The day is finally here! One of my most anticipated YA contemporary novels is officially out in the wild! And I'm so excited to be a part of the blog tour. Because, duh, The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly is a total gem.

The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly

by Jamie Pacton
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: May 5th 2020

The general feeling of this novel is smile inducing levels of energetic. Part of me wanted to follow the plotline as closely as I could in terms of songs that connect to it. The other part of me couldn't shake the buzzing feeling that came with The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly. It was like watching a coming of age film, soundtrack and all, and the majority of the time I could hear the supposed soundtrack flickering into scenes.

Naturally, I took a hold of this feeling and tried to capture it--sans spoilers--in a way that feels real. [Edit] There's some sort of error in how I post my Spotify playlists; until that gets sorted, you can listen to it here.

 
As always, a copy of this book was provided by the authors in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. 

Wow, this was such a fun read! The perfect form of escapism. I'll admit, I was equally excited and nervous for this one. I had such high hopes and, for a moment, I was concerned that I might be overly hyping it up in my mind. And we all know how much of a letdown that would be. Thankfully, The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly was exactly what I wanted it to be--which is everything.

To say I was obsessed with The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly would be an underestimating it.

For a couple of days, in between reading The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly, and life, all anyone heard from me--while I was reading--was, "Oh. My. God. This novel is so fun." And I'm pretty sure I've single-handedly worn out everyone about this book. (Which happens fairly often, if we're being honest, but there is something about this book that made me flail around extra hard.)

First of all, can Jamie Pacton write all the feminist rom-coms from this moment forth? Is that too demanding? I'm sorry, but *grabby hands* I need it. Her writing is so lively and witty and easy to slip into. Not to mention the fact that this was Pacton's YA debut, which makes the story all the more impressive in and of itself. The Life and (Medieval) Times is one of those novels that charms you instantly and, even in all its charm and wit, the topics tackled within its pages vary and tide into more serious ones.

I've always said this about contemporary novels (whether they are young adult, new adult or just adult fiction) but in order for them to work, for me, the stories need to add layers to it.

Create a balance. Have fluffy moments. Have heartfelt moments. Laugh-out-loud moments. I don't want to always strictly love or hate the characters--I want them to feel real. Complex. Alive. Sprinkle in a little angst and emotion and real life colours, and boom. You've hooked me. The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly is one of the rare few that manages to do-so.

Not only is Pacton's writing easy to slip into, it's funny and she has a serious heart to the way she develops these characters. The Life and (Medieval) Times works so well because of how balanced everything is to the central storylines. It makes reading it fast, easy and highly entertaining. In these uncertain times, we need more books like this one--they take us out of our days and coax a grin or two from us. 

What I liked most about this novel is how humorous, yet utterly honest, it was. There were times when I really didn't like certain characters. There were times when I really loved certain characters. It was, at the end of the day, one of the most fun debuts of the year! 


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Jamie Pacton writes all sorts of books: dark, feminist YA fantasy; contemporary YA stories with a funny + geeky bent; funny MG adventure-fantasy; and, even the occasional adult rom-com. She was a Pitch Wars mentee in 2015 and she mentored YA in 2016, 2017, and 2018. She grew up minutes away from the National Storytelling Center in the mountains of East Tennessee; she’s the oldest of ten kids; and, she currently lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband, their two kids, and a dog named Lego. The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly (forthcoming May 5, 2020) is her Young Adult debut.