As you might expect, I get very excited when I see new historical fiction, especially when it feels “new”. So, when I spotted a book that included exiled Russian royalty, ballet, and Scotland, I was thrilled. And as I am currently hiding from record breaking heat, I loved getting lost in The Ice Swan by J’Nell Ciesielski! Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Ice Swan, J’Nell Ciesielski
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’s 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.
Why You Should Read This…
Before I started this book, I had mixed expectations. While I know WWI and WWII fiction are very popular, I find they start to feel very repetitive to me (with Rachel McMillan’s The London Restoration being the glowing exception). However, I got very different feelings from this book, and I’m glad I tried it. Ciesielski writes not one but two worlds for us, and she does it well- she doesn’t rely on “Paris during the war” and leave it at that. Svetlana’s Paris is rather scary and not at all beautiful, but it is REAL; you feel like you are there with her. And while I thought the move to Scotland would prove an issue, I shouldn’t have- she writes Scotland just as well.
The other aspect of this book that impressed me was the characters; I had strong feelings about nearly every single character. While I didn’t have positive feelings about all of them, the fact that I cared a lot about them is the mark of a fantastic book. (Not going to lie, I hated her mother with a passion….) Svetlana and Wynn are both complex and flawed characters who may not always make the “right” decision, but you can understand their motivation in their choices. Their relationship is also heartfelt, in a way that I didn’t expect.
All in all, this is a must-read book of 2021!
Is The Ice Swan by J’Nell Ciesielski on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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