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simonlorden 's review for:
The Swan Harp
by Elizabeth Creith
I received an ARC through NetGalley.
This book was a wild ride. I want to say first that there were things I liked about it - the swan shapeshifters and their culture were interesting. This book actually spans several years, and as the year turns there are festivals and hunting and several scenes about how the royals feed their people, and those were interesting.
But the larger plot wasn't to my liking at all. First it leaned into one of my big YA pet peeves, where the adults forbid the protagonist from doing something she loves instead of allowing her to do it in a safe and controlled way. Like, yeah, that's gonna end well. Having the parents suppress half of Kiar's identity like that was uncomfortable to read, and I almost abandoned the book halfway because of it.
I kept reading though, and around 70-80% in I was starting to wonder why the title was The Swan Harp when there haven't been any harps anywhere, or even musicians except for one scene.Well, wonder no more! Because at 80% it turns out that this is actually a ballad retelling and then everything goes downhill from there. I gotta say though, I think it's a weird choice to title your book after something that only happens towards the end.
I really didn't know what to think about that last plot twist. It completely changed the tone of the book at the end, and while there were some hints and build-up, it didn't feel like enough.
I'm also surprised this is first in a trilogy, because it kind of felt like a complete story to me, as chaotic as it was.
This book was a wild ride. I want to say first that there were things I liked about it - the swan shapeshifters and their culture were interesting. This book actually spans several years, and as the year turns there are festivals and hunting and several scenes about how the royals feed their people, and those were interesting.
But the larger plot wasn't to my liking at all. First it leaned into one of my big YA pet peeves, where the adults forbid the protagonist from doing something she loves instead of allowing her to do it in a safe and controlled way. Like, yeah, that's gonna end well. Having the parents suppress half of Kiar's identity like that was uncomfortable to read, and I almost abandoned the book halfway because of it.
I kept reading though, and around 70-80% in I was starting to wonder why the title was The Swan Harp when there haven't been any harps anywhere, or even musicians except for one scene.
I really didn't know what to think about that last plot twist. It completely changed the tone of the book at the end, and while there were some hints and build-up, it didn't feel like enough.
I'm also surprised this is first in a trilogy, because it kind of felt like a complete story to me, as chaotic as it was.