The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

I won the bound manuscript of this book earlier this year on an instagram giveaway. I was blown away to have gotten and and it became rather like a prized possession for me. Which meant that it probably came on 4 different trips all over the country this year before I opened it. This Book Dragon is nothing if not impractical. However, as I’ve told you in the past I fully believe that books find you at the right time. 

This was my final read of the year, literally wrapping up as I touched back down on New Years Eve after visiting family for the holidays. I wrapped up my insane year of reading, helping me break the most books tracked in a year, and set me up for the perfect vibes going into 2026. Basically, this book was everything you could possibly want in a fairy tale. 

You are immediately transported to another world, where everything is vaguely unbelievable and because of that all of it believable. The whimsy that is attached to a fairy tale pervades every minute, from human-swan women to mud that won’t come out of your hair for days or weeks at a time. It reminded me in the best way of a Patricia McKillip brand of storytelling, and to be swept into that level of enchantment when reading is a delight, but to do it and laugh throughout the tale? Even better. 

Because not only was it a whimsical tale, with beautiful descriptions, it was a fun story filled with interesting and funny characters—and buildings which were characters too. There were people made out of ice, ice people you know, and shape shifters. Dresses were made out of clouds, and reeds, and there were impossible animals. And at the center of all the magic, was a tale of humanity. It focused on people and their relationships: friendships, family, and romantic. It was a question of what do you mean—both to yourself and others, how do you find your place in the world, and what actually is love? 

Characters that seem one-dimensional, as all strangers seem at first, are fleshed out and provide nuance, with both care and gentleness that surprise you. To me it is the cast of characters that took what could have been only a beautiful story, and made it into a deeply meaningful one. Getting to see how all of them had such vastly different view-points and how that shaped how they saw the world around them and then interacted with each other was such a beautiful-and at times very funny-character study. This to me is the beauty of a modern fairy tale. The lessons that we are meant to learn are imparted, but unlike the fables we grew up learning, there is so much more to life and the nuance of what it is to be human. I quite like idea of spinning a beautiful tale and then turning expectations on the head and Roshani does so with grace. 

I highly recommend going out to get this beautiful, whimsical book! I want all the story telling in this vein of McKillip, Chokshi, and Kingfisher! We deserve funny and meaningful fairytales. So go grab it, and then coming back to gab with me about it afterwards!

Looking to find The Swan’s Daughter? Here you go:

Bookshop.org ~ Libro.fm ~ Goodreads ~ Storygraph

I won the bound manuscript in a giveaway but the digital edition was provided to me as an advanced readers copy by NetGalley. All thoughts are my own. As a side note, some of the links to Bookshop.org or Libro.fm will either provide me or an indie bookshop I support a portion of the affiliate sales if you use them to buy a book I recommend!