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blewballoon 's review for:
A Treachery of Swans
by A.B. Poranek
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek, so I picked this up entirely based on that. The tone is a smidge different, this feels slightly less like a folk tale and more like a general YA fantasy story. It reminded me strongly of Little Thieves by Margaret Owen.
I was honestly not in the mood for this when I started it, but I'd been waiting for the library hold and had just finished my last audiobook, so it didn't make sense to put it off. I had no patience for the main character and wanted her to hurry up and do her character growth instead of making bad decisions because she wasn't done being selfish and letting herself be manipulated. The perfect pure angelic beauty of Marie was exasperating to me, but I understood why she had to be that way for the story. I was intrigued by the prince and the bodyguard storyline happening over in the sidelines, I kind of wish they had their own book.
Despite my grumblings, I did appreciate the lyrical prose and the twisting plot. I was caught off guard a couple times when things veered off the course I expected, even though I had figured out a few reveals in advance. A.B. Poranek is definitely an author I'll continue to follow.
Audiobook narrator was alright, no complaints.
I was honestly not in the mood for this when I started it, but I'd been waiting for the library hold and had just finished my last audiobook, so it didn't make sense to put it off. I had no patience for the main character and wanted her to hurry up and do her character growth instead of making bad decisions because she wasn't done being selfish and letting herself be manipulated. The perfect pure angelic beauty of Marie was exasperating to me, but I understood why she had to be that way for the story. I was intrigued by the prince and the bodyguard storyline happening over in the sidelines, I kind of wish they had their own book.
Despite my grumblings, I did appreciate the lyrical prose and the twisting plot. I was caught off guard a couple times when things veered off the course I expected, even though I had figured out a few reveals in advance. A.B. Poranek is definitely an author I'll continue to follow.
Audiobook narrator was alright, no complaints.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Alcohol