A Throne of Swans

Review originally posted on Geeky Galaxy.

ARC provided for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

You ever finish a book and kind-of just flail your arms around uselessly because you don't know what else to do? That's what I did. Do you know why they're flailing around uselessly? Because I have to wait forever for book 2, and I'm not sure how I'm going to wait that long since book 1 isn't even published yet!

Honestly, I thought I was over the court drama thing. I've read a few and they were all very samey and cliché. When I requested A Throne of Swans, I wasn't sure what to expect. The idea of shape-shifting into various birds intrigued me, and I'm so glad I decided to go for it based on that. Not only was the shape-shifting element really fun and interesting to read about, so was the court drama. Although this somehow managed to be even more dramatic than other court-based books I read. More dramatic, but so much better and well done.

The Characters
Aderyn
Aderyn worried me as the main character at first. She led such a sheltered life and her actions were frustratingly clueless at times. However, she grew throughout the book and quickly became a character I enjoyed reading about and I no longer felt the need to tell her to sort herself out. The authors handled her personality growth really well and handled her overcoming her trauma perfectly.

Lucien
Lucien was a character I loved for his wit and humour. The sarcastic comments he probably shouldn't have been saying to the Protector were fun and reading the friendship between Aderyn and Lucien was one of the highlights of this book.

Letya
Letya's an important friend and confidante to Aderyn, but I feel she didn't get enough story of who she is beyond Aderyn's maid. I hope there's more to be revealed about her in future books.

Aron
Aron is the king's son, stripped of his rights to the throne. From the first scene he was in, I knew I was going to like him, and it only got better from there. Aron is intelligent, with the knowhow to survive amongst the politics of a kingdom. He's clearly caring, under the cold exterior, and I'm excited to see where this character goes from the end of the book.

The World
I really enjoyed the world-building in A Throne of Swans. Yes, this is court-based, but we're not restricted to that single setting throughout the book, and even when we are, there's an acknowledgement of life outside.

The idea of different families transforming into different birds is great and adds an extra element to both the characterisation and the world. Not only that, but the world felt authentic. It was alive with various other events and I just fell in love with it. From the swans to the hawks to the ravens; I wanted to read more.

The Plot
The first chapter of A Throne of Swans grabbed me immediately, and that feeling of being totally engrossed didn't leave me until I finished the book. And even after, I couldn't get this book out of my head. The end tied things up nicely so that I was left satisfied with the ending, but it also left me wanting to know more. There's more story to be told and I look forward to reading more of it. This book is the first of a duology, I believe, and I'm a tad disappointed there's only going to be two! At the same time though, I really believe the authors will do it justice and I can't wait to read it.

I know I rambled a little here! It took me 2 weeks to even get my thoughts straight enough to write this review, let alone write something coherent. Basically, if you've made it to the end, you'll have figured out that I loved this book, and that's all you really need to know!

I've also managed to pre-order 2 copies of it, as well as already having a FC, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them all!