"A change must come first from love, not from hate."

A "modern-esque fairytale" with much of classic storytelling and wonderful world-building.

A tale of an extraordinary child, born under an extraordinary sky, with an extraordinary history to unfold, is fated to begin life in the unfortunate setting of a whorehouse.

Will she fly? Will she fall? Will she accept her feathers at all?

This book started of so great! So great! Maréa's childhood was such a delight to read through and I wanted more and more of it with every chapter I went through.

The discovery of her wings; the revelling of it during her innocence; the abhorrent shunning as she grew further into her body; rejection, in several forms. A coming-of-age story hidden beneath the plumes of a fantastical fiction.

Maréa's discovery of herself felt a lot more rushed, compared to the way her childhood was described. If it were a little slower, with more room to explore, more scenes of her revealing her soul to her lovers, I think I would have loved it so much more.

But I think the author felt content in what she wanted to convey through this book. The acceptance of one's self. How one needs to acknowledge one's own beauty and flaws to be able to fully love and accept another, and to fully accept being loved.

And by the end, I did grasp that message. And so the book has served its purpose.

A very lyrical book with a fairytale vibe, really enjoyed this one, though I found it a little hard to get into to begin with. Definitely worth the read.

This story was beautifully written and reminiscent of a fairytale. I loved the lyrical prose and the wonder of the world building.

I do feel it lost itself half way through and I just wish the story had finished before the epilogue. To me it didn't quite make sense she would make that journey later rather than when she was first asked. However overall a very enjoyable book.

This was a beautifully magical read! Fell in love with the author’s writing really fast and couldn’t get enough of it. Wish there was more in this world. The only thing I had to learn to cope with was that it’s written in 1st person and that’s something I don’t prefer when reading a fiction book. But because of the beautiful writing, I didn’t actually mind though haha.

The synopsis doesn’t give away very much and I won’t be either in this review. It’s a story you have to just start reading and experience along the way. It’s mysterious from the get go and that really has you wanting to constantly continue reading.

Highly recommend! Not only to fantasy fans but every reader out there… There’s so much to like!

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

One of the oldest approvals on my Netgalley shelf and I'm ashamed to say it took so long for me to read it, but not ashamed that I DNF's at 50%. The writing was lovely, if a little too flowery in places, and I liked the ideas the story was using but the execution was lacking for me. It was going nowhere fast so I decided to call it a day.

Feathertide is beautifully written, and - as suggested in pretty much every piece of marketing material - is perfact for fans of books like The Night Circus.

Cartwright's imagery and description is incomprable. The metaphors and similes are so far from cliche that they made me do a double take to make sure that I had read them correctly.

The prose is flowery and flows well, and it follows a very defined thought pattern of our MC.

A stunning and beautifully written book, Feathertide by Beth Cartwright will surely be a huge name in fantasy publishing. The prose flowed beautifully.

The writing in this book was amazing. So poetic.
This was such a beautiful dreamlike magical book.
Perfect book for fans of fantasy. A book that can take you away from everything

Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.
The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.
And Mara will never forget what she learns there.

This was a moving and magical tale of Marea and her journey on self acceptance. Written so beautifully that you could almost feel like you were there yourself and be immersed in her world, felt like I was reading a new age fairytale.
Wonderful characters and a captivating storyline, a perfect read for tweens, teens and adults alike.l, an absolute pleasure to read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

So loved this book I thought the beginning was a little slow but once I was in the book then it just flowed beautifully this is definitely a 5-star book I loved everything about it the detailing of the characters the cover the whole story. Thank you Beth Cartwright for writing such a wonderful book and to Netgalley for allowing me to review it

A lyrical journey of self-discovery. Following Merea as she learns about herself and accepts her difference as part of her was an enjoyable read.

Lovely descriptive, lyrical writing, but perhaps a bit too much at points, verging on too interested in being prosey with no point. But very enjoyable

I personally love anything with a modern fairy-tale vibe, so this book was the perfect choice for me! Beautifully written in such a vivid setting that really develops the world building. Liked that main characters and their story, wish it felt slightly less like insta-love but still enjoyable, I'd recommend this to people looking for a stand alone light fantasy.

I loved instantly the cover of this book and knew I had to read it. Fortunately the synopsis looked great too ! Marea is born in a whorehouse and kept a secret for all her childhood because she is different : she has feathers. When she is 18, she decides to go look for her father and goes to the City of Waters where she meets a great deal of people. Slowly, she will begin to embrace her difference.

This book was very sweet and poetic. I loved all the characters and their oddities. I wish I knew more about them even though the story didn't feel too short.

Diversity : wlw

What makes this book different from all others? And why should anyone care?I really enjoyed this book! It explores a person with a feature that makes her different, that "others" her, and it follows the journey of her discovering more about this aspect of herself and coming to realise how beautiful it is.
It's got a lovely queer element, without making this into a token - a character experiences love towards someone who happens to be the same gender as them. I love how natural this feels.
It has a pleasant fantasy element, with other-wordly creatures and scenarios, but it is rooted in a society and a world that is easy to understand so it feels both familiar and original.

Magical and engaging! I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

I have never been as conflicted about a rating in quite a while (whatever I might have stated previously). I did not enjoy this book on the whole, but I have to compliment it where compliment is due. The author has a brilliant narrative style. There is so much vivid description involved in the telling that I wanted there to be something more in the plot of the story. If I was only averagely impressed with the storytelling, I might have even given this three stars, but once I saw the potential in the way the story was set to unfold- things being told without being put into exact words but just as fleeting images, I could not.
For the most part, it is a book about accepting oneself and doing away with a negative self-image. It is the story of a girl born with feathers, and once she is old enough, she wants to get to the bottom of it. It is a semi-lonely life that she leads up until that point, but things start to change quite quickly once she sets off. Her conflicts of loyalty and love seemed a little too complicated, even with the lyrical writing.
I would still recommend this to readers of fantasy books with extraordinary people, although the book was not for me.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley, the review is entirely based on my own reading experience of this book.

Cartwright crafts a very good story suited to a slightly younger audience. The pace and the world-building are less complex than other novels of a similar genre, but it's an easy and enjoyable read.

Maréa is born during the midnight hour, with feathers growing from her body, she is born into a house of whores, and must be kept hidden from the people who visit the house. Maréa is also virtually a prisoner as she isn’t allowed to leave the house, and isn’t supposed to leave her room. Maréa’s world is full of beautiful stories but she outgrows these as she longs for the freedom to discover the world. Maréa watches birds flying free outside her window and wants to do the same.

The story is told from Maréa’s perspective, as she looks back on her past and the events that took her on a journey of self-discovery. It is reflective, as Maréa is giving thought about things she didn’t know or understand at the time certain events happened. Maréa wants to find out who her father is, as well as wanting to find a place where she feels comfortable in herself rather than fearful of other people’s prejudices.

When she is a child her tutor tells her of a place called the City of Water, which is also known as the City of Murmurs and Maréa knows that this is where she needs to go to find out the truth about herself. The city is one of mystery and wonder. There are mermaids with lost tails, sunken palaces that contain lost time, where nights of illusion can be found. Slowly with the help of Sybel who gives Maréa a place to stay, and reveals her own history. Maréa starts to make friends in this strange city, and encounters new and mysterious things as she travels through its streets. Maréa comes to see herself in a new light.

This is a story about the impatience of waiting for things to happen. The choices you make about who you want to be, and the decisions that will tear your heart apart as you try to figure out who you are and who you may hurt by seeing things to their conclusions. Overall this is a great story rich in fantasy, but it also feels like a fairy tale with not as much depth to this wondrous yarn as you might expect, but it has its heartfelt moments, and I would choose to reread this in years to come.