So this was a sequel to <i>The Year the Swans Came</i>, it follows a nineteen year old Maidy Bader as she's traveling the Atlantic to escape the swans. This was tragic, it's not that because she's all pretty now, everything is happy and easy and whatnot.

This was slow, not my best or favorite pace, but the writing style and the discovery of worlds from Maidy's point of view is very good!

I love the character development in this one, I wasn't using this site when I read the first, so you won't be able to catch up on my opinions on the first book, but the character's imaginary was weak and the character herself naive. That said, I find this one quite dialogue driven, the conversation around the middle of the story dominated my reading experience.

I have to say why I didn't rate this any higher, and it's because this book gave me a bit of anxiety, I was super invested in the characters and wanted a happy ending type, an explained solution to the curse, anything, but I was denied, and that dissatisfied me.

The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and before I even found out it was the second book of this series, I took one look at the cover and decided I wanted it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

A sequel to "The Year the Swans Came," this novel follows the path of a now nineteen year-old Magrit "Maidy" Bader as she travels the Atlantic to - unsuccessfully - flee the plight of the swans. This duology (I did not read the accompanying Trilogy preceding) is, simply put, a Tragedy. It is not meant to be an uplifting bildungsroman where Maidy suddenly finds life easy now that she has grown into her beauty. The novel is full of tortured artists in their many forms: painter, writer, craftsman, actor/actress, dancer. Each one plagued with some demon that follows them even across seas. In fact, the curse of the swans is just one of many curses found in this novel. The curse of one's past, war, beauty, fame, art, perfection, jealousy, are all thrown under a magnifying glass for reader interpretation. As Maidy hopes to create a work of art through a novel one day, I would similarly consider this novel a piece of art, even with some of its flaws...

I definitely recommend this book for its excellent prose and style, as well as the worlds created throughout Maidy's travel. This is not, however, a book for someone in a reading slump or for someone who needs quick plot developments. This is a slow-burn tale of the "human condition," which, at its very core, is full of beautiful flaws, much like the swans.

The writing style grew with Maidy since the first book, feeling older in the flow and more involved imagery. She was no longer as naive, finding a backbone - albeit a fragile one - during those three years. This was a relief because I was afraid Ruth, a most powerfully selfish individual who I truly found myself loathing, would dominate Maidy's story again. Thankfully, she was just one of the many pawns critical to act out this classic literary Tragedy. The writing style also successfully conveyed the feeling and urgency of different parts of the novel. First, the pace was very slow due to Maidy's repetitive life and boredom, with lots of commas and descriptive language to fill the void of action. Later on in the story, following New York and then France, the sentences were slightly shorter overall and conversation became the focus and driver. By the end, it was quite fast-paced, and honestly, I felt like it was a little too rushed at the end. This was definitely intentional, but it left me with some wanting for closure that cannot be satiated.

Some things that prevented me from giving this artwork a 5 star review include the missed opportunity to include more mythology in the explanation of the plight of the swans and the solution to the curse. It was left a little ambiguous - intentionally, I suppose, as the book preferred to focus on the physical truths of the world - but it didn't provide me with enough answers or context personally. I truly liked the characters more in the second book of this duology, feeling more connected to Maidy now that she was older, which made the epilogue, simply, even sadder. It was bittersweet, and necessary for the end of this Tragedy, fully exposing the flaws of being human (or part), but now that I was really rooting for certain characters and had some hope for their happiness, I ached for more positive closure.

While not necessarily riveting, this story called to me in a very natural and endearing way. Give this story a chance and you will be swept up in wings of beautiful colors and words.

Very beautifully written, with a story that is easy to follow. Maidy's life is haunted by what happened to her brother Pieter, three years prior to the story starting. In this book, we see Maidy grow up and grow differently from her friends and family. While I really enjoyed reading this book, I feel that it ended quite abruptly, and not enough loose ends were tied for me to feel fully satisfied.