This was an amazing retelling of Swan Lake. Odile is such a complex character; she is a thief, an orphan, a sister, and she has been taken in by Regnault, with the promise that if she does all he asks, he will be able to bring back the one thing she wants the most. MAGIC. While she is mostly the villain throughout most of this book, doing Ragnault's bidding, helping him turn Marie into a swan, and stepping into her life, I think she's a better person than she realizes. She's just been hurt a lot and is living off the pain she feels.
. The only real issue I had, and it was really only a minor one, was the ending, which didn't really feel finished to me. I mean it ends, one way, then we get a bit more of an ending a few pages later that kind of wraps it up, but I would have loved to have seen what happened from the first part of the ending to the finale.
This is dark and gothic, and I loved the characters, along with their complex relationships, and at times wanted to give Odile a big ol' hug.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and can't wait to see what A.B Poranek is going to come out with next.

Some truly beautiful writing in this book. I enjoyed the atmospheric prose. As someone who has studied French and regularly sings in French, I also enjoyed the sprinkles of the language here and there. There were a few moments when I wondered if how the characters reacted was truly authentic for the time….yes, it is fantasy, but it is historical fantasy. Would they really have understood about getting infections from wounds and used that language? I would have liked to see a little more accuracy in areas like that.

I was truly hooked at the end, until the very end. It needed more! The book either needed to be longer or we needed to introduce a series. It was rushed and left me with too many questions.

I also had trouble engaging with the characters at first, it took me a minute to settle in, and for a book that is this short, I would have liked the characters to have grabbed me sooner.

Wonderful world, premise, and prose. Just needed to be fleshed out more with either a longer book or a series.

This sapphic swan lake retelling had all the aspects of the original story that I loved - magic, a royal setting, deceit, love, and of course, a girl transforming into a swan. However, A.B. Poranek put the most unique and interesting spin on this classic by turning to the perspective of the villain, Odile. It is dark, gothic, eerie, and fraught with danger. The lore and world are skillfully built and the characters are complex, have so much depth, and completely endearing. And the writing omgggg some of the most lyrical and beautiful writing l've read yet!
If you like stories from the perspective of the villain, a slow-burn love, LGBTQIA+
representation, magic, deceit, and mystery - then I'd definitely recommend this book!! Perfect for fans of One Dark Window.

I loved this!

The format? Perfection! Did I know I was signing up for a play? No, but this was brilliant!

About 80% through, I felt like there was going to be a sequel and I panicked because I thought this was a standalone. I was pleased that the epilogue wrapped things up rather nicely, though it felt a little rushed. I almost wish that another book had been made instead of rushing it in the epilogue.

RATING: 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

Thank you so much to the author, Simon and Schuster, and Netgalley for a copy of the eARC!

Retellings of classic tales or myths can always be a hit or miss, but retellings with an LGBTQ+ twist is always something that'll catch my eye. A Treachery of Swans is a sapphic take on the Swan Lake tale, set in a fantasy world inspired by Medieval France.

The story follows Odile, a young orphan who is tasked by her guardian to steal the crown of the current reigning king. To do so, Odile disguises herself as a noble heiress named Marie, but finds herself entangled in a web of secrets when she gets herself engaged to the kingdom's prince and aids in the investigation of the king's unexpected murder.

I loved how this book managed to blend plot, worldbuilding, and relationships very seamlessly. The plot took its time to unravel, which in turn gave a lot of space for the characters to grow. Odile was a perfect representation of a morally gray character, and her love interest in the (real) Marie represented grace and femininity that can often be missing in fantasies written by women. But, even outside of romance, the supporting characters were just as well written and shaped the narrative to be executed as well as it did. Regnault stood out to me the most, having a charisma that made me often question his motives, especially with his complex familial bond with Odile.

The last couple of chapters did leave me wishing the story was written as a duology, but I think the book is still fantastic as a standalone. Highly recommend reading if you want to read an LGBT fantasy where the Medieval Europe worldbuilding is just as intriguing as the entire narrative!

This book completely swooped in and stole my heart. I was hooked from page one and basically held hostage (willingly) until the end. The characters? Loved them. The setting? Magical. The twists and turns? Chef’s kiss. It had everything! The excitement, magic, drama… I devoured every bit of it. It is the perfect storm of fantasy, intrigue, and pure reading joy. I was completely under its spell.

This book unfortunately fell flat for me. I will say the writing was atmospheric, gothic, and dark but the rest of the story was pretty forgettable. I also felt the story needed a little bit more world building added to the plot. There was also a lot going on at times that made the story feel clunky and choppy. I so had wanted to love this sapphic retelling but unfortunately it ended up falling flat for me.

This book had the potential to explore so many interesting themes. The intersection between envy and attraction, the question of if you can ever truly be loved while pretending to be someone else, etc. Unfortunately, the execution of the book’s tried and true story arc (“closed off anti-hero learns to trust”) didn’t quite land for me.

Poranek is not without a few compelling talents as a writer. Her descriptions of scenery are vivid and compelling, and this book did have a plot twist that completely caught me off guard right before the reveal. But ultimately, every character was flat. The lead, her love interest, her allies and enemies and especially the villain of the novel (whose villainy is so glaringly obvious from their first appearance that the may as well be wearing a neon sign that says “yes, I’m the bad guy”). The author fell into the bad habit of telling us how characters feel more often than showing us, which led to many drawn out internal monologues and a lack of nuance in readers’ understandings of character motivations and personal histories. Every character felt like a bland vehicle to propel the story rather than a well-rounded character driving the narrative.

A few other pet peeves of mine were how often conversations were summarized instead of fleshed out (the forgone dialogue feeling like a missed opportunity to show off characters’ nonexistent personalities) and how simplistic the portrayal was of the character dynamics that were the driving forces for the narrative (the MC’s relationships with the love interest and her father).

As interesting as the plot and world building are, I simply can’t get past how two dimensional all characters and their relationships were.

I really love a good sapphic gothic romance, so picking this up was a MUST. I also am in love with the US cover with art from one of my favorite artists so I grabbed the physical copy as well.

The writing of this was absolutely beautiful and I did love the characters and their different accents development of them throughout the story.

The slow burn was a little too slow for me so it took me a bit to finish.
I honestly have very little knowledge of swan lake, which this is a retelling of, but I think that works well and I didn’t go into it with any expectations and overall I did really enjoy this.

A forbidden magic.
An enchanted lake.
A love about to take flight…

This hauntingly beautiful debut is a dark and dreamy retelling of Swan Lake, filled with secrets, betrayal, and legacy. Set in a baroque France-inspired world, the story weaves together magical realism, a murder mystery, and shape-shifting swans in the most poetic, mesmerizing way.

With a villain main character, a sun and moon dynamic, and a slow shift from childhood friends to enemies to allies to lovers, this book delivers emotion, tension, and atmosphere in spades. The light sapphic romance is subtle but adds to the story and is kissing only. It would be more suitable to young adults than teens.

If you’re into Phantom of the Opera vibes, atmospheric writing, and stories where magic and danger go hand in hand, this one absolutely belongs on your shelf.

🖤 Dark, lyrical, and utterly enchanting—A Treachery of Swans is a spell you won’t want to break.

✨🦢✨

no notes. beautiful plot twists. incredible imagery and gothic atmosphere. a perfectly spun sapphic retelling of swan lake that I will be thinking about probably forever. the MC’s character arc is incredibly well done. I almost didn’t like her in the beginning but her character was truly exactly how she was supposed to be, and her development has no abruptness to it; it felt very authentic, especially her complicated relationship with her adoptive father. I was also both surprised and delighted by the found family. this book had me shocked, kicking my feet, heartbroken, and in love, all in one. highly recommend.

4.5⭐️ Sapphic Swan Lake Retelling, murder mystery, slow-burn, a lot of LIES, DECEPTION and BETRAYAL

A.B. Poranek gave us the Swan Lake Retelling that we didn't know we needed but still got. And it was as theatrical, gothical and magical as we only hoped for.

This book follows Odile Regnault, a thief and actress with the mission of deceiving and impersonating a princess in order to free the magic that has been outlawed for years. But when the King is brutally murdered, Odile has to put those plans aside to discover who (or what) has killed the king. Leading her to look for help in the person who she is impersonating, who is now living her life as a swan. Our main character becomes tangled in a web of lies, treachery and betrayal that keep getting more obscure the deeper she digs.

The author did such a great job at giving this book so much character. Her writing combined the theatrical and gothic richness of this book created the perfect setting for this magical story. Throughout the book there was this element of darkness and secrets that made it the most immersive and decadent. Every time our main character discovered a secret, there was this new layer of political intrigue, lifelong kept secrets and curses.

I love how our main character have this identity resolution. She is trying to put together who she is, who she wants to become, and who she can trust. She has to deal with what she had spent her whole life believing and the newly discovered secrets.

The romance was a true slow-burn with emotional depth. It gave both of the main characters room to grow and to evolve. It was lovely to see them fighting for one another and grow past all the darkness and lies that built their relationship.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for granting me early access to this beautiful book.

For a book that’s meant to have a gothic atmosphere (which it definitely does), the writing is so lush and full of life.

I tend to be a bit of a slower reader, but I absolutely devoured this book. I adore the Swan Lake, especially in Barbie form if you know what I mean, but to see it a new way as a sapphic retelling was so interesting and different in a very refreshing way.

Odile and Marie stole my heart. They are so lovely and their story was so enchanting. I do feel that their connection moved very quickly from estranged friends to cursed and curser to lovers very quickly and I wish that there had been more development into lovers. I wish that we had the chance to have a few more moments of them tiptoeing their way around a romantic connection before we fully got there, but I loved it nonetheless. Also, Damien and Aimé? I love them so much and I needed more small moments of them!!

Odile and Regnault, however, broke my heart. All Odile ever truly wanted was to feel worthy and special. She wanted power because she wanted to feel connected to the magic that makes her blood golden. She wanted the knowledge that came with it and the freedom to explore that knowledge. She wanted to feel safe and cared for. She wanted to be loved unconditionally no matter whether her blood ran gold or red. So it only makes sense that for much of this story she puts her trust in Regnault. The man who took her in off the streets, gave her a home, fed her and clothed her, taught her cleverness and cunning. She was a child that needed that kind of support and of course she never considered that he’d use her for his own greedy plans. This man who was meant to be a father to her. He took that love that he knew she craved and twisted it into a tool of manipulation. He taught her many things, but only so that he could exploit her skills for his personal uses. Seeing her grow and realize that this “love” was never really love at all was so rewarding. I love seeing that she has people in her corner who love and care for her like a family should.

I think the only thing that really keeps me from giving this book five stars is the ending. It just felt like we left that story feeling a little open. There was so much potential for more and instead it just ended. There was a major event that happens right at the very end, one you would think could never be wrapped up in just a few pages and yet it does anyway. The ending just left so much potential for more that I honestly would’ve loved to have seen explored in another book.

However, don’t let this stop you from enjoying a wonderful book because it truly is beautiful and I enjoyed it immensely!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC! I had an amazing time reading this book and cannot wait to explore this author more!

A Treachery of Swans is out now!! So be sure to check it out if you’re in the market for a new fantasy retelling of a beloved story!

This cover has me in a chokehold. Absolutely stunning!

I was very excited for a swan lake retelling with a beautiful sapphic story, and it was definitely mysterious! It’s been awhile where I’m just yelling SOMEONE GIVE THE VILLIAN A HUG!! ITLL HELP!

Pacing was a bit off, especially towards the end. Overall it was a solid YA book, I just didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. I just wish I had felt more connected to their romance than I was…

Thank you to NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! The pacing got a little weird and rushed at the end, but other than that I thought this was good!

Odile is an interesting and complex MC who we get to see grow past a manipulative and toxic relationship with her father and it is very satisfying to read about her realizing how she was isolated by him from people she could have became friends with. I’m glad this chaos girl broke free.

Odile and Marie’s relationship was really well done as well, with Marie being able to see that her and Odile had to break free of some similar situations. I also think their banter and dynamics were very cute and I loved seeing their relationship develop.

Less expected, but the friendship between Odile and Amié was also something I thought was well-written and I wish we had gotten just a little bit more of it. A lot of their interactions, he thought she was Marie so it was less genuine.

The sibling bond between Odile and Damien was also complex and interesting, and again, I wish we had gotten just a little bit more of them being on good terms at the end.

Ultimately, a lot of my issues with this book are just that the end feels rushed when the pacing for the first 80% of the book was so consistent. It just threw me off a little bit.

Overall, enjoyed and recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for this ARC Copy!

I have been looking forward to this book since the moment that I saw the cover and knew that I was going to be obsessed. The US cover of this book is the most amazing representation of a story that I have ever seen. Gothic and gorgeous, just like the words on the page. The character growth was so hard earned and that made it so much more impactful. The betrayal and struggles that the characters go through makes such an impact on the story. Even when you know they are doing wrong, you will still be cheering them on and hoping that somehow everything goes right. As a strong supporter of women's rights, and wrongs, I absolutely adored this story.

Everything I wanted and more. Atmospheric gothic sapphic romance SAY LESS! The execution was near flawless, it pulls you in and you want to stay in the book forever. Absolutely beautiful!

3.75 stars !

my only real issue with this book was that i think it would’ve benefited from a sequel. only getting an epilogue about how Odile did somehow at some point in her journey learn more magic and meet the mothers (?!) and travel across unknown lands was fine, but i would’ve liked to SEE that. Sure, we know she did it, but… i wanted to read about it. I think it could’ve been a great way to show Damien and Odile rebuilding their relationship, too.
Mostly, I think it would’ve been nice to learn more about the mothers and see Odile, Damien and Aime grow as characters after the events of the first book and i am genuinely a little upset we won’t be getting that.
I’m also a firm believer in “if you didn’t see a body they’re probably not dead” and… you know.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC!!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an ARC for review.

I wanted to love this book very badly. I loved Where the Darkness Stands Still, and as a former amateur ballerina, a sapphic Swan Lake retelling sounds right up my alley.

In reality, it felt like this book never really found its footing. The beginning felt slow, and even though on paper the plot was happening at a breakneck speed, I still found myself bored. While there were elements that I liked about this book (Aimé is my favorite character), I found myself looking forward to the ending. This ultimately was a miss for me. I am looking forward to other works by A. B. Poranek, however; her writing is very beautiful.