If she could only find true love... Swan and Shadow by Kaki Olsen (Blog Tour Review & Giveaway)

Swan-and-Shadow-blog-tour

Welcome to my stop for this Swan Lake retelling! Check out my full review and the giveaway below...

Swan and Shadow: A Swan Lake StorySwan and Shadow
by Kaki Olsen
YA Urban Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling
Paperback & ebook, 304 Pages
March 8th 2016 by Cedar Fort Publishing & Media

Summary

Aislin is cursed. A regular college student at night and a swan during the day, Aislin can only break the curse by finding her true love. But when her beloved discovers the truth, will his fear override their love? This modern adaptation of Swan Lake will help you discover what love really means.

   
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My Review

SWAN AND SHADOW was the first Swan Lake retelling I've read. It was an interesting setting with a family curse passed down to present day that affects a second-born girl as a teenager. It was unique not only in the setting, but also in the main characters being identical twins. The story was full of family relationships, friends, a girl's desire to break the curse by finding love, and an ending that left things open for a second book.

What I liked about the story:
- I loved the whole premise of the story and how unique it was. It was uniquely different the whole way through the book. Really liked that!
- I liked Aislin. She was an interesting character. I also really liked Nate.
- I liked the pacing of the story. It was steady the whole way through.
- I liked that the story was so honest in what a curse like this would be like if it happened to a teen today and how the family would have to make adjustments.
- I liked the romance felt sincere and wasn't unrealistic. I mean, how often does a 17-year-old find the love of her life? Rarely. The story was pretty blunt about that and the characters were honest in expressing some fears and the reality of the situation.
- The ending fit the story. Not too easy and a good ending for setting up a second book.

What I didn't like about the story:
- I wanted the voices of Maeve and Aislin, both main POV's, to be much different than they were from each other. I wanted to be able to tell which sister was talking without having to check the heading and to easily tell who was speaking when they both were part of a conversation.
- Some interactions felt forced or like the dialogue was slightly off and some actions also felt off. I didn't always feel like characters acted as they should.
- I didn't really like Maeve's friends and her boyfriend.
- I would have liked a little more explanation at the beginning. When did Aislin transform to a swan and back. Could she speak and understand human speech? How aware was she the entire time she was a swan and did she remember her time as a human and vice versa. It took reading through a lot of the book before I wasn't confused.

Overall, SWAN AND SHADOW was an interesting and unique read. I liked the characters and the romance and am looking forward to reading book two.

Content: Clean

Source: I received a complimentary review copy from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way.

About the Author


Kaki Olsen regularly contributes academic papers on zombies or wizards to Life, the Universe and Everything, a sci-fi/fantasy symposium originated at her alma mater, Brigham Young University. Her published works have appeared in such magazines as Voices and AuthorsPublish.


Giveaways

The author is currently giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card. To enter take a picture of you or someone else with her book, Swan and Shadow, and email it to her here.

The publisher is giving away one ebook of Swan and Shadow as well. Enter via the Rafflecopter below. Ends March 31st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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