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A review by vigil
A Treachery of Swans by A.B. Poranek
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
i received this as an e-arc from netgalley. thank you to netgalley, margaret k. mcelderry books, and simon & schuster children's publishing, and a.b poranek for giving me a copy. a treachery swans will be out june 24th, 2025!
poranek has very strong prose, perfectly able to toe the line between lyrical but still accessible for her intended audience. i appreciate YA novels that do not talk down to their audiences, but still clearly written with them in mind, which i feel like a treachery of swans has done very well.
it is recognizably a YA novel, containing much of the hallmarks of modern YA fantasy that we've all come to know, a dramatic first person pov, teenage angst, and need to know based worldbuilding and magical systems. which is to say that while i think this book is rich with historical and mythological worldbuilding because of it's plot relevancy, it lacks in other areas such as societal structures (the protagonist is very unfazed about being gay, as is the love interest, but it's still seems to be a rather misogynistic society. we never see how those two points reconcile within the text.) and how exactly these kingdoms are set up, and how they function (outside of the magic). it's very heavy on atmosphere and tone, but lighter than it should be on details. it seem like the book assumes that the reader is familiar with the average european fantasy royal structure, but i think that's being a tad taken for granted.
i found the first 30% of the novel was what took me the longest to get through.
plot wise, i had no major problems with the novel, and i think here is where the book shows its best strength. it had a lot of twists and turns, as the rug just kept getting pulled out from under the protagonist just as soon as she gained her footing on it. poranek did an excellent job of keeping me on my toes and invested for what would happen next, especially in the last explosive 20% of the book. i wasn't sure what quite to make of the ending when i first read it, as i felt it introduced a bit too many plot threads for the end of a standalone novel, but after i read the accompanying epilogue, i thought it worked pretty well. the epilogue itself was one of my favorite parts of the book, where all of the fairytale, ancient myth, and magic weaved together perfectly.
if i had one complaint about the plot, is that it's a bit oddly paced, and i questioned the introduction of certain plot developments, that would later prove to be integral to the climax, being so late in the game. i feel like there is a gulf between odile in the final chapter and odile in the epilogue, enough for a book of its own.
i actually really liked all the dynamics between the characters, even if i feel the conversations surrounding odile and her father drifted into therapy speak. the main romance is charming and enjoyable, and their strange mix of old friends, complete strangers, and bitter enemies worked well for me. i only wish we got to have more scenes between the two of them in the present before we went straight into reluctant partners in crime. but there really is no heartbreak like the one you have with your female best friend when you were younger. still i would have liked a little more time to develop more interiority for marie, because odile's perspective of her as an unknowable enigma i think clouds the reader's perception a tad. this is a book that is about never getting over anything ever in your life, and it's subsequent consequences. their little teen romance is probably the most positive, but complex example of that. i thought their ending in the epilogue was perfect.
the other stand out relationship was shocking to me, because i never expected to care about it so much. odile and the prince were a lovely pair to read about, and poranek endears you to his character rather fast, despite his many troubles. his little hinted romance was cute too!
overall i was pleasantly surprised by this book! i'm really glad i picked it up, and i would recommend it too anyone looking for a character heavy, atmospheric, and melodramatic (in a theater way, but also in a teenager way, all with my deepest affections) time.
poranek has very strong prose, perfectly able to toe the line between lyrical but still accessible for her intended audience. i appreciate YA novels that do not talk down to their audiences, but still clearly written with them in mind, which i feel like a treachery of swans has done very well.
it is recognizably a YA novel, containing much of the hallmarks of modern YA fantasy that we've all come to know, a dramatic first person pov, teenage angst, and need to know based worldbuilding and magical systems. which is to say that while i think this book is rich with historical and mythological worldbuilding because of it's plot relevancy, it lacks in other areas such as societal structures (the protagonist is very unfazed about being gay, as is the love interest, but it's still seems to be a rather misogynistic society. we never see how those two points reconcile within the text.) and how exactly these kingdoms are set up, and how they function (outside of the magic). it's very heavy on atmosphere and tone, but lighter than it should be on details. it seem like the book assumes that the reader is familiar with the average european fantasy royal structure, but i think that's being a tad taken for granted.
i found the first 30% of the novel was what took me the longest to get through.
plot wise, i had no major problems with the novel, and i think here is where the book shows its best strength. it had a lot of twists and turns, as the rug just kept getting pulled out from under the protagonist just as soon as she gained her footing on it. poranek did an excellent job of keeping me on my toes and invested for what would happen next, especially in the last explosive 20% of the book. i wasn't sure what quite to make of the ending when i first read it, as i felt it introduced a bit too many plot threads for the end of a standalone novel, but after i read the accompanying epilogue, i thought it worked pretty well. the epilogue itself was one of my favorite parts of the book, where all of the fairytale, ancient myth, and magic weaved together perfectly.
if i had one complaint about the plot, is that it's a bit oddly paced, and i questioned the introduction of certain plot developments, that would later prove to be integral to the climax, being so late in the game. i feel like there is a gulf between odile in the final chapter and odile in the epilogue, enough for a book of its own.
i actually really liked all the dynamics between the characters, even if i feel the conversations surrounding odile and her father drifted into therapy speak. the main romance is charming and enjoyable, and their strange mix of old friends, complete strangers, and bitter enemies worked well for me. i only wish we got to have more scenes between the two of them in the present before we went straight into reluctant partners in crime. but there really is no heartbreak like the one you have with your female best friend when you were younger. still i would have liked a little more time to develop more interiority for marie, because odile's perspective of her as an unknowable enigma i think clouds the reader's perception a tad. this is a book that is about never getting over anything ever in your life, and it's subsequent consequences. their little teen romance is probably the most positive, but complex example of that. i thought their ending in the epilogue was perfect.
the other stand out relationship was shocking to me, because i never expected to care about it so much. odile and the prince were a lovely pair to read about, and poranek endears you to his character rather fast, despite his many troubles. his little hinted romance was cute too!
overall i was pleasantly surprised by this book! i'm really glad i picked it up, and i would recommend it too anyone looking for a character heavy, atmospheric, and melodramatic (in a theater way, but also in a teenager way, all with my deepest affections) time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail