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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
"I will bring magic back. Or I will die trying."
A Treachery of Swans is an atmospheric and fast-paced book that keeps you turning the pages.
I picked it up at the right time, after two heavier fantasy books, so the magical atmosphere and easy readability were exactly what I needed. If I’d read this in my teens, I think I would have loved it even more.
Regarding the characters, some of them could have been better developed, especially their relationships with side characters. I also found the topics surrounding Morgane and the sisters so interesting, I wish it was more developed.
The romance was sweet, and the internal conflicts each character faced were written well. I would've loved if the secondary romance had received more attention.
The twists weren’t especially difficult to guess, but they still managed to keep me curious and engaged.
Towards the end, I started to think this might be the first book in a duology. The epilogue fits the fairytale vibe, but I was a bit disappointed when I realised there wouldn’t be a sequel to explore more of this world.
I’d still recommend this to YA fantasy readers who enjoy an engaging setting without a complex world-building, with simple dialogue and motivations.
A Treachery of Swans is an atmospheric and fast-paced book that keeps you turning the pages.
I picked it up at the right time, after two heavier fantasy books, so the magical atmosphere and easy readability were exactly what I needed. If I’d read this in my teens, I think I would have loved it even more.
Regarding the characters, some of them could have been better developed, especially their relationships with side characters. I also found the topics surrounding Morgane and the sisters so interesting, I wish it was more developed.
The romance was sweet, and the internal conflicts each character faced were written well. I would've loved if the secondary romance had received more attention.
The twists weren’t especially difficult to guess, but they still managed to keep me curious and engaged.
Towards the end, I started to think this might be the first book in a duology. The epilogue fits the fairytale vibe, but I was a bit disappointed when I realised there wouldn’t be a sequel to explore more of this world.
I’d still recommend this to YA fantasy readers who enjoy an engaging setting without a complex world-building, with simple dialogue and motivations.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
slow-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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Where do I start with this? I am no longer technically the target audience for this book, being almost 24, but good lord if I had read this as a teenager I am certain it would have been my entire personality. I was a huge fan of The Young Elites so I like to think I have a long history of enjoying mean and complex female characters, and if I'd read a book similar to that one but with a lesbian protagonist, like this book, I can't even imagine how I would have felt.
This book starts maybe a little on the slower side after the inciting incident, spending a significant amount of time setting up for later events without much payoff. I stuck with it, though, and it only improved exponentially as it went on. I was genuinely surprised by some of the twists, and even as the action started ramping up more, we still left a lot of time for character development that I think was really well done. I think its exploration of abuse via comparison of Marie, Aimé, and Odile's situations in particular was really, really effective (although I maybe would have liked more resolution between Odile and Aimé given her comments about him being weak for obeying his father, since that's exactly what Odile continually did and what I thought was going to be the point. I still think it was well done though because we did specifically bring this up with Odile and Marie).
I wasn't initially sold on any of the characters, but again, they all grew on me quite a lot throughout the book. I found Odile kind of immature and annoying for a bit, but she is a teenager and I found her characterization and motivations to be very consistent throughout, so I quickly accepted the way she was. I ended up thinking she was an excellently written character--despite her being abrasive and mean, I really felt for her, and I felt that the author did an excellent job in showing why she behaves like this. I also liked that she remained a little standoffish even after learning to accept love from her friends. She may make less self-destructive choices now, but she's still herself at the end of the day, influenced by her trauma and maintaining her own personality. Marie and Aimé didn't feel the most realistic to me at first, but I think a lot of that had to do with Odile being the POV character, and again I feel like that problem went away later on in the book once we spent more time with them. I was actually on the verge of tears about three quarters of the way through when Odile finally gets her chance to make peace with the three other main characters (again, cannot imagine how this would have affected me as an edgy lonely gay teenager). I wasn’t sure what rating I was going to give this book, and to be honest it probably deserves a lower one, but you know what? At the end of the day I liked reading this and out of respect to my teenage self I am giving this book 4 stars.
I absolutely did not expect to like this book anywhere near as much as I did--I picked it up on a whim from the library because I kept seeing it around and knew it was gay, and it completely surprised me. I'm really glad that it exists, and that today's gay teenagers can enjoy it as much as I did.
This book starts maybe a little on the slower side after the inciting incident, spending a significant amount of time setting up for later events without much payoff. I stuck with it, though, and it only improved exponentially as it went on. I was genuinely surprised by some of the twists, and even as the action started ramping up more, we still left a lot of time for character development that I think was really well done. I think its exploration of abuse via comparison of Marie, Aimé, and Odile's situations in particular was really, really effective (although I maybe would have liked more resolution between Odile and Aimé given her comments about him being weak for obeying his father, since that's exactly what Odile continually did and what I thought was going to be the point. I still think it was well done though because we did specifically bring this up with Odile and Marie).
I wasn't initially sold on any of the characters, but again, they all grew on me quite a lot throughout the book. I found Odile kind of immature and annoying for a bit, but she is a teenager and I found her characterization and motivations to be very consistent throughout, so I quickly accepted the way she was. I ended up thinking she was an excellently written character--despite her being abrasive and mean, I really felt for her, and I felt that the author did an excellent job in showing why she behaves like this. I also liked that she remained a little standoffish even after learning to accept love from her friends. She may make less self-destructive choices now, but she's still herself at the end of the day, influenced by her trauma and maintaining her own personality. Marie and Aimé didn't feel the most realistic to me at first, but I think a lot of that had to do with Odile being the POV character, and again I feel like that problem went away later on in the book once we spent more time with them. I was actually on the verge of tears about three quarters of the way through when Odile finally gets her chance to make peace with the three other main characters (again, cannot imagine how this would have affected me as an edgy lonely gay teenager). I wasn’t sure what rating I was going to give this book, and to be honest it probably deserves a lower one, but you know what? At the end of the day I liked reading this and out of respect to my teenage self I am giving this book 4 stars.
I absolutely did not expect to like this book anywhere near as much as I did--I picked it up on a whim from the library because I kept seeing it around and knew it was gay, and it completely surprised me. I'm really glad that it exists, and that today's gay teenagers can enjoy it as much as I did.