I love Melanie Dickerson but this was not a favorite of mine. Definitely a good book for teens/YA. Clean and easy/quick read. As an adult reading it I felt it was much too cheesy and the language used was too "modern" for lack of a better word. I didn't enjoy this particular retelling as it was a bit boring. The characters weren't developed well and I felt no connection to any of them.

Interesting read. I loved the storyline. The characters were well written. I have been a fan of this authors work for some time! Her words just flow beautifully on paper!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

When Delia's father remarries, she instantly knows that something is wrong about her step-mother. Within a year of the step-mother having a son, the father dies in a mysterious accident. Shortly afterwards, Delia's seven brother's are arrested, accused of murder and treason. Delia immediately runs to London and secures a position as a seamstress in the royal household. There, she does everything she can to secure her brothers release.

This book was a bit predictable. The characters were pretty stereotypical and not very well developed. The brother's all blended together, and the romance was a bit obvious. Everything was a bit too easy for Delia, with everything just falling into place. Despite these criticisms, I did enjoy the book. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

I have read all of Melanie Dickerson's stories, and I was glad to finally see her branch out from her Haggenheim series. It has been long, and started to sound a little repetive. While I enjoy Dickerson's style of writing, I was glad to see something a little different. Dickerson does not disappoint. I really liked how she crafted the story. I couldn't imagine having seven brothers and have them all accused of treason against the King. There was one issue that did bother me, and it was the beginning of the novel. I didn't understand why we were at a wedding, then jumped three years, then jumped six months. I would have preferred to start the novel with the capturing of her brothers, and then allowing us to see the hatred of her step-mother as the story moved along. I wondered why the step-mother did not go after Delia as she traveled to where the brothers were being held captured. Even though the story did have its quirks, I still was enthralled with the writing and the story. I can't wait to see what story Dickerson will show readers next.

I received a complimentary copy of Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Such courage, and such bravery. But also such danger and so much backstabbing and conniving.

This is an author that I have read a lot of. She does amazing work and I love that my teenage daughters can read her books without me feeling like there may be something in them that I don't want my girls to read about.

In this book we meet Delia who is the lone girl among her house of brothers. Her mother died and her father remarries. It's then that their troubles really start. The boys are all sent off even the young ones to apprentice to become knights. Her stepmother does not like her at all and she often feels that something is wrong.

When her stepmother has a baby and she hears her stepmother asking for that young boy to be the one to inherit she knows something bad is coming, she just doesn't know what.

And then it starts. Her father dies. It's said to be an accident but there are speculations. But then it becomes worse when her brothers are ALL (yes even the young ones) taken to the tower as threats to the crown.

Delia must save them but she's not sure how. She goes to her aunt who is an abbess for help and that's where her own adventure really starts. When her brothers are sentenced to death she knows she must help them escape.

Can Delia escape this ordeal unharmed? Can she save her brothers and get their land and names back?

This is a wonderful book. It read quickly and I enjoyed it. My daughters did as well and it has made us anxious to get more in this series.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through JustRead Publicity Tours. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

Court of Swans is an interesting read with a catchy beginning. It's background seemed quite researched and the introductory chapters are gripping.

However, the story seemed a little too drawn out and at some point the element of surprise was gone and I felt no excitement to read more. I finished the book but it began to seem too predictable.

From time to time, I like to delve into young adult fiction of the fairy tale sort, and this was my latest venture. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Delia is the sister of a band of brothers who have been unfairly captured and imprisoned. She risks her life to help them, and in doing so, has to determine who is trustworthy and which actions will give success. She has to overcome her own thoughts and emotions that tend to discourage her and cause her faith to falter. Like many of us, she wonders why God allows difficult situations. With a bit of adventure, a hint of medieval violence, and a dash of romance, this book reminds all of us to be thankful in even the most dire circumstances and to keep our faith that God knows and cares.

"Court of Swans" is a romance set in 1381 in England and loosely based on the fairytale. I had thought that this was a young adult story, but the writing was more at a middle grade level. The characters were not complex or very well-developed. Delia was basically told what to do by wise adults, and at least she had the wisdom to (mostly) follow their good advice. It was the adults who investigated the mystery and proved that the brothers were innocent and who was guilty. She just had to go where she was told to go and do what she was told to do.

So the focus of the story was mainly which handsome and seemingly kind soldier should Delia trust: Sir Geoffrey, who treats her with respect and helps her with supplies for her brothers. Or Sir Elliot, who seems so taken by her beauty that he immediately offers to help her brothers escape...but who likes to grab at her and try to kiss her. Delia's main challenge was avoiding being raped by Sir Elliot. I did not find that a particularly interesting story. There was no sex or bad language.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I have said this before, I have said this a thousand times--Melanie Dickerson is a master storyteller.

This historical romance had me turning pages from the very beginning. Nothing boring about it. Beautifully written, and enticing.

Delia's seven brothers have been tried for murder and are about to be executed for high treason. Delia won't let that happen. The only person she can trust is Sir. Geoffrey, the man who arrested her brothers. He believes that they are innocent and will help Delia plan their escape. Risking life and limb, the two of them will conduct a plan to free her brothers, prove them innocent, and perhaps, fall in love.

I recommend this book for ages 13+ for mild violence.

Melanie Dickerson has long been the queen of retelling classic fairytales and the Court of a Swans is no exception to her work. It is definitely more geared towards the young adult/teen audience, but can be enjoyed by adults as well.

Yet another good reimagined fairytale read. Court intrigue, back stabbing, false accusations. Can the truth be found out and inoccent lives be saved or is all lost. Very well written, the story had my interest from the beginning. Am looking forward to reading for in this series.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A sweet story inspired by the fairy tale “The Wild Swans” with themes of hope, perseverance, and faith in dark times. When Delia’s brothers are arrested on false charges of treason, she is determined to find a way to free them and prove their innocence. Delia starts out naïve and very trusting but slowly grows, realizing the dangers lurking at every corner. She is resourceful and confronts the obstacles head on, grasping every opportunity to help free her brothers. A good read for a young-adult audience. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4.5*  This was a clever fairytale retelling which sets up a plethora of possibilities for more stories to be told.  I enjoyed the allusions to The Six Swans and The Wild Swans by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, and appreciated that Melanie Dickerson did not strictly follow those plots, but incorporated allusions and references to them.  The romance in the story was sweet, the characters' journey of faith and trust in God was inspiring, and the story was engaging - it kept me on my toes, wondering how things would turn out in the end.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Court Of Swans by Melanie Dickerson

It was very hard for me to get into this book but once I did I got very invested in it! I loved all the characters and they way their stories went together. I really hope there is more to all of these characters, stories of what happen next and what happen to all the brothers! I just want more stories and happy endings the characters was to good to let them end here!

4 stars

Melanie Dickerson is the well-known author of YA fiction, particularly medieval-based series. She is one of the best YA writers, who not only crafts creative and imaginary worlds, but also makes literature that is appropriate for young people. In "Court of Swans," Lady Delia has to show her courage by trying to save her brothers' lives after they are wrongfully accused of treason. Along the way, she has to decide whether or not to trust the men who are trying to help her. Who is friend and who is foe?

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

A very young adult story that was convoluted and could have been much better with more time and attention to detail. It often felt as if the author couldn’t decide if it was a tale for 12 year old girls or 18 year old girls (often very immature while trying to cover mature topics). The beginning of the book was so rushed that I was never given a chance to connect to the characters let alone care what happened to them.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a sweet historical fiction YA romance but it falls on the younger side of the YA demographic. This is a book I would have loved when I was thirteen or fourteen. The romance was very gentle and clean while Delia's race to save her brothers kept the pages turning! I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.

This book is one that you read, and then forget everything about. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just didn’t care about it. In most cases, I’ll give books that I feel nothing towards three stars, but this was way too long, and way too boring for my tastes. I think Dickerson’s writing is just a bit too simple for me, because I didn’t love the other book I read by her either.

Court of Swans is a retelling of the Wild Swans, set in medieval England. After her seven brothers are arrested for treason, Delia decides she must do everything she can to prove their innocence. Traveling to the palace as a sewing maid, she learns that trust can be a weapon, and that secrets don’t stay secret for long.

My main problem with this was how boring it was. There was absolutely nothing special about it. The plot was pretty nonexistent, and the murder mystery element was a joke. The orchestrator was obvious from the first chapter, so nothing made this book unique.

The characters were also super bland. Because Delia had seven brothers, none of them got much characterization. I can tell you that Merick is grumpy, and that’s about it. I think the romance was supposed to be the driving point of this novel, but because I didn’t care about the characters, the romance was almost too plain. There was nothing to spice it up, both of the characters were completely good, and completely forgettable.

I also do have to complain about the lack of magic. Now, I don’t know the tale of the Wild Swans very well, but I do know that magic is a crucial part. I’m not even sure if this can be considered a Wild Swans retelling, because there were very few similarities, and swans were pretty much ignored. Some magic might’ve spiced this up a bit, but sadly, it was just a bland book I don’t see myself remembering a month from now.

Thanks to Melanie Dickerson and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This is a difficult review to write, in part because I am not the market here. It's not YA, I'll say that up front. It's a book for children, though it's definitely in the upper age range there. I thought this was everything I wanted: fairytale reference, check, historical setting, check, adventure and romance, check. But let's pull those apart a bit.
The fairytale reference. The seven swan brothers and their clever sister. The magic and mystery of it makes it an ideal fairytale to adapt for a novel, and I was more surprised that it hadn't been done in any major novel before. I realised why quite quickly. The seven brothers: none of them have distinct personalities. There are simply too many characters on the board too quickly for anyone to get enough of an introduction to make an impression. And having them all in a group for almost the rest of the novel doesn't help that. And the magic of the fairytale itself is absent. There were references, but little more than a nod here and there that left me feeling more cheated than nostalgic.
The historical setting. The reign of Richard II, post Wat's Rebellion. The historical facts are shaky at best and where they are correct, they stand out. The insistent use of 'Wardroab Tower' rather than modernising the spelling made me cringe, as well as the lack of any real knowledge of the layout of the Tower of London or even the historical use of the 'Wardroab' (which wasn't a prison at that time!) Delia mentions wearing a wimple only once, so we can assume that she's improperly dressed at all other times and therefore deeply impious, no matter how much she talks about God.
Adventure and romance. Yes to the second, a hand-wavy gesture to the first. There's romance and its exactly what you expect, with exactly the moments you expect, with exactly the lines you expect, etc. Adventure? Eh. The plot has some slightly weird pacing at times, the kind of pacing that makes me think that the author didn't really know what she wanted to write even as she was writing it. Characters appear and disappear, there are sudden reveals that aren't foreshadowed at all, there are long chapters that are almost nothing but sitting and sewing or sitting and knitting, followed by frenetic scenes of racing through the London streets and random decisions that come from absolutely nowhere.
It gains confidence as it goes, and the end scenes tie everything together with an appropriate neatness and even more references to the Will Of God. If I were ten I imagine I'd be thrilled with this book. But I'm not, and I was hoping for more.

I have enjoyed all of Melanie Dickerson Hagenheim family series and I was so excited to see that she had a new series coming out. Court of Swans is the first book in her new series, A Dericott Tale, and it was a great start! Court of Swans is a retelling of The Six Swans which is one of my favorite fairytales. Dalia is the daughter of an earl and she lives a quiet life with her father, her stepmother, and her brothers. However, her whole life changes when her father dies and her brothers are convicted of treason, even the youngest one of whom is only 10 years old.
Dalia was a strong heroine, but she also had her own faults. I liked her and thought that she was so brave as she went to go after her brothers. However, I thought at times she was a bit naive. Overall, she was a good heroine for the book and I really enjoyed reading about her as she grew. She learned who she could trust and she learned to forgive. Life was not easy, but God was still in control.
Sir Geoffrey was a great hero! I really liked him, even from the beginning. He was kind and he was honorable. Although he captured Dalia’s brothers, he didn't agree with the charges and he wanted to right the wrong. It was sweet to see him try to help Dalia. He had to figure out what it would mean for him to help Dalia because he wanted to honor the king but he also wanted to do what was right.
Court of Swans was a really good book. I liked how Ms. Dickerson was able to weave a new look at this fairy tale, however, I think that re-creating this fairy without magic is very hard. I mean in The Six Swans, the boys turn into swans which you can’t do without magic. I did, however, enjoy the characters and the pace of the book. I think that she did a great job at making it different, yet still keeping true to the fairytale. I was so worried as Dalia and Geoffrey worked to free Dalia’s brothers from the accusations against them. I was intrigued to see how it would end, and I really liked the ending. I did not see so many twists that were coming, and I loved the suspense as Dalia tried to save her brothers.
I would definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait to see what comes next in the series!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.