I enjoy retellings and this was a retelling of the Wild Swans...good-clean- YA Fantasy retelling. If you enjoyed the authors other works you will enjoy this book.

I enjoyed this book. I think the aspect I enjoyed the most was the characterization that the author employs. I found the characters to be realistically portrayed and three-dimensional. I love the depiction of a strong heroine. Additionally, the storyline itself was able to keep me interested until the very end.

This is the story of Delia, who's the middle sister of seven brothers. After her father dies, her stepmother wants all the power for herself and her own child, and the brothers are accused of treason and taken as prisoners.

After her brothers are taken to London, she follows them and takes a position as a servant, in order to be close to them and to help them escape when they're sentenced to death.

Geoffrey is the captain of the guard who comes to arrest the brothers and he soon realizes that they are innocent and eventually helps them and Delia.

Despite its length, I think this book is intended for a MG/YA audience. I found the writing lacking a certain depth that I usually appreciate in historical novels. Nonetheless, it kept my interest until the end.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Court of Swans in exchange for an honest review.

I feel a little guilty reviewing this because I didn't actually realize until halfway through the book that I've
1) read and reviewed a Melanie Dickerson book before
2) realized that which Dickerson's writing is good, I'm definitely not her target audience and probably shouldn't be reading and reviewing her books.

Last time I read one of these, I gave it a perfectly average rating because I didn't want to skew the goodreads for people who are in the target demo, but I don't feel right doing that here. Regardless of my overall enjoyment of them both, Court of Swans works a lot worse than the other Melanie Dickerson book I've read, The Peasant's Dream and I think a lot of it comes down to The Six/Wild Swans (dependent on the version this is adapted from) is a story coated in magic and removing that magic from it left this with a really weird amalgamation of less than believable plotlines and flat characters.

For example, the step mother from the fairytale is transformed into Delia's step mother and when in a story where she ends up to be a secret witch who curses the boys having her be an over the top evil villain worked, transforming those cartoonish evil traits into a more realistic setting came off as jarring both in tone and character. Court of Swans does deviate from the fairytale to add its own characters and plotlines pretty quickly, but I honestly found the added characters to also be bland.

Another enjoyable read by Ms. Dickerson who brings fairy tales and faith into her novels. Delia has 7 brothers, whom she loves dearly, who protect her, which makes her naive is some ways. She is kind and always wants to help. After her father's death, her brothers are falsely accused of being traitors and Delia knows who is behind it, but cannot prove it. Her anger is taken out on Sir Geoffrey, who had the unfortunate task of arresting her brothers on the king's orders. Sir Geoffrey is more than he appears though, for he has been wronged as well, and decides he wants to help Delia, even though it could cost him his career. As the two work together, they begin to unravel the plot, but without much evidence and realize that their own misfortunes intertwine. With no they can trust, they set out to find the evidence needed to free her brothers and bring the evil doers to justice and if they find some romance on the way, even better.
I received this novel as an ARC from net galley and the publisher. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

**I was given a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I was intrigued by the description of this book when I first saw it listed. To be completely honest, Delia was what made me want to read this book. I knew that either she would either be a strong heroine or as weak as a lamb. I won't say anything specific that happened, because I don't do spoilers, but I am very pleased to report she is a very strong woman.

All of the characters in this book seem so lifelike and so realistically portrayed. Each of them felt like people I knew. I could visualize them very clearly, and that is a sign that the author is very skilled. I stayed up all night to finish this book, and I regret nothing. I highly recommend this when it is released, and I can't wait to read more from this author.

i really enjoyed reading this book, Ms. Dickerson always writes a beautifully done story. I enjoyed the characters and the time period used.

#CourtOfSwans

A fairytale retelling that was well written. Even in hard times, look for the joy.
Delia is overwhelmed when her seven brothers are accused of treason. Delia is determined to find out everything she can about the case against her brother's. A page turner.

Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson is like all of the author's works ... Pulls you in for a thrilling fairytale and makes you sad to see the characters go.

This is one book I will need to get in paperback as soon as possible!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My jaw dropped wide open after I finished reading this book and the story was just so exciting and thrilling that I could not stop reading. The bond of family is so strong that you are willing to risk your life or death to save them. How Delia felt when her brothers were sentenced to the Tower for treason and to be executed if the King found them a threat was enough to spark the determination of Delia to "team' up with the guard captain Sir Geoffrey for not only the freedom of her brothers but to overthrow the King and rightfully heir the thrown and change the execution laws once and for all. I am so thrilled to add this as a potential candidate for a future teen book club and I know our teen community will love it.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

COURT OF SWANS by MELANIE DICKERSON is a delightful retelling of the fairy tale "The Wild Swans", and in it we see love and loyalty coming up against greed, hatred and lust for power. The story takes place in 1378 shortly after Wat Tyler's Rebellion, with the young King Richard 11 condemning the seven Dericott boys to death for supposedly killing the King's Coroner. Their sister Delia, together with Sir Geoffrey, the soldier who was sent to arrest them, do all they can to uncover the truth. There are false witnesses, liars and murderers for them to contend with as they race against time to clear the young boys' names and save their lives.
There is intrigue, suspense and a sweet romance, together with a good Christian message of hope,running through the story.
It is an exciting read and one I can highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical romance.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.