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A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams Kindle Edition

by Dax Murray (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 46 ratings
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2023 Indie Ink Awards Finalist for Writing the Future We Need: Trans and Non-Binary Representation

How many half-truths could loyalty shoulder before it broke from the weight of deception on its back?
A sweeping LGBTQ and polyamorous retelling of "Swan Lake"! Strange things can be said of the forest that spans the border of two kingdoms long at war. An evil sorcerer has made it his dominion, or an elegant enchantress has claimed it as her domain and grants wishes to those who chance upon her, or maybe the forest is guarded by an ancient and wrathful spirit. But Katya calls the forest home, living a life of magic and charms with her partner Ivan.

But a threat looms over their forest, some darkness and danger that Ivan swears to protect her from. Katya finds herself caught up in a web of grudges and deception spanning generations, but most dangerous of all is the beautiful princess who stumbled into their woods. A princess who sets Katya’s heart fluttering with both desire and fear.

As forces rally to rescue the princess or go to war, Katya must take measure of her own powers and decide what she is willing to sacrifice. Will she retreat to the safety of what's familiar or give up everything she knows to spread her wings and fly?
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  1. Reading age
    12 - 18 years
  2. Print length
    241 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    October 27, 2017
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  8. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  9. See all details
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From the Publisher

A black swan flies through a moonlight forest. Text says "The Forest Witch is Not Meant..."
A white swan flying through a moonlight forest. The text reads "to fall in love with the princess"
Black swan feathers with text that says "That she is holding captive..." A Swan Lake Retelling.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I loved the queer-positive fairy tale world, but Iwas pleasantly surprised to find that was only the backdrop for a subtle story about trust, betrayal, and new possibilities. I highly recommendit, even if you're not familiar with the original story!" - Danika, The Lesbrary

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074D7CGT1
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Kraken Collective; 2nd edition (October 27, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 27, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3507 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 241 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 46 ratings

About the author

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Dax Murray

Dax Murray

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Dax is an award-winning author and sorcerer of words who weaves revolutionary fantasy tales that delve into themes of trauma, healing, and progress. Dax enjoys crafting worlds where being LGBTQIA is not only normal, but celebrated. With a penchant for creating enchanting magic systems, blending science with the mystical, and constructing kingdoms that beckon to be dismantled, Dax’s tales are a celebration of diversity and inclusion.

Dax studied political science, music, and creative writing at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and is a proud member of the Kraken Collective and the Editorial Freelancers Association. When not immersed in the realms of storytelling, you may find Dax at the Crystarium in Norvrandt or exploring the DC metro area, both of which they now call home.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
46 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

N.
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2018
Verified Purchase
I realized reading this book that my only exposure to the story of Swan Lake is the old animated movie Swan Princess, which is really not very good. But you don't need to know the story of Swan Lake to appreciate this retelling of it!

I really enjoyed that the magic system in this book was not limited to one type. I can appreciate the simplicity that having a singular magic system can create for fantasy novels, but I think there's a certain simplicity and wonder in including them all as well! There was even a type of magic that I have not encountered in any of my long years reading fantasy, and I won't spoil what it was, but it's really interesting!

I feel like Murray really takes advantage of everything fantasy as a genre has to offer, including creating a world where non-binary and trans people are accepted and they and women hold high offices and positions of power and respect, and all sexualities and non-traditional relationship styles are accepted as well. A fantasy world where marginalized people thrive is so refreshing in the present where books like Game of Thrones dominate the genre.
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Mary M
4.0 out of 5 stars Yay representation!
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2024
Verified Purchase
"A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams" by Dax Murray is is an inclusive Swan Lake retelling. I loved the representation in this one! Various relationships, orientations, and identities are just a normal part of life, and we need more of that.

I'm not hugely familiar with Swan Lake, so I can't really judge how much this retelling deviates from the original story. I will say there were parts where I was pretty sure where we would end up but couldn't predict how we would get there, so it did a good job of keeping me engaged with the story.

The main romantic relationships have a bit of an insta-love feel and/or follow a "tell don't show" approach where you're expected to read a building romance into what little you're given. That wasn't as much of a negative for me as I would have expected; since it's a fairy tale, you can kind of just roll with it. Plus, the characters are all adorable/interesting in their own ways and it just kind of works.
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Sainth
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely and heartwarming
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very cute story! Retained its fairytale quality all the way through which I've found to be quite rare in retellings/reimaginings. Glad to have read this one!
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Medina Gustavsson
4.0 out of 5 stars Queer Swan Lake
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2018
A retelling of Swan Lake, basically, except a lot more queer.

The basic premise: Katya's a young sorceress who lives in the forest with a sorcerer named Ivan whom she has known all her life. He taught her magic, and they are each other's sole companions. One day a princess named Yi Zhen comes travelling through the forest, and Ivan kidnaps her. He tells Katya to pretend to be Zhen's fellow prisoner and watch her, and places an enchantment on Zhen that turns her into a swan if she leaves a certain section of the forest. Meanwhile, Zhen's fiance, Princen Alexis, is wondering where she is, and sets out to find and rescue her.

Some of the queer elements: Princen Alexis is nonbinary and uses "they/them/their" pronouns, Katya is probably bisexual as at different points in the story she is in love with both Zhen and Ivan, and Zhen is both bisexual and probably polyamorous as she falls in love with both Alexis and Katya. It's a whole tangle of relationships.

With all these relationships in the mix I definitely cared about some more than others. Zhen and Katya's relationship is developed at an even pace, but Alexis and Zhen get much less time, so it's harder to care about their being in love apart from their relationship's political connotations. Actually the relationship that I thought was the most interesting, though, was Ivan and Katya's, which gets a lot of time in the first half of this book but much less in the second (and turns out to have some...issues...which might be why I liked it, I love relationships with complications and dysfunction, at least in fiction lols). I originally thought that the poly relationship in this book was going to be Ivan/Katya/Zhen, but it did not turn out that way

Writing style is that of a fairy tale. So, a bit lyrical but also a bit...stripped down to the basics? Hard to describe, but basically essence of Andrew Lang, we all know it when we see it. I like that kind of tone personally, as it's compact and atmospheric. The only real problem with it is that it's hard to mesh with strong character development, which means some of the characters also feel stripped down to basic traits rather than fully fleshed out.

Overall, it's probably a good novella for you if you like polyamorous fairy tales (or have never read any but want to). I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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