An Interesting Story Of Courtly Intrigue, Shapeshifting Magic And Brutal Betrayals
Actual Rating: 4.5
‘”If wishes were feathers... that’s what my mother used to say. “If wishes were feathers, the flightless would fly.”’
Firstly I want to thank Readers First for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and apologize for how late it is. This hasn’t affected my opinions in any way.
After failing to read this book for quite some time (I was in a bit of a slump and consequently put it off as I didn’t want my mood to negatively impact on my reading experience) I’m honestly kicking myself and can not wait to get my hands on the second book in the series. Honestly I adored this story and am quite surprised that I haven’t seen it mentioned more often.
If you’ve enjoyed books like A Throne Of Glass and Holly Black’s Elfhame novels then I think there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy this book too. They have a similar overall feel to each other with their mix of courtly settings, high stakes, danger, elements of magic and heapings of betrayal. The main characters of this book, and those, do differ as Aderyn is less brutal yet the book itself definitely has its fair share of dark and gory moments. Some of the places that it went left me speechless and I still can’t quite wrap my head around one of the twists involved. It kind of surprises me that a YA book went there.
On the whole I would say that this book had a slightly lighter writing style than the others that I’ve mentioned. I don’t mean in terms of content but instead about the narrative style itself. A huge amount happened for the length of the book and it didn’t always go as in depth into certain elements as some fantasy novels do. Although I’m not saying this as a criticism as I thoroughly enjoyed the novel; truthfully I think this ‘lighter’ style may even appeal to some readers more so as I know that there are those out there who find big books daunting. I enjoyed how swift moving the book consequently felt and it still had some truly beautiful, descriptive writing throughout. Although I also would have quite happily devoured this novel at double the size too.
The characters were interesting and varied from one another greatly. The villains were truly despicable at times and I can’t wait to see what on earth some of them do next. Aderyn was a determined central character with a complex family history and those around her intrigued me too. I can’t wait to see who does what in the next novel and learn more about the characters and this fascinating world.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed ‘A Throne Of Swans’ and can’t wait to go and get my hands on a copy of the second book in the series. It’s the sort of dark fantasy novel that I adore with intense betrayal, intriguing magic and courtly tensions. If you haven’t read it yet then I strongly advise checking it out as it was a truly enchanting read.
‘”If wishes were feathers... that’s what my mother used to say. “If wishes were feathers, the flightless would fly.”’
Firstly I want to thank Readers First for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and apologize for how late it is. This hasn’t affected my opinions in any way.
After failing to read this book for quite some time (I was in a bit of a slump and consequently put it off as I didn’t want my mood to negatively impact on my reading experience) I’m honestly kicking myself and can not wait to get my hands on the second book in the series. Honestly I adored this story and am quite surprised that I haven’t seen it mentioned more often.
If you’ve enjoyed books like A Throne Of Glass and Holly Black’s Elfhame novels then I think there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy this book too. They have a similar overall feel to each other with their mix of courtly settings, high stakes, danger, elements of magic and heapings of betrayal. The main characters of this book, and those, do differ as Aderyn is less brutal yet the book itself definitely has its fair share of dark and gory moments. Some of the places that it went left me speechless and I still can’t quite wrap my head around one of the twists involved. It kind of surprises me that a YA book went there.
On the whole I would say that this book had a slightly lighter writing style than the others that I’ve mentioned. I don’t mean in terms of content but instead about the narrative style itself. A huge amount happened for the length of the book and it didn’t always go as in depth into certain elements as some fantasy novels do. Although I’m not saying this as a criticism as I thoroughly enjoyed the novel; truthfully I think this ‘lighter’ style may even appeal to some readers more so as I know that there are those out there who find big books daunting. I enjoyed how swift moving the book consequently felt and it still had some truly beautiful, descriptive writing throughout. Although I also would have quite happily devoured this novel at double the size too.
The characters were interesting and varied from one another greatly. The villains were truly despicable at times and I can’t wait to see what on earth some of them do next. Aderyn was a determined central character with a complex family history and those around her intrigued me too. I can’t wait to see who does what in the next novel and learn more about the characters and this fascinating world.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed ‘A Throne Of Swans’ and can’t wait to go and get my hands on a copy of the second book in the series. It’s the sort of dark fantasy novel that I adore with intense betrayal, intriguing magic and courtly tensions. If you haven’t read it yet then I strongly advise checking it out as it was a truly enchanting read.