Review: The legend is new!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 21, 2013
As in her Class Collision series, Mackey develops her characters fully so that they feel natural and deep, and that is a special treat since we are dealing with the stuff of legends, and many authors treat King Arthur and his entourage with such a stuffy regard that they feel like foggy images of the past.  Not so in THE FORGOTTEN QUEEN.  Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere--and the forgotten queen, Avalon--are genuine.  Their motives are believable, and their actions and reactions ring true.I loved all the magic surrounding Avalon (known as Ava).  She was so unassuming and innocent, and yet her whole essence is powerful in a very unexpected way (no spoilers from me).  I was surprised at the complexity of the plot and the research that must have gone into some of the characters (although Mackey treated them in her own way).The only thing that stops this from being a 5-star for me is that it dragged a bit in some places.  This usually occurred in dialogue scenes that would rehash discussions or discoveries from earlier in the novel.  Whereas this is true to real life (we do tend to re-live and re-process things aloud), it doesn't make for compelling reading, and probably could have been abbreviated or deleted in some instances.I did love how the story ended--familiar, and yet unexpected.  I can't say more without giving it away.  Definitely worth reading, and most likely I'll be reading it more than this once.