I am not a fan of flashbacks. This book is full of them. ( )

A great, dark and yet not to heavy love triangle romance. I thought the author's development was spectacular, and it all made sense in the end. Fantastic execution all in all. ( )

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.


Introspection is hard. No one wants to acknowledge their failings, their true feelings. Wants versus desires. Right versus wrong.

I've stewed over this book for two weeks, I've struggled to find the words to share with fellow readers that explain why this book deserves five stars and then some. To share why every tear I shed, every curse word I said, every angsty moment that made my heart break while reading it made it such an excellent novel. I've read other books since then, some phenomenal books, but this one has weighed on me in a different way. K.L. Kreig and her gorgeous writing made the characters come to life for me, their heart wrenching story ached in my heart like it was my own. It's the kind of novel that's too real, too raw, too emotional, and so complicated, but I couldn't stop reading, I didn't want to.

I begged him to choose me. Love me. Marry me. But he butchered me. Marrying her instead.

Switching between the past and the present, and told in dual POV, Black Swan Affair tells the story of Maverick and her journey with love and the two men who have always been in her life. It wasn't a typical love triangle, in fact there was nothing typical about Black Swan Affair and that's what made it so captivating and so good. I fell in love with Maverick and her stubbornness, with her selfish desires, and even more so with her desperate want to be better. She was a constantly evolving character and I loved being in her mind as she struggled through the mess that she had made of her life. Then there's Kael and Killian, brothers who love her more than she knows, with secrets that shake up everything. I couldn't pick sides, not between these two, because the conflicts each is faced with made me hurt so much for them. I loved Maverick and Kael, but I also loved her with Killian. The boys, though related, are as different as night and day and their roles in her life have always been defined so distinctly. It's easy to be angry with Maverick, to want her to appreciate the good she has, but as the layers peel back on this story you come to find yourself just as torn as she is.

There are different kinds of love.
There's the dreamy kind you always thought you wanted.
And then there's the steady one you never understood but the second you let yourself feel it,
it's nothing like you could have imagined in your wildest dreams.

I loved the writing, the entire story was layered so deeply that I felt the betrayal and lies hit me just as if I were Maverick. The weight of her choices were so heavy and she was stuck watching everything happen without any control. On top of the incredibly angsty story line there was also romance, because the brothers do love her unconditionally. I could never have predicted what their love for her, their desire to protect her, could lead to. It is the perfect case of each character having a one-track mind, their choices in the past spiraling into the events in the present, none realizing how they all connect. I loved how the past and the present intersected, how K.L. Kreig threw us immediately into a major life event and then tore us from it, leaving us with questions, with the unknown, the anticipation heightening every other emotion. As everything falls apart, thing too fall together and you fall in love at the same time Maverick does. The dilemma she is faced with is massive, overwhelming, and ultimately hurts someone, but when she makes her choice I can't tell you how much I both smiled and cried.

“What if all of this could be undone?”
“There just is no me without you. There never has been.”

Black Swan Affair is a beautiful novel, crafted with K.L. Kreig's flowing prose and incredibly deep characters. It's an unexpected story, the kind of book you step into blindly and then mourn when you finish. Though my heart felt broken into a million pieces, just as Maverick's heart healed so too was mine put back together, and for me that's what makes this novel one of the absolutely best to be published in 2016. Intoxicating and unforgettable, this complicated love story is one I recommend to everyone. ( )

5 stars



I have the flu, so I'm keeping this short. I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved who she ended up with, which is rare for me in a love triangle :) There were a few minor issues like the constant time jumping and a certain tragic event Kael getting shot that was kind of glossed over. I would have liked it if that was a bit more explained/extended. But overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Thanks to Funda Demir for recommending this book to me :) ( )