I would have preferred to see her as a skilled dancer or possess some other ability that makes swans so alluring. Their trumpets are the least ethereal thing about them, and that was the only aspect that Adelaide inherited from her curse. Swans are beautiful and elegant because of the way they move and float on the water. I didn't feel that this story captured the grace or enchantment of the "Swan Lake" ballet. I found Adelaide difficult to relate to because she hid so much of her past that it felt less significant when it was revealed piecemeal later on. Overall, A Captive of Wing and Feather was not my one of my favorite Melanie Cellier books. For such a powerful wizard, I was a little disappointed that Leander never turned Adelaide full swan, even for a short period of time. The story ended just how you would expect a modern fairy tale to in a way that was reminiscent of other versions I've seen in the past, not counting the original ballet. I was caught completely off guard by the twist ending, but I'm not sure I liked how easily it was resolved. There did not seem to be a single woman who was close enough with Leander to take on such a role in this book, so I thought that perhaps Melanie had changed that element of the story. In the Barbie version, she was his daughter. In other versions of "Swan Lake," Odile is a woman who is immensely loyal to Rothbart. One thing that surprised me about this book was the character that took on the role of Odile, the black swan. Adelaide judges Gabe at first for his recklessness, but she eventually accepts that it is sometimes necessary to get the job done. The two make a charming couple that is reminiscent of Tiana and Naveen from The Princess and the Frog. He quickly the details of the curse and is determined to do everything in his power to help her break it. He is also extremely impetuous and acts without considering the consequences, such as when he follows Adelaide to Swan Lake the night he discovers her whereabouts at the haven. Like Prince Siegfried from "Swan Lake," Gabe is a skilled archer. Gabe agreed to search for Adelaide on behalf of her brother, Dominic. It gets a little more interesting after Prince Gabe shows up. I would have preferred to experience the moment Adelaide was cursed instead of reading about it after the fact. It also starts after many major events in the story have already taken place. I found it a struggle to get through the first portion of the book because there were so many characters to keep track of at the haven. Unlike the original story, which often implies that the swans are cursed maidens like Odette, these are real swans that take a liking to Adelaide due to their bond. The curse also gives her a special connection to the swans who live at the lake, allowing her to communicate with them. At night, she recovers her ability to speak, but her curse forces her to return to Swan Lake, where the only person she is able to speak to is Leander. She lives in a haven with a colorful group of women that she considers her adoptive family, even though none of them know that she's a runaway princess. Little by little, we learn that she was cursed by an evil sorcerer named Leander to only be able to speak the language of the swans during the daytime and is considered a mute by all intents and purposes among her peers (similar to the little mermaid). A Captive of Wing and Feather is hard to follow at first because there is so much information to digest about Adelaide's situation.
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