A Snake Among Swans
New ReleaseThe #1 internationally bestselling author of Godkiller begins a bold new fantasy trilogy—a dark, atmospheric tale of warring kingdoms, wild magic, female rage, and the choice between love and power in a world ruled by conquest.
“Death is come to take you home, death of blood and thorn and bone…”
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 stop the bloodshed, she must marry the aging Swan King, Liran, and bear him a son.
But the king’s court is dangerous. Liran’s older sons will do whatever it takes to remove Tilde. And her presence stirs conflict in the heart of Liran’s daughter, the princess Elise, who has only ever known loyalty to her family.
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.
- Pages
- 664
- First published
- September 8, 2026
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Ebook
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Reviews
Finished August 9, 2026
This was my first Hannah Kaner book and, oh boy, it did not disappoint. 4.5 stars, and I am itching for the next book! Kaner has an incredible knack for fantasy. The world is broad and layered, with so much lore woven between the different kingdoms. At times, this did make things feel a little confusing, but I still found the world incredibly interesting and was eager to learn more about it. The two FMCs have a similar trajectory in terms of their development, and I found them to be two sides of the same coin. This made their chemistry particularly compelling. As individuals, they are equally fascinating, with their own morals, wants and motivations, and I really enjoyed seeing how these developed throughout the story. There are also characters you are going to love to hate. They are genuinely awful, but in a way that makes them believable villains rather than simply being evil for the sake of it. Overall, the characters are wonderfully flawed, and deliciously so. I particularly loved that this is a queer-normative world, where queerness is simply part of the fabric of the society rather than something that needs to be explained or justified. I would love to see more authors take this approach in fantasy. The story is wonderfully full of court intrigue and political games, with twists that I genuinely did not see coming. There is plenty going on beneath the surface, and I found myself increasingly invested as everything began to come together. A fantastic introduction to Hannah Kaner's work, and I will absolutely be picking up the next book.