A Treachery of Swans
A #1 New York Times Bestseller
From the New York Times bestselling author of Where the Dark Stands Still comes an atmospheric romantasy based on Swan Lake, following Odile as her plan to restore magic to her enchanted kingdom gets disrupted by a murder mystery—forcing her to beg for help from the young woman whose identity she stole.
Can two girls—one enchanted, one the enchantress—save their kingdom and each other?
Two hundred years ago, a slighted deity stole the magic from Auréal and vanished without a trace. But seventeen-year-old Odile has a plan. All her life, her father, a vengeful sorcerer, has raised her for one singular task: infiltrate the royal palace and steal the king’s crown, an artefact with enough power to restore magic. But to enter the palace, she must assume the identity of a noblewoman. She chooses Marie d’Odette: famed for her beauty, a rumored candidate for future queen…and Odile’s childhood-friend-turned-sworn-enemy.
With her father’s help, Odile transforms Marie into a swan and takes her place at court. But when the king is brutally murdered and her own brother is accused, her plans are thrown into chaos. Desperate to free her brother, Odile is forced to team up with none other than elegant, infuriating Marie, the girl she has cursed…and the girl she can’t seem to stop thinking about despite her best efforts.
To make matters worse, there are whispers that the king’s murder was not at the hands of man, but beast. Torn between loyalty to her father and her growing feelings for Marie, Odile becomes tangled in a web of treachery and deceit. To save her kingdom, she must find the true path to magic…and find the real killer before they—or it—strikes again.
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Community Reviews
Ughhhh this was delightful :')
I enjoyed this story thoroughly. The writing I LOVED, the characters, the atmosphere... chef's kiss!
The characters' angst and mischievousness endeared them me deeply.
I loved seeing teenagers being teenagers: yes you are chaotic, yes you are a bit lost, yes you are smart but also still naive because you're still a child. One of the reason Odile was a great character to follow. A critique I have is that I wish there was a coherence that stayed constant to bring these elements of Odile together. Sometimes the author didn't quite managed it, so it jarred me and pulled me out of the story.
This did bother me, but the writing always pulled me right back in easily.
I will always love fairytale like stories, this one is precious to me for how unique it felt. I thought it was mostly thanks to the writing, the setting and the atmosphere; but the characters too, so it's clearly the whole package deal, what a treat !
Odile, Marie and Aimé stand out to me BECAUSE of the writing and atmosphere, giving me a delicious feeling of melancholy. The love I have for them is intertwined with it.
Side note: they all reminded me a bit of Margaret Owen's characters in Little Thieves (who the author thanks, her and another author, in her acknowledgements for writing gremlin girls), but ofc mainly our MC Odile did, as a gremlin girl herself.
So yeah. Great characters with impeccable atmosphere and gorgeous writing, even with quite a few editor-like critiques, make for a great book for me :)
On a last note, Odile and Marie fit so well together it made my heart ache :') ❤️
I enjoyed this story thoroughly. The writing I LOVED, the characters, the atmosphere... chef's kiss!
The characters' angst and mischievousness endeared them me deeply.
I loved seeing teenagers being teenagers: yes you are chaotic, yes you are a bit lost, yes you are smart but also still naive because you're still a child. One of the reason Odile was a great character to follow. A critique I have is that I wish there was a coherence that stayed constant to bring these elements of Odile together. Sometimes the author didn't quite managed it, so it jarred me and pulled me out of the story.
This did bother me, but the writing always pulled me right back in easily.
I will always love fairytale like stories, this one is precious to me for how unique it felt. I thought it was mostly thanks to the writing, the setting and the atmosphere; but the characters too, so it's clearly the whole package deal, what a treat !
Odile, Marie and Aimé stand out to me BECAUSE of the writing and atmosphere, giving me a delicious feeling of melancholy. The love I have for them is intertwined with it.
Side note: they all reminded me a bit of Margaret Owen's characters in Little Thieves (who the author thanks, her and another author, in her acknowledgements for writing gremlin girls), but ofc mainly our MC Odile did, as a gremlin girl herself.
So yeah. Great characters with impeccable atmosphere and gorgeous writing, even with quite a few editor-like critiques, make for a great book for me :)
On a last note, Odile and Marie fit so well together it made my heart ache :') ❤️
Not a full review but just some highlights. Overall the book is a different sort of retelling of the swan princess. The author has a good handle on lyrical writing. There are passages that are utterly beautifully written. There were a couple of plot holes that were kind of big and the ending was good but not satisfying. Overall it's a good book but I would not do a reread.
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