The Secret Swan

Rating:
Summary: Abe pleases with this work..but
Review: Shana Abe writes well, and I enjoy her work. Her writing is different enough to keep interest...however I do not think this is her best effort. I seem to be in the minority...I bought this and "Intimate Enimies" together. I read Enimies" first and IMHO this (Intimate Enimies" ) is much better. Secret Swan held few surprises for me ...while the author excells at bad guys and makes you really root for good over evil I must complain that for much of the book her "true love" thought she was someone else! Find Intimate Enimies, read it and see if you don't agree that it is a far better book.

Rating:
Summary: WORTH YOUR TIME
Review: The beginning of this book has an almost surreal feeling to it. The slightly slow start of the story just emphasizes the fact that both the hero and heroine are starving and sick in body and at heart. It's a necessary plot device. Stick with the book. It gradually builds to a beautiful love story as our heroine learns to trust and love again.

Rating:
Summary: A Thrilling Romance Not To Be Missed!
Review: The Secret Swan by talented writer Shana Abe is an entertaining Medieval Romance that supplies the reader with an ample supply of passion & romance, intrique, and a satisfying ending. A book not to be missed in my opinion...

Rating:
Summary: A WONDERFUL COMPELLING ROMANCE!!
Review: The Secret Swan is at the top of the list of not only medieval romances, but the entire romantic spectrum! Ms. Abe writes with a thrilling style that truly immerses you into her stories. She has the gift of describing her settings and characters so well, that you truly feel that you are there, knowing the characters intimately. The Secret Swan is no exception; Tristan and Amiranth tug at your heartstrings while drawing you into their story. I know that you can read a synopsis above, so I will simply tell you that this is a book well worth reading. While I have no illusions of being a writer myself (therefore not trashing someone else’s book in an obviously frustrated desire to write myself...) I appreciate a story that has love, intrigue, suspense and a perfect ending. Shana Abe and The Secret Swan do this with class and style. You won't want to put this one down!! A FANTASTIC BOOK!!

Rating:
Summary: SORRY BUT NOT UP THERE WITH OTHER FINE AUTHORS
Review: The Secret Swan is my very first novel by Shana Abé, and I am sorry to report it will probably be my last too. I was intrigued by this book’s plot after I read the review that came [in a newsletter I recieved], so I bought it. It sounded interesting enough, and the story of a maiden’s love (Amarinth) for her would be husband (Tristan) right from the start, and then his mistreat but eight years after his redemption only to find her grave upon his return from war was very appealing. Well, appearances can be deceiving. Just in case: if you are sure, as was I, that you rather read a more modern romance, say from the 19th. Century, then by all means do not make the mistake of thinking this will be any different. I have discovered that it is difficult for a single book to change one’s whole concept of a determined era (Medieval Times) and what that entails in the author’s writing skills/storytelling and the book’s development.

I had to force myself to end it just because I wanted to be fair on this... My conclusions are not uplifting in the least, and usually I do not enjoy or dally writing hurtful reviews, but this one, as every other one, deserves objectivity as well as a fair amount of truth. To begin with, the book was [just too] long, it could have been easily cut 50 pages down. Mind you, I enjoy good lengthy books, but the catching word is GOOD, which this one was not. An element that was sorely missing throughout the book was dialogue among the characters, and this was replaced by constant descriptions and life pondering musings from the characters. A fact I did not appreciate. I do not like when the [someone] tries to direct my thinking and feeling, but rather when the reader is left free to wonder and draw out their own conclusions. The so called romance was not palpable enough, nor sufficiently steamy to leave me in a dreamy haze. No memorable characters or situations that will linger in my memory, all in all, a very forgettable and uneventful book.

Rating:
Summary: More like a 3 1/2 star rating
Review: There is a surreal quality to this book in the beginning, which I really liked. Ms. Abe tends to have elements of the supernatural in her stories, and although there are none directly in this book, this feeling of unreality in the beginning brings some element of it to the reader. Disjointedness, vague feelings and impressions work very well, since we start in a time of death from the Black Plague, and uncertainty from Tristan's long plight of being incarcerated. As Tristan's health grows, so does the clarity of the story.

Tristan himself is an interesting character. Although I thought his clinging to a memory of a girl whom he spent a week with (drunk and uninterested) for 8 years, a bit of a stretch, it makes the story work. This thread in the story would be what I found as the weakest link. Without revealing too much of the plot, I found Tristan's journey and rebirth written solidly. Many authors tend to rely on plot contrivances or the old tried and true plots. Ms. Abe avoids many of these pitfalls and makes this story work.

Amiranth/Lily's character(s) are another matter. Whatever would have made Amiranth do what she did? Why would she have stayed in an out of the way hellhole for 8 years? She was a countess, wouldn't she have moved to one of her husband's grander estates? I also (personally) have a hard time with the idea that someone can truly love someone from afar, without ever meeting them. The idea that Amiranth fell in love with Tristan after seeing him a half dozen times from when she was 9 to 15 and never talking to him, just doesn't ring true to me. That she could have any feelings for him after his treatment of her goes beyond my comprehension. I realize that Tristan grows up/matures in his prison, but 8 years is a long time.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story and felt drawn to the descriptions. There was some lack of dialogue, which I thought might have helped our hero and heroine understand each other better. I also never quite understood the timing and age of the "bad guy" and the wrap up at the end just made it seem more implausible to me, but I still walked away from the story satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: Fantasy Mystery Romance!
Review: There were some parts of this book that was hard to believe. Initially, the love of Amiranth for Tristan and later vice versa. Hers was love at first sight and his was close to that by merely just holding on to a memory of her. Also, Amiranth is a strong, smart female character and to have her willingly stay in the godforsaken, stronghold Safere for 8+ years is another hard to believe aspect. I'm not quite sure about the ending and how she set up the mystery of the two brothers... who was suspect and all.. a little cliche. That could have been worked on more. Usually, if someone is truly innocent but their innocence is questionable, their actions can speak for them. I know the author didn't want readers to know who really did it until the end, but I didn't agree with her making both look questionable by their actions/looks (i.e. Tristan sometimes looking evil). I would have preferred more of the situational confusion that may make them look suspect (such as the part where Tristan threatens Hugh). I guess I like it more because it's a more thought out device, rather than an easy slap-on-a-evil-look trick to make one look guilty. Additionally, although I did love the book, I wished the ending could have gone on longer. Shana Abe does a great job with suspense and surprising twists, but I felt that by doing that, readers are on the edge of their seat a lot and that the ending should somehow make up for that by resolving it in a longer feel-good chapter or 2! :)

That being said, I did give the book 4 stars for a reason. I still truly loved the way the author did not fall into most cliches and though there were some cheesiness to it, it was far and few between. I loved that the female protagonist had more involvement in the end instead of just having the hero save her. The trials of her life definitely taught her to be smarter and it showed. I loved the romance, sexual tension between the two, and how the tension was relieved occasionally throughout the book (unlike some other romance books) but the emotional tension (which I think counts more, too) was resolved in the end. I think I truly appreciated that Abe pulled us through the book on emotional strings and not physical ones. I think that's why I would call her book a romance book and not a trashy romance one. In the future, I hope Abe will put more believability into some of the storylines, but aside from that I definitely will be reading more of her books!

Rating:
Summary: A WORTHY ADDITION TO MY ROMANCE COLLECTION
Review: THIS IS MY FIRST BOOK BY THIS AUTHOR AND I WAS NOT TOO DISSAPOINTED. THE STORY OF AMIRANTH AND TRISTAN IS UNUSUAL IN THAT THE CHARACTERS ARE MARRIED AT A YOUNG AGE AND THEN SEPARATED FOR EIGHT LONG YEARS. THIS IS A STORY ABOUT SECOND CHANCES AND THAT'S WHY I ENJOYED IT.
AFTER A LONG INCARCERATION AT THE HANDS OF THE FRENCH, TRISTAN ESCAPES TO RETURN HOME TO THE YOUNG WIFE HE HAD TREATED SO SHABBILY EIGHT YEARS BEFORE. HE HAS MATURED DURING HIS LONG CAPTIVITY AND HAS HAD TIME TO THINK ON THE FRAGILITY OF LIFE AND HIS OWN MORTALITY. HE WANTS TO START A NEW LIFE WITH AMIRANTH BY HIS SIDE.HE RUSHES HOME TO FIND HIS WIFE'S BEAUTIFUL COUSIN AT HIS MANOR TELLING HIM AMIRANTH HAS DIED OF THE PLAGUE. AND SO THEIR STORY BEGINS.
THE STORY IS WELL WRITTEN AND THE CHARACTERS WELL DEVELOPED. HOWEVER, I DO AGREE WITH THE OTHER REVIEWERS HERE THAT THERE WASN'T NEARLY ENOUGH DIALOGUE BETWEEN TRISTAN AND AMIRANTH AND THIS IS WHAT DISSAPOINTED ME THE MOST. I FELT THE EPILOGUE, WHILE SWEET, LEFT A LOT TO BE DESIRED. ALL IN ALL, I FEEL THIS IS A GOOD STORY TO WHILE AWAY A LAZY AFTERNOON.

P.S. IF YOU LIKE HISTORY ALONG WITH A HOT ROMANCE TRY MADELINE HUNTER. SHE'S MY ALL TIME FAVORITE AUTHOR. YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED. :)

Rating:
Summary: Another Worthy Author
Review: This is my first book of Shana Abe and gratefully not be the last. This is also one of the few books I have dared to picked up without first consulting Amazon ratings & reviewers. I was totally drawned to this book because of the back book description. The title itself also intrigued me. I love Swans as well as Secrets in my book. So, this one was initially bought out of pure curiosity which fortunately turned out to be quite an arousing read.

Lady Amiranth had a crush on Tristan Geraint when she was but only 9 years old...Saw him again a year after that which only heightens her feelings for him. By the time she was 15, she had love him from afar. She had prayed for him, dreamed of him for years until her prayers and dreams came true... She was to marry him by King Edward's demand. Oh joy! But... be careful what you wish for! Tristan was not exactly what she expected him to be. To begin with, he didn't want her, he had no feelings for her, he didn't even find her pretty. Tristan also wanted more than just an obligatory marriage and he showed it too. This is what made this book a heart breaker. Shana Abe really did touch my heart with her words and descriptions. Tristan pretty much ignore her most of the time and some of Tristan's actions were rather insensitive but not to the extent of saying he abused her. Readers must also give consideration that when they married, He was only 19 years old. Tristan was nothing but a young, arrogant and proud knight. Also, in lots of ways, you can see him trying so hard to comprehend and accept his situation. He was trying to like her, even trying to love her but he doesn't know Amiranth at all. He doesn't even know what to say to her... therefore it was hard for him to connect to her. They also didn't have much time spent together to form a bond... well, in Tristan case anyway. As for Amiranth, she was already in love with him, therefore, it was a little bit easier for her to accept her marriage compared to him. That is only my opinion. I truly find their love story endearing. The way secrets and conflicts tangled around them would want you to pause a breather. I had to pause a couple of times also to think what I would do if it was me in the situation and I ponder what would eventually happened. Some areas are predictable but it's the kind of predictable situation where you would say "oh no, I know that would surely happened " but then you pray it wouldn't.... got me? :-)

The reason why I didn't rate this book a 5 stars was because of Shana Abe's over-descriptions of the past, emotions, surroundings and etc. I also agree with one reviewer that there is definitely lack of dialogue among the characters, especially between Tristan and Amiranth. They think more than they talk to each other. Also, the ending of this book was not disappointing but rather a wee bit lacking. I don't know if this book is part of a series or have a sequel (I guess, it would make a difference if it is)...but for now, I sure would have love to read an Epilogue that tells readers about the hero/heroines offspring's especially in Amiranth's situation.... of Amiranth past of the year 1342. I don't want to ruin it for others by telling exactly what I meant but once you read the book, u will know what I mean.

Overall, I find this book heart quenchingly sweet, endearing and a worthy entertaintment on a long hot summer night.

Rating:
Summary: Less emotion, more attention, please
Review: This is supposed to be a historical romance. It has a historical setting, but the hero and the horse must have come from Krypton, and the saddlebags are as deep as Mary Poppins' carpetbag. On their journey from coast to castle, the horse carries not only the hero and heroine (which would be abusive enough), but at appropriate moments the heroine reaches into the saddlebags and pulls out at least two hundred pounds more of blankets, clothing, cloaks, weaponry, and you name it. At one point, the hero also gets to rescue the saddlebags from thieves, at a dead run and while disabled! Hello? Has the author ever seen a horse or carried a load of blankets?

I would not have posted a review, except that the Romance Writers have nominated this book for Best Historical of 2001. They should have it up for a humorous paranormal category instead.