Skip to main content

Court of Swans (Dericott Tale #1) by Melanie Dickerson: A Book Review

Court of Swans (Dericott Tale #1)
Author: Melanie Dickerson
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Christian
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: 2021
Pages: 327
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Where there is wealth and power, there’s always someone willing to do anything to take it. When Delia's father dies, her stepmother accuses her seven brothers of treasonous crimes. Seeking to free them from Richard II's grasp, Delia's only ally is Sir Geoffrey, the man who arrested them. Can she trust him?


     England, 1381: Delia’s idyllic life as daughter of an earl is shattered when her father dies and his wife accuses Delia’s seven brothers of treason and murder. The youngest is only ten years old, but this doesn’t stop the guards from hauling them off to the Tower of London. There they await a grim fate, as child-king Richard II is executing anyone who poses a threat to his throne. Delia is their only hope for pardon and freedom.


     Sir Geoffrey did not expect his first assignment as captain of the guard to be the arrest of boys so young. He dutifully imprisons the brothers, but he can’t ignore the feeling, rooted in personal experience, that injustice and treachery are at work.


    Determined to rescue her brothers, Delia secures a position as a seamstress for the queen. Her quest is all but impossible as the executions continue. Sir Geoffrey offers to be her ally, but should she trust him in a court where everyone has an agenda?


   From New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson comes a tender retelling of “The Wild Swans,” where the virtues of loyalty and love face a harrowing showdown with power and fear.


     My Review: Court of Swans is the first novel in the Dericott Tales, which is a new historical fiction fairytale retelling series set in England. In this novel, it retells “The Wild Swans” story. Delia’s brothers have been arrested in the Tower of London and are awaiting execution. In order to help her brothers, Delia becomes a seamstress to the queen. She finds romance in Sir Geoffrey who arrested her brothers. Can Delia and Geoffrey find a way to free her brothers?


     I was excited to read Court of Swans since this was a departure from Mrs. Dickerson’s Hagenheim series. I was also curious to see how she would retell “The Wild Swans'' since it is one of my favorite fairytales. If it was done right,  this would be a very emotional and heart-wrenching retelling. Court of Swans started off to a promising start, but it quickly went downhill. The reason for this is because the story was rushed and Mrs. Dickerson did not spend much time focusing on her characters.


     Delia is the main protagonist in this novel. At first, Delia starts off strong. She is a kind woman who loves her brothers. She is very naïve. I admired her courage to try to rescue her brothers no matter the personal cost. However, after she becomes a seamstress, she is very bland. She becomes a damsel in distress and has to be rescued by others. She is not the strong self-willed heroine from the original novel who through her own determination rescues herself from being burned at the stake. She was very easily manipulated. Her romance with Sir Geoffrey was also forced. There was no development in their romance, and I wondered why she was in love with him since he played a role in arresting her brothers. It seems the only reason she liked him was because of his looks instead of his personality. Thus, Mrs. Dickerson did not take the time to develop the characters or their relationship.


    This novel is about family, hope, and faith. The message of the book is to believe in God because He will solve all problems. The characters are stereotypical. The villains are very cartoonish. The story starts out strong but dragged in the middle. It did pick back up pace within the last few pages. Thus, Court of Swans would have been a more enjoyable novel had Mrs. Dickerson more time developing the story instead of rushing to the final end. As a result, it had many flaws. Still, I am interested in reading the next installments of the Dericott Tales series because I am eager to learn what happens to Delia’s family. I recommend this novel for fans of Dauntless, Evermore, and Fated!


Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 stars


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

King Alfred's Daughter: The Remarkable Story of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, the Heroine who Written out of History by David Stokes: A Book Review

King Alfred’s Daughter: The Remarkable Story of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, the Heroine who was Written out of History Author: David Stokes Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: The Book Guild Publication Date: 2023 Pages: 348 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: King Alfred is dead and the achievements that made him great are in jeopardy. Rebels challenge the succession of his son Edward to the Wessex throne, and his old ally in Mercia is sick. The Vikings in the Danelaw sense the time has come to complete their conquest of England.       It falls on Alfred’s firstborn, his daughter, Æthelflæd, to unite the Anglo-Saxons. Reluctantly, she takes up the challenge. But can a woman rebuild ruined towns and lead men into battle against hardened Viking warriors? And can Æthelflæd fulfil her father’s dream of uniting England?       Based on contemporary sources and archaeological evidence, King...

King John's Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa De La Haye by Sharon Bennett Connolly: A Book Review

King John’s Right Hand Lady: The Story of Nicholaa De La Haye Author: Sharon Bennett Connolly Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Pen & Sword History  Release Date: 2023 Pages: 236 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In a time when men fought and women stayed home, Nicholaa de la Haye held Lincoln Castle against all-comers. Not once, but three times, earning herself the ironic praise that she acted ‘manfully’.      Nicholaa gained prominence in the First Baron’s War, the civil war that followed the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215. Although recently widowed, and in her 60s, in 1217 Nicholaa endured a siege that lasted over three months, resisting the English rebel barons and their French allies. The siege ended in the battle known as the Lincoln Fair, when 70-year-old William Marshal, the Greatest Knight in Christendom, spurred on by the chivalrous need to rescue a lady in distress, came to Nicholaa’s aid. ...

Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen by Jane Draycott: A Book Review

  Cleopatra’s Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen Author: Jane Draycott Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Liveright Release Date: 2023 Pages: 336 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The first modern biography of one of the most influential yet long-neglected rulers of the ancient world: Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Antony and Cleopatra.      As the only daughter of Roman Triumvir Marc Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII, Cleopatra Selene was expected to uphold traditional feminine virtues; to marry well and bear sons; and to legitimize and strengthen her parents’ rule. Yet with their parents’ deaths by suicide, the princess and her brothers found themselves the inheritors of Egypt, a claim that placed them squarely in the warpath of the Roman emperor.      “Supported by a feast of visual and literary references” (Caroline Lawrence), Cleopatra’s Daughter reimagines t...