ebookreview | [ 685 ]

The Swan's Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

Genre:
Netgalley, Fantasy Romance, Romance, Romantasy, Fairytales, Young Adult, High Fantasy, Retellings

Publication Date:
January 6, 2026

Page Numbers:
400

Read/Finished Date:
September 13th, 2025 - September 14th, 2025

Rating:
DNF'ed @ 35%

Premise:

In this lush and romantic novel from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi, a prince is only as good as his beating heart and a maiden is only as good as her honest word. But when love and the truth become impossibly tangled, the two must figure out how to survive together, or fall completely apart.

To find love is a curse ...

Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. Thanks to a poorly worded wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand of the kingdom’s heir. Historically, this has been construed quite literally.

Thus, Arris expects that the day after his marriage and murder he will wake up as a sentient tree alongside the rest of his predecessors. His only chance at a long life is finding true and lasting love. When Arris's parents announce a tournament of brides to compete for his hand and heart, a slew of eligible, lovely and (possibly murderous) bachelorettes make their way to Rathe Castle. Amidst glittering balls in ozorald caves, strolls through menageries of daydream trees and pearl crocodiles, tea time on glass boats and kisses that leave his head spinning, Arris cannot tell who is here out of love for him…or lust for power.

Until he meets Demelza.

As a veritas swan, Demelza’s song wrings out the truth. Forced into hiding, Demelza strikes a deal. Arris will provide her with safekeeping in exchange for her truth-telling song to sort through his potential brides.

While Arris is used to dodging death threats and Demelza is accustomed to fighting for her voice to be heard, to survive the tournament of brides requires a different kind of bravery. And perhaps the bravest thing one can do is not merely protect one’s life, but find the courage to chase a life worth living.

Review:

The premise of this novel sounded so promising that I knew I needed to see if I could secure the ARC for it. While I did enjoy the first book in the Pandava series, I could not find the interest in this one. It felt like something was missing from the plot and from the characters. I would have liked a small backstory on her parents. We don't get much except their toxic relationship, which is sad because I would have loved to know about her parents and why her father was the way he was.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC. All review opinion are mine.