Siren Spell by Cidney Swanson (June 2020 Review)

Siren Spell by Cidney Swanson

I’ve heard it said that every story at its core is a love story. I feel that the story that has been written in Siren Spell by Cidney Swanson has proven this to be true. This was a book that I received as a Christmas present, but quickly noticed that there was no synopsis on the back. I ultimately made the decision to go into this book blind, not knowing anything about the plot or characters, and I am so glad that I did it that way! It let me experience the story in a whole new way, with no preconceived notions. I did feel that there were some drawbacks to this decision, not knowing where the story would go at times made it a little hard to stay invested in the beginning, but ultimately I thoroughly enjoyed the story that Swanson had crafted by the end. 

By now I am sure many in the reading community are familiar with the retelling fantasy sub-genere. There are well known stories such as Cinder or Beastly, retellings of classic fairy tales many have grown up loving. While I was growing up there was one particular collection of retellings that I fell in love with, the Once Upon a Time Series by Cameron Dokey. So when I discovered Siren Spell to be a retelling of the story from one of my favorite ballets, I was glad to add this to the list of retellings that I have read.

Siren Spell takes place in the town of Foulweather, Oregon where Giselle Petrovna Chekhov is getting ready to audition for the role of her dreams at her family’s ballet studio. But, when the dreams that have sustained Giselle for years are taken right out from under her, Giselle struggles against the new path that is placed before her. At the same time, the sirens have returned to Foulweather, which Giselle’s Babushka warns to be an omen of dark things to come. When someone close to Giselle becomes a victim of the sirens, these creatures begin to appear in her dreams. Could there be a link between Giselle’s lost dreams and the appearance of the sirens? And, if they are, what is it that the sirens are really after?

Favorite Quote :

There were so many quotes in this book that I loved, but many would have given away too much of the story. This one, in my opinion, sums up one of the core elements with just enough ambiguity to ultimately preserve this story.

“‘Life is hard. And unfair. Some days, I have been very sad.” She swiped at a tear on her face. ‘But less and less.’”

What I liked :

This story is a well crafted blend of a retelling of the story of the ballet Giselle, mixed with an accessible coming of age narrative. I found the story particularly relatable to my own experiences with my love of ballet and how the things we love shape our lives and can cause inner friction when it seems the path the world sets for us does not match what we think that path should be. While ballet is a major part of the story, I do feel that anyone who has experienced rejection or has been required to choose a path they may not have wanted to take will relate to this story.

Another thing I loved was the use of Russian terms, phrases and detailed descriptions of Russian foods in the story. This added an element of depth to the story that made the characters stand apart from other books I have read that also have an element of ballet in them. I also liked how these phrases, terms and foods were put in italics to set them apart and how that remained as a consistent choice, helping to keep the Russian themes from fading into the background.

What I did not like :

I feel that the combination of a female main character and the main plot centering around a love of ballet may limit the audience appeal for this story. While I think anyone of any age and gender would find themes in this story to be relatable, I feel this type of story is commonly overlooked by those with no relation to ballet or those who do not identify as female. 

While I personally appreciated the parallels of this story to the story of the ballet Giselle, these are parallels that I do not know if everyone reading this would understand or recognize unless they also had a knowledge of the ballet. Additionally, with this not being a direct retelling of the story of Giselle, I feel that those who do not know the story may miss some of the deeper story telling that is attempted in these parallels. I feel that while it is not necessary to understand the ballet or recognize the parallels to enjoy the story, it does add a beautiful depth, and it is unfortunate these beautiful moments may be missed by a larger part of the readership.

Overall Rating :

3 out of 5

I really enjoyed this book and it is something I would recommend, conditionally. I would primarily recommend this story to those that I know have an appreciation of ballet and/or theater (Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespear is another major part of this plot). I would also recommend this to anyone who I would be able to relate to the journeys that are taken by the main character Giselle or her mother Ruslana. Cidney Swanson is a fabulous author and I would love for more people to be able to read this beautiful story that she has crafted, in addition to the many other books she has written.