Marea was born with the feathers of a bird. After growing up hidden from the world in a brothel, she decides to go in search of the father she’s never met, to find out why she’s so different from everyone else. Her search brings her to the City of Murmurs; a place of magic and mystery, where she hopes to find answers and a place to belong.

This book is truly magical. It has a very slow-build plot, and very little actually happens, but that doesn’t matter. Cartwright’s style and prose is beautiful, making it possible to really clearly picture the City of Murmurs; the canals, the characters and the magic. I was completely drawn in by the scenery and the simple beauty of life in the City of Murmurs. The world-building is so detailed and imaginative that the other elements of the story are merely background.

That being said, some of the characters are really lovely. The Keeper of the Hours was particularly bewitching, while Leo and most of the others were nicely likeable. What they did lack was any real depth. Although they were enjoyable characters to read about, we don’t really get to know much about any of them other than Marea, and even she wasn’t especially complex.

With a slightly more imaginative plot, this book could have passed into excellence. As it is, Feathertide is a poetic and engrossing read.

This book was very slow to get going. I didn't connect with the main character. Overall this story didn't do it for me,

This was a very easy read, and quite enjoyable for the most part. I did find the concept to be imaginative, however the execution seemed to lack a little something that I can't quite put my finger on. I think this author could potentially write some very great stories in the future.

I was sent a copy of Feathertide by Beth Cartwright to read and review by NetGalley.
This is a very engaging novel. It as absolutely brimming with similes, so if you don’t like this style of writing then this will not be for you. At times I did feel this aspect was a bit of overkill, but it did calm down in the latter part of the book. The premise of the story was great, and everything was very atmospheric – aided by the similes! – but I felt there was something slightly lacking which meant that I didn’t quite Identify with the protagonist. This was a shame because it is the type of novel that I can get really engrossed and lost in. The story is written entirely in the first person which would normally create a closer bond with me, but somehow everything seemed very slightly detached. Having said all that I did still really enjoy the book and I feel that the author, with a bit more experience, has great potential to become an exceptional novelist.

Feathertide starts with the birth of our main character and plenty of questions. Is she a bird? Is she fae? Will her father come for her? Leman, her mother, hides her away for her own safety and the questions we have are mirrored as our character grows up. Living in a brothel, and being taught to stay hidden is something that our character becomes so used to, and affects her actions later in the book too.

Leman’s largest fear is the large boat that docks in the town every so often, that holds the circus. She wants to keep her child away from a life of being locked away and laughed at. Although when we mistakenly enter the circus tent, we realise that many of the acts are in fact faked for the crowds. This doesn’t make the fear any less real however, and we see our main character struggle with running away from the circus throughout the entire book.

Our main character is covered in beautiful feathers which is why she is hidden away. The descripton of her feathers was captivating and gives a sense of magic throughout the story, despite the story not being magic focused. The story focuses on lots of little aspects driven by the character, the first of which is her thoughts about herself. She grows up learning to hide, and as such starts to despise her feathers. Her reaction to hurt herself in order to conform to the “normal” beauty standard in this world is a parallel to the real world.

Her life hidden away is both symbolic and a bit literal to being a bird trapped in a cage. The residents of the brothel tell her beautiful stories of far away lands which creates a sense of wanderlust. The wishing doors were something that I wanted to explore more, although they weren’t used much by our character once reaching the City.

Whilst the feathers create a sense of fantasy, this book is mainly about relationships and getting on with your life. Our character moves to a new city to find out more about herself, and more about herself she does find out. She has a found family, friends, and a life that is both hectic and slow at times. I adored the way her relationships formed, fell apart, and changed her for the worse and for the better.

To enter the City of Water you will find a token (like a coin) which has the City of Water on one side and a unique name for the the city on the other. This formed the city as a character in itself, and the relationship the person has with the city changes the city as well as the person. It reminded me strongly of the City of Circles with the emphasis on the city being magical through the narrators eyes.

Overall Feathertide is a book about exploration. Exploring who you are, exploring the new city, exploring new and old relationships, and exploring the mysteries life throws at you. Even the main character needs to be explored, as I realised late into the book that I didn’t even have a name to attach to her. I don’t know if I’d missed it at the start, but it got to a point where she introduces herself by name and I had to take a double take.

Overall, I think Feathertide is a beautifully written book, although it’s not as fantasy as other books (which may affect others view of it).

Positives of Feathertide
Character and relationship development
World building
Negatives of Feathertide
Not as much magic as expected

Growing up in a whorehouse was never going to be easy, growing up in a whorehouse knowing you are different to everyone else and being kept a secret and shut away from the world is just how Marea has been brought up. The world outside is a strange place and there lies many dangers but it doesn’t stop Marea from learning and dreaming of one day finding her father, a father that she has never met and knows very little about. She hopes that one day she can learn more about herself and finding her father may bring the answers she’s looking for.

Now Feathertide isn’t a fast paced story but it is one that slowly draws you in, i could feel myself really being captivated by the story and not wanting to ever put it down. The writing is fantastic, it’s almost poetic and it was so easy to get lost in the words.

The world building is absolutely beautiful, it’s almost like another character and the descriptions brought it all vividly to life and I could smell the salty sea and fresh bread as if I were there.

Marea is a fantastic character and I found myself really caring for her as she struggled with acceptance and finding her feet in the world. It’s not an easy task for any young person but when you’re different it can be so much harder. She was a strong character though and I loved her passion.

There are actually a whole host of wonderful characters throughout this book, I particularly loved Sybel. I think everyone needs a Sybel in their lives.

Feathertide is a magical fairytale buts it’s also modern. It’s a story of acceptance and love, heart ache and growing up. It’s a story that is totally addictive and just so beautifully written. It’s powerful, moving and original and it’s one I will definitely be highly recommending.

My thanks to Random House U.K. Cornerstone for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Feathertide’ by Beth Cartwright in exchange for an honest review.

I will admit that I was initially attracted to this novel by its stunning cover art: the waves, the mermaid’s tail, a golden bird flying above. Yet I was quickly drawn into this wonderful tale of Maréa, who was born covered with the feathers of a bird.

Her mother, Lemàn, had given birth in the crumbling bawdy house where she continues to work. Usually a child would not be kept but Lemàn hide her away and she grew up in the shadows accepted though ignored.

Maréa had been conceived far away on one of the Scatterings, floating city-islands. When she finally asks about her father, Lemàn, reveals the story of their brief encounter. “‘Was he really a bird?’ I whispered, scarcely able to believe what I was asking. ‘More that than anything else,’ came her reply.”

When Maréa reaches her seventeenth year she leaves her mother behind in order to find answers about her father. Among the Scatterings she seeks the City of Water, where her friend and mentor, Professor Elms, told her that folk say mermaids can be found living in its waters.

Maréa was a delightful narrator, her thoughts full of wonder. In the City of Waters she is befriended by Sybel, a prophetess who lives with six scraggy-looking dogs. She makes other allies along the way and yes there are mermaids!

This novel was enchanting. Its story is not about grand adventures fighting demons that are laying waste to cities. Not that there is anything wrong with that kind of story but it was refreshing for the focus to be on a young woman seeking to understand her differences.

I felt completely transported by Beth Cartwright’s beautiful writing and quickly obtained its audiobook edition, narrated by Sophie Colquhoun, in order to listen alongside reading the eARC.

This is a delicate story, enchanting from start to finish. Bittersweet yet hopeful. I loved it and would highly recommend it.

I shall certainly be watching out for Beth Cartwright’s future projects following this amazing debut.

A lovely debut novel by Beth Cartwright. A well-crafted fantasy story that takes the reader on a magical adventure.

Marea has always been always an outcast. Born covered in feathers and keep locked away in the basement of a whorehouse, she is permitted only once a year to go out and put a wish in her wishing jar. Her most ardent wish is freedom and to locate her father. She doesn't know who he is, the only thing Marea has from him are the feathers on her back. And on her 18th birthday, she decides to leave her cell and travel to the City of Murmurs in search of answers but what she stumbles upon is an adventure that will change her life.

The writing style is beautifully descriptive and lyrical. The pace is a bit slow but the writing style is so enthralling that I absolutely didn't mind it. The vivid descriptions of the city, the mystical lands, and the ethereal beings pull you into the story and it's easy to imagine those scenes before your eyes. This is a story os self-discovery and I think the author did a great job in crafting Marea's character. I loved the way she developed throughout her journey. Overall it was an entertaining read and I recommend it!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for providing me with a copy for review.

FEATHERTIDE was a whimsical and delicate fantasy tale about a girl born with feathers, forced to hide away from the world. Whilst I enjoyed the writing style and characters and certain elements of the world building, I felt like the plot was ultimately lacking. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I’ve loved plenty of novels that are light on plot in favour of other aspects. However, I don’t quite think the rest of this novel was strong enough to make up for it. There were some truly beautiful moments and ideas explored, and Marea’s queerness was a nice surprise — along with the way that queerness seems to be normalised in their world.

I really liked the dynamic of the brothel at the beginning of the novel — this may sound bad, as Marea grows up hidden away in the basement, unable to see or interact with the outside world, even forced to keep her hair short to avoid appealing to any of the brothel’s customers — but it also offers her an amazing found family of women who care for and love Marea like their own, along with her own mother who she has a great relationship with despite the circumstances. The only man she interacts with is the professor, who lives nearby and gives Marea an education through stories and books he brings for her. They also have a wholly positive relationship, and I think that it’s just so nice to see a character who had a difficult childhood but with a full and loving support system around her.

I even quite enjoyed the romances explored, although one of them does leave you guessing as to what is really going on, and if there isn’t some sort of manipulation at play. I wish there’d been a little bit more development of the city and of characters outside of the few we do get to know, but there was also definitely a benefit to keeping the story small and insular. As I mentioned, I liked the scale and tone of the story, so whilst this wasn’t my favourite I may be quite interested in further releases from Cartwright.

Feathertide by Beth Cartwright is an enchanting fairy-tale that follows Marea on her journey to find her father, but Marea is no ordinary girl in fact she is quite beautifully extraordinary with her soft downy feathers that coats her back.

Marea doesn’t know much about her father other than it is from him that she has inherited her feathers and she is determined to find him but what she doesn’t realise is that she will find more than she expects on her journey.

Feathertide was such a magical read that I adored, the author creates a wonderful air of enchantment throughout the setting of the storyline. I was swept away with the storyline and I loved Marea as well as those around her who loved her. I have recently watched Carnival Row on Amazon Prime and I had Cara Delavigne character stuck in my head when reading about Marea.

As a youngling Marea was sheltered from the outside world and only had contact with those who loved and cared for her and she believed herself truly beautiful and it shows how peoples negative views and words can completely change our opinions of ourselves so easily and it was a part that really touched me in this book when Marea had her first interaction with the outside world and we see this little girl with such a positive little glow about her fade.

I found this quite an exciting read with the magical and enchanting element taking me back to my childhood with the kind of emotions and feels you only experienced in those younger years when you almost believed that these fairytales hold an element of truth!

I loved Feathertide and if you would like to get lost in an adult fairy tale that also holds love and self-discovery at its heart then you will not be disappointed. I can not wait for another release by Beth Cartwright.

Beth Cartwright’s debut novel Feathertide is an enchanting tale of one young girl’s quest to find the father she’s never known.

From the moment I saw the brilliant gold bird, with feathers falling, flying above the jade-green flick of a mermaid’s tail amid the sea-foam and rolling waves on the cover, I knew I had to read Feathertide.

It’s every bit as captivating as those beautiful covers suggest. Beth Cartwright’s writing cast a spell over me from the opening sentence, filling my head with Marea’s wistful voice and quickly reeling me in to her unusual world. I was utterly entranced for 400+ pages, until I turned the last page, blinking and feeling slightly drowsy, as if waking from a strange but wonderful dream.

Marea’s world feels close to ours yet other, some of it almost familiar or even recognisable in places, yet still clearly of a different time. It’s one where a girl can be born with feathers, or webbed hands and feet; when circus acts were found among those born different or willing to pretend that they were; when people’s belief rests in reading fortunes and healing remedies; where time can be re-set twice a day but still wasted; where places and their people have spell-like names, almost as if to conjure them into being, such as the Cities of Water and Murmurs or the Island of Mist, and people reach these strange and distant lands by taking passage on a sailing ship over weeks and months, or those places find their way to you with a change in the weather.

Even Marea is different; she is, after all, a girl born with feathers. One who grows up hidden away in the cellar of a house on the edge of a fishing port, rarely venturing into the town itself. When she stumbles upon the visiting circus one day, she sees how otherness is treated by the townsfolk.

As good as her personal tutor Professor Elms is, he doesn’t have all the answers Marea seeks, and she clearly can’t stay hidden away in the cellar forever, so eventually she leaves her known world behind and sets sail in search of answers and the father she’s never known. It’s a voyage that takes her far from home and everyone she knows and loves; I felt her loss keenly and hoped she would find answers or something to make it all worthwhile.

I don’t want to give too much more away; Feathertide is the kind of book you need to venture into and discover for yourself, alongside Marea. Let Beth Cartwright’s spellbinding writing weave its way into your bookish heart and wrap around you like the sea mist that envelops the City of Murmurs. I can understand why people want to bottle it, although personally, I’d never unstopper mine.

Beth Cartwright’s debut novel Feathertide is an enchanting, bittersweet fairytale of a story about a young girl’s quest to find her father. It’s one which takes her far from home, across the seas to a sinking city, a place peopled with remarkable characters, where she’ll experience love and loss but also find kindness and acceptance. Marea ends up discovering so much more than she even knew she’d gone looking for on her travels, and I urge you to embark upon the magical journey of discovery that is Feathertide with her.

<i>Feathertide</i> was not quite what I expected based on first impressions from the cover, but it turned out to be a beautiful coming-of-age, fantasy novel steeped in magical-realism and focused on ideas of self-confidence and love.

The novel follows a young girl Marea who is born with feathers and kept hidden away in the cellar of a whore-house for her whole life. She slowly begins to realise as she grows up that she is different from those who inhabit her world around her and she hides herself and her feathers. The novel speaks to those that are shunned for being different as Marea is part-bird and deeply fearful of being shown in a <i>'Freaks and Oddities</i> show. Upon reaching maturity, she takes the decision to brave the wide-open world and search for answers about her father, her identity and her future. This takes her to the <i>City of Murmurs</i> which is a city steeped in mystery and magic. Here Marea experiences first loves, makes friends, and begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding her heritage and future.

It took me a little bit to get into this novel, but it really came into its own once Marea landed in the <i>City of Murmurs</i>. The relationship that blossomed between her and Leo, and her and the girl with the flaming golden hair who embodied the ocean as much as Marea represented the sky really captured by heart. The relationships that Marea developed between these two beautifully represented the struggles of first loves, identity and developing sexuality. The focus was on the person and their behaviours and values rather than their gender or identity which I really liked. Both of the love-interests taught Marea something about herself and helped her to grow as a person and I loved this element of the novel.

The actual plot itself is quite slow and meandering as the focus is on Marea's growth and development, her family and love. The novel is steeped in description and beautiful metaphors as it builds up the city and the characters within. I do wish we'd had a little bit more about the world and the history of <I>The City of Murmurs</i> and how it came to be, where it is. Nevertheless, this was a novel that was beautiful in its descriptions and reminded me very much of [book:The Night Circus|9361589]. For those that loved <i>The Night Circus</i> the flowery descriptions, slow plot pacing and focus on mystery, magic and finding ones identity will love <i>Feathertide</i>.

This was a beautiful mystery that slowly and daintily unraveled itself and surprisingly impressed me as it went along. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the eARC.

(Please note, Feathertide was reviewed by guest reviewer Elena on tour).

This book was nothing like anything I have ever read before, as I don’t generally go for fantasy or magical genres. However, I’m so happy that I chose to leave my comfort zone and read ‘Featherlands’ as I absolutely loved it.

The story is about a girl named Maréa, born with feathers on her back and brought up in a brothel by her mother. She is hidden away in the cellar as her mother is worried about what Maréa will endure in the outside world because of her feathers. Once a year she is allowed out, and one year she wishes to visit the City of Murmurs to try and uncover the mystery of who her father is. Her mother grants her this wish and we follow along with Maréa’s journey of discovery in this fantastical city. Along the way we meet interesting and mysterious characters – Sybel being my favourite! Each character teaches Maréa something about herself and about life and we see her grow and flourish.

The prose is extraordinarily evocative. The imagery, stunning. The story itself is simple but beautiful. The entire book is a wonderful piece of escapism and I loved being transported into that magical world. I really didn’t want the story to end as I wanted to stay in that world a little longer!

Not my normal read, but then if you dont try other genres, how will you ever know? This is a lovely flowing book, mixed with adventure, mystical places, and just a little bit of magic! The imagined lands are luxuriously described, and this is just so easy to read. Many thanks to the author and Publisher for allowing me an ARC of this lovely book!

I really enjoyed the idea behind this book. It was magical and unique and it keeps you on your toes. However, I really hated the beginning where Marea constantly refers to the women that help raise her and care for her whores. It definitely put a weird taste in my mouth when reading the rest of the book. I loved the quest part, the descriptions, the magical atmosphere and the mythology though! Overall this was a unique story!

This book is pegged as Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus meets Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale and I'm going to have to disagree with you there.

The descriptions and world building in the book were magical and wondrous. The story was unique and the characters were flawed and grew as the story progressed.

Although saying that, I really struggled with the first few chapters where Marea is a child. She CONSTANTLY calls the women who help raise her and work in the brothel where she lives 'the whores' and only ever refers to one of them by their name.
I find this bizarre because there are many references that are juxtaposed e.g.
'The whores took it in turns to feed me, bathe me, play with me and love me as though I were their own.'

This really got my back up and it caused to me get on the wrong foot with this book. I also thought it was unusual and callus language for a child to use, especially when referring to women who purportedly loved her.

Marea's mother also works at the aforementioned 'whorehouse' but she seems to be a washerwoman and not a sex worker so maybe that's where Marea's language and almost disregard comes from?

Marea is born with feathers dusting her back and arms and is therefore hidden from the world in the cellar of the Brothel. Eventually her mother employs a teacher, Professor Elms, to home-school Marea so that she can learn about the world and how to read etc.

Marea's mum (Leman) tells her of the island where she met her father (a bird man) but never actually found out his name or heard him speak so she never managed to find him again. She also used to fly a hot air balloon looking for him until she became too heavily pregnant (I really liked this little tidbit into Leman's life). Professor Elms also knows about all the magical islands and gives her some more information.

Once Marea turns 17 she decides to go to the island and try and find her father. She has no money and is worried that the captain of a boat will want sexual favours from her but in the end, Sorren, the mistress of the brothel, gives her a bag of coins enough for her passage. She gets to the Island of Murmurs with little trouble.

Once she arrives, the landscape is painted very much as Venice with a hint of magic and I loved it.

On her first or second day there, Marea accidentally falls off one of the many bridges into the canal and is rescued by the wonderful Sibel.
Sibel is a giant of a woman with a huge heart and the ability to see the future. She takes Marea in and gives her food & board in exchange for her walking her 6 dogs everyday.

Upon the Island of Murmurs, Marea meets lots of strange and wonderful people. She goes to a masked ball where time stops and she meets a mermaid. She also, with the help of Sorren and Leo (an ornithologist who used to work with a professor who know marea's dad) manages to hunt down her father.

I liked the bisexual representation in this book although I felt that the (sort-of) love triangle came to a head pretty quickly.
Marea also ends up doing to Leo what Elver does to her which annoyed me a bit.

There is also no real peril in this book. Most things come about pretty easily and even the heartbreak is fairly short-lived!

I really liked the characters (Sibel especially) and definitely would have liked to see more of them.

I thought the world was very magical and well written. The language used was very descriptive and conjured up beautiful and vivid images in your head. There are a lot of unique ideas and I really feel like the islands in 'The Scatterings' have more stories to tell!

Although, I think there is definitely a lack of ethnic diversity in this book and the language surrounding the sex workers needs to be looked at. Even if you just change the word 'whores' to 'the women who worked at the brothel', it just seems to be perpetuating a negative stereotype.

Overall the story felt rushed, I was a bit confused by the end and, for me, there were definitely some unanswered questions.
However, once Marea became an adult and got to the Island of Murmurs I really started to like it. It's a nice easy read after that, and I would recommend it if you're in the mood for a light-hearted fairytale-esque story.

I liked the premise for this and really enjoyed what it did overall. The characters were interesting but there were a few moments that could have been done better. I liked the writing style and thought that for most of the story it was told at a needed pace. This was good but it definetley could have been done a bit better for me to rate it higher.

Thank you to Netgalley.co.uk for my free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I am blown away by this book, when I requested this book, I think I had completely different expectation for this one. This is a very unusual but I say that in a good way, I don't think I have ever read a book quite like this one. I enjoyed the characters, I thought they were well fleshed out and well written, they helped really bring the story to life for me. It is not a fast paced novel, it's nice and slow but I think it suits the novel's subject.

Feathertide is the stunning debut novel from Beth Cartwright. A magical fantasy book, this reads like a fairytale for adults, and deals with some important contemporary issues. Maréa was born with feathers on her back and shoulders, a feature she keeps hidden under a cloak in fear of being different. After eighteen years of hardly ever going outside she decides to go the City of Murmers to find her father. A place of mystery and magic, where it seems anything is possible, Maréa finds more than she bargained for.

The cover of Feathertide is beautiful, the way the light captures the gold and parts of the sea and the story is as beautiful as it’s cover. Maréa is a warm and wonderful character whose story I loved reading, as she grew in age and wisdom, and learned to spread her wings, literally. Brought up in a whorehouse, Maréa had an intersting start in life, but one that was filled with love, not just from her mother but also from the other girls. Protected from the outside world by her mother who worried what people would say and that she might be taken away, Maréa’s eyes are opened by Professor Elms, who teaches her about the outside world. At eighteen she escapes the confines of the cellar and travels to the City of Murmers. This journey is both a physical and spiritual experience for Meréa as she escapes the confines of her old life into a new awakening, a place where she can learn to be herself, grow and follow her dreams, and be accepted for who she is.

Beth Cartwright’s writes such enchanting and poetic prose that captures the ethereal and magical nature of the story. The imagery is brought to life by some beautiful similies and metaphors, painting a colourful landscape of the City of Murmers, and those who reside in it. This is a magical city where mist can be captured in a jar to heal heartbreak, where mermaids live in the canals and Sybil the prophetess can read you future. The landscape of the city, with the canals, decorative squares, alleyways, the churches and towers reminded me of Venice, one of my favourite cities; there was even a masquerade ball. The diversity of the city opens up the debate about being different, bring accepted for who and what you are, showing your true self without fear of being ridiculed, issues very much a part of today’s society.

Feathertide is a wow book for me, I totally lost myself in it and really didn’t want it to end; I wanted to see what Maréa did next. The writng was just beautiful, captivating and enchanting me, drawining me into this magical city and Maréa’s story. I thought the message of acceptance, self-esteem and difference was brilliantly dealt with within the plot, and threaded naturally into Maréa’s story. I have to say the magical, fantasy genre is fast becoming a favourite for me and one I wish I had found years ago, but Im enjoying finding lots of new books to read. Feathertide is a stunning example of this genre, and one I can’t recommend highly enough, with memorable characters you care about, magical and beautiful locations and a story line I was enchanted by. Absolutley amazing and I can’t wait to read Beth Cartwright’s next book.

Marea has always been different from everyone else. She was born with feathers and never understood why. When she reaches adulthood she decides to visit the City of Murmurs in hope of finding her Father and the answers she needs. Whilst there she'll find adventure, love and herself.

I think this would be a really good starting point for those just getting into fantasy. It's quite a light hearted and the writing style and details are really easy to follow. I enjoyed all the characters and the overall story. It was also nice to see a LGBT relationship.

For me this lacked a little danger that you usually find in fantasy novels as there was never any real threat. I also would have liked to have seen more of the mermaid element.

Overall, this is great debut novel and I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for providing me with a copy to read