Order of Swans 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.

Kaley is obsessed with folklore and fairy tales, so much so that she is studying this topic for her PhD. She goes on an adventure with lifelong friend, Jobi, who jokes about living on another planet with aliens. She laughs this off and is inspired by the talk of going to a country with kings, royalty, and a totally different way of living.

When they arrive, she finds herself in a mysterious world where the fairy tales she loves seem to come to life. Arriving in Bellis, still thinks herself roaming islands of her world and not a totally different universe. She’s tasked with finding a missing prince hiding away to avoid his arranged marriage. Joining her are some strong side characters, who I really loved, Tanek and Sojer !

She navigates this new world through her journey as she tries to understand more about the people and life her and how she is connected to it all.

This book was very unique and I loved the fairytales embedded into the world and story. Loved adding the sci-fi element to this fantasy and some academia feel as well. The spice was spicing !! This is book 1 of 2, would read the next book also!

this right here is why i NEVER DNF a book. i went from intrigued, to “this is kind of dumb” to ..wait i kinda of love this, actually. it’s such a unique story, probably the slowest of burns, and the ending makes it impossible not to be SO excited for the next book. this is one of those fairytales i will want to read to my children one day. my only red flag is the weird insinuations and intentions with gender. i feel like we were trying to combat stereotypes and sexism commonly seen in fairytales, but in a weird, roundabout way that didn’t exactly work the way i, personally hoped it would. thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of the audiobook! it was a fun ride!

I've been a fan of this author for a long time and the premise of this book sounded unique and intriguing and so different from anything she's written before. But the book was just missing something to me. The pacing was off, the world building was a little confusing, and the fmc was clueless through a lot of the story. The addition of fairy tales to this mysterious "island" was well done however and I loved some of the secondary characters. The slow burn between characters was good and will be interesting to see where it goes later in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Order of Swans is book one in The Blue Swan duology by Jude Deveraux.
This was quite an enjoyable sci-fi/fantasy adventure. I loved the characters here and honestly had the best times reading this book.
I really loved how the world building was as approached in this book.

I am 37% in and fortunately I am deciding to dnf this book. I thought the idea of having a planet where all Fairy Tales come from was interesting and unique, but I don't think it was well executed. I found the World building lacking and confusing at times. I also felt the characters were very strangely written and how they interacted. I want to keep my Instagram account positive so I will not be posted a public review. Thank you for the opportunity

I'll preface by saying I did not finish this book. I'm normally a big fan on Jude Deveraux but I just couldn't get into this storyline. It might be because I'm a mood reader but I tried several times. The story just seemed disjointed.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the gifted copy!

So, this is about a girl who travels through space to another planet where she is supposed to be ready to do something, but I don’t know what. She also is not told any of this, but has to figure it out? And the planet is the land of fairytales?…I guess?

I don’t know what I just read. This book confused me so so much.

So, first, I really loved the idea and concept. Of being in a world where fairytales come to life and you know the ending to all and can solve the issues in those different places or situations.

There is banter in here that I somewhat enjoyed despite not particularly liking any of the characters.

But, to be honest, I just didn’t like this book. The start of the book, you have a prologue that explains NOTHING. Then were thrown into Kaley’s life like I’m supposed to understand what’s going on. Then she’s taken to another planet(?) to help her with her dissertation, but she’s taken there because she’s supposed to do something, but we don’t know what that is. She’s not smart. So many things happen that she doesn’t question or inquire further about, she just accepts it. I appreciate she wasn’t daunted by everything going on, more curious than anything, but I don’t know why she didn’t ask more questions, especially when odd things happened. She also acted like she was 16, not…26 I think she was supposed to be?

There’s also a romance, but wow was it weird. This guy Tanek has or is in love with more than one woman, but wants Kaley? There was more to his relationships, and they were just weird for me.

I think I was supposed to have fun and be wowed by the fairytales everywhere on this planet, but I don’t get why any of this was the way it was. I don’t like being told things and not also shown. Less telling, more showing. I needed more detail and explanation about what was going on and about this random planet and the people on it.

This book was too weird for me and made no sense. The cover is beautiful, but that cover is deceiving. 2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm going to start off by saying that I don't think was so much of a romance. which as a romance reader I'll be hyper focused on this when a book as categorized as such. Did I enjoy the story? Absolutely and am looking forward to the next one to see how everything unfolds with Kaley, Tanek and the whole crew.

It was a little unbelievable that Kaley just transitioned into all these out of the world things with ease, but I went along with it because why not! But being the Earth person, brought an interesting and fun element to the fantasy world she's in. I wasn't sure how I felt about the mix of fantasy and science-fiction. It felt slightly off at times, but overall, it made for a unique read.

As for the romance, it was very low and the tension was almost getting there. It wasn't until the end where we really start to feeling anything emotionally between the MCs. And with the way it ended, I'm stressed!

Overall, I enjoyed this one and will be picking up the audio for book 2. I was expecting more romance, but we didn't get it, so hopefully we'll see more in the next book.

3.75/5

Order of Swans is a sci-fi/fantasy adventure. It is part one of The Blue Swan duology. In the book, Kaley is an expert in folktales and fairy tales. She needs more stories for her college dissertation. She decides to go along with her friend, Jobi, to his home but ends up on an adventure she never imagined. Her companions in her adventure are Tanek and Sojee. There are so many secrets in this book. The world is fascinating and exciting, I cannot fully go into it without spoilers but it is so cool. It is such a fun weird blend of contemporary, fantasy, sci-fi., and a touch of romance. I did end the book with some questions other than those that are awaiting the sequel. There are a lot of weird contradictions. In some ways they are technologically advanced and in others primitive. The plot and characters are so enthralling that you really get sucked into the world. I am obsessed with the little mini elephants! I want some!

I think this book is being miscategorized as a romantasy/fantasy romance when I think it sways closer to adventure fantasy with romance. I know this is semantics sometimes but I think it's best to set the expectations here. There is romance, I don't believe it's the driving part of the story at all. If you're seeking a swoony, ACOTAR replacement, this ain't it.

I did, however, love this book. Sure, the FMC is conveniently very easy going about a lot of bizarre things a human should be concerned with ...like IRL dragons and witches...but we can look past these things, right?

It does start off with a heavy sci-fi vibe and that theme weaves through the book occasionally but it makes for a unique and fresh fantasy. I loved the found family and the folklore/fairytale vibes. I'm very much looking forward to the final book. I do wish there had been more tension and build up for the romance but I think how it approaches the slow burn resolves itself and makes sense later.

Thank you so much to the author, Harlequin and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title. I attest that I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

The Order of the Swans had an interesting premise, reimagining the Wild Swans fairy tale, and Deveraux’s writing was as engaging as ever. However, the pacing felt slow at times, especially in the first half, where not much seemed to happen. By the time the plot picked up, I was already losing interest.

The characters were decent, though the heroine sometimes felt too perfect, making it hard to fully connect with her. The hero was more interesting, but their chemistry was a bit lacking.

It’s a solid read for fans of Deveraux’s style, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Very fun take on fairy tale retellings!
Going in, I was expecting fantasy- so it was a bit jarring when immediate discussions of multiple planets incase this was heavily scifi, but I was pleasantly surprised.
We follow our main character Kaley who goes to visit her family friends’ home island, except she does not know that it’s a completely new planet three years away from Earth.
The plot is pretty quickly paced which I appreciated, because you learn more about the characters a through how they handle situations rather than monologues about their lives. The main trio/quad are all charming in their own ways, and you easily get into the dynamic between them.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story, but I was a bit shocked it was a very open ended story. As wonderful as it was, it read as a one-off as opposed to a series. Would absolutely read the next, but it was charming more so than gripping.

I was really excited to pick this book up based on the blurb — the ability to alter fairytales sounded right up my alley. I did really enjoy that element of the story. It placed interesting twists on the classics we already knew. I also appreciated the academia elements to the story. I enjoyed the FMC as a whole and could easily relate to her love of fairytales and folklore. The main issue I had was struggling to connect with the author’s writing style and overall execution of the plot. I read this via audiobook and thought the narration was good. Hunter was able to keep my focus on the story. I thought there was an appropriate amount of emotion added to the performance.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of the Order of Swans! The premise/idea of the book sounded interesting - our main character, Kaley, is a student studying folklores/fairytales, and gets transported to a new planet (courtesy of her neighbor) where the stories from fairytales/folktales come to life. Throughout the book, there were references to Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella, to name a couple.

While I really wanted to like the book, I was confused for a good chunk of the book - not sure if it was because of the pacing or the writing itself. I wish there was a bit more world building too, since there were a lot of opportunities throughout. I thought the use of technology (with the chip implants) and lack thereof (some medieval style technology I assume) was interesting. Out of all the characters, I think Tanek might be my favorite? His background sounded intriguing, but even got more interesting as the story unfolded. I loved the banter between Kaley, Tanek, and Sojee - Kaley’s earthly ways and sass make for some funny “mistranslations” for Tanek and Sojee. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and even though I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I had hoped, I am intrigued to find out what happens next.

DNF at 16% (~56 pages)

i know the ARCs i receive aren’t always the final copy that ends up published, but this read like a first draft. the writing was juvenile and the MC came across to me as someone in her early teens, not a PhD candidate in her mid twenties.

there is a scene early on where she’s reporting to speak to a king and is already almost late and covered in dirt. a man she met like five minutes earlier walks into the room and she throws something of his at him then runs up and leaps into his arms while he spins her around. like?? you already know you’re pushing it with how you’re dressed, so why would you do this?

the pacing was sooo confusing. i had to reread pieces of the first chapter repeatedly to figure out the timing of some parts and still walked away confused by it.

an aside, but the emphasis on weight also rubbed me the wrong way. i’m sure there will be a reason why she needs to be physically fit, but talking about how her stomach is too “soft” and then later being thankful that she was working out because she looked good in front of a hot guy was just like… idk, i didn’t love it

i DNFed because if i finished this, it would probably end up being 1 star. part of me wanted to finish it just to see if it improves, but i had to remind myself that i am trying not to waste my time on stuff i don’t like this year.

I really enjoyed the concept of the story & I enjoyed the mix of fairy tales in the story but I had a hard time connecting to the writing and the book. Some aspects of the story felt a bit confusing and the chemistry between the characters just felt a bit flat for me. The pace of the book felt off and I felt because of the, there were some gaps in the story that made it a bit confusing. I really wanted to love this but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

I think that this novel was a fun bit of fluff. Entertaining and laugh out loud moments as Kaylen wakes up to find herself in a strange place after a "short" trip of three years that she had no idea about. It is an interesting mix of kinda science fiction heavily dosed with fairy tales and good looking guys (ahem Tanek!) that all find Kaylen fun, gorgeous and just the right woman to fix the issues that are happening on the planet, namely fairy tales going real, complete with the chopping of heels and toes to fit a glass slipper! Good thing Kaylen was working on a PhD in fairy tales! Also, I really enjoyed the parts with Kaylen and Sojee (he is awesome), and also Arit (love the sass!). And I really want a tabhor!

So, yeah I would not call this heavy reading, definitely more escapist which is what I was in the mood for so I had fun reading this and I hope to get the chance to read the second book after that cliffhanger!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

This was a FANTASTIC start to a new romantasy duology that sees PhD. student, Kayley being taken to an alien planet where she is tasks with helping to figure out a number of fairy tales that are being played out with deadly consequences. Fresh, original and great on audio, this is perfect for fans of of authors like Katee Robert or Karen Robards and romance fantasy books with a fun twist. I can't wait to see how this story concludes! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Order of Swans drew me in by the beautiful cover but sadly this one was not for me. This is a fantasy novel about a women who ends up in a world where she discovers the power to alter fairy tales but also a chance to change a kingdom's destiny. The plot sounded so good to me, but I just could not get into this book. I also had a hard time following the plot of the book. Also, the characters in this one I did not like. Overall, this one was not for me but if you enjoy fantasy novels then give this book a chance. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA and The Hive for this read in exchange of my honest review of Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux.