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Book: “A Snake Among Swans” by Hannah Kaner
Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, September 2026
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: Tilde has always heard the whispers of the kithwood, the voices of her ancestors speaking through the mysterious forest of her homeland. But now both the kithwood and her kingdom are in danger.
For Tilde is the only surviving heir of a conquered land. To unite the people and finally stop the bloodshed, she marries the aging warlord, King Liran. Her duty is to bind their nations and bear him a son.
But the swan king’s court is dangerous. Tilde is a threat to the claim of Liran’s older sons, who will do whatever it takes to remove her, to the princess Elise who has only ever known loyalty to her family, and to the priests who own them all.
Yet none of them know that Tilde is a snake in their midst, with allies on her side and dark, forbidden power of her own. She wants her kingdom back, and she will sacrifice everything to claim it.
For the queen to rise, the swans must fall.
Review: Overall, I enjoyed this read. I had a bit of an up-and-down experience with her previous trilogy, so while some of those struggles showed up again here, this book also served as a strong reminder of why I’ve enjoyed this author so much in the past.
In many ways, this is a very familiar high fantasy tale. The world-building isn’t incredibly unique, and the character archetypes are familiar. Many of the themes are also what you’d expect from this sort of novel: feminine rage and the weights of duty and power in the face of desire. All of this can sound like negatives when listed out like this, but I think it’s books like this that also remind us why we’ve seen these stories before, and that’s because they can be truly excellent if done well!
Kaner’s lyrical, poignant style of writing elevates familiar themes and raises them to levels that feel powerful and lasting. This was especially true of Tilde, a character who knew what she wanted and was willing to make difficult decisions to accomplish her goals. While her story unfolds, there were several lines that I stopped to reread, as they so perfectly encapsulated the struggles of women in these sorts of medieval worlds that are loosely based on European history. Kaner perfectly hones in on just how infuriating this situation is: the lack of power and choice, the relegating of one’s personhood down to only the ability to produce an heir. It’s enraging. But the ability of the author to draw out such strong feelings is a testament to her skill.
I will say that pacing was a problem in some of the other books I read by this author, and I had similar struggles here. I was immediately drawn into the story, but somewhere around the middle, things really began to lag. It was at this point that I started becoming tempted to skim a bit. Luckily, as the story got into the back third, things began to pick up again, and I was roped back into the story.
It’s hard to say this was an enjoyable read when so many of the emotions are focused on rage and injustice. Perhaps a better description would be saying it was a powerful read. The pacing and plotting weren’t perfect, but I was able to get through the lull to the conclusion. I’m definitely curious to see where the story goes from here, and I would recommend this to readers looking for a classic medieval fantasy with a sapphic love story at its heart.
Rating 8: Powerful themes of feminine rage permeate this read. But there’s also a lovely sapphic romance to get you through some of the parts that will infuriate you!
Reader’s Advisory:
“A Snake Among Swans” can be found on this Goodreads list: Reactor’s 30 More SFF Titles to Look Forward to in 2026.
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