I was immediately drawn to A Treachery of Swans based on the cover art, and I'm so glad I was. I didn't know that I needed a sapphic retelling of Swan Lake but I definitely did. This book is beautifully written. It's moody and atmospheric, and I felt completely immersed in the story as I was reading.

Odile was an incredible protagonist. Her intense longing for love, even from those who have wronged her, is both heartbreaking and deeply relatable. It drove every choice she made throughout the story, and though her decisions weren’t always the wisest or most logical, her reasoning was always clear and human. I couldn’t help but root for her, even when she faltered. She’s a beautifully flawed character, and her journey had me invested all the way through.
I really enjoyed the romance between Odile and Marie d'Odette The evolution of their relationship, from friends to enemies to lovers, was a delight to read.

My only real complaint is that parts of the book suffered from inconsistent pacing. Going from the last chapter to the epilogue felt very abrupt. Towards the end of the book it felt very much like it was headed for a cliffhanger, and I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't. I think this could've been a great duology.

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderberry Books & Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This was such an interesting read! I loved the setting of the kingdom and felt the pace of the story was captivating and interesting!

I really enjoyed this book. Morally gray women are so interesting. The magic system set itself apart from others. I liked the romance between Odile and Marie managed to work even though Odile was involved in cursing her.

Firstly, id like to thank NetGalley, A.B. Poranek, and McElderry Books for the eCopy of this book. Where the Dark Stands Still remains my favorite fantasy of ALL time and, in context, I read over 400 books last year. I have been SO excited to read Poranek’s sophomore novel and am blessed to be an earlier reader.

NOW, to the review. I had a bit of a hard time with the first half of this book and getting into it. I’m glad I stuck with it because the work of the first 30-50% of the book makes the last half worth it. Did I like it as much as WTDSS? No. Is there a surprise cameo that made me squeal with glee?! I’m not telling… 😉

I really enjoyed the nuanced characters in this book. The book mainly follows the story of our main heroine Odile, who is the dark swan-esque character and sociere. Odile and her brother were orphans and grew up with a rough life, but were taken under wing by a theater owner turned father figure… to Odile, at least.

Odile meets a young noblewoman in her youth that she befriends and her brother meets the Dauphin of the kingdom. They both form bonds that become important throughout the book. There is love, magic, twists you won’t see coming, and a lot of found family.

The book has a very dark gothic feel to it; very Phantom of the Opera vibes. If there is one thing Poranek nails, it’s he characters and their stories. Odile, Marie, and Amie were all characters you could understand and identify with. I wish there had been more time and dimension with Damien, but he wasn’t the star of the show.

I really enjoyed this book, even though not quite as much as WTDSS, but that bar was in the stratosphere for me. I’d give this 4.5 stars and highly recommend this sapphic swan lake fantasy adventure.

A Treachery of Swans is a sapphic retelling of Swan Lake. It’s dark, gothic, and full of romance (though I wouldn’t classify it as romantasy). It’s billed as YA but the prose is more mature than that, I’d say it’s closer to “adult, starring teenagers” than it is properly YA. It’s also billed as a heist novel, which I'm not so sure on — a heist is planned, but it derails almost instantly into politics, murder, whodunnit, and betrayals. It’s very engaging, but not really a heist.

Voice is established very quickly alongside setting and tone. It’s darkly atmospheric, from the old theatre house full of costumes and hiding spots, to the black-mirror surface of the Lake of Swans, to the intimidating palace beyond full of looming antagonists, hidden monsters, and dark sorcerous secrets. The novel is pretty liberal with its French for titles and names of places, so it helps to know a tiny bit, but you won’t be super lost if you don’t. For me, it added to the atmosphere.

The characters were excellent, heroes and villains alike. Our protagonist Odile considers herself a villain, but it’s easy to empathise with her especially the more we see of how she was raised and how many betrayals she has suffered. Her choices always made sense for her character to make in the moment, even when they were clearly the wrong choices. Marie (the swan princess) is also effortlessly likeable, though with her own edges and flaws under a seemingly ‘perfect’ facade. Aimé is YA/NA’s favourite new trope of “useless prince” - but he is the best version of this trope I’ve seen. He’s a full character, not a cut-out, and he struggles to balance his true nature and interests against what he knows is needed of him as heir to the throne, not helped by the ambitious and capricious adults surrounding him. Odile’s estranged brother, Damien, rounds out the main four heroes - the least developed of the four, but important to both plot and other characters, giving us a lot of insight into Odile and into Aimé, who he is currently a guard/musketeer for. Our villains are equally amazing - very complex, hiding their motivations until the last possible moments (most of them anyway), and full of plots and secret machinations.

The relationship between Odile and Marie was expertly done. A childhood friendship (and attraction) marred by betrayals on both sides, now reunited as adults only for Odile to steal Marie’s identity. And that’s just where we start. The novels creates a delicious knife-edge of having to work together with someone who has betrayed you, who you know will betray you again, and who seems to understand you better than anyone else ever has or will. Both characters are sympathetic, both make mistakes, and it’s easy to understand both sides the entire way through the novel. I never felt like they were inventing reasons to either distrust or feel attracted to each other, or that the author was playing a noticeable keep-away as many romantasies currently do (usually by refusing to have characters talk to each other when they have much less reason to distrust each other than Odile and Marie have). It was very believable the whole way through.

Pacing was excellent, I devoured this novel in two days - and putting it down in the middle to sleep was very difficult. I was never bored or felt anything dragging. The plotting is tight and the character push-and-pull of who to trust and who, or when, to betray was exquisitely done.

The tiny cameos from other versions of Swan Lake were perfection. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-them, making perfect sense for this story and the place and manner in which they appear.

This looks to be a stand-alone novel, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more from these characters in another novel. I’ll certainly be looking forward to reading more from this author even in unrelated novels.


<b>Rating: 5 stars</b> - Gothic identity-theft romance at its finest. No complaints.

Lovely!! This book had a bit of a slower pace but the writing was so captivating and atmospheric. I loved the characters, especially Odile, Marie, and Amié! I enjoyed the Scooby-gang vibes at the end, so fun! Odile and Marie had such a fascinating relationship and I loved Marie’s personality; they were so cute together. I was glad that Odile and Damien repaired their relationship but kinda wished for more on Damien’s end. The ending had me convinced that this wasn’t a standalone for a minute and I was upset until the epilogue. Seems a tad bit rushed and I wish we could’ve seen more about Morgane and how the magic worked. But overall I enjoyed this one!

A Treachery of Swans was an immersive and atmospheric read that I was immediately sucked into. For a sapphic Swan Lake-inspired story, the swan aspect was far less prominent than I expected, but I still think this is really successful in fulfilling the brief.

This book spends a lot of time immersing you in the setting and in Odile's life, and I think this is its biggest success. While frustrating at times, Odile is very compelling and understandable character. She's desperate for affection and incredibly distrustful of it when she receives it. The side characters are similarly compelling, although I wish we'd had more time with them. The world feels lush, the magic system is intriguing, and the set up of the plot is very satisfying.

At about the two thirds mark, the plot starts to speed up, and it's starts to feel a bit more scattered. This was still very enjoyable, I think it was still good storytelling, it just wasn't quite as strong of a finish. There's a lot that happens at the end, some of which happens off the page, and I'm still not sure how I feel about that specific decision.

Ultimately, this was a fun and satisfying read for me, and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author.

A.B. Poranek is proving to be impressively adept at building tension and painting a tangible sense of place in her books that draws you in. Even the detail of naming the chapters as "scenes" was such a lovely touch. I had high hopes after recently finishing Where the Dark Stands Still, and while I may still prefer WtDSS, this certainly did not disappoint.

I would have loved to see more of the side characters, and it admittedly took a bit to get fully invested in the romance, but all in all, a clever retelling, a sapphic romance (I appreciate the Poranek has had queer romance in both her books), a multi-faceted lead character, a beautiful and atmospheric setting, relatable and flawed characters, and a stunning cover came together for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

(This review will be published on Fable, Instagram, and Goodreads once we are within 1 month of the sale date as instructed in the email).

I lovedddddd this book!!! I am a fan of A. B. Poranek, so I was incredibly eager to dive into this book. And it was so good!!!

I listened to the Swan Lake music while reading this, but if I am being honest, I didn't need to have it playing because the soundtrack very likely would've played in my head regardless. I have only seen Swan Lake once, but from what I remember, I loved this book much more than the original.

This sapphic romance is to die for. You will absolutely love it if you like atmospheric and gothic reads. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes C.G. Drews, Edgar Allan Poe, and dark fantasy.

Go read this!

Thank you very much to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and in no way are influenced by the manner in which I received it.

a beautiful cover & promising premise that did not disappoint me!! everyone cheer!

barbie of swan lake was a foundational text for me as a kid, so you can only imagine how excited i was by the prospect of taking that and making it SAPPHIC. the dream! i haven’t read a.b. poranek’s other book yet (although it was already on my tbr), but i will certainly be bumping it up the list after reading this one. the writing style was gorgeous and ethereal, which suited the setting and tale so well. i felt like she was weaving sentences together as if she were a sorcier herself, weaving the golden threads of a spell. i highlighted so many beautiful lines!!

the only complaint i have (and it’s not even really a complaint) is that i wish we could’ve seen more of odile’s arc between the last chapter and the epilogue. for a second there i almost felt like we could have gotten an entire other book out of it, and i think it could’ve made an excellent duology! but that’s really only because i wanted to see more of this story since i liked it so much, and i did really love the epilogue as well. i can’t wait to see what a.b. poranek does next!

A masterclass in atmosphere and mystery! I loved this so much, beautiful prose and an intriguing plot! It belt like a ballet on page!

This book was very lovely and atmospheric, I swear I had the swan lake ballet music in my head the entire time I was reading it. Thank you netgalley for the arc

This was a beautiful, sapphic retelling of Swan Lake!

I hadn't previously read A. B. Poranek's writing before but I was into it as soon as I started reading. From the get go the writing style had atmosphere and depth. It's haunting without being too dark and the vibes are immaculate without sacrificing the ability to understand what's actually being written.

Odile was an amazing main character and her deep desire to just be loved, even by those who have harmed her in the past is both relatable and gut-wrenching as it determines her actions throughout the story. She was the perfect flawed character who I couldn't help but root for the entire time. While she might not have always made the wisest or most rational decisions, the reasoning behind her actions was always clear. While we didn't get as deep into the mind of Marie, I still really enjoyed her as a character and she felt like a well thought out and developed character.

The plot and conflicts of the story were captivating and I continuously wanted to know what would happen next until the end. The romance between Odile and Marie was very much one of friends to enemies to lovers and I adored it. It of course wasn't a perfect relationship at the start, but watching the two characters fall for each other while not being sure who they can trust added so much to the development of their relationship.

I also absolutely adored Amie and Damien and absolutely need a story about them, they were amazing side characters!

What if Odile fell in love with Odette? In a fresh yet loyal twist on Swan Lake, Odile, the daughter of bitter, jaded sorcerer Rothbarte, turns Marie D'Odette into a swan and dons her image to seduce the prince. Magic has been stripped from their kingdom for generations, and to get it back, Rothbarte sends Odile to retrieve the crown, with strict orders not to interact with Marie. But Odile has never been good at staying away from Marie, even though she ruined Marie's life as kids. When the king is murdered as soon as Odile secures her engagement to the prince, she is forced to work with Marie in order to discover the more sinister powers at work, a plot far more twisted than a slighted deity and an innocent prince.
I absolutely ADORE retellings, especially when we see new perspectives. Written from the point of view of Odile, ambitious and morally gray, A Treachery of Swans quickly pulled me into all the dilemmas of a girl who just wants to be loved. The romance between Odile and Marie, a convoluted childhood friends to enemies to lovers story, was literally tear-jerking. Guaranteed HEA, but I was still a wreck. Obviously, there's a dramatic shift from the original Swan Lake as Odette is in love with Odile instead of the prince, and the prince is in love with his bodyguard (Odile's brother-- UGH THEY'RE SO CUTE), but it was executed so well. I marvel at Proranek's ability to blend a classic with the writing styles we're used to in modern YA, from the fantasy/worldbuilding to the romance to the way the plot moves. When I tell you I SCREAMED at the hurt/comfort trope...! The cover literally captures all of the vibes and I'm obsessed. I love Poranek's dark, immersive novels so much.

A Treachery of Swans was one of my most anticipated reads this year, after reading and loving the authors debut, Where the Dark Stands Still, I couldn’t wait to read more from her!

A Treachery of Swans was such an atmospheric and mysterious read. I really enjoyed this Black Swan retelling.

Definitely pick this one up if you like the slowest of slow burn sapphic romances, magical and atmospheric reads!

luscious writing, historical setting, sapphic romance- what more could a girl want? this was my first book by poranek but after this, it’s certainly not my last! more of a vibe-y book than plot heavy, i throughly enjoyed that although it did take me eons to read (as someone who sits and finishes a book in a handful of sittings) but that could’ve just been my mood! i will say it is very atmospheric and if you’re looking for a villain story this will absolutely be your cup of tea ✨

Oh, this book was gorgeous all the way through. From a girl desperate to find a sense of security in her life to a a king being murdered, it's a fantasy that dug itself into my bones. It's a book that cuts, but there is also a gentleness to it, and I seriously adored it.