The Cyprian

Elemental Masters, Book 18

De: Mercedes Lackey

Narrado por: Zura Johnson

A cozy, cottage-core Regency fantasy perfect for fans of Bridgerton

Elena, having lost her father, must rescue herself from her evil stepmother, a Master of Water, who has bespelled her brothers into swans. She is left without home or protection by her father's villainous widow, who plans to regain her wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder.

Alone, Elena must not only find a way to save herself, but to reverse the spell that has transformed her brothers.

The latest in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series is a standalone romantasy based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans.

©2025 Mercedes Lackey (P)2025 Tantor Media

Loved the twists!

I hadn't read the book first, but enjoyed it thoroughly. I love the ties to folk tales.

Good story, rushed ending

Having read Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest, I already knew what to expect from the fairy tale involved in this book. I also love the series. The start was slow, with the author’s typical deep description of everyday life. I felt like a few points could have been drawn out more/explained better. SPOILERS AHEAD. Did the father wed the mother when she was 13? Did she really choose freedom over children, never to think of them again, or ask an elemental to keep watch or check in? The way that was handled felt like it was just convenient to the story to leave her out, especially with the mention of her in the epilogue. The likely emotional trauma to the kids got less description, and spread over less of the book, than cheese toast making and eating. Ben got to be a sort of fleshed out character in the beginning, then melted back into the mass of brothers; I would have loved to see him used more in the last 2 hrs of the book to add depth. The part of the book where the main character starts to actually solve the swan problem is only the last 2 hours of the book. The final battle isn’t even a battle; in the last 20 minutes you find out that all the baddies somehow got there and laid spells by surprise while nobody was looking. There was a LOT of telling rather than showing in those 20 minutes. I do love that they saved the 7th brother’s arm, though. The epilogue could have included an actual chapter to let the main character and Her fellow actually talk to each other, unpack, fall in love (was it one of those soul bonds?). In all, great performance, enjoyable story, but could have been done with better depth and pacing, and you’ll finish knowing more about the flax processing than how the villains almost won.

fantastic retelling of The Seven Swans, aka The 12 Brothers, aka The Seven Ravens fairy tale.

Set during regency England, this expanded fairy tale is an intense adventure that weaves an enchantment upon readers.

Return to the roots of the elemental series

I loved the return to England. Her books are always amazing and this is one of the best yet

The title!

Actually, the title caused me a great deal of amusement. I don’t know if Misty was aware of the different definitions of “Cyprian,” but I think it might be difficult to find another word with diametrically opposite definitions. One being a reference to a Christian saint (Saint Thascius Caecillus Cyprianus, a.d. c200–258, early church father, bishop, and martyr) and the other definition to a prostitute.