The Elemental Masters - The Cyprian

Elemental Masters #18

by Mercedes Lackey

A cozy, cottage-core Regency fantasy perfect for fans of Bridgerton and historical fantasy mash-ups like Sherlock Holmes & Count Dracula, from the New York Times best-selling author and celebrated Grandmaster of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Elena, having lost her father, must rescue herself from her evil stepmother, a Master of Water, who has bespelled her brothers into swans. She is left without home or protection by her father's villainous widow, who plans to regain her wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder.
Alone, Elena must not only find a way to save herself, but to reverse the spell that has transformed her brothers.
The latest in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series is a stand-alone romantasy based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Adult, Historical Fantasy, Retellings, Romance

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication December 30, 2025

About the author

Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.

"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.

"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.

"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:

"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."

Also writes as Misty Lackey

Author's website

Reviews

[Leanna Streeter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cyprian is a Regency inspired fairytale retelling that follows Elena and her seven brothers after their lives are upended by a cruel stepmother and a powerful curse. The story leans heavily into atmosphere and character, taking its time to settle into the rhythms of their lives and relationships.

What stood out most to me was the strong sense of family and the quiet, immersive details that make the world feel lived-in. The slow build worked well for most of the book, letting the characters and setting shine, though the ending wrapped up more quickly than I expected after such a gradual progression.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, thoughtfully written read with classic fairytale elements and a strong emotional core. A solid choice for readers who enjoy character focused retellings with a gentle, steady pace.

[Kathy Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This eighteenth book in the Elemental Masters series is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans. It is set during England's Regency period.

Elena Whitstone is the youngest of Lord Whitstone's children. She has seven older brothers. Their mother disappears when she is quite young leaving them in the neglectful care of their father. When he comes home from Bath with a new bride, things change for the children.

Lord Whitstone seems besotted by his new bride who immediately banishes the children to the nursery and attempts to starve them. Luckily, the children have allies in the form of the old servants. They make many plans to escape their father and new stepmother's control. However, before they can implement any of them, their new stepmother is revealed to them as an evil mage who changes the brothers into swans and chases them from their home.

Elena is left to her stepmother's care when her father dies of grief at the loss of his sons. The stepmother is angry to learn that the estate is entailed and that she needs to leave with only the gifts she was given during the marriage and Elena.

The stepmother travels to Bath, changes her name, and resumes her previous career as a Cyprian - an exclusive prostitute. This career is aided by her magic which lets her enthrall men. She makes Elena her tiger - a carriage boy.

But plans change when her stepmother's latest protector - also a water mage - encourages her to open a bordello and conduct a virgin's auction with Elena as the virgin. This causes Elena to run from home where she finds herself on the estate of air mages who shelter her and help her find a way to free her brothers from their spell.

I enjoyed this story. I love the Regency setting. I liked the character of Elena who is resilient and determined. I liked the magical creatures - the sylphs - who try to help the children when the stepmother is not around.

My only complaint is the pacing of the story. Everything gets resolved in the last two percent of the book after a long, leisurely build-up. The long, leisurely build up seemed to hit a wall where the author realized that she was at some sort of page limit and had to wrap everything up immediately.

[Danielle Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to DAW and Netgalley for an ARC copy of The Cyprian.

My first introduction to adult fantasy was Mercedes Lackey’s Arrows of the Queen thanks to my mom (she has great taste!) I’ve read almost all of the Valdemar universe books and some of them are my comfort rereads when I don’t want to start a new book.

I remember reading one or two of the Elemental Masters series before getting distracted by college reading and just never came back to this series. The Cyprian reminded me of my goal to finish her backlist that I haven’t read yet.

The Cyprian is a fairytale retelling of the Wild Swans. I have read the original and a decent amount of retellings that I knew the premise of the story but Lackey’s excellent writing and character development made this a standout story. I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a cozy fantasy but the first half of the book follows the cozy premise of focusing on the day to day lives of the characters. It really works for this story as we have 8 main characters (Elena and her 7 brothers) and we really get to know them and understand their heritage, the explanations for how their parents treated/treat the kids and how that has prepared them for the intrusion of Stepmother and her punishments.

I loved seeing Elena’s resilience after she is taken into the Stepmother’s service after her father’s death. Because of how much time we spent in their childhood the action portion felt a tiny bit rushed and I’d don’t think an explanation was given as to how Stepmother and her accomplice found Elena and was able to lay the initial trap. Still I loved the story and enjoyed the ending.

Didn’t have any trouble understanding the world even not having read the rest of the series so I highly recommend this book for historical fantasy lovers!

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review // 3.5 ⭐️ // While touted as similar to 'Bridgerton,' I would argue this more aligns with the Bedwyn Saga by Mary Balogh, since it tends to play with critiquing Regency England a bit more than Bridgerton tends to (as far as I can recall).

The pacing was a bit wonky, overall. Most of what occurs in the synopsis didn't happen until over halfway through the book (about 60% on my ereader). This left the back half of the novel feeling rushed and underbaked (especially the final chapter); there was a page difference from what review apps/Edelweiss said the page count was and what appeared on my ereader (it was roughly 50 pages, which feels like a lot for font to adjust), so I don't know if there were parts missing (I also don't know what backmatter could be worth 50 pages).

The romance labels are also being generous – very little romance happens until the underdeveloped back-half of the novel (though we get glimpses of at least one half a couple of times before that point). This romance would do a lot to explain how involved one character gets (the 'I just want to help' motivation feels a little one-dimensional, no matter how nice it is for someone to be a genuinely good person like that).

[TinyKneazle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley for providing this ARC. I received the book for free, but my opinions are my own.
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This was by definition a cosy fantasy. Marketed as "Bridgerton meets Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans" .

I do think that does the book a disservice, as the only thing it really shares with Julia Quinn's universe is the Regency England setting.

What the book is, is a very satisfying slow paced journey breathing new life into a familiar fable through the veteran fantasy voice of Mercedes Lackey.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Elemental Masters series takes different fairy tales and transposes them onto Regency / Edwardian England, adding in a secret society of mages. The Cyprian is based on The Six Swans from Grimm's fairy tales. It's nice to get back to the old format of focusing on Elemental magic after a long side trip into psychics helping Sherlock Holmes solve crimes (those books are much better than it sounds, but they were starting to get old). The Cyprian has the series' typical elements of girl-meets-boy eventually finding love together after overcoming challenges with the twist that both parties have magic. This book could benefit from a trigger warning, as long-time readers won't be expecting the brief on-screen sexual violence -- previous books in the series have been pretty universally G-rated.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Meredith Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really loved the first 70% of this. It was a little slow, knowing it was a retelling of the Wild Swans and so knowing that we were waiting for the evil stepmother to turn them to swans, but it really built a sense of dread while also fully immersing everyone in the characters' worlds and personalities. It really built up to a head -- where suddenly everything skipped forward and began rushing, and I'm afraid it lost me a bit at that point.

It's not just that Elena was put under "threat" of constant sexual assault (I say threat, because she was worrying about IF she was raped, but we see her on page getting digitally raped, unfortunately, it's just of course this isn't counted as 'quite' the same on page); I can see the purpose for it, even if I'm really, really tired of it, especially when that is one of the few plot points NOT taken from the original fairy tale to be added in. But it's the fact that this put her at her least autonomous, most subject to other people's wills after 70% of a book of her having to keep her head down, and then the rest of the story ... doesn't really get her autonomy back. She does a few things (the main one being run away) but then people keep handing her the solutions to her problems. Brand new characters we'd never met, or only met once, step in to house her, teach her, tell her explicitly that she needs to make the magic shirts, tell her explicitly that she needs to use nettles to do it, that she can't speak, take her brothers in, solve the questions of how to justify how these 7 brothers were all missing for 3 years, etc. She just does what she's told -- even the climax, where she certainly DOES save the day, she does so based on instructions other people gave her in the past. I would have just liked to see more of the ideas in her hands -- a "I was told my magic is in sewing, is there anything we can do with that" or a "We always talked about running away to Canada. What if someone had sold my brothers there" would all be based in things she already knew and then put the ideas and inspirations into her own hands even if she still had to learn how.

(I also felt odd about the one major iconic part of the fairy tale getting safely undone at the end, even though she'd already talked which meant she should no longer be able to keep sewing the magic into the shirt...! And also about a man she'd met once when she was prepubescent fantasizing about how she'd be the perfect wife -- he didn't KNOW her then! -- and this being considered a promising hope for us the reader, at the same time WE know she's being sexually assaulted elsewhere, as if these don't make a rather odd parallel or contrast! If they'd spent more time together, or if that detail was cut and he fell in love with her after REmeeting her, I'd feel less odd about it, I think.)

Still well worth reading, but if it had carried its momentum through and put a little more into her own hands I would have been able to give this a five stars, but it really turned for me at points near the end. Still, it's a fun one overall!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Daw for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a free advance review copy of The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey by DAW via NetGalley in exchange foran honest review. Thank you, DAW!

The Cyprian is the newest installment in Mercedes Lackey's long-running Elemental Masters series, and like most of the rest of the series, this book is based on a fairy tale. In this case, the fairy tale is Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans. I will admit, I have not read this fairy tale, but I do plan to. I'd like to see what elements Lackey used in this new book. Also, before I get into the meat of my review, I wanted to list some content warnings for people:

Child abuse & neglect

Sexual assault

Rape mentioned, but the act doesn't occur on the page

Child exploitation

Imprisonment and coercion

There are probably some other content warnings I could list, but those are the ones that jumped out at me while reading. I know for some authors it's become common practice to list these warnings at the beginning of the book, but unfortunately it's not common in the publishing industry at large.

One other little thing that bothers me isn't specifically about the book itself. It's about the way the book is being marketed. This book is being marketed as romantasy, and it is absolutely not romantasy. This is a fairy tale retelling, first and foremost. With the last few installments Lackey has been retelling these fairy tales in a Regency England setting, and I am loving it.

The first part of the story follows the daily lives of the children in the Whitstone family. All eight children are sets of twins: Benjamin and his twin Arthur are the oldest; then, Carl and David, Emil and Felix, and the youngest are Gustav and Elena, the only girl. The story tends to focus on Benjamin and Elena the most in the beginning. Benjamin tends to take charge of all his siblings and acts as best he can to be a role model. Meanwhile, Elena is a talented seamstress, and she is a keen reader and is mostly self-taught in subjects such as literature and history.

The Whitstone children's father usually leaves them to their own devices. They have had tutors, and the housekeeper and butler mind them for the most part. This is how their lives have been ever since their mother ran away never to be seen again several years ago. However, the children don't mind this. They are very mature and resilient even if their father is emotionally neglectful. These prove to be very important attributes for them to have when one day, their father arrives with a new wife.

It quickly becomes clear that Lord Whitstone is completely besotted by his new wife, and this new stepmother is anything but kind to the children. She makes that clear when she begins to truly neglect them. She refuses them food, firewood, and new clothing, and they are frequently forbidden from leaving their small part of the house. Luckily, the children are friendly with the servants. The servants are happy to help smuggle in food that can easily be cooked on the fire or roasted, such as potatoes, toast, and chestnuts. This part of the story really showed how treating servants well was only to everyone's benefit. The children's hardships helped them develop empathy for the hardships servants deal with daily, and they often made sure their requests wouldn't hurt the servants or interrupt their work.

It is also lucky that these turn out to be no ordinary children. It becomes clear early in the story that their mother was very special, and she was trapped into marriage and child-bearing by Lord Whitstone. Their mother was a swanmay, which is a swan version of a selkie. Lord Whitstone had stolen her skin of swan feather from her and hidden it away until Benjamin happened upon his mother crying one day. He helped her escape all without knowing what she was, and he kept her secret for years.

This means the children are really half-swanmays themselves. It also gave them each some degree of air elemental magic. All the children can see and speak to the air elementals known as sylphs. It is the sylphs that first warn them of how evil their new stepmother truly is. Not only does she neglect the children and exploit Elena's natural abilities as an atelier, but Lord Whitstone being so obsessed with her is no accident either.

In spite of all of this, things seem to be reaching an uneasy equilibrium for the children. The older ones have plans to go away and make some money to help get the younger ones out, especially Elena. Like many women during this time, Elena had very few choices. She could get married in order to leave her father's household and escape her stepmother that way. Unfortunately, it is unlikely her father will allow her to be "out" in society anytime soon due to the expense. His wife wants all his money to herself, and she also doesn't want to lose her dress atelier and personal seamstress she's developed in Elena.

Elena could also go live as a sort of housekeeper with one of her brothers, but that would likely only last until her brothers were married. No married woman wants to raise a family with a spinster aunt in the wings. In fact, the ways in which Elena are treated and the way her stepmother are treated in this era were two sides of the same coin. Later in the story we find out that Serefina ,the stepmother, used to be a Cyprian in Bath. Cyprian is just a nice word for a very expensive escort. Unfortunately, this too would be a way for Elena to escape, but she loathes the idea.

But, Elena could have easily become like Serefina. Elena was often ignored and flat neglected by her father simply for being female. He had no use for anything but boys. She only survived by teaching herself sewing, knitting, etc., and she's lucky the boy's tutor was willing to teach her as well. Elena, though, came from a place of empathy and willingness to work hard to escape her situation.

Serefina too used the tools available to her to gain in social stature. If she wasn't so cruel and prone to manipulation the reader would almost feel sorry for her. She had very few choices, and after being a well-known Cyprian, it's no wonder she turned to magic to find and secure herself a way out. She is largely selfish, though, and only wanted Lord Whitstone for his money. As soon as that money was gone, she went right back to being a Cyprian and tried to drag Elena down with her. Serefina rid herself of the obligation of children by turning all the boys into swans and essentially enslaving Elena. In the end, it was her undoing, and I'm glad that all of Elena's hard work is what rescued her brothers and herself. Everyone that deserved it, got a happy ending in this book.

I gave The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey four out of five stars. These latest two books in her long-running Elemental Masters series have been a breath of fresh air compared to the few before it. I've really enjoyed Lackey's take on the Regency era, and I love how she manages to insert contemporary commentary into a fairy-tale retelling. Some readers may be put off by the slice-of-life style of the first part of the book as well as some of the issues worth adding content warnings about. But, I really enjoyed this, and I definitely look forward to more.

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the one hand -- the things I loved about the last Elemental Masters book are present here as well -- the deep dive into the day-to-day lives of the protagonists, the details of period life (this time Regency), the time we take to really get to know the characters, who are generally pretty wonderful outside of the ones who are not. I also really enjoyed that while this story is a retelling of the Seven Swans, it doesn't slavishly follow that plotline for the majority of the book -- it's there, but it isn't the focus of the story. Once again, there's some delicious detail on textiles and clothing, on food, on setting -- it's luminous and intricate and altogether satisfying. It also has realistic moments of cruelty, that give it realism.

On the other hand -- this could so easily have had a romance at the heart of it, and does not -- there is a romance (ish) as a very small subplot that is only beginning to grow as the book ends. I kind of love that. And I would like to read the story of it. In fact, my biggest criticism is how fast the end of the book went -- leisurely paced, intricate, detailed, then -- boom, the swan plotline kicks off -- which is nothing compared to the speed of the denouement and wrap up -- which happens in the last moments of the book. I found it difficult to figure out how Seraphina worked her magic in the end, much less believe in it. I was disappointed with the paragraph wrap up of the siblings lives -- I feel like that could have been a chapter? An epilogue? There is an unexpected and graphic molestation scene out of nowhere, which feels true to the time period, but was still shocking. Maybe this part of the book is unfinished and more refinement will occur? I hope so. The first part was great and I would gladly have read more at the end.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey is the eighteenth book in the Elemental Masters series. First and foremost, I have seen this described as a cozy regency fantasy and romantasy in some of the descriptions on retail sights. It is definitely the first though dark in the way true fairy tales are and not so much the second. There if you are looking for something along the lines of the Honey Witch or The Spell Shop you might be a bit disappointed. Romance does not drive the story and is a light subplot at best. It mostly tells the story of Elena's life during a period of several years after her father remarried and for a very small part of it after she grew up romance was part of that. I believe if you like romantasy you will still enjoy this book despite the lack of romance in it.

The Cyprian follows Elena and 7 brothers for a good portion of the book and then highlights Elena's life and struggles to rescue her brothers for the last third or so. Elena is a smart and quick witted with an incredible skill set that makes her a joy to read about. This novel is completely a stand alone and doesn't feature any of the major characters from previous books in the series. I flew through this and felt it was one of the strongest recent books of the series. Old and new fans alike will find this book enjoyable.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am leaving a review of my own volition.

[Chelsea]

DNF @ 50%.

The pear of anguish for whoever at DAW thought it would be a good idea to compare this book to Bridgerton. That is a good way to get an angry mob sent after you because this book is NOTHING LIKE BRIDGERTON. I have read some of the earlier Elemental Masters books and liked them, and thought that this would probably have SOME romance in it, though I didn't actually expect it to be Bridgerton-level because, once again, I have read some of the earlier ones. Not only have I encountered no romance, I have encountered NOTHING. No one has gotten turned into a swan. No magic has been performed. The main character is still 13 and she and her brothers are just spending chapter after chapter eating meals of leftovers and doing schoolwork. There is a ton of plot that is mentioned in the synopsis of this book and I see no hope for it being at all well-developed when it all has to be shoved into the second half because the entire first half is a bunch of kids hanging out in a schoolroom, and so I am giving up on this.

If you want a Regency fantasy that actually DOES have some romance in it, I would point readers to Half a Soul, which is a great example of a Regency fantasy romance that is not spicy but still manages to have good pacing, magic, and relationship development throughout.

[PlotTrysts · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like unusual fairy tale retellings, may I suggest the Elemental Masters series? She created her own magical world with its own rules, and then sets it in the Regency/Victorian/Gilded Age era, combining fantasy with historical romance (there is almost always a romantic subplot), and then on top layers fairy tale and folkloric elements. AND, often, the fairy tales are more obscure; this one is based on The Wild Swans, which I was not super familiar with before picking up the book and had me going down a research rabbit hole.

Like many of her books, Lackey spends a lot of time building up her characters and setting before getting into the meat of the fairy tale plot. Elena, the main character, and her six brothers are the children of a Swan Maiden who abandoned them when she got the chance. Her brother get their own character journeys, and although the book begins with Elena serving the role of the subservient, self-sacrificing fairy tale heroine, she's a plucky character who takes more agency and action by the end.

Do note that there is some completely gratuitous and unnecessary (IMO) sexual assault towards the final quarter of the book. This is honestly a longtime complaint of mine with many of Lackey's books - as though the villain can't be truly villainous unless they also orchestrate or perform an assault on the main character. Elena's circumstances are bad enough to stand on their own.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings and this is one of the good ones!

I really enjoyed Lackey taking the time to let us get to know the brothers and the siblings' relationships to one another. I didn't realize this was part of a long series of books when I requested the ARC, but I was pleased to find out that you can definitely read it as a standalone. I'll probably look into the other books in the series because I found Lackey's writing really enjoyable. I especially liked the descriptions we get of food, sewing, and clothing. I can see why people are calling it "cozy" when applying it to those descriptions, however it feels misleading. This feels like a regency fairytale, not a cozy read. There is hardship and a sudden occurrence of sexual violence which place it away from cozy, in my opinion. What takes away a full star from being a solid 5 star read is the abrupt ending. Lackey does really well at the slow build and even pacing but it changes into a rapid wrap up of an ending starting at the 80% mark. It’s still a really nice read but holy cow, the way it ended seemed like an entirely different author got ahold of the novel. All the time we spent with the family is wrapped up in literally 2 paragraphs.

Overall, a solid read that made me want to delve into the other parts of the series. Thank you Netgalley and DAW for my ARC!

[Omm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to DAW and Mercedes Lackey via NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of The Cyprian.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read. If you enjoyed Miss Amelia's List, the previous Regency-era Elemental Masters novel, you will likely enjoy this. It's less active than some of the later-era Elemental Masters novels (e.g. Blood Red, any of the Holmes books). It is fairly cozy with more focus on characters (and sewing. So much sewing!). However, the ending felt rushed and the epilogue perfunctory (to be fair, there are 8 people to track). I would have liked to have some crossover with some of the characters from Miss Amelia's List since they are in the same time-period.

Enjoyable, light read.

[Jackie Hughes]

DNF

This comes down to a very poorly-comped title, and a plot that doesn't come to fruition until about 3/4 of the way through the book. This was sold to me as a cozy (what can be cozy about suffering children??) Regency romp a la Bridgerton? (there's no spice and hardly a lick of romance, trust me I was searching hard) The first half of this book is devoted to watching the seven children of this family make strange concoctions with their measly meals, lose all of their friends and family, and struggle with schoolwork. And honestly, it was a bit boring. Even I, who has read many Victorian and Regency novels, could not help but be bored with this monotony. And it was sad, DEFINITELY not cozy.

I think this was competently written though, having never read a book by Mercedes Lackey before this, but I would have no idea what I was missing with this having been the 18th book in a series of connected stories. No idea how it fits in there. My eARC had quite a few spelling and formatting mistakes though.

Ultimately, this just isn't the book I was looking for and I can't recommend it based on that.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a while since I read one of the Elemental Masters Series, luckily the books are pretty much stand-alone fantasies that take place in a world where there are Elemental Masters, mages who control one of the elements, air, water, fire, or earth. Each book is a reimagining, or, more accurately, inspired by a classic fairytale. This one, as evidenced by the cover, draws inspiration from Hans Christian Anderson’s The Wild Swans. It is an "evil stepmother" tale set in Regency era England with a sweet protagonist, sufficiently evil villain and an absorbing plot as well as Mercedes Lackey's easy to read prose that have kept readers coming back to her multiple series of books for decades. This book is great for readers of all ages who enjoy having fairytales retold.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, DAW) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

[Emily Truell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters world and this book is based on a fairy tale that I very much enjoy seeing retold. This addition to the series was a better book than the last, Miss Amelia's List. I really liked all the set up and world building. You spend a lot of time with minutia, but I enjoy that. I have two complaints- the first is that the lead character really did not feel 13. I currently live with a 13 year old and I cannot imagine her behaving similarly. Secondly, the ending was too rushed. I was enjoying the books moderate pacing and then suddenly we had a huge rush and a couple line epilogue and its over. I really would have liked to explored that last altercation more. I also would have liked more time growing the lead in a healthy and happy place. The book could have used maybe 10% more length. Otherwise an enjoyable read.

[Opal Edgar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've seen the name of Mercedes Lackey around a lot, but never read any of her book, so I this was a wonderful occasion as I love Regency Fantasy.

The fairytale retelling was well executed but probably not to the level I had hoped knowing how famous and loved Lackey is.

The story was a slow build, with a looooot of details which show the impressive research and I guess adds to the immersion.

On the other hand the ending felt very rushed, and wrapped in half a chapter what I would have expected 2 to 4 chapters to cover. After the slow build minutia of the story, and the long suffering of the main character, this was definitely a letdown. You want to really experience that climax you waited for and get a more personal account of "what next" rather than a one-liner for each character. This really made the story feel unbalanced and unrewarding in the end.

[Icywolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Wild Swans fly across the latest addition to Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series set in a magical land akin to England during the Napoleonic Wars. Our heroine Elena exhibits fierce stubbornness in her determination to outwit and escape the.. can you guess? ... evil stepmother. Ms. Lackey maintains a very fairy-tale, third person POV atmosphere in the adventure and also in the all-black-or-white characterization in this solid addition to her series.

I thank DAW books and NetGalley for access to this pre-publication ARC of The Cyprian - your chance to grab this one is coming soon. All opinions are my own.

[Glennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a retelling of the tale of the seven boys turned into geese and saved by their sister who has to make them shirts while never speaking until the task is complete. The setting is the usual Regency England with the Elemental Masters but it is set in the countryside and only at the end do we even see the White Lodge get involved. The father is a minor lord who managed to get a swanmaid to marry him and then he hid her cloak of feathers so she couldn’t leave. When she gets it back she leaves and never returns abandoning her 8 children. The four sets of twins, 7 brothers and one sister are mostly ignored by their father and are surprised when years later he shows up with a new bride. The story follows the tale’s framework and the usual ending happens. This story does show what happens with courtesans and how some made a living. Granted they didn’t use dark magic like the one in the story did. But the story also shows how small acts of kindness can pay back to the person when they need it the most.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

[Megan Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. I love this series, I love this author, and I loved this book. I've been a long time fan of this series and I think it's at its strongest when it's a "standalone". This particular entry in the series was fantastic because it gave me echoes of the early books in the series which were fairy tale retellings that are also fantastic. It's a retelling of the seven swans story, and this version is just so well done. I honestly couldn't put this book down, and now I have a desire to reread the series. Can't wait for the next one.

[Maree Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercedes Lackey is my all time favourite fantasy author.
I especially love her Valdemar novels.

I had never heard of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Wild Swans, that this story is based on.

As usual, Mercedes has created some wonderful characters, has detailed descriptions of scenery and events so it was easy for me to imagine myself there.
I came to love and care for all the good characters and despise the evil ones, just as Mercedes intended.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Wild Swans told as only Mercedes Lackey can.
Elena is the youngest and only female in a family of eight siblings. She is largely ignored by her father and she likes it that way. But the new stepmonster is another story. Using her skills and quick wit she manages to get by but her brothers aren’t so lucky. It falls to Elena to save them but first she has to save herself.
Magic, lust, cruelty and greed this tale has it all. Highly recommend.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy Lackey's Elemental Masters books, and this is a solid addition to the series. A fairly straightforward retelling of the Wild Swans, expanded. There's a smidge of romance way at the end, but if you go into this expecting it to be a romance, you will be disappointed. This is Elena's story 100%. She's 13 for the bulk of the book and 17 for the last quarter.

I would honestly love to read more about this family set in this world

Note: I read this as a free eARC from Netgalley.

[Rainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in advance via NetGalley.

While set within the Elemental Masters series, this can be readily enjoyed as a standalone.

I really enjoyed the Regency setting, the sibling relationships, and the callbacks to the original Seven Swans story. Although the pacing of the plot was a little off, I had a great time and will feel comfortable recommending this fantasy.

[J R · Rating 4 out of 5]

cozy and transposes the swans here well. i did find the plot a little slow but it still worked quite satisfactorily. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

[Caroline Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing fantasy retelling! I miss the stories of the 500 Kingdoms and the fairy godmothers, but this story would fit right in!

[Cayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Close your eyes and imagine the Regency period, definitely giving Bridgerton vibes, with a dash of magical swans and lots (too much) tragedy.

In the beginning of the story we are quickly introduced to the characters and the “world”. We are given enough insight to understand the nature of said characters. Within the first couple of pages one of the major plot points unfolds, and most of the story then builds on that exact revelation. For the next maybe 60% of the book the pacing falls off, and it takes until the last few chapters for things to pick back up.

The story itself was very dark and I don’t care for the evil stepmother trope. I wish we would have focused more on the father and the mother’s story. The commonality between the women, or a way for them to find retribution.

I would suggest checking potential trigger warnings!

The writing is well done, which is to be expected from Lackey’s work. I believe this just might not be the story for me. There is a sort of happy ending, but it felt unfinished to me.

Thank you to DAW Books and NetGalley for allowing me to join Elena on her journey to find her proverbial wings!