I received a copy of the book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Swan Harp is a cozy fantasy about three kingdoms trying to keep the peace. It is also sort of a retelling of The Swan Princess. The main character is Kiar, the middle daughter of King Tir’s. We follow Kiar as she grows up with her Royal father and Swanfolk mother. Her elder sister is beautiful and her younger sister is talented, and Kiar? Well Kiar is the odd one out.

I loved Kiar, and I really enjoyed reading her story. Her sisters were great too, and I liked that despite hating each other at times, and all the jealousy there was going on, they were still close and they still looked out for each other. All three sisters feature heavily in the story and I liked all three of them. Kiar is the heir to the throne, and she is the last to discover her swan form. She wasn’t exactly a strong female character, compared to say Katniss or Celeana Sardothian, but Kiar was a strong leader and a good fighter. She took the most responsibility compared to her two sisters, and she was definitely the most mature of the three.

In terms of the plot, The Swan Harp is a difficult one to review. There were a few sort-of plots that played out, were resolved and then the story went on, which is one of my only complaints about the book. Having said that though, this style was refreshing and it somehow wasn’t jarring at all. I enjoyed following Kiar throughout her young life. I would definitely describe this book as cozy fantasy, except it does have some stakes. It’s not a romantasy as such, but there is romance in it. There’s no adult scenes.

Surprisingly, The Swan Harp was a delight to read, and I never had trouble picking it back up. I was lost in this beautiful world of the swanfolk and I found it easy to read.

4.25 stars.

puuuh wie fand ich dieses Buch. Das ist eine sehr gute Frage.
Der Anfang des Buches war toll. Man wurde wunderschön in die magische Welt geführt und es wurde erstmal erklärt, wie diese Welt überhaupt funktioniert, ohne dass Fakten heruntergerattert wurden. Es wurde sehr schön in die Geschichte mit eingeflochten unten der Start war schön ruhig, sodass man gut in die Geschichte reinkommen konnte. Bis so ca zur Hälfte war die Geschichte auch mehr oder weniger spannend, ich habe gerne mitverfolgt was als nächstes passiert. Dann allerdings gab es einen ganz großen Abschnitt, wo sich für mich alles nur noch im Kreis gedreht hat. Ich hab absolut das Interesse verloren. Bin immer nur Stückchen für Stückchen voran gekommen weil ich nicht wirklich Lust hatte weiterzulesen.
Das Ende allerdings war wieder sehr gut und spannend. Die Mission am Ende war wieder richtig spannend und hat der Geschichte wieder einen roten Faden gegeben, sodass man wieder wusste was genau los war und was das Ziel ist. Der Mittelteil hingegen hat nur so vor sich hingetröpfelt.
Ich würde auf jedenfall sagen, dass das Buch sehr großes Potenzial hat, dieses wurde hier aber durch den Mittelteil leider etwas kaputt gemacht. Schön war das Buch trotzdem und wem es nichts ausmacht, dass die Geschichte etwas langsamer voran geht, dem kann ich das Buch auf jedenfall empfehlen.

It was entertaining and I liked the dynamic between the swanfolk and Kiar. he book world was nice and I'm really excited to know what happens next in the series.

The Swan Harp was a compelling read that skillfully weaves together its themes and plot! I'm very try excited to see where the story goes next and can't wait to dive into the rest of The Wings of Valenia trilogy!

This is a well written fantasy with an intriguing plot and a slow-burn pace. While the world and characters have potential, the story takes time to build, making it hard to get into at first. The romance is minimal, and the tone feels a bit uncertain, but the magic and suspense keep it engaging. 3 and a half stars.

This was a very slow start for me and I could not get into it! I liked the idea but the execution was not there for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for permitting this book to be a Read Now to help members develop their Feedback Ratio in exchange for an honest review.

Review Summary:
This is a YA fantasy fiction based in the kingdom of Valenia. Valenia is ruled by a human King and a Queen who is 'swanfolk', a magical being that can shapeshift from swan to human and back again. The pair have three daughters - Adana, Orla and Kiar. They also have three fostered children from the Swan kingdom - Willow, Gil and Tuan. The story predominantly follows Kiar, but all three sisters are the driving force of the story due to the fact that they are half human and half swan. This creates a bind between their two worlds and also makes the relationship Valenia has with the neighbouring kingdom - Noermark - more volatile due to Noermark's disregard of the swans. Human/swan children are largely unheard of, so when Orla and Adana 'find their wings' and begin being able to shift as teenagers - Orla being unveiled as a special type of shifter that hasn't been seen in 100 years - their parents are thrilled. Kiar, however, is not. She doesn't look like her sisters or the swans in human form, so when even her younger sister Orla gets her wings first she begins to believe she is not 'swan' enough and never will be able to change. Instead she focuses on her role as the King's daughter and future heir, which means trying to form alliances with Noermark to improve the hostile relationship between them. Willow and Tuan, her closest friends, try and help her all the while. We watch as the three sisters and their three fostered friends grow to learn more about themselves, their kingdoms and each other. The 'harp' in the title refers to the bard's apprentice who promises Orla when he meets her as a child that his first unassisted song, his debut as a fully trained bard, will be dedicated to her...
Positives are that the story at its bare bones is interesting and had potential. The writing wasn't difficult to follow and flowed comfortably for the majority of the time making a quick read. The last quarter of the book took on a darker, gothic tone which showed more versatility and strength in the writer's abilities than the rest of the book had.
Negatives are unfortunately more prominent. The writing style does not comfortably fit a 'YA' demographic in my opinion, with the first three quarters of the book feeling more aimed at younger children if it weren't for the occasional depictions of violence. The characterisation is there, if uneven, in certain characters but completely missing from others. The lore of the 'swanfolk' is poorly developed and the romance elements are very weak. There is a lot of filler in this book because of this and there is a very predictable plot twist. I was very surprised that a sequel is planned because I didn't really feel there was enough content to fill this novel let alone continue past it.

2 stars. A story and world with potential, but underdeveloped characters and world-building. Barely-there romance elements and a writing style unsure of its intended audience.

FULL REVIEW BELOW. AVAILABLE WITH THE ADDITION OF HIDDEN SPOILERS ON GOODREADS

World-building:
The biggest question I had throughout this entire novel was - 'what is the point of the swanfolk?'. I know that folklore such as Swan Lake has inspired many a human-to-swan fairytale, but in this novel the question glared even louder for me. Other than being able to fly and look pretty, what is the benefit of it? It felt so underwhelming when the sisters had their first changes and excitedly went outside to explore their new found power which was... to waddle into the lake and sit amongst the swans. This then meant I couldn't help but laugh when Valenia had the very passionate, strict law of 'no hunting waterfowl!'. 'Harshly punished!'. It just felt... silly. And this 'no hunting waterfowl' was really relevant too in the tensions between Valenia and Noermark. If perhaps we had more of an insight into the swan kingdom and the queen's family, whom to be fair we don't meet because Kiar doesn't have her wings, then maybe the magic and whimsy of the swanfolk would be more palpable. As it stands, I found myself wondering why the swanfolk were interesting enough to dedicate a novel to them. Otherwise, there were attempts to develop Valenia as a kingdom by showing the day-to-day lives of the King and his Kingsguard and the work done to protect the borders. There were elements of culture and tradition like feasts or celebrations and the rituals within them such as dancing or chanting. We saw the agricultural and trading heart of the kingdom and the impact of the hard winters or raiders from Noermark had. The sisters showed the foster children 'the sheep game' which gave us an insight into their childhood and the history of the Kingdom that the game was founded in. The swan kingdom and Noermark weren't touched upon, aside from the stark differences between Valenia and Noermark in their treatment of women... and the swanfolk.

Characterisation:
Frustrating, because there was so much that could be done but wasn't. Kiar as a FMC is... fine. She is devastated by her inability to transform into a swan and obsessed with the freedom of being able to fly. She redirects this passion towards her family and her kingdom, dedicating herself to swordsmanship lessons and understanding what it takes to rule from her father. She is in many ways wise beyond her years but she is still a child, and this shows through some of her acts of defiance and rebellion. But I found her boring. I wanted her to be funnier, more fiery. There are two potential love interests for her throughout the novel and the first I actually found myself rooting for. There were some glimpses of angst and longing, even if they needed to be developed some more. The second is mind-numbingly dull. I felt absolutely no chemistry between them, because any time she 'felt her face flush' or found herself looking at him in a certain way it didn't feel like it was warranted. There were no interactions or dialogues that showed me why she felt that way, I was just told. Unfortunately this is a recurring theme in the novel, that I am told what people are feeling rather than being able to see it myself through their words and actions. Willow is the other character I felt we came across the most. She is actually incredibly annoying, but I appreciated it because she was depicted exactly as a needy younger sister would be. She strops and cries when she doesn't get her way, she pushes and persuades Kiar to do things even if she isn't supposed to. Because she is swanfolk and not 'naturally' human she can also be blunt and straight-forward, with Kiar and Tuan often having to explain the art of diplomacy, white lies and compromise. Tuan is really pushed as this loyal, gentle and wise soul but again I just found him boring. In fact he barely really speaks throughout the book. Adana's personality is pushed aside for the majority of the book, instead focusing on her marriage to a swanfolk and the consequences of it. In the last quarter of the book we see her a bit more, but she has no distinguishable personality. Orla, the King and the Queen all get very similar treatment, only really seeing their personalities in the last quarter of the book. There are more glimpses of Orla's throughout than there are Adana's due to the special gift she has and the unrequited love she experiences towards someone in the kingdom. As with Willow we do get to see her as more of a child, being clingy and obsessive without realising it. But despite her becoming a very relevant character in the last quarter it felt somewhat misplaced because we didn't get enough interactions or dialogues throughout the earlier chapters to make the last chapters feel organic and natural. Gil, the final foster child, is just there to push the plot. I don't even remember if he speaks. We do meet three characters from Noermark - the Kings' two sons and their messenger. The two brothers - Othar and Hafor - are supposed to have polarising personalities, but apart from one significant scene with Hafor and Kiar I actually found their dialogues very similar. I wouldn't have found them distinguishable if they were in conversation together. They both had potential to be more dynamic, interesting characters and there were glimpses there but their scenes were so rushed and fleeting it never had chance to grow.

Story:
The overall story is centered on the concept of coming-of-age. The characters learn about love, loyalty and consequence. There are multiple plot points that weren't prefaced properly, including a plot twist, with many of them feeling out of character and inorganic for those involved due to the characterisation issues. This is especially relevant to the bard's apprentice - Aren - who becomes extremely relevant in the last quarter of the book with his harp being the book's namesake, but I'd actually completely forgotten about his existence because he was only briefly mentioned in one interaction near the beginning of the book. It felt like a strange character/event to choose as such a large narrative force. But there are elements of magic, politics, family, romance, action and later on in the book some more gothic/horror tropes. A lot to work with, I just wish the author had leaned into them more confidently.

Prose:
No glaring issues aside from the author's habit to list the mundane, feeling like filler. We don't need paragraphs dedicated to the preparation and eating of a meal, the same repetitive travels around the borders or conversations that repeat themselves. We don't need every horse in the novel to be bullet-point described by name, coat colour, size and build. These could all have been fed throughout the story more naturally to avoid slowing down of the pace.

The writing and voice in this story was very approachable and the characters were lovely. However, this type of story is simply not the pacing or tension type that I enjoy reading.

The Swan Harp is a good book filled with magic and fantasy. The plot has plenty of suspense and intrigue to keep you hooked to it. It is the first book in the Wings of Valenia trilogy and it sets the pace to the next one.

This book is well written but i found the pace a bit slow and while it does pick up at some point, i had a bit of trouble to get into it at first. I did enjoyed the slow burn and i'm waiting to see what will happen in the next book.

One thing I love is a good fantasy I love a book that can make me forget what's going on in the world and go into an imaginative world where the impossible happens and you meet characters and creatures you would never meet for real and this book had ot all

A good book with moments of magic and fantasy, plenty of suspense and intrigue and enough to keep my interest up throughout. The first book in the Wings of Valenia fantasy trilogy, it sets us up for more more and makes you want to read the next book to see where the story goes.

I enjoyed this book and found it was a good fantasy and was pretty well written. It is a bit of a slow burn but it does build along the way, setting up the characters and the storyline. All in all a good book and I do look forward to reading the next book in the series. 3 1/2 stars from me.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Swan Harp effectively combines themes of identity, loyalty, and bravery within a framework of political intrigue and family dynamics. The first book in Elizabeth Creith's upcoming trilogy features well-developed characters with distinct personalities and impressive world-building. While the pacing is occasionally uneven, the story is engaging and successfully integrates its themes and plot. Overall, I am excited to continue with The Wings of Valenia Trilogy.

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.

Sadly in DNF this book about half way through. I just couldn’t get into it. Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for the chance.

"The Swan Harp" wasn't my usual genre, but the cover caught my eye. Surprisingly, it turned out to be a captivating read. Kiar, the heir to a human kingdom with swan-shifting abilities, is a relatable protagonist dealing with family drama and political intrigue. The world-building is rich, and the magic system, though subtle, adds a unique touch. The pacing could be improved, but the story's heart lies in Kiar's self-discovery and the bonds she forms. It's a wholesome, coming-of-age tale that, despite its YA label, held my interest. A solid recommendation for fantasy fans seeking something different.

Elizabeth Creith's "The Swan Harp" is a captivating novel with a unique idea about a young princess juggling personal struggles and evil magic in order to fulfil her royal obligations. The royal family relationships provide complexity, and the world-building and swanfolk mythology are captivating.

But the book has problems with pace and has a storyline that is a little jumbled. The read may at times seem tiresome due to its sluggish beginning and several repetitious passages. Furthermore, although the characters and their relationships are intriguing, they don't always have the depth necessary to really capture the audience. Notwithstanding these flaws, the narrative has promise and lays a compelling framework for the next two parts of the trilogy.

The Swan Harp is a fantasy series set in a Medieval world where Kiar, along with her three sisters are the children of King Tir and Queen Tianis. The Queen is a member of the Swan folk, which I thought was an intriguing idea because we often encounter characters in fantasy novels who change into mammals rather than birds.

Told from Kiar's perspective we see her go through the mundane moments of her life whilst feeling she doesn't fully belong as she is the only one of the trio of girls who couldn't change from human to swan - something that weighs on her. Then, drama and trouble come to the borders of her kingdom and Kiar's sense of being is tested.

The world-building sends the reader to a realm of castles, witches, and vast lands filled with mysteries and creatures both good and evil. I did feel it was a little basic given the book is a YA book and normally there's a very vivid and immersive world created for fantasy novels. Although it was evident of the style of the world The Swan Harp is set in, it did feel a little flat which was disappointing.

The same is said for the characters, they could have been so much more. I like characters to feel like they're jumping from the page into my imagination and this time they didn't. The premise of the sisters was good with each one being individual but they become lacklustre as the book goes on and I lost a lot of interest in them as well as the supporting cast.

In truth, I had high hopes - the cover is stunning but it just didn't live up to the hype for me. I also saw that this was part of the trilogy which surprised me as normally there's a cliffhanger etcetera but this wrapped up with no clue as to where it would continue.

Did not finish (DNF) because it was an underwhelming plot and romance, and I could not get into the story unfortunately. It was not for me.

This book was a little underwhelming and very slowly paced. I almost DNFd but held on until the end. I wish it gave more in regards to story and characters.

The Swan Harp by Elizabeth Creith is a story that captivates and enchants the reader. The story blends together elements of myth and reality, creating a rich tapestry that is both intriguing and magical.

Creith's writing shines with unbelievable descriptions and poetic language that draw you into the world she has created. However, there are moments when I questioned the pacing through the story. With some being fast paced and exciting, other parts were slow and boring. It was a close DNF.

Whilst the characters are interesting, they lack the depth needed to fully engage the reader.