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Geeks and the Holy Grail (Camelot Code #2), by Mari Mancusi, for Timeslip Tuesday

The first book in the Camelot Code series, The Once and Future Geek , mixed time travel between the medieval world of King Arthur and our own, and it is a very entertaining book.  The second book in the series, Geeks and Holy Grail (Hyperion, October 2019), is also entertaining (though not quite as funny; King Arthur as a modern day high school student is hard to beat....). When Morgana, sworn enemy of King Arthur, attacks the druids of Avalon, Nimue, the youngest of them, takes the Holy Grail and runs with it.  King Arthur is dying, and only the Grail can save him.  Desperate to keep it from falling into Morgana's hands, she stumbles into Merlin's Crystal Cave.  But instead of Merlin there to help her (he's on vacation in Los Vegas, in our time), there's only his very inexperienced apprentice, Emrys.  His attempt to hide the grail works, in a sense--as a small, flatulent dragon, it sure doesn't look much like a grail.  But it isn't much use to Arthur as a...

The Secret

The Kiss of Deception 
By Mary E. Pearson
I would recommend for this book trail mix to go along with all of the time they spend on the road.
Lia is a princess and a first daughter in a world where the eldest daughters are always married off often for political gain. Her father has decreed that she is to marry the Prince of Dalbrek , a near by kingdom with which they seek to improve relations. Lia, who has never met this prince and is known for her quick temper, is livid and has no desire to follow tradition and be condemned to an uncertain life not of her choosing, so she takes her fate into her own hands and runs away with only her faithful servant Pauline, but she is pursued. Lia also had two love interests, Rafe and Kaden, who are more then they seem.
I really liked Lia as a character. She didn't complain very much and when she didn't like something she took it into her own hands to change her situation. She is also smart and has a quick temper. She stands up for herself and doesn't rely on other to things for her. At the same time she is very likable and relatable. She reacts realistically to events that happen around her. I also liked the implications about who she is and what power she has, and hope to see where the author takes it in the future. While in the beginning she takes a little warming up to I really enjoyed her as a character. The other characters were enjoyable as well. They were all developed with their own quirks and secrets to be uncovered.
The world itself was also very interesting with its own religion that Lia seems to respect and scorn, as it has governed her whole life. There was a lot of interesting things interspersed throughout the novel, and the author only gives you a taste of the world was a whole leaving some things to be developed later.
While I did love this book over all the one part I did not like as much was the beginning. I felt like it dragged a bit and that it took a while to get to know Lia's character as who she is, not as the princess running away. Overall The book was very strong. I just felt the beginning could have used some improving.
4/5 Stars

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