A Treachery of Swans

How it reads

A Treachery of Swans is fantasy (gothic fantasy romance, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in an invented world, in no single period, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are love, identity and secrets. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 352 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.