Elle’s Reviews > A Snake Among Swans > Status Update
Elle
is 38% done
This is very heavy content: oppression, sexism, racism, & casually malicious violence from men in power. It's not fun or uplifting like Godkiller which afaik didn't HAVE sexism. An odd choice to market as female rage, women empowerment, women plotting & winning... Only agency so far was Tilde volunteering for marriage to kill a tyrant, a plan she abandons in ch2 so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Feels like 'agency' was pasted on in edit.
— May 21, 2026 07:25PM
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Elle’s Previous Updates
Elle
is 71% done
The plot is compelling, the writing is good, the medieval succession politics are... as expected. It's just hard to enjoy this when it seems like endless torture pr0n. Game Of Thrones if the only POVs were the women being raped & beaten & constantly threatened. I don't mind a dark story (adored The Poet Empress) as long as there seems to be a point and a way out and some agency. And I'm not seeing much of that here.
— May 22, 2026 12:57AM
Elle
is 11% done
There was not much political warfare and political maneuvering in Kaner's debut trilogy so I wasn't sure how this one was going to go. But damn we're off to a great start. And apparently dual female protagonists, not just the one from the blurb? Unknown yet if the second will wind up ally or enemy (they've yet to even meet), but both ladies have some excellent set-up so far.
— May 20, 2026 05:46AM
Elle
is starting
NEXT ARC, LET'S GO!!!!
(No, this isn't jumping the queue. I don't care that official release isn't til Sept, IC's dropping it in June so here we go.)
— May 20, 2026 01:57AM
(No, this isn't jumping the queue. I don't care that official release isn't til Sept, IC's dropping it in June so here we go.)
