Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free courtesy of KidLitExchange and the publishing company. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Rating: 3/5
Genre: YA Fantasy/Retelling
Recommended Age: 14+ (slight gore, violence, sexual references)
Pages: 320
Synopsis: Ten years ago, King Lorcan of the Dark Kingdom Dorjhalon defeated Queen Evelayn and cut her conduit stone from her. Since then, he has kept her trapped in her swan form. With the loss of balance between Dark and Light, winter has descended and the Draíolon of Éadrolan lose more power every day. But once a year, Lorcan transforms her back to her Draíolon form and offers a truce. And every year Evelayn refuses — for he requires her to Bind herself to him for life.But now, with an Ancient power bearing down upon them, everything may change. Evelayn will learn that the truths she once believed have shattered, and that she may need her enemies even more than her allies. Lorcan and Evelayn become partners in a desperate quest to return the balance of power to Lachalonia. How far will this partnership go? Can friendship — perhaps even love — bloom where hatred has taken root?Sara B. Larson delivers a thrillingly romantic and hauntingly satisfying end to this extraordinary duology.
I really need to watch Swan Lake. The ballet can’t be as beautifully tragic as this book right? Anyways, we return where we left off in the first novel of this duology: Evelayn is trapped as a swan doing her swan thing. She actually got a gathering as swans to see her as their queen, which was kinda cool. Anyways, I can’t say anymore because of spoilers but the novel was beautifully well written and it actually feels like you’re in a mid 1500s book. The plot was interesting and the premise was as well.
However, I do have some qualms about this book. The plot was intriguing, but at the end nothing is really solved. It just ends. I’m not sure if there was more to the novel that I’m missing since I only have an arc but the book just ended without a proper ending. The characters weren’t that well developed and the book really failed the Bechdel Test. The female characters in particular were lazily written and added nothing to the plot. Even Evelayn, who was my favorite of the previous novel, was severely weakened in this one. The other two females, who had their own strengths, were so weak in comparison to the males of this book. The men in this book basically protected and shielded the females and the book was so tropey that it made me angry. The book didn’t even go back into the swan thing, which I thought was the main point of Swan Lake.
Verdict: This book had so much potential, but in the end it let me down. It’s still a beautifully well written book however.
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