Island of the Swans Book

Can't really decide between 2 or 3 stars so have plumped for 2.5!

This wasn't a bad book, but it annoyed me in several ways:-

1. It focused primarily on the (fictitious) love triangle rather than on the lives of the real people concerned.

2. It focused on general history of the period rather than on the lives of the real people concerned.

3. It was obvious that the author had done her research and she crammed in every fact she could which often made the story unwieldy and meant that the focus was taken off the real people concerned.

4. This book is really a historical romance and not historical fiction as I was led to believe.

5. I read this book to find out more about Jane Maxwell, but instead I get all the other stuff mentioned in the previous four points.

6. I actually found out more about the real Jane Maxwell by reading a short entry for her on Wikipedia, and by then reading the entries for her husband and son!

7. I didn't find the supposed love triangle (which at times felt contrived to fit the story) at all romantic or interesting...in fact I spent most the book wishing all three of them would get their act together or wanting to bang their collective heads together for their stupidity.

8. I personally just didn't like any of the main characters or find them remotely attractive, in any sense of the word. The real Jane Maxwell was larger than life and the facts we know about her didn't seem to fit comfortably with the story the author created.

So, if you like historical romance with plenty twists and turns and don't need a terribly satisfying HEA, then this could be for you. You might also like it if you are looking for broad based historical fiction (the action takes place on two continents) for this time period and don't mind a complicated romance thrown in. However, if you are looking for a historical novel focusing on Jane Maxwell and her life, take my advice and look her and her family up on Wikipedia instead as it will save you a lot of time!