Two more reviews for June then I can share the full wrap up!
A TREACHERY OF SWANS – A.B. Poranek (Released June 24th, 2025)
A MOTHER ALWAYS KNOWS – Sarah Strohmeyer (Released July 1st, 2025)
A TREACHERY OF SWANS – A.B. Poranek (Released June 24th, 2025 – Thanks to Penguin Teen for the gifted copy)
An enthralling sapphic retelling of Swan Lake, for fans of Allison Saft and V.E Schwab.
Magic has long been outlawed in Auréal . Odile has always known she’d be the one to restore it.
Raised by a sorcerer, Odile has spent years preparing for the heist of a lifetime. It’s perfectly simple. Impersonate a princess, infiltrate the palace, steal the king’s enchanted crown and restore magic to the kingdom.
But when the King is unexpectedly murdered, she’s forced to recruit the help of Marie d’Odette, the real princess, and the two begin to unravel a web of lies and deceit that leaves Odile uncertain of who to trust.
Soon though Odile must decide – her mission or the girl she’s falling for?
The fate of the Kingdom depends on her making the right choice. . .
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars – Talk about a stunning cover for an atmospherically beautiful book. The sapphic retelling of Swan Lake I had no idea that I needed, but here we are. I’m not as familiar with the story of Swan Lake, so I’ll be curious to hear from others how this followed the original and what key pieces changed or were included in this retelling.
While I did love our main characters, Odile and Marie, there’s just something so memorable and consuming about the atmosphere of this novel. The writing is lyrical and flows beautifully. Despite the slow burn, you’re pulled under almost immediately. The dynamic between Odile and Marie comes off the page and the mystery behind the King’s murder kept pulling me along to see how things would turn out. Less murder mystery and more emotional and character driven.
If sapphic Swan Lake retelling catches your attention, then I think you should pick this one up! It’s hard to really dive into as I think it’s better to experience it. Just remember – it’s a slow burn.
A MOTHER ALWAYS KNOWS – Sarah Strohmeyer (Released July 1st, 2025 – Thanks to Harper Perennial for the gifted copy)
The beloved, award-winning author of Do I Know You? and We Love To Entertain returns with an electrifying novel of psychological suspense that explores the way our pasts shape our futures in so many unexpected ways.
Stella O’Neill is just your average millennial, working at a public library and worrying about making rent. No one would suspect she’s been living under an assumed name or that she was raised in a Vermont commune of “diviners” where, and as a ten-year-old, she witnessed her mother’s brutal murder—a crime that has gone unsolved for years.
But her quiet, anonymous existence is upended when a true-crime obsessive posts her current name and location on the internet. Now, Stella has to get out of Boston before her mother’s killer can find her and finish the job he started all those years ago. Fed up with living in fear, she heads to the off-the-grid retreat of her childhood to confront her mother’s unhinged guru who controlled their lives for so long–the infamous Radcliffe MacBeath.
Stella has two powerful determination and a supernatural gift. Relying on her mother’s beloved rose quartz pendulum, Stella will have to outwit the charismatic leader who’s ruined so many lives and discover once and for all the true identity of her mother’s killer—before becoming his next victim.
My Thoughts: 3/5 stars – Stella lives a nice, quiet life as a librarian. Keeps to herself and tries to lead as normal of a life she can. What the people in her life don’t realize is that she’s living under a new name and hiding from her dark past. Having grown up in a cult, she was not only exposed to the upbringing in a commune, but she also had to witness her mother’s brutal murder. She escaped, and the killer was never found.
Now, her past comes crashing back when a true crime blogger discovers who she is and exposes her identity. She is forced to take matters into her own hands and goes back to Vermont to confront the infamous Radcliffe MacBeath – the cult leader that had absolute control over her and her mother’s lives for so long.
This had a strong start to it, and I’ll read or watch anything that has to do with a cult. This cover sets the tone and, have no fear, there are some supernatural elements involved. I think the pacing hit a lull for a little bit in the middle, but not enough for me to put the book down. There was always just enough intrigue to keep pulling you along. I liked the two timelines and meeting Radcliffe, he fit the cult leader profile perfectly. There were a lot of curveballs thrown at us, and I think that caused some confusion in some parts when it came to the motives of some characters.
Jessicamap Reviews 