Back of Book: 

The legend of King Arthur lives on... in her. 

Ari Helix has been running her whole life. A fugitive refugee in the territory controlled by the tyrannical Mercer Corporation, she's always had to hide who she was. Until now. When Ari crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls a magic sword from its ancient resting place, she is revealed to ne the forty-second reincarnation of King Arthur. 

The wizard Merlin has been waiting for centuries for a king who can break the curse that's aged him backward into a teenager. He's trained dozens of Arthurs over the centuries, but never a girl. Could Ari finally be the one? 

Ari wants nothing to do with Merlin's talk of quests and knights and dragons. She just wants to use her new power to find a way home. But the Mercer Corporation has been hiding a terrible, world-destroying secret—and it will do anything to stop her from discovering the truth. 

My name is Ari Helix. I have a magic sword, a cranky wizard, and a revolution to start.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Young Adult | Science Fiction | Dystopia | Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQIA+

Review:  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

A queer, genderbent retelling of King Arthur set in space! 

Ari and her brother, Kay, have been on the run from the tyrannical Mercer corporation for quite some time now. Desperate to escape from their pursuers, the two find themselves on Old Earth. On the long-abandoned planet, Ari pulls a mysterious sword from the stone. Not long after, she meets a young redhead who proclaims that he is The Merlin, and that she is actually the 42nd reincarnation of the great King Arthur. He seems to believe that she is destined to save the universe, but she's more concerned with rescuing her moms from Mercer's evil clutches. But who says that the two's goals can't align with one another? 

I've been in a bit of a rough reading patch, so I'm ecstatic that this book pulled through! I am usually a huge fan of King Arthur retellings, so I was excited to find myself in possession of this sci-fi remix of the classic tale. Set in a futuristic queernormative universe in which King Arthur is actually a young pansexual girl and Merlin is a seventeen-year-old who is aging backwards, I was hooked from the very start of this unique novel. This book definitely has a niche type of humor, but it worked well for me. 

I found myself liking Ari and Merlin from the get-go. Ari is a snarky, impulsive young girl and I couldn't help but smile at her carefree attitude and her willingness to take things into her own hands. Merlin is an awkward teenager who was blasted from the past and is now trying to catch up with what is normal. The fact that his magic is music based like in the Disney movie is quite funny, though it was a bit eccentric at times (Merlin singing Katy Perry is truly an image I never thought I'd have). My heart also really goes out to this version of Merlin. Not only does he have to worry about aging backwards and trying to grapple with a futuristic society, he also has had to deal with the pain of losing forty-one versions of his beloved Arthur. I can't imagine living through all that heartbreak. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of both our protagonists and was satisfied no matter the perspective I was in. It isn't always the case that I like them equally, so this was a plus. 

The queernormative nature of this futuristic universe is so refreshing. Among the main found family, one is pansexual, several are gay, one is bi, one is nonbinary, one is asexual, and I'm sure I'm missing a few off the top of my head. Things such as genderfluidity, having two moms, and passionate make-out sessions between people of the same sex happened without anyone batting an eye. I can't wait until we actually hit this point in our society. For now, I'll just be refreshed by these fictional worlds that showcase my dreams for someday. 

This book is also rather fast-paced, which had me wanting to keep turning the pages. Honestly, I expected the book to end on like three different occasions; there are so many mini climaxes in this book, which made the last third so easy to plow through. The ending of this book sets up for book two, but if the author's would have cut this book at a certain point, it would have made for a great stand alone. We'll have to see where my opinions lie when I finish the second book. 

Despite this book's lighthearted nature, it does tackle many serious topics. Racism, corrupt government intervention, capitalism, colonialism, and many other such topics are explored in this book, which I think balanced the humor nicely. I know that this isn't the most popular opinion, but it worked awesomely for me. 

The way that this book retells the King Arthur mythos is also quite unique. Essentially, Merlin, Morgana, Arthur, Gweneviere and the Knights of the Round Table are stuck in this cyclical cycle where they all come back again and again until they unite humanity once and for all. This causes Merlin to be very paranoid about Ari falling in love with Gweneviere and Lancelot breaking her heart and other such things that happen in the original story. I think this added a bit more urgency to this book, as well as another layer of humor. As per usual, no one really knows which side Morgana is on, and the Lady of the Lake is helpful when she wants to be (which is practically never). I love seeing different people's take on these beloved characters, and I feel that Capetta and McCarthy did something really interesting and unique with this classic myth. 

Also, the romance subplots in this book are beautiful, yet heartbreaking. I'm hoping that things work out for everyone in the end, but I fear for these character's happiness. Please let them be happy!

Overall, I really enjoyed "Once & Future" and its unique take on the King Arthur mythos. I love the queernormative universe, the humorous writing style, as well as the original take on iconic characters (as per usual, Merlin is my favorite). I found myself rooting for Ari, Merlin, and the rest of the gang as they fought against the corrupt corporation that controls their world. I think this book could have been a great stand alone, but I am intrigued by the ending that the authors set up. The sequel will certainly be different than this one, but we'll see if it holds up to the precedent that the first book set. 

Back of Book: 

In this epic sequel to Once & Future, to save the future, Ari and her Rainbow knights pull off a heist... thousands of years in the past.

Ari Helix may have won her battle against the tyrannical Mercer corporation, but the larger war has just begun. Ari and her cursed wizard Merlin must travel back in time to the unenlightened Middle Ages and steal the King Arthur's Grail—the very definition of impossible.

It's imperative that the time travelers not skew the timeline and alter the course of history. Coming face-to-face with the original Arthurian legend could produce a ripple effect that changes everything. Somehow Merlin forgot that the past can be even more dangerous than the future... 

Book Number: Two (Last Book) 

Genre: Young Adult | Science Fiction | Dystopia | Fantasy | Romance | LGBTQIA+

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Ari, Merlin, and the rest of the gang have jumped back to ancient Camelot and are now faced with trying to avoid breaking the time continuum itself. 

Ari Helix may have been able to stand up to the corrupt Mercer Corporation, but that doesn't mean that her life has gotten easier. In order to save the universe, Ari must go back to the past and steal King Arthur's Grail. Faced with the past versions of Arthur and Merlin, Ari and Merlin are stuck in a nasty situation in which every decision could affect the future as they know it. 

I was a bit hesitant whether this book would be able to stand up to the first book in the series. Though it may not be as good as the first, it is still a very solid addition to Ari and Merlin's story that fills in a ton of blanks and answers questions that I had never even dreamed of thinking up. 

One of the highlights of this book was how far it pushed the ambiguous nature of the King Arthur mythos. Many parts of his story change from version to version, which allowed the authors to really play with how King Arthur's life goes down. Some of my favorite parts were how the Lancelot and Gweneviere arc plays out, the secrets behind Merlin's elusive past, and why the Lady in the Lake is so bitter against everything. I feel that Capetta and McCarthy really took Arthur's story into their own hands and made a really creative narrative that both gives tribute to the original story's greatness as well as completely made it their own. 

Despite there being less space travel in this second installment, this book definitely felt more sci-fi than the first one. The way that this book plays with time travel and the time continuum broke my mind at moments, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't brilliant the whole way through. I love the fact that Merlin is some crazy time wizard and the way that this fact connects into his past as well as the events that go down in "Once & Future." 

The ending to this book was actually much less tragic than I thought it was going to be. This was honestly a huge relief, and it didn't even disappoint me. Some things wrapped up a little quickly, but I was mostly satisfied with the events that occurred in the last few chapters in this book. And hey, I'm just glad they gave us all the dirt on Merlin's patchy memories and his unexplained past. Also, Ari and Gwen even get the happily ever after they deserve (despite some of the odd things that they are stuck to live with forever), so that was a huge relief! 

Overall, "The Sword in the Stars" was a great conclusion to this wonderful duology that retells the myth of King Arthur in a fun space opera with plenty of time travel shenanigans. I really came to care about Ari, Merlin, Gwen, and the rest of the gang in this series, and I am glad that most of them got the happy endings they deserve. The humorous writing, the queernormative universe, and the crazy time travel elements are some of my favorite parts of this series. I really enjoyed these books, so I am really curious to see what else these two have written and if I would like their other work just as much.