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mdesr089's review against another edition
3.0
Quick read. Interesting story.
I remember liking this book more as a teenager.
I remember liking this book more as a teenager.
chanizzle's review against another edition
3.0
It's hard for me to review this book because I really love [b:Daughter of the Forest|13928|Daughter of the Forest (Sevenwaters, #1)|Juliet Marillier|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316129537s/13928.jpg|1897725] by Juliet Marillier and both of these books are based loosely on the same fairy tale story.
I liked the characters and storyline but I feel like I didn't really get a chance to know them as much as I would have liked - so it would have been nice if the book was a bit longer and able to be more in depth into the world (ie more about the 'powers' Alexa has).
It's a good book - but I was a little disappointed. And maybe I was just expecting another Daughter of the Forest, and they are so different.
I liked the characters and storyline but I feel like I didn't really get a chance to know them as much as I would have liked - so it would have been nice if the book was a bit longer and able to be more in depth into the world (ie more about the 'powers' Alexa has
Spoiler
- it hints that she is very powerful and in the end she is able to get rid of the evil sorceress but we don't really know how she was able to do this. There was really no struggle for her to learn and master the 'powers' before she suddenly knew exactly how to free her brothersIt's a good book - but I was a little disappointed. And maybe I was just expecting another Daughter of the Forest, and they are so different.
lybrarie's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The Wild Swans is my favourite fairytale, so any chance I get to read it I am going to enjoy it to some extend. Unfortunately, for this retelling, that's about as far as my enjoyment went.
As a retelling, The Swan Kingdom didn't feel particularly inventive. I, personally, like my retellings to have some kind of twist on the story, but that is just a subjective opinion and I can also appreciate the enjoyment of a straight retelling of a fairytale.
I also wasn't really a fan of the pacing. It lingered too long on the bits I wasn't interested in and sped too quickly through the parts I actually wanted to know more about. I think if the plot had focused more on part where the princess with magical powers returns to a ruined kingdom to save its people from their evil ruler it could have been more interesting, but it just felt far too long on everything else. My favourite part of this fairytale is the part wherethe princess is sewing the tunics of nettles for her brothers, but can't say a word during the process despite the pain , and I feel like this book just completely gossed over that, fast-fowarding time.
The writing was also not very good at all. It wasn't unreadable, but it was very basic, with a lot of telling without showing. And there are some things that just felt a lack of editing, like when Alexandra decided she needed a name for her horse, and just deciding on calling her "Mare". It felt more like a placeholder that never got corrected.
But despite everything I didn't like about it, it was short enough that I was able to get through it all without too much trouble. I can understand why people would like this book, especially if it holds a lot of nostalgia. It just wasn't for me.
As a retelling, The Swan Kingdom didn't feel particularly inventive. I, personally, like my retellings to have some kind of twist on the story, but that is just a subjective opinion and I can also appreciate the enjoyment of a straight retelling of a fairytale.
I also wasn't really a fan of the pacing. It lingered too long on the bits I wasn't interested in and sped too quickly through the parts I actually wanted to know more about. I think if the plot had focused more on part where the princess with magical powers returns to a ruined kingdom to save its people from their evil ruler it could have been more interesting, but it just felt far too long on everything else. My favourite part of this fairytale is the part where
The writing was also not very good at all. It wasn't unreadable, but it was very basic, with a lot of telling without showing. And there are some things that just felt a lack of editing, like when Alexandra decided she needed a name for her horse, and just deciding on calling her "Mare". It felt more like a placeholder that never got corrected.
But despite everything I didn't like about it, it was short enough that I was able to get through it all without too much trouble. I can understand why people would like this book, especially if it holds a lot of nostalgia. It just wasn't for me.
samanthacatherine's review
5.0
A beautiful Fairy Tale full of adventure, magic and love.
What is not to like?
I could read it again and again.
I love the moral and the stunning cover.
This book will always be a favourite of mine.
What is not to like?
I could read it again and again.
I love the moral and the stunning cover.
This book will always be a favourite of mine.
its_tara's review against another edition
3.0
One thing I can say about Zoe Marriott is that she knows how to write a Prince-Charming-type character! I enjoyed her writing style whilst reading Daughter of the Flames, and the love interest she created, and since then I’ve been waiting to read more of her stuff.
The Swan Kingdom is loosely based around The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Anderson, but the key word here is loosely. I admit, I’m not over familiar with that particular story, but from what I remember, whilst parallels between this book and the fairy tale can be drawn, there was enough original content to still keep it interesting.
I’ll start with the things that worked for me in this story. As I’ve said, Marriott has a way of building these fantastic, magical worlds with seeming ease, and they’re really easy to slip into as a reader. Secondly, the book is fast-paced. Of course, it’s another fairly short novel, but it means that as a reader there’s not much time spent sitting and waiting for things to happen. The love interest was well done and builds up gradually, especially given the brief time in the book allocated to building the relationship between Gabriel and Alexandra – no instalove here, folks. Also, I do enjoy a good fairy tale retelling, and I’d say this one was pretty good overall.
However, there were a couple of things that bugged me with this book. The first was that sometimes, it seemed like it was trying to hard to be a fairy tale. I know that sounds like a strange complaint, but it goes through phases of using phrases like “to steal into the bedroom” and “slumber”, and yet at other times I didn’t notice this kind of language at all. The other thing was that the character’s main flaw was that she was ugly. Given the build up given to this fact early in the book, I expected it to be more important later in the story, but it really wasn’t. For me, that ended up feeling like a missing factor, almost. Also, the villain. I know Zella is meant to be the evil stepmother type, and she ‘feels’ evil, but there’s no explanation really for the kinds of things she does in The Kingdom – I didn’t feel like that was explained enough. I mean yes, sucking life from the land is evil enough, but I wanted to know about the consequences, really wanted her built up as evil, maybe had some weird secret evil habits… Basically, I’m a stickler for my evil characters being really evil.
This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the book, but there were a few things that bothered me throughout, and in some ways I was glad that the book was as short as it is, and in others I felt like it could have been done in so much more depth, and really worked on character development and all the kind of stuff.
If you enjoy your fairy tale retellings, this one’s a relatively quick read, and fairly enjoyable, though I felt that whilst reading, I was overlooking some flaws.
The Swan Kingdom is loosely based around The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Anderson, but the key word here is loosely. I admit, I’m not over familiar with that particular story, but from what I remember, whilst parallels between this book and the fairy tale can be drawn, there was enough original content to still keep it interesting.
I’ll start with the things that worked for me in this story. As I’ve said, Marriott has a way of building these fantastic, magical worlds with seeming ease, and they’re really easy to slip into as a reader. Secondly, the book is fast-paced. Of course, it’s another fairly short novel, but it means that as a reader there’s not much time spent sitting and waiting for things to happen. The love interest was well done and builds up gradually, especially given the brief time in the book allocated to building the relationship between Gabriel and Alexandra – no instalove here, folks. Also, I do enjoy a good fairy tale retelling, and I’d say this one was pretty good overall.
However, there were a couple of things that bugged me with this book. The first was that sometimes, it seemed like it was trying to hard to be a fairy tale. I know that sounds like a strange complaint, but it goes through phases of using phrases like “to steal into the bedroom” and “slumber”, and yet at other times I didn’t notice this kind of language at all. The other thing was that the character’s main flaw was that she was ugly. Given the build up given to this fact early in the book, I expected it to be more important later in the story, but it really wasn’t. For me, that ended up feeling like a missing factor, almost. Also, the villain. I know Zella is meant to be the evil stepmother type, and she ‘feels’ evil, but there’s no explanation really for the kinds of things she does in The Kingdom – I didn’t feel like that was explained enough. I mean yes, sucking life from the land is evil enough, but I wanted to know about the consequences, really wanted her built up as evil, maybe had some weird secret evil habits… Basically, I’m a stickler for my evil characters being really evil.
This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the book, but there were a few things that bothered me throughout, and in some ways I was glad that the book was as short as it is, and in others I felt like it could have been done in so much more depth, and really worked on character development and all the kind of stuff.
If you enjoy your fairy tale retellings, this one’s a relatively quick read, and fairly enjoyable, though I felt that whilst reading, I was overlooking some flaws.
bak8382's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this one. I enjoy retelling of fairytales.
scribesprite's review against another edition
3.0
It was a good book but I couldn't truly love it. The story line in general was enjoyable. I guess it wasn't what I was expecting. It was expecting adventure, enchantment, disguise, romance, and action. It did have all the other things, just not to the level I'd expected.
The beginning I thought was slow. Alexandra tells us that she is ugly and I think "Alright sounds good it'll give her more depth as a princess." But alas she is just plain and I can't sympathies too much with a just plain princess. I assumed she was supposed to be an ugly duckling among swans but I couldn't see it.
The plot wasn't enticing enough for me. I kept waiting and waiting for Alexandra to get up off her butt and do something. Where was her journey? Where was the adventure? Didn't she want to save her family, her people? The answer is that Alexandra does but doesn't think she can do it. She does do a bit of a journey but it only lasts about one chapter or so. Then it’s just Alexandra trying to make some shirts (I know this sounds strange but there is reasoning behind it).
Other than the fact that Alexandra isn't very assertive for half the book she isn't half bad. She has courage and strength without having much of anyone or anything to hold on to -well maybe Gabriel. I thought the romance was on the better side. Gabriel (good name) is very sweet and kind.
There were redeeming parts in it that I liked. It was good but not a book that I would read again.
The beginning I thought was slow. Alexandra tells us that she is ugly and I think "Alright sounds good it'll give her more depth as a princess." But alas she is just plain and I can't sympathies too much with a just plain princess. I assumed she was supposed to be an ugly duckling among swans but I couldn't see it.
The plot wasn't enticing enough for me. I kept waiting and waiting for Alexandra to get up off her butt and do something. Where was her journey? Where was the adventure? Didn't she want to save her family, her people? The answer is that Alexandra does but doesn't think she can do it. She does do a bit of a journey but it only lasts about one chapter or so. Then it’s just Alexandra trying to make some shirts (I know this sounds strange but there is reasoning behind it).
Other than the fact that Alexandra isn't very assertive for half the book she isn't half bad. She has courage and strength without having much of anyone or anything to hold on to -well maybe Gabriel. I thought the romance was on the better side. Gabriel (good name) is very sweet and kind.
There were redeeming parts in it that I liked. It was good but not a book that I would read again.
danicapage's review against another edition
3.0
Alexandra's mother is a healer and she is following in her mother's place, but when her mother is attacked by a savage animal Alexandra is unable to heal her.
Her mother dies and a terrible magician ensnares her father. She's forced to flee her homeland as her old home crumbles and falls apart.
Alexandra knows she must confront her mother's killer, but is she read to do so?
It was an easy quick read. I enjoyed the book but it wasn't my favorite. I did like the idea behind the story and found it intriquing.
Her mother dies and a terrible magician ensnares her father. She's forced to flee her homeland as her old home crumbles and falls apart.
Alexandra knows she must confront her mother's killer, but is she read to do so?
It was an easy quick read. I enjoyed the book but it wasn't my favorite. I did like the idea behind the story and found it intriquing.
blacksheepdigitalva's review against another edition
4.0
The Swan Kingdom is a beautiful tale about a girl who finds herself and her true power. Alexandra goes on an adventure she never could have dreamt of. She loses her family, but also finds herself and Gabriel in the process. I really liked it. Great book!!