god forbid a woman have hobbies

A really emotionally moving and feminist spin on the classic Arthurian legend. Morgan is a character I relate to a lot, and it was frustrating (in an intentional way) experience to see her life situation turn out the way that it did. Fans of Circe will also like this.

Good but not great. A slow introduction to arthuriana, hopefully subsequent books will have more of the Morgan of legend

Morgan’s character drew me in really quickly, and kept me hooked for the entire book. The book itself does a lot of world building and contextualising, as it’s the first of a trilogy (I think).

Covering about fifteen years, following Morgan from childhood to womanhood, her growth and the injustices she endures, this novel truly felt like a journey and a half.

As I was reading, the pages flew by and I felt very immersed in the story. But as I put the book down I didn’t really find myself reaching for it again, so it took me surprisingly long to get through it. Don’t get me wrong, disrupting and unexpected things happen that made me want to continue, but the pacing didn’t change very much: Something happened, then something else, and something else… and it’s not entirely clear where things were heading, so we’re mainly going along for the ride. That’s all right and well, but but maybe I would have hoped for a bit more intensity and higher stakes, all the while it was still interesting and well narrated.

The first couple of chapters gripped me off the bat, then I found myself a bit bored with the slightly dragged out (quite cliché but still well written) romance, before things stepped up a bit in intrigue and pace towards the last third of the book.

I would have liked to see certain people suffer a bit more at the hands of Morgan, but it was truly refreshing and empowering to see her grow into her own power. I enjoyed her as a fleshed out protagonist and the people she chose to place her trust in. I found the empowerment of women to be masterfully woven into this setting of formal courts and malign kings without making it into something overly feminist and unbelievable for the time period in which the story takes place.

Looking forward to reading the follow-up!

★★★★+

Part of this rating is definitely due to the voice actress on this book, if this was a physical I don't think I would have finished it at all. It's a solid set up for Morgan La Fey as we know her, allows us to see us to grow and the writing is beautiful at times. Morgan's friendship and the relationship with Arthur (which we see coming down to the very end), even her lil budding romance, are some of the highlights to this book.

However, if one was looking for magic and action, this most definitely is not the book for you. So while it was not a BAD book, I genuinely don't see myself going out of my way to recommend it to anyone. I would go on to the second book (out of the hope that she and Arthur become siblings that don't play about each other) as I do adore the Alice's and Morgan's friendship. 

You know what, somehow I feel like the contents of this book could have been cut short but at the same time.... It was needed in the plot idk. Anyway the voice acting was wonderful and added to much, 10/10 would recommend. 

If you’re a fan of Circe, and similarly female centered retellings, you’ll enjoy Morgan is My Name. The pacing ebbs and flows, but the strong characterization kept me reading through. Loved her fierceness and the community she built for herself, very excited for the next iteration of the trilogy!