Enchanting Review: Damosel

DAMOSEL (IN WHICH THE LADY OF THE LAKE RENDERS A FRANK AND OFTEN STARTLING ACCOUNT OF HER WONDROUD LIFE AND TIMES)
STEPHANIE SPINNER
Fantasy YA
Knopf
ISBN# 978-0-375-83634-3
208 pages
$16.99
Hardcover—Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

DAMOSEL, is the Lady of the Lake and is approached by Merlin to make a beautiful sword for the future King Arthur, a task that will take years. But she makes the wonderful Excalibur and presents it to the young King almost nine years later, setting off a chain of events that will change things forever.

DAMOSEL wasn’t quite what I pictured when I read the jacket blurb. I expected more interaction between Damosel herself and Arthur and the rest of the characters anyone familiar with Arthurian legend would expect, but that wasn’t quite the way things were. However, DAMOSEL was a very well written, easily engaging story with a novel twist on things. Most of the story is told through stories told to Damosel or things that happen to Twixt. I have to say I really enjoyed the character of Twixt, the dwarf who Sir Tor rescues from his two evil masters most out of all the characters. Damosel herself was also enjoyable, especially in the early part of the book as she bartered to get the gemstones to make Excalibur and as she shared the Rules that the Lady of the Lake must live by and which Damosel strictly adheres to, which added a nice bit of humor to the story as well.

All in all, DAMOSEL is a very unique read, capturing a side of Camelot I hadn’t read before.

Stephanie Spinner is the acclaimed author of many books for young readers. After a distinguished career in children’s book publishing, she is now a full-time writer. She lives in Sherman, Connecticut.

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
March 2009