. I really liked the characters, and though this is kind of a villain origin story, Morgan is someone you root for. There’s a grand scope to this, and the setting of ancient Britain is vivid. I really enjoyed this book, though I’m not sure how long it will be until the second book, and if I’ll get a chance to read it.

Morgan Is My Name is available now!