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Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the chance to read and review this book!
While I did really like the plot and the swan shifting, there was something about the way the author wrote that was not young adult for me and I did have to try to not DNF the book. It felt a bit more middle grade and it didn't really make me invest in the characters. While this writing style makes it an easy read for sure, it does not make it a very good one, unless you explicitly target a much younger audience; but the book was marketed as young adult.
A lot of things felt predictable, like the romance between Tuan and Kier. That the queen loves Orla a bit more is never really unpacked in the book. The fact that Kier does gain the ability to shift seems like a bit of a bait and switch when it comes to things because the blurb literally talks about how she cannot shift. The stuff with the other princes was a bit meh, as well as the attitude in the kingdom, like yes we help with harvesting and the girls have a choice in everything they do. I also feel like no one really ever focused on the oldest sister, even after stuff happened between her and Orla. There is also no real sense that Kier has grown enough to resist the calls of being a swan, except that she wore an iron necklace. I'm also a bit miffed that Kier didn't keep the other horses.
We also didn't really unpack why Orla was ready to give Kier to Hafor; like I understand why she wanted Gill, but what was up with that? Besides to make her evil for the sake of being evil?
I don't think I'll be reading the rest of this series.