Jude Deveraux has been favourite author since her A knight in shining armor was published. Touted as a romantasy and fairy tale retelling I knew I had to request Order of swans. But I wish I hadn't. The prologue immediately set me off and left me confused -- space travel? There seemed to be little world building, and was chaotic. The female main character, Kaley seemed to just move through the story accepting everything, and there was no chemistry with her love interest. I tried to continue reading to the end but finally had to give up at 60%. While I don't recommend Order of swans, I do recommend the author.
Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

The first book in the Blue Swan duo. This story is a blend of fairytale fantasies, space travel and a hint of romance.

High level, a young woman is unknowingly taken from earth to another planet because she is believed to be the "key" to saving their world. She is a fairytale expert and is able to use her knowledge to help those around her face various situations throughout the book.

The characters really make this book stand out. We have Jobi, the family friend, almost grandfather figure, who we also can't trust and are unsure whose side he is on. Tanek is our reluctant guide with a traumatic past and part of a historical order of Swans. Sojee is our gentle giant, fierce protector and sees more than anyone else realizes.

This book was weird in the best way!! It was unique, odd and often had me scratching my head but I didn't want to stop! There is still much left unknown at the end of book 1 and I am interested to see how Deveraux wraps up all the lose ends to give a satisfactory ending in just one more book.

I made it all the way to chapter 8 before it felt too... simplistic for me as a fantasy novel. I can enjoy low fantasy novels with low stakes but this wasn't that. When I say simplistic I mean I feel like this was the first draft of a debut novel. (Which isn't true since this author has multiple books out). The characters were all very flat to me and I didn't enjoy how often Kaley would reference stories. I understand that it was the whole point, that she can influence fairytales but... it gets to a point where if someone is constantly referencing their PHD dissertation it becomes annoying. I also just... could not get past the fact that Jobi essentially kidnaps Kaley and, although he told her the truth about where they were going, she didn't believe him and he decided to NOT have a frank conversation with her. I'm not sure if she pitches a fit later when she finds out that she can't go home? Or she's been away from home longer than she realizes? But if that was me, I'm sure I'd fight Jobi tooth and nail over his lies. Also, the fact that they call each other lifelong friends when he's SEVERAL decades older than her and she didn't even meet him until she was 25 is wild to me.

It’s been a while since I last read one of Jude Devereaux books. I remember them fondly, and have been an avid reader. This book did not disappoint in providing a detailed and engrossing environment, character and plot. I want to know what happens next and did not realize this was the beginning of a series when I started reading. I did find myself challenged with the romance aspect because of the role of kidnapping, coercion, lies, imprisonment and imposed unconsciousness/nonconsensual drug use. These were unexpected and for me are undesirable in romantic fiction.

Did someone tell Jude Deveraux that she needed to pivot because romantasy was on trend? This book feels like a writing exercise, not a finished novel.

On the positive side, I enjoyed the friendships formed by the three featured characters. I’m a sucker for strangers thrown together for a mission. But what that mission was exactly is unclear. I thought it was so Kaley could collect folktales, but she never meets with anyone to hear their stories. There is effort made to collect a prince - the task I thought was kind of a side mission but instead became the focus.

The entire set-up is pretty ridiculous. And the plot made no sense at all. I was especially surprised to discover after reading that the author is a well-known, long-time romance writer because there was zero chemistry between the main characters.

There were moments when I was amused by the banter between characters. But in the end, this was more a hodgepodge of ideas than a cohesive story.

I give this a 3.75

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade for the ARC

I liked the mix of fantasy and sci-fi. There were a lot of interesting characters and I am curious to see where things are going and what some secrets are.

That being said, the one thing that really bugged me is Kaley sees all of these extraordinary things, she can talk to animals even, yet it takes her forever to come to terms with the fact that she’s on a different planet…. It seems small but it was just ridiculous. She sees a dragon and doesn’t bat an eye but laughs off talk of a different planet? It made no sense.

The love was a little too insta for me as well, but I’d still listen to book 2.

I loved this story! I really related to the FMC because I just finished a grueling PhD program so I found this very relatable. I expected this to be a fantasy and didnt expect the sci fi aspect to it but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a lovely way of combining all aspects and adding in fairy tales as well. I love the spin that is put on fairytales and how Kaley plays a direct part in those stories. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in fantasy and sci fi cross over!

Unfortunately, this was not a good fit for me. The concept of a fantasy meets sci-fi adventure littered with traditional fairytales a la the Brothers Grimm certainly sounded like a dream come true, but I found not only the execution, but character development and pacing severely lacking. All of our main characters feel very surface level. You do get a bit of background for them, especially Kaley, but at no point do they show any sort of emotional depth or connection with either the reader or one another. The world building is almost nonexistent, making it difficult to follow the events of the “quest.” It feels very disjointed and chaotic. I had high hopes, but will likely not pick up the second book.

One month ago, Jude Deveraux released Order of Swans, the first in her Blue Swan duology. This blend of fantasy and sci-fi follows Kaley, a PhD student devoted to folklore, who gets sucked into a real-life fairy tale… on another planet. She and two companions (Tanek and Sojee) are on a mission to find a lost prince, but they are left in the dark about a lot of other things. Beyond their trek around the kingdom, Kaley is also developing feelings for Tanek, unavailable as he seems to be.

Why I Chose This Book:
I love fairy tales and fantasy, and I was intrigued by a woman who has the power to rewrite those stories we all know so well. A quest, romance, and some unexpected magical twists, and I thought this would be a fun, escapist read.

What I Liked:
- Fairy tales, from Hansel and Gretel to Cinderella and more (the original versions, not the Disney movies!)
- The 10th Kingdom vibes
- Kaley’s love of animals and ability to communicate with them
- Bonkers, often in a good way

What Didn’t Work for Me:
- Kaley is extremely naive, trusting, gullible… dumb. It takes her a concerningly long time to actually start to suspect something is amiss. Like girl, look around you. This goes beyond things being lost in translation or cultural differences. She just blindly accepts everything and asks no questions despite everything being beyond sus the entire time. Make her make sense as a character.
- The plot and world-building are really uneven and underdeveloped. It’s confusing and honestly makes no sense (both to the readers and to the three main characters themselves).
- What was that ending. It’s not a cliffhanger, it just… stops.

Final Thoughts
Order of Swans is a hard book to rate. I wanted to love it, and indeed, I did enjoy so much about it. But its faults are impossible to ignore. There are just too many holes and a main character who is honestly too clueless to believe in.

This novel doesn’t really do anything to set up the next book in the Blue Swan duology. It just stops in the middle of the action, so if you want to know how it ends, you’ll need to read the next installment. There’s virtually nothing wrapped up, which only adds to the frustration.

All that said, I kind of enjoyed Order of Swans? But I can’t say I’d really recommend it unless you know what you’re getting yourself into.

I'm surprised that I didn't enjoy this book more. I'm a Jude Derveraux fan and usually pick up her titles without glancing at the blurbs. This is book 1 in a new series, The Blue Swan duology #1. Not sure if I'll be reading book 2 or not. One ended with a letdown. To Kaley Arens, a PhD student and expert in folklore, fairy stories have always had a power and an allure beyond mere entertainment.
It’s only when Kaley accompanies her lifelong friend Jobi on a visit to his home that she realizes how much she still has to learn. Bellis isn’t the remote island that she believed it to be. It’s another world—a stunningly beautiful and seductive one, with its own royalty, its own rules, and inhabitants who breathe life into the tales she was taught were fiction.
Kaley’s presence is no simple holiday. She has a mysterious connection with Jobi and with Bellis, and abilities that may help determine this world’s fate. Tasked with locating a lost prince, Kaley and her companions—the enigmatic Tanek, a member of the Order of Swans, and Sojee, Kaley's colossal bodyguard—journey through a land both thrilling and terrifying, where the uncanny and the familiar go hand in hand.
But in fairy tales, heroes and villains are easy to discern. Here, nothing is quite as it seems. And though Kaley is discovering that she can change the outcome of the fairy tales she knows so well, her own story is unfolding in ways impossible to predict, with a destiny she could never have foretold…

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had an amazing time reading Order of Swans, even though the book had some downsides (some one dimensional worldbuilding, an heroine who sometimes is too accepting of everything that is going on and odd pace). But the secondary chracters and the unique mesh of sci-fi and fantasy elements made me enjoy the ride <3

This was a little chaotic for my personal tastes, and I wish that there was more exposition (I know even I'm surprised!) but I thought that the sci-fi/fairytale aspect of this story was SO creative!

Rating: 3 Stars ⭐️

Book Blurb: Kaley accompanies her lifelong friend Jobi on a visit to his home that she realizes how much she still has to learn. Bellis isn’t the remote island that she believed it to be. It’s another world a stunningly beautiful and seductive one, with its own royalty, its own rules, and inhabitants who breathe life into the tales she was taught were fiction.

Characters: Kaley & Tanek

Chemistry: slow burn

This is book number one in the duology. First of all I loved the cover and was excited to read a new book by the author. It’s a mix of fairytale, and sci-fi. I liked the world building. Kaley is a PhD student and is unfazed by things she sees when she ends up on a different planet.

Thank you to the publisher for providing the ARC.

I have always been a huge Jude Devereaux fan. This book is not her usual book. It's her first book into the romantasy genre. It starts a little slow, but picks up. Its setting is a different planet and centers around fairytales. I loved the concept of the story. However, there's no spice in this one, but there is romance. I will definitely be reading the next book.

I used to read Jude way back in the day with her historical romance, so when I saw this on netgalley I immediately grabbed it. The beginning of the book kind of reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy. Intergalactic travels and adventures that's what Kaley, a student and expert in folklore and fairy stories, finds in this book. Be forewarned this one ends in a cliffhanger.

Enjoyable romantasy story! I grew up as a young adult reading Jude Devereax’s historical romances. I haven’t read her books for a while, but was super intrigued and excited to read the author’s branching out into the fantasy realm! And Order of Swans did not disappoint!
The book tells about the journey of Kaley Arens, a PhD student and fairy tale expert. When her life circumstances unexpectedly shift, Kaley decides to join her lifelong friend Jobi on a visit to his home. She thinks she’s traveling to an island in another country- but eventually comes to understand she has traveled to another planet. There, Kaley puts her fairy tale knowledge to good use and steps in to stop further tragedies as they unfold. She journeys through the planet with Taney, her romantic interest and who is from the mysterious Order of Swans- and Sojee her bodyguard. Along the way, Kaley is challenged to survive, to help the people they encounter and faces some big decisions, such as whether to stay or try to return home. Heads up- this is book 1 of 2- and definitely left me wanting to know what happens next! Highly recommend!

If you wanted a retelling of every fairytale combined into one, this one is for you. Not to mention it’s set on another planet with our FMC being the center of it all. It was giving Once Upon a Time vibes mixed with the enemies to lover trope. I binged it in one workday so the narrator definitely held my interest. It was a cute slow burn romance.

Unfortunately, I did not get to reading this as an ARC due to the holidays and flu and work. But I do look forward to reading this as a finished book.

Jude Deveraux truly has a way with words. Order of Swans is a retelling of the fairytales we grew up with. The chemistry between the characters is everything you'd expect from a Deveraux novel, and leaves you wanting more. The first of a series, so there's definitely more to come!

1.75 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Initially the title, cover, and plot intrigued me. I love a good transmigration plot point where a character gets transported into another world. No where in the synopsis did it hint that this was going to be a book about aliens which I was surprised about. Going into the book I expected it to be a fantasy, so reading about the sci-fi elements caught me off guard.

Kaleys character was a bit unrealistic at times. I know that the whole point was that she didn’t know she was on an alien planet but how could she be so chill with the blue light chip in her arm and seeing a literal dragon. She was too nonchalant about everything strange going on that I didn’t find her character all that believable. I get that she’s a folklorist and an expert on fairytales but she seems way to accepting of the newfound magic when she supposedly believes they’re just on an island on earth. It’s just so unbelievable that she didn’t notice beforehand. Her biggest motivator was to document new fairytales and find a new topic to write her dissertation on for grad school, but the author spends little to no time fleshing out what specifically Kaley wants to research. It makes me feel detached from her motivations and ultimately her character.

The writing focuses a lot on telling us the characters thoughts and feelings instead of showing us. Particularly when Kaley finds out she’s been lied to we’re told that she goes through the stages of grief but we don’t see that in any of her actions, we’re just told she does and then the story moves right along.

When Kaley does eventually find out she was lied to, she takes it surprisingly well. She doesn’t have a big angry blowup like all the characters assumed she would, so the eventual reveal felt a bit lackluster. There was so much tension built up over how she would react, then she just remained calm and didn’t get mad and accepted everything so easily.

I also don’t like how it’s repeatedly brought up that everyone is trying to set Kaley and Tanek up together. So many characters point of that they would be so good together but we don’t actually see them develop their relationship with deeper one on one conversations that make their eventual confession of feelings seem unbelievable. On Kaley’s side it was mostly lust at the beginning as well. When Tanek first offered Kaley to stay and live with him instead of returning to Earth it just felt out of left-field and more out of convenience bc she gets along with his swans, not so much because he actually loves her. There’s too much telling and dialogue instead of actually showing us and building the relationships between the characters.

The whole reason I picked this book up was because I was interested in how she would interact and influence the actual fairytales and stories, but the story didn’t really focus on that at all. When an earthen story was mentioned, save for the Hansel and Gretel tie in, it felt like we don’t really spend that much time with it. Or rather we didn’t spend much time in Kaley’s mind as she didn’t really think or analyze why the fairytales she knows are real in this new world. She just acknowledges they’re similar, solves the problem, and then we move on without her ever doing any critical thinking or tying it back to her research goals. She lets all the crazy plot points happen to her without any protest, which is so unrealistic. I get that she’s processing being lied to and it’s a strange new world she’s in, but we don’t spend nearly enough time in her character’s POV to go with her on this journey.

Everything happens so quickly there is no tension or stakes. There isn’t a lot of world building and the plot moves too quickly. For example when they were on the mountain at the end of the book, there’s no explanation for why some characters appear when they do. And Kaley moves on from these strange occurrences without batting an eye and just accepting everything. It feels like I as the reader am thinking more critically about whats happening while the characters she just accepts everything, making me feel frustrated. The other MMC’s we follow know a lot more about the world, but there is little to no world building from their POVs either so we’re left in the dark. We don’t know anything about the world so I don’t feel a sense of fear or urgency for the characters. Without tension, the mystery falls flat and I feel removed from the characters, the twists, and the story.

Overall the premise was interesting, but it ultimately fell flat for me.