The Swan King

by Nina Clare

Elsa, the sheltered daughter of a baron, has been forced to flee her home.
When she’s given refuge at the royal castle it would seem that help is at hand, but the young king is not an easy man to speak to. In fact, Elsa’s not sure what kind of man he is.

Caught up into strange and magical happenings, political intrigues and romantic conflicts, the glamorous world of the king disintegrates about her, and enemies close in.
Elsa wonders who to trust, who to love, and if she will ever make it home again.

Genres: Fantasy, Retellings, Romance, Fairy Tales, Audiobook, Young Adult, Fiction

360 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2019

About the author

When she’s not writing stories or thinking up stories or reading other people’s stories, Nina likes to paint and collage pictures, get taken for long walks by her adorable dogs, and cook all things plant-based. She also does other things, like office work, but that’s the boring bit. She lives very happily in rural Cornwall, England with her family.

Reviews

[J.M. Stengl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based loosely on history and on German folktales, THE SWAN KING has the magical soul of a classic fairy tale, complete with a brave heroine with a gift, a wicked stepmother, an evil villain, an epic king, a lovable hero, a marvelous link to the dangerous fay world, and a haunting yet satisfyingly romantic ending.
All of which hardly begins to describe this lovely story.

I could hardly put this book down once I started reading, and I know I will read it again and again.

[Noonecansinkmyship (Tissa) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got almost half way through this book, before the slow dragging pace, plodding meandering plot and lack of character development finally made me up all hope. I'm really sad to give this book such a low rating. I don't deal out low ratings unless I truly didn't enjoy the book and that turned out to be the case for this one.

I just hope that this was one of Nina Clare's first books and she will continue to turn out amazing books like The Reluctant Wife: a King Thrushbeard fairy tale which is one of my all time favorite retellings. The stark contrast between the two shook me when I realized they were by the same author.

The only reason why I held on for so long before giving up was because I was hoping the plot would speed up or the main girl would have character growth. Maybe the ending would make it all worth it. If it did for someone, please let me know. But I doubted that would be the case for me with this book (other wise I would've continued plodding along).

[Olivia Schube · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an absolute page-turner! The tone, the atmosphere, the descriptions and the pacing were excellent. I loved the blend of history with fairy tale and found this book quite unique in that sense.

My only semi-complaints with the book (though I still loved it) were that I found the ending to be slightly anti-climactic and light on the romance side. The book had me flipping though pages to figure out this great mystery of the mountain, but then at the end I expected more of that mystery to be revealed and there to be more of a climax at it's deep meaning. When the king just vanished into the cave to take his true throne, it felt like all of the work into awakening the mountain and building the castle was for nothing. I was waiting for the whole mountain to be transformed into this new, awakened kingdom or something similar but it seemed to just loose it's magic again. This is also just me being curious to know more about what was really going on because it was SO fascinating and hooking!

As for the romance, I appreciated the false-start with Paul and the steady support of Christian, but I found the ending of that romance to be anti-climactic also. I realize this isn't a romance book, but I was hoping for a little more passion (all clean, of course).

These two factors aside, I LOVED everything about the book. I visited Neuschwanstein castle when I was a teenager and this book had me looking back into my memories to recapture the beauty and mystery of that amazing place. Well done to Nina Clare for creating a stunning tale from this historical marvel.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an average read. I did enjoy the fairy tale aspects of the story, but many of the characters were bland and I felt no real connection to them. The main character, Elsa, was particularly boring and seemed to have no defining features to her personality yet was treated as incredibly important to the story. (Other than the whole talking to animals thing?) She just didn't do anything, so she came off as a bit of a Mary Sue character. I didn't hate the book overall though, I just believe it has some characterization that needs to be improved upon to make it a little better.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

My library only had the audiobook, so I listened to this one. Luckily the narrator was pretty good, so it didn't prevent me from liking the book (that's happened before). Forgive me when I inevitably spell something incorrectly--I don't speak German, and I didn't see the spelling.

Overall, I enjoyed the writing; however, I was confused at about 3/4 of the way through the book because it suddenly switched from third person about Elizabeth (whom everyone called Elsa because they didn't know her name) to first person about Elsa, though they were the same person. Perhaps I missed something at the beginning--did it begin in first person and then switch when she forgot who she was? I don't know. Like I said, it confused me. Or perhaps I'm just crazy? The sections of courtroom scenes felt kind of strange, but they were an important part of the story. But I still really enjoyed the book.

This initially felt a lot like the Ever After version of Cinderella, but it had much more to it than that. For example, Elsa (18) can speak to animals. I really liked her as a character--even when she suffered from amnesia, she was a kind person. Supporting characters I liked were Hansie, Zella, and Herr Holla (Christian). Of course there are the typical evil characters, particularly Elsa's stepmother and the Count, and I despised them both. I also couldn't stand Herr Veinmann, though he was more arrogant and wasteful than evil. Paul was a bit more complicated--he wasn't outright bad, but he was rather selfish when it came down to it.

It's a romantic fairy tale, but it's not simply a romance. It was interesting and magical--honestly, I wasn't sure where it was going, but I had a feeling it would end in a satisfactory way.

How it ends: One of the people Ludwig hires to work on his new castle is Hansie, and he recognizes Elsa and helps solve the mystery of who she is.

Because King Ludwig is spending so much time and money on his New Schwanstein castle in the mountain (especially after offending the emperor by leaving the ball when he found out that the emperor was going to eat one of his swans), other powerful members of the government seek to depose him. Paul tries to convince Elsa to leave with him so that the Count cannot get her--he is the new cabinet secretary, and the King will not be able to protect her anymore. But she chooses to stay because Paul has no intention of marrying her, and she is unwilling to live with him as a mistress (good girl). Plus she realizes she's not in love with him.

The King had found the green fae cup that the swans had told Elsa he needed to find. He offered to grant her three wishes with it--she wanted to remember who she was, have her brother Alexi healed, and . . . I don't remember what else. He gave her some royal lilies for her brother.

People are coming to the castle to take the King. King Ludwig takes a boat to the land of faerie, accompanied by Elsa. But Christian begs her to stay, and she decides not to go after all. By this point, some men have followed them in another boat, and one of them (the Count) shoots the King and tries to follow him. Ludwig gets into faerie, though, instead of being killed. Everyone else thinks he died, though. And the Count goes a little crazy because he entered faerie and left again. Christian, who had followed her into the freezing water, has been retrieved and is in the boat along with Elsa, the driver, and the Count.

This is about the place where the courtroom scenes take place, though they were scattered throughout the book. In short, they were trying to ascertain what happened to the King. It is decided that the Count was responsible for his death and the kidnapping of Elsa early in the book. However, there's not enough evidence against her stepmother, so nothing happens with her. Elsa is Frauline Opal, though why she went by that, I'm not sure.

Once Christian has recovered from hypothermia, he, Elsa, and Hansie start the journey back to her home to give Alexi the flowers. They stop at Hansie's aunt's house, as she was the midwife who delivered the King. She makes a medicine from the flowers for Alexi. But she also tells them about Ludwig (she had been sworn not to say a word until the left their world). The Queen's son was born almost dead, and the Queen of Faerie came and exchanged her son for the baby prince. She wanted her son to grow up away from her people and then be able to heal them. So that's why he looks more and more fae as the work progressed on his castle and he spent more time in the mountains. The baby prince, by the way, survived and lives in Faerie.

On their journey, they stop at an inn. Elsa forgets the medicine for Alexi in the stable and goes to retrieve it without her hood on. A man recognizes her face from some posters that are all over town, and he and the constable take her away against her will. She is taken to her father, though, who had survived the train wreck after all. The Count had found him and had him admitted to a sanitarium, not telling anyone that he had lived. During some chaos, however, her father was able to escape. Alexi is doing very badly. Elsa's stepmother tells the Baron that he must choose between her and Elsa; obviously he chooses Elsa.

The medicine for Alexi was with Hansie and Christian, so she takes a horse and rushes to find them, only to discover that they had left after being unable to find her. Fortunately, they're at her house when she returns to it. She gives Alexi the medicine, and he slowly begins to recover.

Christian leaves, telling Elsa that he has some matters to attend to, relationships to repair. (We know he is the son of a nobleman and had left because he'd had a falling out with his father over the death of his mother, who we know was part fey.) She is out of sorts while he is gone, though she doesn't quite know why. Her father essentially says that he wouldn't have allowed her to marry him anyway because he was not of her station. This upsets her, and she sort of starts to figure out why she was feeling the way she was.

After a time, Christian returns. He speaks with Elsa's father and receives permission to ask for her hand in marriage. His father is actually a prince; he is, too, though he is not the heir and will have to supplement their income by working. He proposes; she accepts. They are married and choose to live in the mountains.

Note: Can't think of anything bad.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW:

Narrator: Elizabeth Klett

The narrator was pretty good. Her voice worked well for Elsa, and she wasn't boring to listen to.

[Rose | Adventurous Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so glad that I finally finished this one.

Character development? What's that?
Romantic interest? He seemed like a brother.
Storyline? Just didn't make sense.

2 Generous Stars

[Bree Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Rosanne Lortz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elsa is a beautiful and unusual girl in nineteenth century Bavaria. She has the mysterious gift of being able to talk to animals, a gift that could prove valuable to cruel Count Wuelfen as he builds his stable of racehorses. When Elsa's father disappears on a business trip, her greedy stepmother arranges for her to marry the villainous nobleman. Aided by the servants, Elsa escapes into the forest, but a fall from a horse leaves her with amnesia. When King Ludwig and his aide Prince Paul discover her wandering by the mountains, they take her under their protection.

As fragments of her memory return to her, Elsa becomes the vessel to communicate messages from the swans and the faery world about a mysterious item that Ludwig must find in the mountains. With a look of the fae about him, the king becomes increasingly obsessed with building his mountainside castle Neuschwanstein. He devotes all his fortune to a charlatan architect named Weimar while the man's genius apprentice William does all the work. War is on the horizon, but Ludwig cares only for beauty, and the country begins to go to wrack and ruin. Can Elsa evade the evil count, return to her family, and survive the toppling of Ludwig's regime? 

This "historical fairy tale" explores the legend of Lohengrin and the mysterious end of Ludwig II of Bavaria. The gorgeous prose carries the reader away into a world that is both fantastical and realistic. I particularly enjoyed the author's nod to the historical composer Wagner with the outrageous architect Weimar. I did think the story began to drag a little bit toward the end and would have preferred a tighter resolution. But overall, I am very impressed with Nina Clare's ability to cast the spell of a storybook world and am looking forward to reading more of her fairy tale retellings. 

[Kelsie Engen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Swan King quite a bit. It was a book that drew me in and made me interested in what happened next. The characters were engaging and sympathetic (or antagonistic, in the case of Elsa's stepmother), and I certainly wanted to keep reading.

However, there were a couple of things that lowered my rating to a 4 star. (Really, 3.5. I wish I could give half stars, quite frankly.) Namely, this read like a romance, but I did not feel the romance at all. It felt like there were too many options for the protagonist for most of the book, and so I didn't really get any of the "feels" that I wanted to have for the romantic plot of this book.

Don't get me wrong. The book is plotted expertly, the fairy tale portion of the book is fascinating (I love fairy tales, if you didn't already know that), and I was intrigued by the story itself. But it was simply the emotional aspect of the romantic plot that I didn't feel connected with at all. There were probably three men that could be potential romantic partners, and I didn't really care for any of them; none of them really came alive for me in terms of a romantic lead that I wanted the protagonist to end up with. I struggled with that connection, so I didn't connect with the main character or the story as much as I wanted to. I wanted to feel that longing for her to recognize "true love," but it just wasn't there for me.

That said, the writing is so well done that I would definitely give this author a second chance. I will probably be checking out another one of her books after I get through a couple on my tbr list, and I fully expect to spend a day or two distracted by reading it.

[S. Wigget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down, but I'm biased because in 1988 I went with my high school German teacher and other students on a whirlwind tour of German-speaking countries. This trip included spending some time in Bavaria--wandering Munich, touring Scloss Linderhof, looking up at Schloss Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, and becoming obsessed with King Ludwig II. Over the years, I've collected books about Ludwig.

The architect Herr Weimann is pretty much Richard Wagner, but an architect for Schloss Neuschwanstein rather than a composer of operas. I remember Christian Jank at least drew pictures of Neuschwanstein and Falkenstein--he was a theater scene designer, not a regular architect.

This book makes me want to read one of my many biographies on Ludwig and see who the architect was or if there were several. At least, it did before a cop killed George Floyd in cold blood and all--I became eager to read other books.

[Lisa Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though this was a good story from what I could tell, I find it difficult to get into Nina Clare's writing. It was told in first person, but I felt no emotional connection with the main character. The narrations were very sterile. It's a shame because the story reminded me a little of Snow White and Anastasia, so it could have been a fun read if the writer had fleshed out the main character better.

[Swan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not even sure where to start. I have mixed feelings towards this book.
There is a ton of potential and avenues that the author could have gone with this story and I have to say that I'm disappointed with it.
For a time it was an enjoyable read; however, it dragged on so much on a lot of pointless things...mainly talking about the mountains and everything surrounding it rather than adding more to the actual story. As if the story-line was worked around the environment/scenery.
It got to the point that I ended up just skipping to get the point and parts that were actually relevant to read. AND I DON'T LIKE MISSING ANYTHING; but this tested my patience.

You only get enough (very minutely) background of each character to get the gist of them or nothing at all.
There's two parts to how the book is written: 1. an official investigation - present day (all in italics) and 2. from Elsa's POV; however, it should have been written from Ludwig's.

There really wasn't a major conflict (the only one being Elsa's villain - the Count & her stepmother); other than that, the war between countries would have been enough.
The reader in the end, is given a quick explanation of Ludwig's beginning.

Elsa: was completely pointless and not even needed considering the fact that Ludwig had the same gift. She was not even the least bit helpful except being a person to encourage (I suppose you could say) and support Ludwig. Her amnesia was highly annoying.
I could go on about Elsa, but lets just say that I was not a fan of hers.

Ludwig: I wish I did a count of the very few lines that were actually given to him. The whole story is literally around him and going home, and there lacks much of him...his thoughts...quite literally everything. The only thing you get is his appearance and how he's always changing on the mountain and during the construction of the new castle.

Christian (Haller): I liked him, but you still don't get much of him either. Unlike Elsa though, he actually served a purpose.

Prince Thorne: He was pleasant; likable character...but I didn't like how the author described him enough to make the reader believe that he could possibly belong (lineage) to the mountain people having some gift (like the gift of charm) but he really wasn't at all. It was just his persona.

The "love" part of the story: there isn't one. Elsa suffers amnesia throughout most of the entirety of the story. There are 2 guys that she's constantly around the Prince and Christian. The Prince is the one who is more hospitable towards her (from the beginning) but he's also a flirt and nothing more than that. Christian is more of a friend without really any (real) affection expressed.

I don't even think she actually loved him; just missed his company because of the amount of time that was spent with each other and the memorable time and events that took place in the mountains of when New Swanstein was being built.

I don't want to give away the whole book in case someone doesn't like a TON of spoilers; so I'm going to stop here.
I liked the imaginative bits of the book and like I said it was enjoyable...but I wouldn't recommend or read again.

[Bess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time I've read anything from Nina Clare.
While the story was confusing at times, it was the grammar that was the real issue for me. The author wrote well but could have used an extra set of eyes to clean up some of the awkward sentences and phrases.
At first it seemed the story was about Elisabeth (nice to see my name in a book!), however as we moved through the story, it seemed to switch the importance to the king. And then, it switched back to Elsa. It was a bit odd to me.
There is a trial going on in the "present" day while the witnesses recounted the story. That was interesting. A story within a story. Not a bad idea; a little rough with the execution.
I've never read any stories about a swan king so I'm not sure if this was original or some kind of retelling.
Elsa's story had me thinking about Cinderella. Loving baron father, evil stepmother. However, she has a younger sickly brother. Still, after the father is presumed dead (I knew he was alive!), the stepmother tries to marry Elsa off to a horrid count. She runs away, gets captured, escapes, gets hit on the head, and loses her memory. Unfortunate!
So, we read about her struggles but thankfully, she can "talk" to animals and the king finally finds someone like him. Don't get your hopes up, they aren't the HEA. The king has to reawaken the mountain and the magic there to find a relic that was stolen from the Fae. With Elsa being able to "talk" to the swans, she gives the king a message from said swan and he begins rigorously building a castle on the mountain reawakening the dormant magic. We meet Haller & his "master" here. There isn't a lot about Haller and his interactions with Elsa, except his more of a gentleman than the prince regent.
After reading the king's circumstances surrounding his birth, at about 80% through the book, things started to make more sense. I've never know a king (except King George and his Ducky - VeggieTales) that didn't want anything to do with the matters of his kingdom. His only "excuse" was "he didn't belong." But that didn't make sense. The queen mother was constantly upset by the king's behavior. The prince regent was a rake!
They find the relic, Elsa figures out who she is, her sickly brother is saved, her father is alive, the evil stepmother leaves, the count is imprisoned, Haller (the architect-prince in disguise) marries Elsa, and the swan king goes back to the Fae. And there you go!
I'm not sure my final emotions on the book. At times it felt like a drudge but at other times it was exciting enough to wonder what happens next.
Give it a try! Maybe a perfect fit for you!!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this was going to be a great read--I just knew it! Even before it officially released, the tiny fragments of information Nina Clare gave about the book caught my attention and made me eager to read it. So, once I carved out time to read uninterrupted, I wrapped in a blanket, snuggled up with a kitten, and got lost in the beautiful story of The Swan King. Perfect reading conditions, if I do say so myself. ;)

The story itself was enchanting and lyrical, with perfect fairytale vibes. It's one of those books that just gives you happy/cozy/connected feelings. It wasn't one of those reads where I was just flipping pages to get it over and done--I got lost in the world of The Swan King. I wasn't familiar with any of the stories and events that inspired this book beforehand, but I think that added another layer of enjoyment. Instead of already having a preconceived picture of what was coming, I got to enjoy what unfolded without preset ideas.

The characters were enjoyable. Some I like better than others, a few felt more flat and just there to propel things forward. Namely the "villains" that set things in motion. They kind of dominated the pages for a couple of chapters, and then disappeared once they got the ball rolling. Two things I would have liked to be explored more were (1) I would have liked to feel a slight bit more urgency or alarm for Elsa's immediate safety since she wasn't exactly hidden from them or seemingly well protected. It just felt slightly unbelievable that for many months someone with supposedly so much power and reach didn't even seem to try that hard to get what he/they wanted. And (2) the romance felt a little too subdued at times. I would have liked to see the relationship explored a bit further. I liked what we saw, I just wanted more. At times the "other guy" seemed to get more page time and development. These two things weren't huge problems for me, just things I would have liked to see more up front.

Overall I highly recommend The Swan King to any lover of fairytales and folklore!

[Desirae · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story, unusually for a fairy tale, is set in the 19th century and includes many specific historical references. I didn't realize how close it was meant to be to history until reading the epilogue. I think the connections to actual history are interesting. The book also uses a lot of German, especially for proper nouns, like Bayern instead of the English Bavaria. I'd probably object to that in a non-fiction book, but for fiction it can help give a sense of place. If you aren't familiar with German, it may be a little distracting.

Other than the historical connection, the main thing I like is the treatment of romance, which seems a bit more realistic and down-to-earth than in most fairy tales. Many stories give lip service to propriety and then have a young couple slip off without chaperones and so on. The lead in this book sets boundaries, expects to have them respected, and recognizes that "taking liberties" is a bad sign from a prospective husband.

I guess I wish the book had been a bit more exciting--more of a clear plot. I didn't really care for the testimony frame story, which was a little confusing, since at least at the beginning it seemed to suggest that the narrative was part of the testimony even though surely a testimony would be unlikely to be told as a long narrative like this. The story also switches between third and first person (even in the main narrative) for some reason.

[Shannon Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could be better balanced

I'm in two minds about this story. On the one hand, I deeply appreciate the care the author took to the myth and folklore of her world. She did a very good job building up the world around her and constructing the system of magic that she did. The plot, in on itself is intriguing and enjoyable and was the main reason I finished this book.
However, I found that the plot and the world building had pushed the characters to the wayside. When she focused on them, I found myself bored beyond imagination. Elsa's character in particular needed work. She's too passive in the sense that her passivity isn't colored by personality. Frankly, I think we know too much about her from the get go and her character would have been better served to have begun the story with her amnesia and have the author unfold everything else like a mystery. Readers need some of that struggle to remain engaged.
The romance was believable as it was. With more focus on Elsa's perspective, I think it would have been even better.
With that being said, if you enjoy fairy tales, myth and history, you will appreciate this book.

[Jordan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings me back to my childhood

I grew up reading aged hardback copies of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. One of the enduring fascinations of my life has always been fairy tales. As a result, I’m always eager to read any promising retelling that comes my way.

This book was refreshing, because it was a fairy tale I’d never heard before. I was caught up in the enchantment, the mystery, the dastardly villain and the climactic finale. Not to mention, the perfectly happy ending.

This was a fast, satisfying read, with a plucky heroine who often listened to my mental screaming to ‘do that’ or ‘not this’ (LOL) in many situations. I would have liked something with even more world building, perhaps a longer build up to the finale.. something to really make my reading experience memorable.

As is though, it’s a solid read. Easy, light faire that’ll entertain you throughout the day and leave you turning the pages as fast as you can read them, to make it to the end. Well done!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I've pretty much enjoyed every book I've read by Nina Clare, and this one was no exception.

Elsa's story threw me at the beginning. It sounded a lot like Cinderella except there were no wicked step-sisters. Her father has to go on a long journey, and while he is gone the Step-mother works a scheme to marry off Elsa to some wicked dude. Elsa isn't going to stand for that so she escapes and ends up in the Castle, without her memory.

The new king doesn't feel like he fits. He can't find it in his heart to call the city people his people - he loves the mountains and decides it's time to rebuild the castle in the mountain.

There is lots of intrigue and some romance too. The characters are wonderfully fleshed out and I lost myself in the story numerous times.

This is a clean read.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical Fantasy at its Finest

I have been fascinated by King Ludwig II since I visited Munich the summer before my senior year of high school. I spent many days that summer visiting his castles and learning about his strange death. When I came across this “fairy tale” take on his life and death, I knew it would speak to my enjoyment of historical fiction and my fascination with (though not always enjoyment of) twisted tales. This was written like historical fiction, fluid and mesmerizing. The fantasy elements don’t feel fantastical. And the framing of the story using the investigation as a reference point was truly well done. I highly recommend this to anyone that likes German history, historical fiction, or twisted tales.

[Gabriela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be a solid 5 star read, my head is just not in the game.
I loved the fact that it’s a fairy tale retelling but based in actual events, real people (at least one of the characters) and the setting actually exists. I did not know until the author’s note at the end of the book, it make me give it 4 instead of 3 starts.

It was very imaginative albeit dense at times. I liked that the main character stayed in character, she was a lady and when everything went down she still acted like a lady and expected to be treated as such. I’ve read books where they take the girl from the castle and she becomes a peasant, thinking and acting as one without struggle.

Not much else to add, it was good.

[Carlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.35 stars?

I dont really know what to say about this book. It deffinantly wasnt what I thought it was going into it, and it took me a little while before I got hooked.

But I dont know how to feel about it. Part of me is living for the story line and plot, but the other part of me is like,"what did I just read and why do I feel like its some vision I had after doing some black market drug?"

Not to say it wasnt interesting. Because it was. It was just weird and parts of it(like all the magical stuff) was never fully explained so I guess its up to individual creative interpretation.

Read it if you feel like it

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!! In the truest sense of the word, this fairy tale with glimmers of historical fact, sought to give King Ludvig of Bavaria a kinder end. Nina Clare crafts a lovely story, and you almost wish her version was the true one! The magic of her worlds would be much more fun even if there is always a dangerous edge.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A haunting tale, well-researched and imaginative

This is a haunting fairy tale, well-researched and well-told. Unfortunately, I just didn't enjoy it; it was too mystical and fey for me. Reminded me a little of Juliet Marillier's books, which unfortunately are also not a style I enjoy, despite being beautifully written.

[Natasha Cheggeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3rd to 1st person

It was an interesting read. I hate reading in first person and download the sample so I don't buy a 1st person book when I try a new author. So when it jumped from a 3rd person point of view to 1st (like 25 chapters in-who does that?) I lost my interest and struggled to finish it.

[Candice Waite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful fairy tale blend with history

I really enjoyed this story and got to learn some interesting things about a little known tale of the swan King from Bavarian folklore. The description was excellent allowing you to place yourself in the story and world created by the author. I enjoyed our main character and the journey she took. Highly recommend for all ages.

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

Such a sweet tale of magic and love. This is an exciting telling of The Swan King, but the focus is on Elsa, her life and experiences. No sex, just a tenderness with strong hearts, wills and honor. I couldn't put the story down. Thank you for giving us a bit of magic and the realistic feelings of a young woman who's world had been turned upside down.

[Sally C · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took a couple of tries to get through this book. I could not connect with the characters, but the plot concept was intriguing enough that I kept coming back. The only character I was really even interested in learning more about was the young architect. The heroine was poorly developed, and the king was so far removed from reality it was tough to see him as anything other than insufferable and delusional. That said, other people may enjoy it more?

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such an interesting book! I love the idea of taking a historical figure and mixing them with fairy tales!
I wish there was more romance between Elizabeth and Christian. You don't even know that she likes him that way until the end of the story.
But overall I liked it :)

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

After loving the first two Nina Clare books I read, this one didn't work for me. I kind of skimmed through the second half. I didn't think the romance was developed enough and the middle of the book was too slow.

[Denice Darland · Rating 5 out of 5]

FairyTale retold

Well.done re-imagining of Lohengrin. Starts a bit slow through the testimonies of the heroes and heroines to the court that is a bit disconcerting first, but soon flows with the power of a riveting tale.