The Ice Swan

By: J'nell Ciesielski

Narrated by: Senn Annis

Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

Amid the violent last days of the glittering Russian monarchy, a princess on the run finds her heart where she least expects it.

1917, Petrograd. Fleeing the murderous flames of the Russian Revolution, Princess Svetlana Dalsky hopes to find safety in Paris with her mother and sister. But the city is buckling under the weight of the Great War, and the Bolsheviks will not rest until they have erased every Russian aristocrat from memory. Svetlana and her family are forced into hiding in Paris’ underbelly, with little to their name but the jewels they sewed into their corsets before their terrifying escape.

Born the second son of a Scottish duke, the only title Wynn MacCallan cares for is that of surgeon. Putting his talents with a scalpel to good use in the hospitals in Paris, Wynn pushes the boundaries of medical science to give his patients the best care possible. After treating Svetlana for a minor injury, he is pulled into a world of decaying imperial glitter. Intrigued by this mysterious, cold, and beautiful woman, Wynn follows Svetlana to an underground Russian club where drink, dance, and questionable dealings collide on bubbles of vodka.

Out of money and options, Svetlana agrees to a marriage of convenience with the handsome and brilliant Wynn, who will protect her and pay off her family’s debts. It’s the right thing for a good man to do, but Wynn cannot help hoping the marriage will turn into one of true affection. When Wynn’s life takes an unexpected turn, so does Svetlana’s - and soon Paris becomes as dangerous as Petrograd. And as the Bolsheviks chase them to Scotland, Wynn and Svetlana begin to wonder if they will ever be able to outrun the love they are beginning to feel for one another.

“The Ice Swan is a ray of light in the middle of a Europe that was sinking into darkness. Ciesielski’s talent for storytelling from the heart is a feast for the readers’ eyes.” (Mario Escobar, international bestselling author of Remember Me and Children of the Stars)

• Adventurous World War I historical romance
• For fans of Kate Quinn, Beatriz Williams, and Aimie K. Runyan
• Full-length, stand-alone novel (approx. 120,000 words)

©2021 J'nell Ciesielski (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

wrong narrator for a Russian story

the narrator is not horrible.. but..there has got to be a Russian speaking narrator...it matters...

Terrific!

A deeply moving story with well developed characters and a plot that will intrigue you to the very end.

not worth the credit

i download ice swan after reading among the poppies, by the same author, and while that one engaged me this one just fell flat.
the thing that bothered me above all unfortunately were all the accent. i am not russian nor scottish so i cannot say if they were accurate, but they were distracting. at some point it's all just a jumble of (poorly done?) inflections.
as for the story, i could never connect with the characters unfortunately. i don't know what's about them but i never really liked svetlana or wynn. i cannot point to a precise thing that made me not like them but i reached the end of the book and I just shrugged. (also only the first part of the story is settled in paris, for the most part we are in Scotland. just fyi)
read among the poppies instead.

Sweeping international romance!

I loved the sense of adventure and changing locations - it was very cinematic. An iconic moment in history experienced through a personal story of love.

It was ok...

Not a fan of love stories, and I should have done more research. I love Russia and thought it might include more history on the revolution. It did not. Oh well...

Meh

3.5 stars. A ‘happily ever after, everything turns out perfectly in the end’ story that never seeks to be more than it is, an uncomplicated and very mediocre love story. The author is neither a fantastic story teller nor does she have a deft pen for prose, but she most certainly has a gift for characters. It is the characters that make this book a success. As for ratings, the book itself hovers in the 3.5 range. It is the great skill of the narrator that elevated the story. A real talent. Sure, her Scottish and Russian accents sometimes melted into one another, and neither was spectacularly executed., BUT the accents and different characters the narrator created and the feat of creating a variety of Russian, Scottish, and American (not to mention British) accents and into one story is about as impressive as it gets. Bravo Senn Annis!!!!! This is a Historical Fiction beach read. Enjoyable for sure, but not great literature. Pedestrian prose that at times verged on gauche. And yet I enjoyed it. Recommended only for those who like uncomplicated sticky sweet love stories.

Most enjoyable…

As a fan of Russian history and all revolving the imperial court, this book seemed intriguing- and I wasn’t disappointed- it is a great story - and beautifully presented!

Thank you

Very Cute

I don't usually read historical romance but I found myself loving this book and most of it's characters. Sometimes I found myself very frustrated with the characters and their choices, and a lot of the 'twists' were ones I'd guessed but knowing what was probably going to happen didn't stop me from enjoying it any less.

My only problems were with Win and Svetlana about 2/3rds of the way into the book when I felt like sitting down and talking and just not letting anyone interrupt them would have solved a lot but outside of that, I really liked this book and it was sweet and cute and refreshing compared to other romance books that were not nearly as cute.

A very enjoyable, exciting, and heartwarming read.

The Ice Swan is one of my favourite historical fiction novels that I’ve read this year. I loved the strong characters, the hard-fought-for romance and the suspense of this wartime book.

The story follows Svetlana, a Russian princess in exile and on the run from the Bolsheviks. She runs across Wynn, who is a Scottish aristocrat and surgeon in Paris.

I received a complimentary copy of this in ebook, but I went ahead and bought a copy of the audiobook anyway. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The narrator did a fantastic job of managing the accent changes between the Russian and Scottish characters.

I loved the main characters, Svetlana and Wynn, as they romantically duelled with each other and tried to avoid the threats that came against them. They were both strong-minded and stubborn. It was great to watch their development from two independent individuals to a couple, growing in trust and love.

The book kept me on my toes until the end with more than a side order of suspense in places.

A very enjoyable, exciting, and heartwarming read.