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themelleh 's review for:
A Treachery of Swans
by A.B. Poranek
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
Thank you to Ania, NetGalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read an advanced copy of ATOS. This review is 100% my own and unbiased.
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I am made of echoes, of after-images, and they all belong to her.
Wow.
This might be one of the most unique stories that I’ve read. Almost everyone knows the story of The Swan Lake but this is a reworking of gorgeous, sumptuous prose, ingenious reinvention and a side of character growth rarely seen in fiction. The world building is done quickly and efficiently, so we don’t languish for 200 pages waiting to get going. Ania has a way of writing that is so enjoyable - from word choices to just phrasing. It’s gorgeous.
Odile is the perfect vehicle for our main character. Often she is reduced to a two-dimensional manipulative femme fatale. But not this Odile. She is multifaceted; her layers are so delicious and her growth from page 1 to the very end is magnificent. She has depth and richness to her. (I love her, your honour!)
Ania has taken liberties to move our setting away from the Germanic/Russian inspired landscape, and instead settled fictional Auréal in a French inspired location. While it’s clear from the outset that this is a fictional/fairytale location, the smatterings of French had me checking google that I had interpreted it correctly or just plain looking things up (tarasque was a head-scratcher the first time I read it - sorry, I’m better at Spanish!). But that’s part of the fun of reading, learning things you didn’t necessarily know before.
Anyway, our Odile is an actor! We meet her at the theatre, where we also meet Odette. Regnault (Rothbart) sends our Odile on a mission and our adventure begins! Twice there was a twist that I figured out just as Odile did and once that I hadn’t guessed which made me gasp and kick my feet a bit.
Also, love, love, love that we get a sapphic story. And it’s “enemies”-to-lovers and slow burn. Honest chefs kiss. I’m always here for fantasy sapphic romps - so this was perfect for me.
If I talk about our other characters I’m going to get into spoiler content and I don’t want to do that. Let’s just say at the 10 pages to go mark my heart was in my throat and I was almost convinced this was going to be a duology.
This might be one of the most unique stories that I’ve read. Almost everyone knows the story of The Swan Lake but this is a reworking of gorgeous, sumptuous prose, ingenious reinvention and a side of character growth rarely seen in fiction. The world building is done quickly and efficiently, so we don’t languish for 200 pages waiting to get going. Ania has a way of writing that is so enjoyable - from word choices to just phrasing. It’s gorgeous.
Odile is the perfect vehicle for our main character. Often she is reduced to a two-dimensional manipulative femme fatale. But not this Odile. She is multifaceted; her layers are so delicious and her growth from page 1 to the very end is magnificent. She has depth and richness to her. (I love her, your honour!)
Ania has taken liberties to move our setting away from the Germanic/Russian inspired landscape, and instead settled fictional Auréal in a French inspired location. While it’s clear from the outset that this is a fictional/fairytale location, the smatterings of French had me checking google that I had interpreted it correctly or just plain looking things up (tarasque was a head-scratcher the first time I read it - sorry, I’m better at Spanish!). But that’s part of the fun of reading, learning things you didn’t necessarily know before.
Anyway, our Odile is an actor! We meet her at the theatre, where we also meet Odette. Regnault (Rothbart) sends our Odile on a mission and our adventure begins! Twice there was a twist that I figured out just as Odile did and once that I hadn’t guessed which made me gasp and kick my feet a bit.
Also, love, love, love that we get a sapphic story. And it’s “enemies”-to-lovers and slow burn. Honest chefs kiss. I’m always here for fantasy sapphic romps - so this was perfect for me.
If I talk about our other characters I’m going to get into spoiler content and I don’t want to do that. Let’s just say at the 10 pages to go mark my heart was in my throat and I was almost convinced this was going to be a duology.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail