Clueless FMC, way too much going on, weird acting charaters, and the writing felt rushed and parts unfinished. Gives ghostwriter, AI vibes.

What if you could change how a story ends? Kaley finds out while learning about herself along the way. Honestly I loved this book! I want to be Kaley and I want a Tanek please please please. Truly a good book and the narrator did amazing! I need more!!

Sadly I DNF’d at 60% - I reached a point where I decided that this book just wasn’t for me.

This story was all over the place. It read like the author had 4 or 5 different ideas for how the story would go and wrote them all down on sticky notes on a bulletin board and threw darts at it blindfolded to see what should come next. It felt like a lot of random ideas and not really a cohesive story. There was no real world building and it was overall just really confusing. I had to go back a few times and listen again because I just couldn’t follow the story.

The audio narration was great, I feel like their performance was why I got as far into the story as I did.


Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC and give my honest review.

I liked the narrator and that was about it. Nothing in this book made sense to me and it was SO confusing to follow along with. Not an enjoyable reading experience at all.

✨ ARC Review✨

Rate: ⭐️⭐️✨

I had high hopes for this book because I love fairytale retellings and sci-fi, but honestly, it felt like a chaotic mess. The main character, Kaley, just didn’t click for me. She’s a folklore PhD student, but she spends the entire book clueless about the very things she’s supposedly an expert in. She gets transported to another planet (not an island, by the way), and sees dragons, magical creatures, and people acting weird, but she just shrugs it off like it’s no big deal. I couldn’t get on board with that.

The plot also felt all over the place. One minute we’re in a medieval fairytale village, and the next, we’re on a spaceship. There’s no real world-building, and honestly, it was just confusing. The fairytales that were supposed to tie everything together didn’t really work for me either; they just felt like a random collection of ideas rather than a cohesive story.
And don’t even get me started on the romance. Tanek, the guy she’s supposedly into, is just… emotionally unavailable in the least charming way. There’s some sort of love triangle happening, but it didn’t grab me at all.

By the end of the book, I was bored. The characters didn’t grow at all, and I was left feeling like nothing really changed. The premise was interesting at times, but it ended up feeling more like a fever dream. The audiobook narration was solid, though, and there were moments where I thought I might want to read the sequel, but now I’m just not sure.

Overall, this one wasn’t for me.

Did someone tell Jude Deveraux that she needed to pivot because romantasy was on trend? This book feels like a writing exercise, not a finished novel.

On the positive side, I enjoyed the friendships formed by the three featured characters. I’m a sucker for strangers thrown together for a mission. But what that mission was exactly is unclear. I thought it was so Kaley could collect folktales, but she never meets with anyone to hear their stories. There is effort made to collect a prince - the task I thought was kind of a side mission but instead became the focus.

The entire set-up is pretty ridiculous. And the plot made no sense at all. I was especially surprised to discover after reading that the author is a well-known, long-time romance writer because there was zero chemistry between the main characters.

I will say the audio narrator was skilled and listening provided an entertaining distraction. There were moments when I was amused by the banter between characters. But in the end, this was more a hodgepodge of ideas than a cohesive story.

This was advised as a fairly tale retelling, but it felt more like every single fairy tale rolled into one which was a little chaotic. The narrator held my interest more than anything, but it wasn’t a terrible book overall.

3.5⭐️

This was fun and unique! I know sci-fi and fantasy get lumped together a lot, but for the most part they are separate in my mind. Order of Swans manages to blend them in a way I have not seen before with the use of space travel and planets, but also a high fantasy setting. It was a fun dichotomy.
I think the world-building could have had more to it as it felt like sometimes we were just supposed to know things. However, it wasn’t anything too major. I snagged more on the fact that the magic and and Bellis’ location were supposed to be a big secret kept from Kaley, and yet she never seemed to question her ability to understand animals, nor the fact that she lived through multiple fairytales before realizing she was on another planet. She just kinda accepted it like it was normal which was a bit strange to me.
I really enjoy Sojee and Mikos’ personalities and even their interactions with each other. I can’t decide what Sojee’s secret is but I feel it will be a doozy. (Apologies for potential spelling errors. I listened to the audiobook 😆)
Alexandra Hunter does a very good job with the narration. She has a nice voice and clear diction. I found her easy to follow and felt she did well differentiating between characters and emotions.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable and relatively easy read. After that ending, I am definitely looking forward to the sequel!

I’d really rate this more of a 3.5/3.75.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC of this book.

I loved the narrator. I thought she did a good job. I liked the mix of fantasy and sci-fi. There were a lot of interesting characters and I am curious to see where things are going and what some secrets are.

That being said, the one thing that really bugged me is Kaley sees all of these extraordinary things, she can talk to animals even, yet it takes her forever to come to terms with the fact that she’s on a different planet…. It seems small but it was just ridiculous. She sees a dragon and doesn’t bat an eye but laughs off talk of a different planet? It made no sense.

The love was a little too insta for me as well, but I’d still listen to book 2.

DNF at 30%

I don’t know where to start with this, because I don’t think I understood what was going on. The characters felt strange and came across as inconsistent. I don’t know what the plot was, because the writing was really disjointed; it was like a bunch of scenes put together to create a story, but there wasn’t a story being told (example for perspective: I went to work, walked into a kitchen, met someone, read a book, etc.). There was no world building beyond us being told what’s happening, zero showing was involved. The narration is bizarre, where it’s jumping around perspectives and none of the characters had any distinct voice to make this a reasonable approach. The only redeeming thing about this is the audiobook narrator, Alexandra Hunter. I’m putting this one down permanently. It’s not for me.

Thank you Harlequin Audio for the ARC via NetGalley.

It’s so bad. Like really bad. I read the reviews before starting this book but I didn’t believe them. From the synopsis, I thought this was going to be like Inkheart but with a twist on fairytales we know and love. That sounds like a good book, that I would really enjoy.

This is about a college student, who is basically kidnapped by an alien because she is destined to save his planet. Nothing about the synopsis indicated this was going to be sci-fi.

I also first need to explain that I’m not a fantasy snob and I detest fantasy snobs. You know the people who rate a book badly because there’s modern vernacular or because the rules of the fantasy world didn’t follow the rules of our world. It’s fantasy and the author can create whatever world they like. But I’m making an exception for this book, the rules just don’t make sense!!! There’s helicopters and space ships on this other planet, yet they don’t have modern technology? The fairytales also don’t make sense on this new planets like they do on Earth. Like fairytales are rooted in real history but this new world feels like the fairytales are just plopped in. And then the aliens come to Earth to save different species from going extinct… I’m so confused about what the point of the plot even is.

At the end of the day, I feel like the author was trying to throw too many different things in one book. The book starts off with the FMC trying to come up with a new fairytale for her dissertation, and I almost feel like this author put that prompt into ChatGPT and got the concept for this book. Every time something ridiculous happened, I thought to myself ‘maybe this is a true story, because who would even come up with this’. I feel like I’m being pranked by this book. Maybe publishers post dummy books on NetGalley just to make sure we are being honest?

As much as I despised this, I couldn’t stop listening to it. Like a rubbernecker driving past a car crash. This book ended on a cliffhanger that left me with way more questions than answers. And damnit if part of me doesn’t want to know what’s going to happen. I’m sick, but good thing it’s labeled as a duology, so I would only need to put up with one more book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC.

This book, for me, was just hard to grasp and follow along. The premise was on point, the execution was jumbled and a bit of a hot mess. It was random, went in too many different directions, and the protagonist, Kaley, is dim. Sorry.

The book took a little bit to get into because the MFC was not immediately likable so it was difficult to root for her. The discovery and world building is interesting. I really enjoyed the fairytales alternatives and coming to life from a different perspective. It's an average book but I can see certain audiences loving it.

One month ago, Jude Deveraux released Order of Swans, the first in her Blue Swan duology. This blend of fantasy and sci-fi follows Kaley, a PhD student devoted to folklore, who gets sucked into a real-life fairy tale… on another planet. She and two companions (Tanek and Sojee) are on a mission to find a lost prince, but they are left in the dark about a lot of other things. Beyond their trek around the kingdom, Kaley is also developing feelings for Tanek, unavailable as he seems to be.

Why I Chose This Book:
I love fairy tales and fantasy, and I was intrigued by a woman who has the power to rewrite those stories we all know so well. A quest, romance, and some unexpected magical twists, and I thought this would be a fun, escapist read.

What I Liked:
- Fairy tales, from Hansel and Gretel to Cinderella and more (the original versions, not the Disney movies!)
- The 10th Kingdom vibes
- Kaley’s love of animals and ability to communicate with them
- Bonkers, often in a good way

What Didn’t Work for Me:
- Kaley is extremely naive, trusting, gullible… dumb. It takes her a concerningly long time to actually start to suspect something is amiss. Like girl, look around you. This goes beyond things being lost in translation or cultural differences. She just blindly accepts everything and asks no questions despite everything being beyond sus the entire time. Make her make sense as a character.
- The plot and world-building are really uneven and underdeveloped. It’s confusing and honestly makes no sense (both to the readers and to the three main characters themselves).
- What was that ending. It’s not a cliffhanger, it just… stops.

Audiobook
Alexandra Hunter is probably the best thing about Order of Swans. She narrates the whole book brilliantly, making me want to continue listening even as my hopes for the story itself kept dwindling. She gives great personality and voice to each character here.

Final Thoughts
Order of Swans is a hard book to rate. I wanted to love it, and indeed, I did enjoy so much about it. But its faults are impossible to ignore. There are just too many holes and a main character who is honestly too clueless to believe in.

This novel doesn’t really do anything to set up the next book in the Blue Swan duology. It just stops in the middle of the action, so if you want to know how it ends, you’ll need to read the next installment. There’s virtually nothing wrapped up, which only adds to the frustration.

All that said, I kind of enjoyed Order of Swans? But I can’t say I’d really recommend it unless you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Very strange, indeed!

Kaley is a doctorate student and is submitting her dissertation revolving around Fairy Tales, when she is told that it will not be accepted as is. She has a friend who offers to take her to his island to do a deep dive into the Fairy Tale Land and lore, in hopes to improve her dissertation.

BUT...it is NOT an island, it is another planet. (Kaley is asleep for the entire ride) ... 😮😮
Oh, and while we're at it, she now has a chip implanted in her that allows her to understand other languages... Wait. What???? 🤔

While on this ummm... island... She is introduced to MANY others. And, there are rare animals, etc here. But Kaley doesn't really ask questions. (????) Why ?????

Also, she has an uncanny ability to bond with animals... like... any animal. Like, animals that have killed and maimed others... and yet, they come up and nuzzle her neck! 🫣

OK... so we're off in another land...another world... other languages... strange happenings...
For instance... you know Hansel and Gretel? They are LIVING in this world... but may need some help. And their Gingerbread House is life sized, and edible...

So, there are some amazing things going on here...but also, some crazy, unbelievable stuff as well.

Did I give up and DNF it? NO!
Will I look for book #2? Yes!
Was the first 3/4 of the book a mixed up jumble of things that needed to be deciphered at every turn? Yes!
Was the last 1/4 a HOLD YOUR BREATH kind of GREATNESS? Absolutely!!

I'm going to 🛑 stop right here 🛑, before I give too much away... but, if you enjoy magical realism with a sci-fi kind of twist to it, look no further!

Oh, and the cover, absolutely stunning!!! And yes, there ARE swans in the book!!!

3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me, rounded up to 4!

#OrderOfSwans by #JudeDeveraux and narrated beautifully by #AlexandraHunter.

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #HarlequinAudio for an ARC of the audiobook which has already been released, so look for it on shelves now!

You can also find my reviews on: Goodreads,
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My Facebook Book Club: Book Reviews With Elaine

Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

I was given the opportunity to review the audiobook as an ARC, although the physical copy of the book has been published.

I have read Jude Deveraux before, mostly her historical romances. I was very excited to read this book and was happy when I was given the audiobook ARC.
This is the first book that I have read of hers which is more fantasy with touches of scifi mixed in.

Overall I enjoyed the book, I would say that it did not flow as well as some of her previous books have, at least for me, and I wonder if that is because it might be one of her fantasy books? I am unsure though.

The reader follows FMC Kaley through her life, we know some of her origins - her mother came to Earth from a different planet, Bellis, to mate with her father and then get kidnapped back essentially by the best friend "Jobi". Kaley grows up thinking her mother essentially died right after she was born, raised by her father and grandparents, homeschooled, and is different from others - but she does not know why. She becomes best friends with Jobi and is doing her PhD in Fairytales and Folklore when the story basically picks up and is transported to Bellis - the planet where Fairytales are essentially real.

I think more world building was needed - I understand that the reader is working through what is going on essentially alongside Kaley. However, there were times I needed to rewind the audiobook or slow it down a bit to understand what was going on. A few times I even picked up the book to read the text to see if I was missing something.

In terms of the audiobook narrator - she did a decent job, I think she could have thrown her voice more with the male voices and differentiated them more thoroughly. I did enjoy listening to her and thought she read it well.

I am assuming there are going to be more books and this will eventually become a series, not sure how many. I will probably pick up more in the future but will not be in a hurry to do so.

I was able to vibe along through most of this book, but by the end of it just could not give it a higher rating than 2 stars.

While I did enjoy the characters and their dynamics, I was bored with them by the end of the book. There isn't much character development, they are still pretty much the same by the end, just bonded through trauma. I don't know, but I found the ending of the book extremely unsatisfying.

the premise was also very weird. I can see what she was going for, but it ended up feeling kind of like a fever dream. On a different planet with problems that are basically fairy tale and folklore, so the FMC has the knowledge to help. It was interesting at times, but not enough for it to make sense. At about 50% of the book, I thought I would most likely read the sequel. But I don't know if I will.

The narration for the audiobook was great though.

I have always been a huge Jude Devereaux fan. This book is not her usual book. It's her first book into the romantasy genre. It starts a little slow, but picks up. Its setting is a different planet and centers around fairytales. I loved the concept of the story and Alexandra Hunter is fantastic as the narrator. However, there's no spice in this one, but there is romance. I will definitely be reading the next book.

This book wasn’t for me. Great concept but not a great execution. The female main character was so annoying, the most pick-me girl ever, she was insufferable honestly. I didn’t really care about the other characters, especially Tanek. I don’t know I just didn’t vibe with this book. The narrator was amazing though!!!

I used to read Jude way back in the day with her historical romance, so when I saw this on netgalley I immediately grabbed it. The beginning of the book kind of reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy. Intergalactic travels and adventures that's what Kaley, a student and expert in folklore and fairy stories, finds in this book. Be forewarned this one ends in a cliffhanger. I really enjoyed the narrators and listening to this story.