Scan barcode
schizotrashpoet's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was great! I went into it blind thankfully but there could have been more to add to the characters, main and otherwise. But it was a good book!
lizzeebee_literaturely's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
caitybell's review against another edition
5.0
The first thing that caught my eye with this book was the gorgeous cover. The second was the fact it was a Swan Lake / Rumplestiltskin retelling. The Hades and Persephone inspiration was an added bonus. But I was sold. I get so swept up in romances sometimes that it's weeks and weeks before I read another Fantasy book. Sometimes I start to think Fantasy isn't my thing anymore, then I fall upon a book like The Savage and the Swan that reminds me why Fantasy will always be my OG genre. Ella Fields has written a bloody, sensual, ethereal tale and I was obsessed from the first chapter.
The Savage and the Swan is a dual POV, standalone High Fantasy, with an Enemies-to-Lovers romance. It has literally everything I love in a book; it's action-packed, brutal, unforgiving, raw, and wholly unique in its storytelling. Our two MCs, Princess Opal of the sun fae, and King Dade of the blood fae are enemies through and through. Dade has sworn to kill her kind and especially her bloodline ... and he's winning. Opal is forced into a marriage/alliance with the humans in a neighboring kingdom as a last-ditch effort to stave off Dade's ruthless assault on her people. But when their paths cross nothing is as it seems, lines are crossed, hearts are broken, and secrets are revealed, leaving Opal and Dade questioning what they've always believed they were destined for, even as fate demands the impossible from them.
Opal is a strong but bruised individual that is torn this way and that by all the people attempting to use her as a pawn in the ongoing war between the two factions of the fae. She's loyal to a fault and believes the best of most people, and that sometimes leads her wrong. Her whole life is thrown into chaos, a chaos that has been creeping closer and closer over the years as Dade continued to slaughter her people. Once she's in the thick of it she does everything she can to help her kingdom while remaining true to herself. Dade is a flawed individual drowning in grief and a need for vengeance of crimes he wasn't even old enough to remember--but his people call for blood and so he gives it to them under the guise of his own inner turmoil. Together, Opal and Dade fall into one another and finally face the grief neither of them had ever truly healed from.
This book has jumped to my favorite read of the year and I expect it to stay that way. I devoured the book in one day and immediately began a reread the following day. It's spicy, violent, and so very decadent. There were times I thought the pacing was a bit choppy, but the world is so immersive and the characters so engaging I didn't even care. The only reason it's taken me so long to write this review is that I couldn't sit down and put the words down without itching to pick the book up again. Fields has said it was a standalone, and it is that. But there is so much potential for more books set in this world, books that could feature other characters I would love to learn and read more of. Here's hoping one day she does write some sequels!
The Savage and the Swan is a dual POV, standalone High Fantasy, with an Enemies-to-Lovers romance. It has literally everything I love in a book; it's action-packed, brutal, unforgiving, raw, and wholly unique in its storytelling. Our two MCs, Princess Opal of the sun fae, and King Dade of the blood fae are enemies through and through. Dade has sworn to kill her kind and especially her bloodline ... and he's winning. Opal is forced into a marriage/alliance with the humans in a neighboring kingdom as a last-ditch effort to stave off Dade's ruthless assault on her people. But when their paths cross nothing is as it seems, lines are crossed, hearts are broken, and secrets are revealed, leaving Opal and Dade questioning what they've always believed they were destined for, even as fate demands the impossible from them.
Opal is a strong but bruised individual that is torn this way and that by all the people attempting to use her as a pawn in the ongoing war between the two factions of the fae. She's loyal to a fault and believes the best of most people, and that sometimes leads her wrong. Her whole life is thrown into chaos, a chaos that has been creeping closer and closer over the years as Dade continued to slaughter her people. Once she's in the thick of it she does everything she can to help her kingdom while remaining true to herself. Dade is a flawed individual drowning in grief and a need for vengeance of crimes he wasn't even old enough to remember--but his people call for blood and so he gives it to them under the guise of his own inner turmoil. Together, Opal and Dade fall into one another and finally face the grief neither of them had ever truly healed from.
This book has jumped to my favorite read of the year and I expect it to stay that way. I devoured the book in one day and immediately began a reread the following day. It's spicy, violent, and so very decadent. There were times I thought the pacing was a bit choppy, but the world is so immersive and the characters so engaging I didn't even care. The only reason it's taken me so long to write this review is that I couldn't sit down and put the words down without itching to pick the book up again. Fields has said it was a standalone, and it is that. But there is so much potential for more books set in this world, books that could feature other characters I would love to learn and read more of. Here's hoping one day she does write some sequels!
juf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.75
so many references to classic fairy tales, love it
jpmoral1's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sugarnovarex's review against another edition
4.0
Do you like rumpelstiltskin, Romeo and Juliet mixed with some beauty and the beast? This book is for you! I also did enjoy it. It was a good read that probably would have been a 5 star if I didn’t find some of the story either not descriptive enough or just not able to follow, like the fighting scenes.
Fairy fantasy Funtime!
Fairy fantasy Funtime!
khadijareads's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Not quite a 4 star read but close. It really wasn't anything new or special in terms of plot but I liked it nonetheless. This book has been done a disservice with the persephone/hades comparison, if you're hesitating due to that, please don't. It reminded me a lot of swan princess except the H is a villain lmao.
Not quite a 4 star read but close. It really wasn't anything new or special in terms of plot but I liked it nonetheless. This book has been done a disservice with the persephone/hades comparison, if you're hesitating due to that, please don't. It reminded me a lot of swan princess except the H is a villain lmao.
aparajitharf's review against another edition
4.0
Easy read
Good easy read although a bit missing on the storyline. Would make sense if it had a sequel that filled the gaps.
Good easy read although a bit missing on the storyline. Would make sense if it had a sequel that filled the gaps.
theeuphoriczat's review
3.0
This book was a weird one. I did enjoy it, it was quick and easy to read.
The king of wolves is a savage who has killed almost everyone on his path. He is killing because he was taught to kill, for no other reason. That is until he meets Opal who apparently is the only Black swan in a long time. Yes, she can transform into a Swan. I honestly don't know what advantage that gives her but it is what it is. He believes that she is his mate. She agrees to marry him if he stops the war and stops killing her people. I mean she was willing to marry him after she saw him rip her father's heart out of his chest (love, love, love).
Anyways the wedding does not go as planned and he ends up in a cage!
Yeah, like I said it is a bit weird but I quite enjoyed reading it. I read it in one day!
The king of wolves is a savage who has killed almost everyone on his path. He is killing because he was taught to kill, for no other reason. That is until he meets Opal who apparently is the only Black swan in a long time. Yes, she can transform into a Swan. I honestly don't know what advantage that gives her but it is what it is. He believes that she is his mate. She agrees to marry him if he stops the war and stops killing her people. I mean she was willing to marry him after she saw him rip her father's heart out of his chest (love, love, love).
Anyways the wedding does not go as planned and he ends up in a cage!
Yeah, like I said it is a bit weird but I quite enjoyed reading it. I read it in one day!