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guenevol's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger warnings: attempted rape, murder
Lady Delia Raynsford lives with her father and impossible stepmother at Castle Dericott. When her stepmother has a boy, she is worried that Delia's seven brothers will leave him destitute. When Delia's father dies in a suspicious accident, her brothers are all arrested for treason by Sir Geoffrey. This leaves evil stepmother Parnella in charge of Castle Dericott on her young son's behalf.
Delia knows she isn't safe at Castle Dericott and flees. She infiltrates the king's palace as a seamstress, planning to become a lady-in-waiting to the newly married queen. When she sees Sir Geoffrey, Delia avoids him out of hatred. Another soldier offers to help her brothers escape, and Geoffrey warns Delia not to trust the man.
Delia must grapple with who she can trust and the unfairness of the world around her. She matures and believes more in herself as the novel progresses.
The narration is in the third person but jumps between Delia and Geoffrey, with most of the narrative from Delia's perspective. The book is a quick read as it immediately pulls you in and the action takes off running.
Recommended for fans of historical fiction and those who enjoy a clean romance with swashbuckling action.
I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Read the review and get readalikes here: https://guenevol.wixsite.com/novelmaven/post/court-swans
Lady Delia Raynsford lives with her father and impossible stepmother at Castle Dericott. When her stepmother has a boy, she is worried that Delia's seven brothers will leave him destitute. When Delia's father dies in a suspicious accident, her brothers are all arrested for treason by Sir Geoffrey. This leaves evil stepmother Parnella in charge of Castle Dericott on her young son's behalf.
Delia knows she isn't safe at Castle Dericott and flees. She infiltrates the king's palace as a seamstress, planning to become a lady-in-waiting to the newly married queen. When she sees Sir Geoffrey, Delia avoids him out of hatred. Another soldier offers to help her brothers escape, and Geoffrey warns Delia not to trust the man.
Delia must grapple with who she can trust and the unfairness of the world around her. She matures and believes more in herself as the novel progresses.
The narration is in the third person but jumps between Delia and Geoffrey, with most of the narrative from Delia's perspective. The book is a quick read as it immediately pulls you in and the action takes off running.
Recommended for fans of historical fiction and those who enjoy a clean romance with swashbuckling action.
I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Read the review and get readalikes here: https://guenevol.wixsite.com/novelmaven/post/court-swans
inspiretruthblog's review against another edition
3.0
Fairytale meets Historical Fiction with Court of Swans, in a very loosely inspired retelling of the famous fairytale, The Wild Swans. Fast-paced, often rushed, this novel is perfect for young girls, pre-teen/teens, looking for an exhilarating new fantasy to get lost in. While I'll admit that I did enjoy flowing through this novel, I am not Melanie Dickerson’s target audience and will therefore be more critical than most.
Delia Dericott and her seven brothers are reunited after the sudden death of their father. Hated by her stepmother, Delia is comforted to have her beloved brothers home; however, the peace is short-lived because, soon after the funeral, a company of king’s guards arrives to arrest all of her brothers for treason.
Sir Geoffrey is on his first assignment, yet the thrill of doing his duty dissipates upon arriving at the Dericott's palace. Arresting seven brothers for treason, the youngest being no more than ten, sits uneasily with Sir Geoffrey; nevertheless, he has no choice but to obey the king’s orders, no matter how much his conscience protests and the brothers’ beautiful sister demands their release.
Taken to the Tower of London, the Dericott brothers are helpless. With no one to testify in their favor, Delia flees from her stepmother to save her brothers, but what can she do? Will she be able to stop the king from declaring a guilty verdict? Can she hide with the servants to stay close to where they are imprisoned? And, what of the knight who took her brothers away, can he truly be trusted?
Opening the pages of history, Court of Swans takes you back to medieval England; however, readers do not have enough time to be introduced to the setting or characters before being thrown into the conflict surrounding the whole novel. As other reviewers have stated, there was no depth to the storyline, and while the plot held my attention until the end, I felt as though I was reading the middle of a book rather than one from start to finish. Honestly, Court of Swans was very anti-climatic and repetitive. While it seemed that a lot was going on, it all ended as quickly as it began, making it very difficult to connect and feel the protagonists' anguish. Also, it seems as though Delia is handed all the answers rather than going on a quest to search out the truth for herself; instead, the narrative keeps her close to her brothers (who do not have any personality except for Edwin), where she knits them sweaters (which I know is a nod to the fairytale, but doesn’t have the same reaction as Hans Christian Andersen’s telling) and prays through the hopelessness of their predicament.
Those things said, I will end by stating that I did connect to the crisis Delia and her brothers faced since I, too, am going through very similar challenges, though not as dire. The theme of finding joy in the midst of tribulations and crying out to the God of justice while so much injustice is served all spoke to my heart. So, while this novel is not for adults, I closed the book feeling inspired by the hopeful message found within its pages.
Positive content: 4⭐️
Language: 1⭐️
Sexual content: 2⭐️
Violence: 2⭐️
Age: 11+
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a pre-release copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are entirely my own!*
Delia Dericott and her seven brothers are reunited after the sudden death of their father. Hated by her stepmother, Delia is comforted to have her beloved brothers home; however, the peace is short-lived because, soon after the funeral, a company of king’s guards arrives to arrest all of her brothers for treason.
Sir Geoffrey is on his first assignment, yet the thrill of doing his duty dissipates upon arriving at the Dericott's palace. Arresting seven brothers for treason, the youngest being no more than ten, sits uneasily with Sir Geoffrey; nevertheless, he has no choice but to obey the king’s orders, no matter how much his conscience protests and the brothers’ beautiful sister demands their release.
Taken to the Tower of London, the Dericott brothers are helpless. With no one to testify in their favor, Delia flees from her stepmother to save her brothers, but what can she do? Will she be able to stop the king from declaring a guilty verdict? Can she hide with the servants to stay close to where they are imprisoned? And, what of the knight who took her brothers away, can he truly be trusted?
Opening the pages of history, Court of Swans takes you back to medieval England; however, readers do not have enough time to be introduced to the setting or characters before being thrown into the conflict surrounding the whole novel. As other reviewers have stated, there was no depth to the storyline, and while the plot held my attention until the end, I felt as though I was reading the middle of a book rather than one from start to finish. Honestly, Court of Swans was very anti-climatic and repetitive. While it seemed that a lot was going on, it all ended as quickly as it began, making it very difficult to connect and feel the protagonists' anguish. Also, it seems as though Delia is handed all the answers rather than going on a quest to search out the truth for herself; instead, the narrative keeps her close to her brothers (who do not have any personality except for Edwin), where she knits them sweaters (which I know is a nod to the fairytale, but doesn’t have the same reaction as Hans Christian Andersen’s telling) and prays through the hopelessness of their predicament.
Those things said, I will end by stating that I did connect to the crisis Delia and her brothers faced since I, too, am going through very similar challenges, though not as dire. The theme of finding joy in the midst of tribulations and crying out to the God of justice while so much injustice is served all spoke to my heart. So, while this novel is not for adults, I closed the book feeling inspired by the hopeful message found within its pages.
Positive content: 4⭐️
Language: 1⭐️
Sexual content: 2⭐️
Violence: 2⭐️
Age: 11+
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a pre-release copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are entirely my own!*
cpogon's review against another edition
3.0
Melanie Dickerson is REALLY adept at romance fiction that is clean and safe for young readers while also featuring swoony heroes and adventure.
Court of Swans was a very easy read in that the writing was simple (not in a bad way) and geared toward a younger audience. I found the beginning to be great at hooking me in and making me want to read more. The story, as a whole, was exactly what I picture in my mind when I think of wholesome fairy tales.
The only bit that made it difficult to read was a need to suspend belief at times. However, I feel like that's on par for the genre.
This is a bit of a "Christian" or "Inspirational" read as it features ideas of faith and God.
All-in-all a decent read that kept me engaged.
Court of Swans was a very easy read in that the writing was simple (not in a bad way) and geared toward a younger audience. I found the beginning to be great at hooking me in and making me want to read more. The story, as a whole, was exactly what I picture in my mind when I think of wholesome fairy tales.
The only bit that made it difficult to read was a need to suspend belief at times. However, I feel like that's on par for the genre.
This is a bit of a "Christian" or "Inspirational" read as it features ideas of faith and God.
All-in-all a decent read that kept me engaged.
dlarain's review against another edition
2.0
This was frustratingly bland as a book. There was very little character development and the storyline was utterly predictable. It very much took an old myth/fairytale and retold it as a young adult romance story with little creative alteration to the heart of the myth. Overall, it just really seemed like lazy writing to me; the entire story was too fast and not fleshed out in detail. I would have liked the whole thing much more if we had just been able to sit with events a little longer and not just jump (seemingly randomly) from important event to important event in the span of mere paragraphs. Disappointing
meaganjohnson's review against another edition
1.0
Incredibly easy and boring read. From the very beginning you could tell how the story was going to play out. Extremely predictable. While it was a type of historical fiction it honestly sucked rocks. The characters were all cookie cutter characters. All from the same mold and showed no growth at all throughout the book. Honestly I would not recommend this book to anyone. Waste of time. Not worth it. Especially since I skipped several pages and could still follow the story line without missing a beat.
katie_jones_reads0386's review against another edition
4.0
kadence_puttick's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
ashleas_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Not the best book I've read by this author. I was quite bored through the first 60% and found the little action very unbelievable. I probably won't continue this series.