abrswf's review
4.0
Another great installment in the Poldark saga. One star off for Demelza’s mystifying behavior.
nelli_lakatos's review
1.0
dnf'd at 58%
I was reading this book from 11 days, today I read from this book 2 pages and I feel like I can't do more. I was getting bored while reading it and after I put down I just don't want to pick the book up again.
I really enjoyed the first four book in this series but unfortunately I didn't like the last and this one either.
I really liked the tv series based on these books but I don't think I'm gonna countuine reading the book series.
I was reading this book from 11 days, today I read from this book 2 pages and I feel like I can't do more. I was getting bored while reading it and after I put down I just don't want to pick the book up again.
I really enjoyed the first four book in this series but unfortunately I didn't like the last and this one either.
I really liked the tv series based on these books but I don't think I'm gonna countuine reading the book series.
knp4597's review against another edition
3.0
Struggling with the dark turn this series has taken. All the reviews I'm reading with women gushing how "romantic" it is - seriously?? You're okay with the main character being a rapist and now the local vicar not only being a rapist but a pervert and child molester?? Huh. I suspect you also gobbled up the Fifty Shades trilogy as 'literature' and went in droves to see the smutty film adaptation 🤦♀️
candelibri's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
_annie's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
diana_eveline's review
2.0
“Love is not a possession to hoard. You give it away. It's a blessing and a balm."
I really did not enjoy this part and I will do my best to explain why. To start off with the quote I chose to list above my review, it is (in its essense) true. It is wrong to hoard love and you should be generous with your consideration. However, that doesn't warrant someone cheating... That brings me to Hugh and Demelza. I struggled about as much with her decisions as she did after the whole ordeal. She has already had her vengeance on Ross' adventure with Elizabeth, when she made a move on Captain McNeill. I find her decision to let this thing with Hugh go on (for far too long) a terrible one. She does suffer it herself as well so there is some justice in that.
And then there is the fact that Rowella is fifteen... FIFTEEN!! I was cringing when I read the whole ordeal between her and Ozzie. It was bad in the series but this was so much worse. I was disgusted and almost shut the book entirely. What kept me going? Sam and Emma were surprisingly less boring than in the series and Dwight and Caroline provided just enough interesting dialogue to keep me going. Caroline is such a wonderful character, I would much rather have her be the main character.
The book was also incredibly slow, unnecessarily so at times. I don't mind exposition but I do strongly dislike pointless exposition. I will keep going, I think, but I am taking a break. At least Ross has mellowed out from his downright disgusting behaviour in the last book.
I really did not enjoy this part and I will do my best to explain why. To start off with the quote I chose to list above my review, it is (in its essense) true. It is wrong to hoard love and you should be generous with your consideration. However, that doesn't warrant someone cheating... That brings me to Hugh and Demelza. I struggled about as much with her decisions as she did after the whole ordeal. She has already had her vengeance on Ross' adventure with Elizabeth, when she made a move on Captain McNeill. I find her decision to let this thing with Hugh go on (for far too long) a terrible one. She does suffer it herself as well so there is some justice in that.
And then there is the fact that Rowella is fifteen... FIFTEEN!! I was cringing when I read the whole ordeal between her and Ozzie. It was bad in the series but this was so much worse. I was disgusted and almost shut the book entirely. What kept me going? Sam and Emma were surprisingly less boring than in the series and Dwight and Caroline provided just enough interesting dialogue to keep me going. Caroline is such a wonderful character, I would much rather have her be the main character.
The book was also incredibly slow, unnecessarily so at times. I don't mind exposition but I do strongly dislike pointless exposition. I will keep going, I think, but I am taking a break. At least Ross has mellowed out from his downright disgusting behaviour in the last book.
kritterbird's review against another edition
3.0
This had been my least favorite in this series so far....I had a hard time absorbing all the political stuff...I also didn't like the direction that some of the characters took.
lillygabriella's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is full of feelz. Be prepared to cry and be prepared for pain. For all that, it is still a good book. Longest one I have read in quite some time.
letsreadwithcats's review
5.0
These books are so good! I think I did like The Black Moon slightly better than the Four Swans, but they are both pretty amazing. Winston Graham paints such nuanced portraits of people. His characters are so complex. They go through ups and downs of likability. After being sooo stupid for a couple books, I was back to liking Ross. The usually likable Demelza was beyond frustrating, I actually hated her a little bit in this book. After being horrible in the Black Moon, a stronger, more sympathetic Elizabeth is back. She and Ross finally get the scene/conversation that I've been waiting for since the end of Warleggan. I actually like Elizabeth's character and I feel like the Poldark fandom is, as a whole, unfairly harsh on her. Basically the motives that move people to act in certain ways do not always make sense.
Essentially the "four swans" of the title reference four women: Demelza, Elizabeth, Caroline, and Morwenna. But on another level, this book is a portrait of four floundering marriages: Ross and Demelza, George and Elizabeth, Dwight and Caroline, and (least surprisingly) Whitworth and Morwenna. They are all struggling for different reasons, some much more obvious than others. In traditional Poldark fashion, this book ended on a cliffhanger. The series is really more one long, continuous book than complete, separate stories.
Spoiler
So much about her affair was so annoying to me. I did not get the Hugh Armitage appeal at all. I guess there was a lot of physical attraction. But seriously, he was so pushy. He kept on insisting on his so called 'love' even after Demelza kept telling him she was happily married. Yeah, you know what screams true love, pestering someone into an affair and ruining their marriage. So selfless. I hated him so much and was glad when he died. Seriously. And Demelza was so passive and even ambivalent about the affair. She doesn't even feel guilty after she has sex with him! And then she has the gall to cry on Ross's shoulder once Hugh dies. It's probably not fair, but I did think her affair was "worse" than Ross's, maybe because of how she reacted to everything. I just can't even.Essentially the "four swans" of the title reference four women: Demelza, Elizabeth, Caroline, and Morwenna. But on another level, this book is a portrait of four floundering marriages: Ross and Demelza, George and Elizabeth, Dwight and Caroline, and (least surprisingly) Whitworth and Morwenna. They are all struggling for different reasons, some much more obvious than others. In traditional Poldark fashion, this book ended on a cliffhanger. The series is really more one long, continuous book than complete, separate stories.