A Throne of Swans is a bewitching novel that I devoured within a couple of days. I loved the authors’ note at the beginning of the novel telling of how Swan Lake was the perfect starting point for a story. Whilst I would not say this novel bears much resemblance to the story of Swan Lake, other than the fact the characters can shapeshift into swans, I still loved the bird like references which are peppered throughout this tale.
The main character Aderyn was strong enough the carry the narrative and we really get to see her grow stronger both physically and mentally during her time at Court. The traumatic reasons for her not being able to shapeshift are explored in sensitive detail. Along with her companion Lucian, a lot of the political aspects of the novel are carefully crafted so that they appear interesting and gripping rather than convoluted.
Towards the end, I would have liked the storyline to reveal more about the Raptor Wars; they are frequently mentioned to drive some characters’ motivations, however to me the events surrounding the wars and how they have affected the House of Cygnus seem slightly woolly. I’m hopeful that this will be explored in more depth in the sequel.
On the whole, this novel had many things I enjoy from the fantasy genre: shapeshifting, a (sort-of) love triangle, dragons make a brief appearance for good measure, some mystery and intrigue, a bit of treachery and a lot of birds!
The main character Aderyn was strong enough the carry the narrative and we really get to see her grow stronger both physically and mentally during her time at Court. The traumatic reasons for her not being able to shapeshift are explored in sensitive detail. Along with her companion Lucian, a lot of the political aspects of the novel are carefully crafted so that they appear interesting and gripping rather than convoluted.
Towards the end, I would have liked the storyline to reveal more about the Raptor Wars; they are frequently mentioned to drive some characters’ motivations, however to me the events surrounding the wars and how they have affected the House of Cygnus seem slightly woolly. I’m hopeful that this will be explored in more depth in the sequel.
On the whole, this novel had many things I enjoy from the fantasy genre: shapeshifting, a (sort-of) love triangle, dragons make a brief appearance for good measure, some mystery and intrigue, a bit of treachery and a lot of birds!