This is a very fascinating story that's a more nuanced version of the swan princess fairy tale. Instead of a 100% good princess and a 100% evil antagonist, the story shows everyone has their good and bad sides. Some people aren't the villains you think they are, however other people can still be irredeemable. I loved the serious family drama aspect of it, disney movies never emphasize how familial betrayal feels. The geopolitical discussions between the characters were fun to read and show a lot of effort into the world building of this fantasy novel. I really loved the romance and adventure aspects to it and how the characters were built. Overall, it's a fun novel to read and nothing really bothered me about it.

I loved this retelling of the Swan Princess. It was an interesting twist on one of my favorite fairy tales as a kid. And a lesser known one at that.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lucy Tempest for providing me with a free copy of this book.

The Sorcerer and the Swan Princess is a very cute and funny fantasy romance, that's charming when you read it but is utterly forgettable after you close the last page. I had fun reading this, the romance is cute, the characters funny, and the world magical - it sort of felt like a Barbie movie to me! That being said, it didn't leave a lasting impression. I already don't remember the names of the characters.
If you're looking for something quick and fun to read, or for a pallet cleanser after more hefty books, I say - give it a try!

I have loved Lucy's other books, so I'm not surprised that I really enjoyed this book as well. It is a fun and quick, clean fairy tale read. The pacing is quite fast and it only took a couple of hours to read through. I really liked the characters and it was a fun spin on The Swan Princess. Not the greatest literary piece I have read, but entertaining and it provided a nice break. It can be read as a standalone and has a happy ending as well

A thrilling retelling of the Sean Princess. On the day of her coronation as crown princess of Opona, Ava is abducted and turned into a swan by a sorcerer at the behest of her twin sister who has posed herself to take her place. But under the hospitality of the sorcerer, Ava comes to realize some hard truths about the world and her place in it. Will she remain caged by fear or will she spread her wings and soar into the future she creates for herself! I absolutely loved this retelling! My sister turned me into this author and I couldnt be happier!

I have fine memories of the movie The Swan Princess. I think that I may like this version more? The dark and twisty version of the Sorcerer juxtaposed with the secret heart of gold is a winner. The distress of betrayal and the time to really believe in the truth of it felt very realistic.
Overall a good read.

*copy via Netgalley*

This was such a sweet and entertaining story to read. I'll admit, I'm not familiar with the story of Swan Lake, but nonetheless loved this retelling. I think if I had to go and read the original story now, it would pale in comparison.
The typical stereotype of the evil sorcerer is pretty common in most fairy tales, and at the start, this seems to be no exception. But as Ava, and us readers, get to know him, we see hidden depths to him, and that he's not really evil. Morally gray, sure, but we are shown goodness in him. Its a really nice change that the real villain(s) of the story are punished, and that had to be my favourite scene of the book.

Firstly thank you so much to the publishers for the free e-book on Netgalley.

I absolutely loved this book. I had no idea it was a series so I will definitely be reading the others. Thankfully you can read this as a standalone.

The Sorcerer and the Swan Princess is a retelling of the Swan Princess, or Swan Lake with a twist. The sorcerer turns out to be the good guy and our heroine struggles to hate him after he shows her nothing but kindness. Wronged by her twin sister, jealous of her accomplishments as the crown princess, Ava discovers true betrayal and doesn't know how to deal with her pain. She lashes out, understandably, and in her grief comes to discover the kind heart of her kidnapper cum saviour.

I generally know of the Swan Princess tale but this is my first real introduction to the premise of the tale. Honestly, it was just a fun, magical read that you need in life sometimes. As a twin, I definitely related to some of the sisterly tensions and underlying issues that can come up at times. But relationships are not black and white and I think this book did a pretty good job of showing that.

I'm a huge sucker for villains getting the happily ever after, and so often, the ones I read are missing something. The closest I've come to something satisfying was the Wicked Villains series by Katee Roberts, and even then, it took the cheap, easy way out of not exploring motivations.

This, however? Amazing. Not only do we get Rothbart's motivations, we also get to see the princess grow into someone whose life isn't just happening to her. I did appreciate the use of twins to separate the white and black swans.

This is part of a series, which I wasn't aware of until after the fact, but it can absolutely be read alone, and it's definitely turned me onto a new author.

Go, read!

it’s a sweet story and i enjoyed the overall book as a quick read.

some parts dragged, while others flew by and were super confusing. overall it’s an interesting story, i just wish there was more world building and character development.

I received this eARC from @NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

Ava & Lina are twin princesses. Ava is crown princess being born first.

Ava is turned into a swan and abducted by an evil sorcerer.

Ava expects to be held captive by her cruel captor but what happens is something more magical.

I really enjoyed this quick read, it was well written, flowed well and humorous.

Very much enjoyable

4⭐️

Ava is the heir to the throne, being the firstborn, even if it’s only a matter of minutes to separate her birthright and her twin sister. One night, right after she’s reunited with the one she thinks is her true love, her life and role is torn from her hands from her sister and a powerful sorcerer. All of a sudden, she is a swan! The one responsible for her new condition is the fearsome Lord Van Rothbart, a powerful magician that is famous for doing unspeakable and unimaginable things to the one unlucky enough to have crossed his path.
But is it really how it seems?
Soon enough, the princess find herself conflicted within herself. The sorcerer seems to be completely different from the version of himself that she knew. He is kind and thoughtful, and he makes her heart flutters.
It was a really light and good reading. It made me smile and feel soft things. Reading it was like a sunny afternoon at the park.
I surely recommend it to everyone who is looking for a quick and light reading, maybe while traveling or waiting in line for pretty much anything. It will warm your heart.

Just not for me.
Maybe because it’s one of those cusp books. I can’t see it appealing to our teen, young adult or regular adult readers. And I had such high hopes because of my love for the Swan Princess.
Honestly did not finish as life is too story and my TBR is too long.

This retelling of The Swan Princess had so many twists and turns and was a fun surprise. I honestly didn't know what to expect from this novella, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The story follows Princess Ava who is getting ready to be named heir to the throne. Except her evil twin sister, Lina, has other plans for her. Lina hires a sorcerer to "get rid" of Ava, allowing her to step into her sister's shoes without anyone the wiser-not even the Prince who Ava was going to marry.

After being knocked out, Ava wakes up to find that she's not only been kidnapped, but she's no longer human. She's taken on the shape of a swan and her captor, the infamous Dietrich Von Rothbart, has no plans of letting her return home.

But...is Dietrich the monster he seems to be? Or is there more to the story than meets the eye?

Overall, this was a decent read and I really enjoyed the world the author created. I kept getting Harry Potter vibes from it.

It was fast-paced and had a great plot, however, I do think it could have been fleshed out more. I would have really liked to see this as a full-length novel. The beginning seemed to happen too quickly. It would have been nice to see some character development with the sisters. Why did Lina hate her so much? Was there more to it than just Ava being the named heir? What shaped Lina into being so spiteful? We don't see anything like that in the book.

Still, a fun, short read for those who love fantasy, magic, and fairy tales.

Betrayal by her very own twin and getting turned into a swan by a handsome sorcerer was not something Ava had ever anticipated.

This was a super fun, incredibly enjoyable quick read. The writing was good and easy to follow, it kept hold of me and I couldn't stop reading! I loved Ava's character, she was flawed, but remained strong and resourceful in light of the situations she was in, like living as a swan for a little while.

I felt for Dietrich, I'm so glad he finally was able to find the happiness he deserved at the end. My heart broke when he felt he didn't deserve any of what Ava offered him.

If you want a nice quick, romantic and enjoyable read, I highly recommend this lovely novella! Not only is it enjoyable but it's got a lovely cover!

Thank you net galley for the opportunity to read this book.

I ended up skimming through the middle third because it felt cliche and the writing needs a bit of improvement. The number of adverbs and repeating physical characteristics got distracting. It may be best enjoyed by young teenagers who are insatiable readers and cannot get enough fairy-tale stories.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Based off of my absolute favorite movie ever this book did not disappoint!

I picked it up as a short pallet-cleanser amidst all the depressing books I've been reading.
It did it's job - the book is short, and clean - which is always a plus in my books. I liked the main character enough but I didn't like the main love-interest.

With shorter novels (this is just 180 pages), especially of the "on the younger side" fairytale/magic stories, you sort of always need to go with the author and their logic and not question things too seriously, and sometimes it was hard for me.

The writing style was nice but I found usage of some words weird - like there were a few old-fashioned words used - which is common in books that take place in "pre-industrial-era" type of societies, yet the dialogues seemed too modern so the two styles clashed.
A few sentences were clunky and there were a few typos but it wasn't a consistent problem

This is a quick, romantic read with a classic "happily ever after" ending.

The characters were rather one-dimensional except for the MC who has more going for her. It has the classic heroine falls in love with the villain/bad boy trope. Dietrich was creepy as a character, including his intentions and motives (even though they are explained in the story) Everything could have been expanded on; the characters, the world etc. but it is a novella so its understandable.

At only 180 pages it's super quick to get through for something light to read that incorporates clean romance and fairytales. Lucy Tempest's writing is smooth and easy to understand so that it creates a good picture. The story reminded me strongly of "Barbie's version of Swan Lake', in certain aspects. There a few twists that were cleverly done.

Thank you to Netgalley and Independent Book Publishers Association for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!