A review by aggressive_nostalgia
A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson

Quite gripping, but not my favorite Eva Ibbotson novel (this is my third, after A Countess Below Stairs [completely fabulous] and A Song For Summer [also excellent]). I felt that Harriet was a rather watery character (although Rom was quite a strong hero figure and convincing love interest, preferable to Rupert in "Countess", I think). It seemed like Harriet started out at least somewhat strong-willed (rebelling against her stringent father and running away to the Amazon took some backbone) but then her helplessness took a hairpin turn and actually increased as the story went on. Harriet's character actually became weaker, instead of maturing and coming into her own, which really bothered me. This book also crossed a moral line for me - I prefer the abstinence-until-marriage take on events - that I hadn't encountered in either of Ibbotson's other two novels I read. I have to say, though, that her characterization was fairly solid in regards to her secondary characters, such as Marie-Claude and Edward (whose escapades, may I say, were fairly hilarious, and whom I felt most sorry for for the majority of the book), and there were no loose ends or cliffhangers; the plot suspense was very strong (sometimes painfully so, especially when the characters become so tangled up in misunderstandings). Although not up to par with Ibbotson's other books, this was still an enjoyable read and it definitely won't stop me from checking out more of her works. Eva Ibbotson's prose and description are both lovely, no matter in which time period she weaves a story.