Paula Lafferty
At a glance
Outlander-meets-The Princess Bride plus Camelot in a fresh, big-hearted, feminist, timeslip adventure reimagining the epic saga of King Arthur, as told from the perspective of his spunky and surprising queen, Vera – complete with time travel and good running shoes!
Vera always knew she didn’t fit in. When she learns that she is meant to be in another time, she leaps at the chance to embrace a new life in a world of valor, intrigue, and unexpected magic in this bold and romantic retelling of Arthurian legend…
22-year-old Vera is at a crossroads: waiting tables, grieving her previous relationship, and jogging aimlessly each morning as if toward an uncertain future. Then an odd man shows up at her workplace, insisting that she was once the legendary Queen Guinevere of Camelot, and that her lost memories hold the key to changing both the past and the present. Somehow, it all feels like the direction she’s been looking for. But when she asks the mysterious man to tell her more about Lancelot, Arthur, and a faithless queen, he can only say that much of what she’s heard about Camelot is wrong. The truth, he claims, is something she must see for herself.
After jumping through a portal in Glastonbury’s historic center, Vera is not prepared for what she finds. Magic is everywhere, but a curse on the kingdom means it dwindles every day. She has no idea how to perform a queen’s duties. Her fast friendship with Lancelot sets gossip flowing, and the stranger she must call “husband” often refuses to meet her eye. Arthur is a puzzle: cold, forbidding, and, while angry to her face, keeps leaving secret tokens of tenderness in her chambers. Worst of all, Vera’s memories—and the answers locked within them—show no signs of returning. If Vera is truly destined to save Camelot, she’ll have to trust her instincts. And her king will have to trust her…
"The fresh takes on legendary characters and propulsive plot twists make this a page-turner . . . Original and fascinating."
- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW 🌟
"Paula Lafferty crafts a unique and deeply romantic take on Arthurian legend with a modern twist. The Once and Future Queen brings readers along on an empowering, whimsical adventure into the mythical and magical past, through the courts of King Arthur and the beauty of the English landscape, with the relatable Vera as their guide."
- Marielle Thompson, author of The Last Witch in Edinburgh
"If you’re interested in an immersive Arthurian retelling that blends the elements that you already know with magic, time travel, yearning and a fair amount of action, consider picking up this novel.”
- BookTrib
To the best of her knowledge, Vera was twenty-two years old. And by the time she finished tying the laces of her running trainers on this early October morning, she had ten hours and fourteen minutes remaining of the life she knew in a little town called Glastonbury in the southwest of England.
Glastonbury’s highest buildings topped out at three stories. And still, when the air was just right, wind whipped down the High Street as if in a tunnel. You could almost smell that something there was not simply ancient but sacred. Many tourists have driven near to Glastonbury with the aim of passing by, but were drawn in. All it took was coming close enough to town to see the Tor, the mystical hill that rises above the landscape with its singular stone tower just ruins, really perched at the peak.
A passerby aims to pass by, sees the Tor, is drawn in, goes home, and says to the people they love the most, “You have to come and see it, too.” And so, pilgrimages to this place began some 10,000 years ago. To even the slightly attuned spirit, Glastonbury positively hums with sacred energy, a mystery never to be solved and always held like a breath of anticipation.
The only poor soul who would say in skeptical disbelief, “A hill? You want me to come see…. a hill?” simply hasn’t seen it yet or, bless them…
It’s time slip romance meets secret royalty meets feminist adventure novel: The Once and Future Queen is a whole platter of delicious tropes for us to feast upon. Add in top-notch world-building and a series of charming metafictional tidbits—for example, did you know that Arthur’s knights opted to sit at a round table only after a modern woman-turned-Medieval queen taught them to play poker? Read on for more fun facts about Arthurian lore, turning what you thought you knew about the classic legend completely on its head.
Enter Vera: she’s a normal, everyday gal, living her normal, everyday life, when all of a sudden she’s confronted with the rudest of awakenings: Merlin (yes, that Merlin) bursts into her parents’ quaint small-town bed & breakfast to tell her that she was not, in fact, born twenty-two years ago as she previously believed, but rather in the year 612 AD. Oh, and her nickname, Vera? It’s not just a reference to Guinevere,the famed queen of Camelot. No—she is that queen.
Now, Vera must draw on all her pent-up main character energy, unused through her lifetime of humdrum irrelevance, to save Camelot from its horrible curse— magic is drying up across the land, and only Vera has the power to reverse it. What ensues is a fast-paced adventure novel and slow burn love story in one, perfect for fans of sweeping fantasy romance, Medieval settings, and fresh retellings of old classics.
Attempted sexual assault.
