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kaitykat's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my gosh, this was so good!!! I haven’t read a fantasy like this maybe all year? It was so fun getting back into this genre. I loved the world-building in the book and the shifting magic and summoning of light and darkness was so cool. The entire book was exciting, never a dull moment! The ending had me completely shocked!!
thepandabear_25's review against another edition
1.0
So slow that it is almost painful to the reader.
ashnreads's review against another edition
3.0
There wasn't anything really different about this book that set it apart from all of the other fantasies out right now. I know it's Swan Lake inspired, but I know zilch about Swan Lake, and I still found it to be wholly predictable.
And don't even get me started on the insta-love.
The one shining star for me with this book is actually Lorcan. If I decide to pick up the next book, it will be for more of him.
thefriendlybibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
So in order to not have spoilers, this is going to be short. I love the book, the characters, and the plot didn't disappoint after the Defy trilogy. However, the end killed me and intrigued me at the same time. Can't wait for the next book to come out!!
laceanddaggerbooks's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable enough book with a really interesting magical system. I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would though. I'll still read the second book as I'm curious as to how it'll wrap up but yeah.
amberboston's review against another edition
4.0
This took a little while to get into because there was no world building, the story just throws you into the world and story. But after I figured out what was going on I enjoyed the story. However I didn't connect with the love story at all.
keptdaily's review against another edition
2.0
Childishly simple character and plot development. Everything about this feels rushed.
mclizzy6710's review against another edition
2.0
I'm listening to this book thinking I have it confused with something else but no she doesn't become a swan until the end. WTF lol this book didn't hold my interest to want to get into book two. Dud for me
crayolabird's review against another edition
3.0
Princess Evelayn has come of age in a time of war. With the plotting King Bain of the Dark kingdom pushing ever closer, now that she has turned 18 and has access to her full power, she knows that her ability to wield the power of light could mean life or death for both her and her people. With the help of the handsome Lord Tanvir and, hopefully soon (if she can just make it happen!), her ability to shapeshift into a swan, Evelayn can't help but hope that peace in her lifetime could be a real reality.
I got a bit frustrated from the start because some of the details in this story are so like those in my beloved Girl of Fire and Thorn series, that I felt a little frustrated at the beginning. There's also very little world building - we get a tiny bit of backstory but where does the idea of "Draiolon" come from? That's the name for the race of Evelayn's people but I never figured out if there are people in that land that AREN'T Drailon? Does everyone have either light or dark powers? I like the idea of having different kinds of magic but it wasn't explained particularly well. Also, sometimes there was just too much sharing about how people looked. To tell me once, maybe three times that someone has lavender-streaked hair or dark eyes or copper skin is fine. But to mention it every time they look at your or walk in the room? It started feeling repetitive to me. Ugg. I also sorted hated that the "dark" powered people had dark skin and the "light" people had light skin. Wouldn't it have been intriguing if it had been swapped?
It sounds like I hated it and I actually didn't. There are enough elements to the "Swan Lake" story that are different that I didn't always know what was going to happen, and I liked that. While we jump around from point of view to view a lot, I also liked being able to see the story from the various characters. I just had to suspend my disbelief more than I like to and while I care enough to listen to the sequel, three stars feels like as much I can can give it.
I got a bit frustrated from the start because some of the details in this story are so like those in my beloved Girl of Fire and Thorn series, that I felt a little frustrated at the beginning. There's also very little world building - we get a tiny bit of backstory but where does the idea of "Draiolon" come from? That's the name for the race of Evelayn's people but I never figured out if there are people in that land that AREN'T Drailon? Does everyone have either light or dark powers? I like the idea of having different kinds of magic but it wasn't explained particularly well. Also, sometimes there was just too much sharing about how people looked. To tell me once, maybe three times that someone has lavender-streaked hair or dark eyes or copper skin is fine. But to mention it every time they look at your or walk in the room? It started feeling repetitive to me. Ugg. I also sorted hated that the "dark" powered people had dark skin and the "light" people had light skin. Wouldn't it have been intriguing if it had been swapped?
It sounds like I hated it and I actually didn't. There are enough elements to the "Swan Lake" story that are different that I didn't always know what was going to happen, and I liked that. While we jump around from point of view to view a lot, I also liked being able to see the story from the various characters. I just had to suspend my disbelief more than I like to and while I care enough to listen to the sequel, three stars feels like as much I can can give it.