Review: Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood

Purchase on Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Purchase on Amazon | Barnes and Noble

3.8 Stars 

Wild Swans was an enjoyable read, and it had lots of layers. It was entertaining, and something that I would recommend. 

I’m surprised with how many important social issues were tackled in this book. It does definitely get you thinking, and the Milbourn curse/legacy was interesting. I think that the Milbourn curse/legacy might actually be my favorite thing about the book, and it’s actually something that I think made the story unique. 

It definitely does have an impact on Ivy and that impact is showcased throughout the entire book. Also, it adds a solid background to the story. 

One thing I enjoyed about this book is that at the end, not everything is resolved. It doesn’t have a definitive ending for everyone, and you are left wondering what will happen next to some characters. I felt like the ending went well with this type of story because it shows that not every relationship can be fixed and life isn’t perfect or fair. 

I really appreciated the dialogue. It felt real and like someone was actually speaking those words. 

Characters 

The characters in this book are well developed and diverse. I like that the family and friendship aspect is very present. I enjoyed that this book wasn’t dominated by romance. However, I felt that the Ivy’s character development wasn’t as prominent that I had hoped it would be. Also, I felt that the love triangle added unnecessary drama. If this book solely focused on Ivy’s romantic life, it would've felt more in place. 

The romance sort of felt flat to me. Connor was a nice guy, I just wasn’t as interested in Ivy’s love life as I was with her family life. 

I liked that Ivy didn’t have it all figured out and that she was ordinary . This aspect made her more realistic and relatable. She was a mature main character, and I was rooting for her the entire way. I mentioned friendship earlier, but I loved how she had two strong friends supporting her all the way. I also, loved Ivy’s voice. It was unique and different. 

And with the supporting characters, I enjoyed how we got to hear about their problems going on in their life. They weren’t just two dimensional characters who only seemed to come around when it was convenient to the plot. They actually had personal things going on in their life, which made it real. 

Final Analysis 

Wild Swans is a realistic story about family and self-discovery with a hint of romance. This book doesn’t stray shy of covering important issues like gender identity, sexuality, or feminism. The ending is sort of open ended, however, it stays true to the notion that not everything in life is going to work and sometimes you don’t know about the future.