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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
“The Swan Harp,” by Elizabeth Creith
Kiar is the heir of the human kingdom. She somehow did not get the ability to turn into a swan when she should have. The neighboring kingdom of Noermark is also causing trouble and hunting the swan people. But the son of the Noermark king is asking for her hand in marriage that could potentially help keep the human kingdom safe.
I loved this book so much. It made the girl in me that loved The Swan Princess movies so happy. The swan people aspect is unique type of shifters. I loved the main character and her development in the story. This is a book I’m definitely going to be rereading. 5 out of 5 stars.
-Swan Shifters
-Magic
-Coming-of-age
-Royalty
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.
Kiar is the heir of the human kingdom. She somehow did not get the ability to turn into a swan when she should have. The neighboring kingdom of Noermark is also causing trouble and hunting the swan people. But the son of the Noermark king is asking for her hand in marriage that could potentially help keep the human kingdom safe.
I loved this book so much. It made the girl in me that loved The Swan Princess movies so happy. The swan people aspect is unique type of shifters. I loved the main character and her development in the story. This is a book I’m definitely going to be rereading. 5 out of 5 stars.
-Swan Shifters
-Magic
-Coming-of-age
-Royalty
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story falls flat. It's kind of repetitive and doesn't have much action. The ending is very out there and doesn't have a good set up. The characters are very flat and the interactions are okay it's very surface level with not much to the story. The blurb of the story is very good but it doesn't live up to the being for SJM or Holly Black fans. It was a cute story but I wouldnt go out of my way to read the rest of the series. It ends pretty good to be a standalone.
I recieved an e-arc of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.
I recieved an e-arc of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley, The Publisher, and the Author for an amazing read.
Oh to be a Swan!!
This book I feel is for those who have, and are still growing up with The Warriors series by Erin Hunter. This book has the in comparison a very whimsical atmosphere, yet delightfully dubious world.
The book itself has a wonderful cover, and I think the chapters were spaced just right, and gave something to the story every chapter.
Creith has made character’s one cannot help to fall in love with and even more so with their names! I thought every character’s name had great imagination and there were names I haven’t seen before. I think Creith should be in the fantasy character naming business more often! Every few chapters I kept reminding myself that I loved the character names!
The plot moved well in my opinion. This is young adult, and I found it to be on the younger side of the category. Plot wise it is a book that needs little explanation. There is a good amount in there for a Young Adult category book without it being overwhelming. I would recommend this to someone who is transitioning from the middle grade category into YA fantasy.
A bump in the road for me include the writing style in the sense that it felt doubtful, as if the direction of adding characters and plot were in a tug-of-war competition and neither side came out on top. That only happened for me in the first half of the book, due to the dismissal of character feelings, like Orla’s to her wanted love. Tension with that could have been more towards the character development side.
Overall… this is a great read! It kept me entertained the entire time, and I could see new to YA readers enjoy this wonderful adventure!
Oh to be a Swan!!
This book I feel is for those who have, and are still growing up with The Warriors series by Erin Hunter. This book has the in comparison a very whimsical atmosphere, yet delightfully dubious world.
The book itself has a wonderful cover, and I think the chapters were spaced just right, and gave something to the story every chapter.
Creith has made character’s one cannot help to fall in love with and even more so with their names! I thought every character’s name had great imagination and there were names I haven’t seen before. I think Creith should be in the fantasy character naming business more often! Every few chapters I kept reminding myself that I loved the character names!
The plot moved well in my opinion. This is young adult, and I found it to be on the younger side of the category. Plot wise it is a book that needs little explanation. There is a good amount in there for a Young Adult category book without it being overwhelming. I would recommend this to someone who is transitioning from the middle grade category into YA fantasy.
A bump in the road for me include the writing style in the sense that it felt doubtful, as if the direction of adding characters and plot were in a tug-of-war competition and neither side came out on top. That only happened for me in the first half of the book, due to the dismissal of character feelings, like Orla’s to her wanted love. Tension with that could have been more towards the character development side.
Overall… this is a great read! It kept me entertained the entire time, and I could see new to YA readers enjoy this wonderful adventure!
4/5 Stars!
Thank you to netgalley, for allowing me to read this ARC! This was a really good read! The family dynamic + the romance and even the writing style reminded me of Little Women in a magical setting (almost like Practical Magic).
The story follows Kiar and her royal family of a land called Valenia, where her and her two sisters, Adana and Orla, are half human-half swan(folk). At first, only Kiar's sisters had the ability to shift into their swan shape, which made her extremely jealous/angry/sad, but eventually she had gotten her powers as well (I would have liked the moment that Kiar got her shifting abilities to be more of a event, it felt like not much of a big deal when it did happen, or least I thought it would happen later into the story).
Kiar is meant to be the heir to the throne and has to make some very difficult and sometimes heartbreaking decisions, from beginning to end, because of it.
Honestly, if this was a stand-alone novel, I would not be mad at howe this ended at all. But, because I know that this series is going to be a trilogy, I am excited for what is in store for Kiar and the land of Valenia!
Thank you to netgalley, for allowing me to read this ARC! This was a really good read! The family dynamic + the romance and even the writing style reminded me of Little Women in a magical setting (almost like Practical Magic).
The story follows Kiar and her royal family of a land called Valenia, where her and her two sisters, Adana and Orla, are half human-half swan(folk). At first, only Kiar's sisters had the ability to shift into their swan shape, which made her extremely jealous/angry/sad, but eventually she had gotten her powers as well (I would have liked the moment that Kiar got her shifting abilities to be more of a event, it felt like not much of a big deal when it did happen, or least I thought it would happen later into the story).
Kiar is meant to be the heir to the throne and has to make some very difficult and sometimes heartbreaking decisions, from beginning to end, because of it.
Honestly, if this was a stand-alone novel, I would not be mad at howe this ended at all. But, because I know that this series is going to be a trilogy, I am excited for what is in store for Kiar and the land of Valenia!
4/5 Stars!
This was a really good read! The family dynamic + the romance and even the writing style reminded me of Little Women in a magical setting (almost like Practical Magic).
The story follows Kiar and her royal family of a land called Valenia, where her and her two sisters, Adana and Orla, are half human-half swan(folk). At first, only Kiar's sisters had the ability to shift into their swan shape, which made her extremely jealous/angry/sad, but eventually she had gotten her powers as well (I would have liked the moment that Kiar got her shifting abilities to be more of a event, it felt like not much of a big deal when it did happen, or least I thought it would happen later into the story).
Kiar is meant to be the heir to the throne and has to make some very difficult and sometimes heartbreaking decisions, from beginning to end, because of it.
Honestly, if this was a stand-alone novel, I would not be mad at howe this ended at all. But, because I know that this series is going to be a trilogy, I am excited for what is in store for Kiar and the land of Valenia!
This was a really good read! The family dynamic + the romance and even the writing style reminded me of Little Women in a magical setting (almost like Practical Magic).
The story follows Kiar and her royal family of a land called Valenia, where her and her two sisters, Adana and Orla, are half human-half swan(folk). At first, only Kiar's sisters had the ability to shift into their swan shape, which made her extremely jealous/angry/sad, but eventually she had gotten her powers as well (I would have liked the moment that Kiar got her shifting abilities to be more of a event, it felt like not much of a big deal when it did happen, or least I thought it would happen later into the story).
Kiar is meant to be the heir to the throne and has to make some very difficult and sometimes heartbreaking decisions, from beginning to end, because of it.
Honestly, if this was a stand-alone novel, I would not be mad at howe this ended at all. But, because I know that this series is going to be a trilogy, I am excited for what is in store for Kiar and the land of Valenia!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Wow. Fantasy YA, Swan Shifters, familial tension and found family? Yeah ok you got me.
I think the first thing that I really appreciated about this book is that the badass FMC is badass because she worked her butt off for it and trained:
“I’m a fighter. You’ve taught me to think and make decisions. Someone has to look after the people, Father.”
Im a pretty hard sell for YA fantasy just because I’ve previously found that it can be a little shallow. This book is anything but shallow and is the absolutely perfect setup to begin the series. It’s a beautiful introduction to the families, factions and feuds that span the lands.
Definitely worth a read, thank you so much to Book Sirens and the Author for access to this ARC!
I think the first thing that I really appreciated about this book is that the badass FMC is badass because she worked her butt off for it and trained:
“I’m a fighter. You’ve taught me to think and make decisions. Someone has to look after the people, Father.”
Im a pretty hard sell for YA fantasy just because I’ve previously found that it can be a little shallow. This book is anything but shallow and is the absolutely perfect setup to begin the series. It’s a beautiful introduction to the families, factions and feuds that span the lands.
Definitely worth a read, thank you so much to Book Sirens and the Author for access to this ARC!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2/5 stars
What I liked: FMC who is being raised to be queen, sword fighting lessons included, beautiful cover, magical fae folk who can turn into swans.
What I didn't like: just about everything else.
So I want to start off with the caveat that I think the marketing on this book is misleading, which I feel like certainly plays a role in my view of this book. It is pitched as being perfect for fans of Holly Black, Robin McKinley and Sarah J Maas. To me, that promised like amazing faerie folktale inspired world, romantic tension, and well written characters. This book gave me none of those things.
Overall, this book was just boring. I basically spent the whole book waiting for anything significant to happen, and when it finally did, it didn't really make much sense in its own story. Minor spoiler, but we don't even get to anything that remotely hints at why this book is titled The Swan Harp until around page 200 (of a 300 page book), which is way too. While I think part of the goal was to give the book that sort of fairy tale feel, but instead it just gives a lot of unnecessary background and zero story tension. Very few of the things that happen or are described seem to lead anywhere by the end. It almost feels like the author didn't have a real plan for how she wanted the story to go, and instead just pulled random scenes or ideas from stories she liked. The arcs for the individual characters either felt very forced (especially towards the end) and it takes until like the last third of the book for any sort of real villain or conflict to occur. And for all the time we spend learning about the day to day activities of the characters, there is very little real world building. There is no details on the general geography of the world, how kingdoms interact, how magic really fits into this world etc.
I'm honestly not sure who I would recommend this to, perhaps someone who wants a story with all those day-to-day details and doesn't care as much about story conflict?
Thanks to NetGalley for a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What I liked: FMC who is being raised to be queen, sword fighting lessons included, beautiful cover, magical fae folk who can turn into swans.
What I didn't like: just about everything else.
So I want to start off with the caveat that I think the marketing on this book is misleading, which I feel like certainly plays a role in my view of this book. It is pitched as being perfect for fans of Holly Black, Robin McKinley and Sarah J Maas. To me, that promised like amazing faerie folktale inspired world, romantic tension, and well written characters. This book gave me none of those things.
Overall, this book was just boring. I basically spent the whole book waiting for anything significant to happen, and when it finally did, it didn't really make much sense in its own story. Minor spoiler, but we don't even get to anything that remotely hints at why this book is titled The Swan Harp until around page 200 (of a 300 page book), which is way too. While I think part of the goal was to give the book that sort of fairy tale feel, but instead it just gives a lot of unnecessary background and zero story tension. Very few of the things that happen or are described seem to lead anywhere by the end. It almost feels like the author didn't have a real plan for how she wanted the story to go, and instead just pulled random scenes or ideas from stories she liked. The arcs for the individual characters either felt very forced (especially towards the end) and it takes until like the last third of the book for any sort of real villain or conflict to occur. And for all the time we spend learning about the day to day activities of the characters, there is very little real world building. There is no details on the general geography of the world, how kingdoms interact, how magic really fits into this world etc.
I'm honestly not sure who I would recommend this to, perhaps someone who wants a story with all those day-to-day details and doesn't care as much about story conflict?
Thanks to NetGalley for a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was such an enjoyable young adult fantasy. I really liked the world the author created in Valenia and I loved the swan shifter aspects of the story.
The book starts out a little slow, but as the story builds the action does as well. There was quite a bit of romantic and political drama that unfolds as the plot progressed, which really had my attention.
Read this if you like:
🦢Shapeshifters
🦢Medieval setting
🦢Fantasy romance
🦢Slow building suspense
I recommend this one, especially if you like engaging fantasy stories full of magic and detailed world building.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When I first heard about this book, I found it interesting. The story takes place in the medieval world of Valenia, where humans and swanfolk live in harmony. However, they are always at odds with their northern neighbours. The story is told from Kiar's perspective. She is the middle daughter and heir to the king and queen. Once Kiar is chosen as the heir, her father starts training her to defend and rule the kingdom. Meanwhile, her sisters Adana and Orla, who can turn into swans, learn about the swanfolk from their mother. Kiar feels left out, especially when some of the swanfolk agree to live with them, and she becomes friends with Willow and Tiar. The King of Noermark tries to get one of the girls to marry one of his sons to take over the land, which he is also raiding constantly.
I liked this book. I enjoyed it a lot. The story was slow-paced with a lot of build-up. When the great reveal occurred, it was not what I expected, and it was brilliant because you are really waiting for something different to happen. I am going to rate it with 4 out of 5 stars because some parts felt very slow. You're waiting for something to happen, and you feel like it's almost there, but you keep waiting and waiting. That didn't work for me at all. However, Kiar is a strong main character, she understands and accepts her duties incredibly well. The story includes a romance, but it's a slow-burning one, and it's not the main focus. Willow's character annoyed me because she lacked common sense, but it's probably justified because her culture is different.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. It's a refreshing read with different expectations from the all-powerful main character, and the world is just delightful. This book is coming out in April 2024, so keep an eye out for it.
**I read this book as an ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the author.
The cover is beautiful and the description of the book in intriguing, however I found myself struggling to connect to the characters and the story. I believe that I am just not the intended audience for this book. I struggled with having certain things described in great detail in the book that didn’t feel significant to the story.
The story has so much potential, yet I felt as if I was reading a history book - there just was not any connection to the characters or the world for me. I wanted desperately to like this book, but it just wasn’t for me in the end. I must say, I have read books by authors that I have loved, however struggle to connect to their characters from their others books, so I would love to give this author another try in the future.
The cover is beautiful and the description of the book in intriguing, however I found myself struggling to connect to the characters and the story. I believe that I am just not the intended audience for this book. I struggled with having certain things described in great detail in the book that didn’t feel significant to the story.
The story has so much potential, yet I felt as if I was reading a history book - there just was not any connection to the characters or the world for me. I wanted desperately to like this book, but it just wasn’t for me in the end. I must say, I have read books by authors that I have loved, however struggle to connect to their characters from their others books, so I would love to give this author another try in the future.