Marea is a girl covered in feathers. She goes to the City of Murmurs in search of her father and her identity.

The novel explores what it is to not quite belong.

Cartwright has developed a rich and wonderful world and her characters have depth and are well-defined. Her prose tends towards the purple which, in general, suits the fairy-tale/folkloric nature of this tale. However, you can have too much of a good thing; her metaphors and similes are elaborate in the extreme and plentiful.

My main issue is the lack of variation. Feathertide lacks much rise and fall of dramatic action, such that it falls flat. Moments of impact tend to get lost in the general narrative.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for the ARC.

I was drawn in to this story from the prologue. Marea has had an intriguing start to her life, hidden away in a whorehouse, the pet of all but protected from prying eyes and scared that her secret will be found out. On reaching adulthood she embarks on a journey to find her roots and meets a cast of delightful characters on the way.
This is a tale of magic; of difference and acceptance; of friendship, love, hope and new beginnings.
It will certainly have appeal in the young adult market- but also with those of us older readers who enjoy getting entranced, entangled or simply lost in new and enchanting places!
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Feathertide by Beth Cartwright
Published by Penguin Random House, Ebury
Publication date: 14 May 2020

I was expecting, and looking forward to, something of a fairytale and so was happy with that tone being firmly set from the first page, unfortunately it quickly became too much and felt overwritten. The constant use of alliteration and similes was distracting; at one point I was actually counting alliterative sets rather than fully attending to the story. I’m a fan of beautifully constructed sentences, but sometimes less really is more. Moving past the prologue, the style settled a little and the characters grew on me, pulling me slowly into the plot.

I finished the book a couple days ago and have been thinking about it, struggling to decide how to review it; it had charming characters, enjoyable moments, and it evocatively painted environments in my mind, but overall it felt... simplistic, unsubtle. I didn’t want to write too negatively about it given it did have many qualities and showed skill, but as it was an unfulfilling read for me, I was left with a conundrum. Then it hit me—I was expecting an adult literary fantasy, if I shifted my expectations to YA, all of a sudden it slotted in perfectly. From this angle, the lack of subtly was much less of an issue and as a coming of age story full of modern themes, I could imagine it sitting well in the YA genre.

As an adult book, I’d perhaps give it three stars, but as a YA book it would be four and a half.

With many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy for review.

A slow burn but once you get going, this is a beautiful, strange story full of lyricism and hope. Exquisitely detailed without ever being heavy, this was a lovely tale of being a stranger even to yourself, of searching for identity and finding magic, mermaids and strange new lands. Recommend for those who love beautiful language and slower build fantasy.

I found this was a bit of a slow starter but I did enjoy it once it got into it. It had a bit of a caravel feel to it. I enjoyed the magic side to it and the attention to detail. The descriptions of the islands were amazing. It’s worth a read but not one is read again.