Reviews

The Swan Maiden by Jules Watson

natashaw8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I found that it took more than halfway through the story to actually grasp my attention. I've loved other works by Jules Watson, and I was so excited for a chance to read this story full of celtic myths and histories. I found the characters were hard to relate to, the story was incredibly slow, and the text was a bit more descriptive than I typically enjoy. Glad I finished it, though I contemplated not finishing a few times.

aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition

I thought this would be a fun, tragic fairytale retelling, and then, bam, it was soft erotica. Not what I was looking for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

celandine's review against another edition

1.0

I was hoping for something different, a unique twist of a book. But Swan Maiden is very similar to other retelling of folklores and myths out there, in writing, style, and expectations. I found it boring and unengaging.

cachoo1999's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

m_a_p's review against another edition

2.0

Three times as long as it should have been

kellis22's review against another edition

2.0

Semi good story, a whole bad book. Don't waste time.

rogue007's review against another edition

4.0

Beautiful, tragic and heartbreaking, lyrical and descriptive. A bit too much at times, forcing me to skim. But it kept my attention and I grew to care about the characters. I wanted a different ending for Deirdre and Naisi. But at least I can take comfort in the fact that Conner did not get what he wanted. Old bastard.

I gave up on the Raven Queen... My enjoyment of this book has me considering giving RQ another try.

emily_tyler's review against another edition

3.0

I was enchanted by the setting, the characters, on the other hand, lacked umph.

suz_n_van's review against another edition

5.0

A wonderful retelling of the ancient Irish tale of Deidre

melissajayne's review against another edition

3.0

It took me awhile to get into the book. I suppose it didn't help that I kept starting and stopping reading the book over the period of about 5 months. It really gained momentum in the last 3/4 of the book.