The Swan Kingdom Kindle Edition

It's so difficult to find words to properly describe my love of Zoe Marriott. This book was absolutely stunning. It's hard to find a single fault within these pages. The writing was gorgeous. I knew it would be, but I loved it much more than I ever thought I could've. It flowed so gracefully, and told the story beautifully.All the characters were amazing. They were realistic, but at the same time most certainly belonged in a fairy tale. Alexandra was a wonderful, strong heroine. Though I found her a bit stubborn at some times, for the most part I enjoyed reading of her journey. Oh, and Gabriel. I want a Gabriel. He's the perfect prince charming!My one complaint is that it ended too quickly. I would've been happy with 100 more pages for the ending to play out more thoroughly. The ending was still very powerful and one of my favorite parts, but it was so quick, and I may have enjoyed it more if it had been more thought out.This book felt familiar, like an old friend, but at the same time was very fresh. It's a very original retelling that will capture the hearts of many!

A solid 4/5 because it was wonderfully written. There were a few story problems, such as the very quick ending, but overall it was a fast and fun read. Also, it is a STAND-ALONE!! Hallelujah!Good for middle- and high school kids, and even adults who are young at heart. It took a while to really get going, but it was nice when things finally started to happen and it wasn't just an overview of what the main character's life was like.

I enjoy new takes on the old fairy tales. "The Swam Kingdom" starts out strong enough but about half the way through the plot holes start appearing and don't really go away. Some of the more solid plot points seem to be pulled from Juliet Marillier's "Daughter of the Forest" except this story is missing some of the adult themes and the effortlessness that Ms. Marillier seems to pull her reader into her world and stories. This might be a good start for younger readers that enjoy fantasy [11 or younger] but when the reader hits 13 or 14, I really recommend Marillier's version, as well as the sequels.

This is a well written,rich tale.It has alittle bit something for everyone.Love,adventure,friendship,betrayal,loyalty,transformations!I loved Alexandra.Such a lovable and genuine character.This may be a fairy tale for young adult,but I absolutely loved it.And the cover of the book,absolutely beautiful.

I really enjoyed this book! It is a bit like Juliet Marillier's first in her Sevenwater's Trilogy, but differs in places and shouldn't be overlooked because of this. Once I started reading it I simply couldn't put it down!

I have had this book on my TBR pile for quite some time. I was excited to get a chance to finally read it. This is a retelling of The Wild Swans fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It was a very straight-forward retelling of this fairy tale and I found it to be a bit bland.This book sticks to the Wild Swans fairytale fairly closely. It does give our heroine magic powers and twists up the end of the tale some. I enjoyed this slight departure from the original tale but it wasn’t enough to make the story really unique and engaging for me.Some of the description was very well done and I enjoyed our heroine Alexandra. However, the relationships in the book fell a bit flat. Alexandra’s romance was a bit blah. Her relationship with her brothers also felt a bit surfacey. I just never engaged with these characters very well.Overall this is an okay retelling of the Wild Swans fairy tale but it wasn’t unique enough or engaging enough to really capture my attention. I would recommend reading Juliet Marillier’s “Daughter of the Forest” instead of this book if you are interested in an awesome retelling of the Wild Swans fairy tale. Alethea Kontis’s “Dearest” is also a well done retelling of this tale.

The Swan Kingdom was a lovely story to read - it has a great magical world, and it presents a different spin on the original fairy tale of The Six Swans. I was also impressed that the story brings more detail to the evil stepmother character who is a bit more disturbing as a villain than in the original fairy tale. While the three brothers are sort of cursorily summarized as characters and are not actively in the story for very long, the reader gets to see more of the mother and her influence on the family and the land before she's gone. I admire that this story is full of strong, female characters who all have very different personalities.I found the main character, Alexandra, sympathetic and engaging and perfect to carry the whole story forward. She acted rather more slowly on her brothers' curse than I would have expected, but this story does take on some unexpected turns, especially with how the romance is woven into the tale. I love that the romance is built on the two characters really getting to know each other, instead of falling in love at first sight, so the romance is very sweet and endearing.The main smaller issue I had with this story though was in the rather unresolved story line for Alexandra's Aunt - I was thinking she would play a stronger role in the story, but we don't hear from her again. And also in the nature of the Ancestors who guide Alexandra - I felt a bit confused on their role in the world of this magic. It seemed like they were just there when it was convenient, and were unable to do anything.The reason why this is such an enjoyable read though is in the exciting plot line, the changes that deviated from the original fairy tale (there's a really neat twist about the curse!) and just my own appreciation that it's the women in this story who affect their own lives.