Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux

 Order of Swans

Book Summary

In this spellbinding, fantasy-rich romance, a woman is swept into a world where she has the power to alter fairy tales, and change a kingdom’s destiny…

To Kaley Arens, a PhD student and expert in folklore, fairy stories have always had a power and an allure beyond mere entertainment.

It’s only when Kaley accompanies her lifelong friend Jobi on a visit to his home that she realizes how much she still has to learn. Bellis isn’t the remote island that she believed it to be. It’s another world—a stunningly beautiful and seductive one, with its own royalty, its own rules, and inhabitants who breathe life into the tales she was taught were fiction.

Kaley’s presence is no simple holiday. She has a mysterious connection with Jobi and with Bellis, and abilities that may help determine this world’s fate. Tasked with locating a lost prince, Kaley and her companions—the enigmatic Tanek, a member of the Order of Swans, and Sojee, Kaley's colossal bodyguard—journey through a land both thrilling and terrifying, where the uncanny and the familiar go hand in hand.

But in fairy tales, heroes and villains are easy to discern. Here, nothing is quite as it seems. And though Kaley is discovering that she can change the outcome of the fairy tales she knows so well, her own story is unfolding in ways impossible to predict, with a destiny she could never have foretold…

My Thoughts

Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux has a good premise and a great cover.  The blurb had me eager to dive in. Unfortunately, the book did not live up to the cover and premise.  Despite my repeated attempts, I was unable to get into the story.  I have been reading Jude Deveraux’s stories since I was a teenager, and this book did not feel like she wrote it.  The writing was muddled, and it felt like a first draft instead of a finished novel.  There is little character development.  I had to wonder about the author’s research for this story because the dissertation process was not described correctly.  I expected Kaley to be curious about her unfamiliar environment (aka another planet) especially since she needs material for her new dissertation, and she has a strange item embedded in her arm.  She fails to ask questions (I would be demanding answers or sneaking around to get them). 

After reading the Order of Swans, I am still not sure what it is about (it is a strange hodgepodge). There are fairy tales, dragons, evil queens, implants in arms, weird light pens, griffins, a whiny prince, and so much more.  There is a combination of medieval, modern, and future (throw in the kitchen sink and stir). The story lacked world building and emotion.  The ending left me upset and unsatisfied (if I had been reading a paperback, I would have tossed it across the room).  Order of Swans lacked depth, and it did not live up to its premise.   Order of Swans is the first book in The Blue Swan duology (I did not know this until I finished reading the book) and I have no interest in picking up the next book in the duology.  

Witch's gingerbread house

Order of Swans is available on Amazon along with Jude Deveraux's other novels.  My favorite novel by this author is A Knight in Shining Armor.  Thank you for stopping by today.  I will return on Tuesday, February 4 with The Amish Baker Caper by Tracy Fredrychowski.  It is the second book in the A Willow Springs Amish Mystery Romance series.  I hope that you have a peaceful weekend.  There has been some hubbub in our community and I am hoping it will soon die down.  It never ends well when a person decides to get retribution for imagined slights. We shall soon know if we will have six more weeks of winter or not (I want cool weather but not freezing).   Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.