This was such a good read, i really want to have it in Hardback.

Fia has magic, she is unique in that her magic is nature based so she can control it. Fia is a changeling, when she was a child, a princess was stolen and taken to a dark realm and Fia was left in her place. The queen grew to love Fia and she is tasked to go to the dark realm and retrieve the princess that was stolen.

Fia and her friend and one time lover Rogan travel to a faraway castle where the gate to the other realm is and they prepare to go and rescue Eala. Nothing is as simple as it appears however and Eala is not the person she is perceived to be and magic and guardians blur the lines between what is real and what is a lie.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and it lends to a sequel.

I really enjoyed this book, I was very happy that it was featured in one of the book boxes.
The world building, character development and overall story were just so good. I think this is the perfect book for fans of Holly Black and Sarah J Mass.

This book was amazing! The world building was intricate and captivating, the characters flawed but endearing, and the ending was intense and action packed, leaving me desperate to read the next book!

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene is the first book in the Fair Folk Trilogy. This is a dark Swan Lake retelling.
 
The book started off very promising and I love the dedication of this book “For anyone who has ever doubted if they were the main character in their own story. You are.” The writing style is very atmospheric and poetic and was another aspect I really liked.
 
The protagonist Fia is a changeling with magic and that is something very rare as the kingdom has lost all its magic.  Because of this a lot is expected of Fia and she needs to break a curse and rescue the Queen’s daughter. I felt that sometimes Fia was no match to her task. She was accompanied by Prince Rogan and at some point, feelings arise between the two of them, but the romance is very delicate and I would have loved to see this with a bit more depth. The protagonists were appealing, and I feel like with the next books I’m able to connect more with them. The plot was intriguing and mysterious while sometimes having lengths.
 
Overall, A Feather So Black is a good and atmospheric dark fairytale reimagining. 3,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

I had high hopes for A Feather So Black as the initial premise sounded quite intriguing: Celtic folklore, fae and curses! However, the overall story failed to engage me and the characters felt flat, one-dimensional and unoriginal.

The writing was pretty and clearly the author had researched plenty of Celtic folklore but I don’t think it was introduced and explained enough for the reader.

The book was very predictable and all of the twists fell flat for me. It felt very reliant on tropes and popular character traits that turned out to have very little relevance to the story. Did Fia really need excellent combat abilities? We saw her use them in the initial chapter and then never again? Irian felt like he was trying and failing to be like a character from another popular romance-heavy fantasy book…

To be honest, this book was mainly lacking tension.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Feather So Black
Fantasy
Lyra Selene
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

• ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ • ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʀɪᴀɴɢʟᴇ • ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ •

I actually found it difficult to write this review because in theory the tropes, the plot and the Celtic mythology all should've made me love this book but I actually struggled to read it at times.

I found the beginning a little confusing because I didn't know who the characters were, where the story was set or what was happening. It almost felt like I was dropped into the thick of it or halfway through a chapter.

The pacing was ok but it did drag at times. I think this was because the characters could only go to Tír na nÓg once a month. If the characters had found a loophole or a way to get around it, the pacing would've been better.

I don't mind a love triangle/square but it felt forced. It was pretty obvious who would end up with who. That being said, there was quite a bit of spice.

I love it when authors include mythology. The glossary was actually very helpful because it meant I could keep checking the definitions and the pronunciations.

I did really enjoy the world building and the botanical magic. The writing style itself was good and the ending was ok.

It's such a shame that I struggled with certain parts of this book but I can see other readers enjoying it.

*Thank you to @Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

Comparing a book to The Cruel Prince is a very high bar, and I'm not sure it was a good idea in this case.

This book is very, very slow, and very, very long. Narratively, I think it would have been way more compelling for them to be in Tir na nOg the entire time. Absolutely nothing of note happens in the human world, and it only serves to massively drag down the pacing. You could almost skip all the human world parts and not really lose anything by doing so.

The characters are.... there? Fia is a protagonist who presents herself as very smart and cunning, shaped to be a weapon, with sound judgement, and yet, is incredibly dense, brainwashed, and easy to decieve? If your protagonist is going to be lied to and make the wrong choices, you have to at least attempt to convince me there's an iota of possibility they're right. Especially in a first person narrative. Fia is so obviously being hoodwinked that it's just annoying and exhausting as a reader because it's clearly going to end in tears. At one point, she has an entire inner monologue about how shady and two-faced Eala is and that Fia can't trust her because of all the wacky things going on, and then Fia immediately believes everything Eala says and is like "she'd never lie to me!" Which is it???

Rogan is there. He's a prince. We don't know what he's doing for 80% of the book. But he's hot. And blonde. Irian has shadows. He is also hot. We don't know what he's doing for 90% of the book. I would believe their relationship more if they knew literally anything about each other.

I don't understand Fia's magic. Or the swan maidens. Or Irian's magic. Or what's going on in Tir na nOg. This book tried to do a million things and take the major fae romance tropes with it, but almost none of it was successful.

And then it's a series? After five hundred pages of absolutely nothing? i'm gonna leave this one on the shelf, and I recommend you do as well.

Two stars.

3.4⭐️

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fia the changeling and her childhood friend Rogan are sent away to spend time in the folk world to rescue Eala, the human child she replaced.

I did enjoy the story but there were a few things I struggled with, which meant that it took me a little bit longer than I expected to finish it.

Firstly, I found this one a bit hard to get into at the beginning due to all the particular terminology that was being used that I didn’t understand (thankfully I discovered there was a glossary at the end of the book fairly early on!).

Secondly, the pacing was a bit off and the momentum didn’t ever build up enough due to the monthly cycle of events. The love triangle was dragged on for a bit too long, even when it was obvious one relationship wasn’t going to work out.

Thirdly (and related to the second point), the ending felt a bit rushed and I’m not sure I fully understand exactly what happened.

On a positive note, I did love the dynamics between Fia and the other male character, and also the character she spends time with in the castle.

Despite all of the above, I will pick up book two to see what happens next. 😊

This is the new fae book in the market and honestly, I kept my expectations low when I picked this up. However, I did truly enjoy this story quite a bit. It was atmospheric, dark and excessively immersive.

Yes, some of the elements of the book feels familiar and tropey especially, with regards to characters and their traits. But, I also loved the world building and the magic system. The twist with Swan Lake was done quite well.

My only real criticism is that we spend very less time with the main couple and I would have really loved to see their romance grow and develop on a much deeper level. Instead, a lot of time was spent on the FMC holding a torch for a man who would never commit to her and after a while, I was just bored of their same old shenanigans.

Overall, a good and enjoyable first book and I look forward to reading the next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: violence, explicit sexual content, abuse, injury, suicide, gore

Twelve years ago in a kingdom once dominated by the Fae, Princess Eala was stolen from her bed and taken behind the impenetrable gates of Tír na nÓg. Left in her place was a changeling, Fia, who was taken in and raised by the furious Queen to become a weapon against the Fair Folk. Years later, Fia is hated for what her people did and is determined to somehow repent for the sins of her blood. When a secret gate to the fairy realm is discovered, Fia is tasked by the Queen to find Eala and bring her home, no matter the cost. Eala has been cursed to take the form of a swan in daylight, returning to human form only at night. Fia dives into the world of Tír na nÓg alongside Rogan, her dearest childhood friend and first love but he has a different destiny: to marry Eala. Caught up in a world of magic and illusions, Fia finds herself feeling as if she’s finally found her way home. The further they get into the world, things become even more complicated when Fia begins to have feelings not only for Rogan but for Irian, the Fae lord who has been holding Eala hostage. He is monstrous but Fia soon starts to remember that she isn’t human, and he can understand her like no one else can, especially as they spend hours together. As time runs out to free Eala from her curse and doubts around her mission intrude between her and Rogan, Fia is forced to look into the past and face what she finds, even if it means choosing between the two men she loves.

One aspect I adored is how the Fae are written in this book, they’re so complicated and inhuman, weaving every conversation with double meanings and trying to make everything into a bargain. I enjoyed the character of Fia but I did find the love triangle to be irritating after a while, especially as it began to overshadow the wider plot around her role to bring Eala home. For a book that built itself up slowly, the ending felt too fast but I did find it hard to put the book down. However, this was a strong fantasy romance, with powerful messages around self-love and acceptance and an interesting interpretation of the Fair Folk.

Synopsis:
In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind by the Fair Folk when they stole the High Queen's daughter, Eala, and retreated behind the locked gates of Tír na nÓg. Most despise Fia's fae blood. But the queen has raised her as a daughter and trains her to be a spy. Meanwhile, the real princess Eala is bound to Tír na nÓg, cursed to become a swan by day and only returning to her true form at night. When a hidden gate to the realm is discovered, Fia is tasked by the queen to retrieve the princess and break her curse. But she doesn’t go alone, with her is prince Rogan, Fia's dearest childhood friend. He also happens to be Eala’s betrothed. As they journey through the forests of the Folk, where magic winds through the roots of the trees and beauty can be a deadly illusion, Fia’s mission is complicated by her feelings for the prince…and her unexpected attraction to the dark-hearted fae lord holding Eala captive. Irian might be more monster than man, but he seems to understand Fia in a way no one ever has. Soon, Fia begins to question the truth of her mission. But time is running out to break her sister's curse. And unraveling the secrets of the past might destroy everything she has come to love.

Review:
I have so much to say bout this book.. When I first started reading it was slow, there was so much language I hadn't seen before and so many people/places that I couldn't keep up. I think going into this book because I had a few other ARC's with time running out, that I was overwhelmed and couldn't set my brain on taking everything in. But boy am I glad that I stuck it out.

This was truly an incredible book. I am still reeling from finishing it last night. The story felt new and complex to me. Whilst some aspects I had seen before in other books it wasn't a carbon copy of them. This had it's own uniqueness to it that I really loved. The writing felt poetic in some ways, some of the quotes in this book really made it feel like a poetic fairytale. The way this was written was captivating, for the second half of the book I honestly couldn't put it down. Whilst there was so much information given whilst reading, there was so much that was kept to the writers chest. The twists and turns, not to mention the betrayals and revelations were all so enticing to me. They kept me desperately wanting to know how it all ends. This is definitely a slow burn, with regards to the plot and pace of the book. But I really think at the end of it all it was really worth it. Could it have been shorter? probably, but I think that he length of the book made you really get stuck into it and attached to all of the characters. I'm not normally one to highlight whilst reading but with this one there was so many hard hitting quotes it was impossible not to.

The fantasy throughout this book was truly enchanting, I like that there was so much history and so many quirks to the magic in here. The world building was exceptional and I loved the use of animals to show how they interlinked with curses and magic.

The journey's that each character takes are so attention grabbing and emotion provoking. I really loved a lot of these characters. They were all so interesting to read about. I found myself judging them and really feeling like a part of the story because my emotions were intertwined. I am not normally one to do a whole debrief about a character, but with Fia I just can't not...

All Fia ever wanted was to be loved, she had no idea who she was or where she came from, just that she was a weapon her mother had helped abuse her into. The thing that got me the most is that Fia loved so ferociously, these people hurt her, made her feel unwanted because she was somehow part of the folk, yet she still loved them. She fell in love hard and fast, to anyone who showed her enough kindness. Her emotions were so well written that you were either feeling for her or feeling them with her. I feel a lot of us can resonate with Fia's wants to be loved, I think that's why what happened to her in the end mattered to me so much. I grew an attachment to a fictional character. Which isn't always easy to do and I don't find this happens in fantasy books for me, but with Fia I couldn't help but not. I think the relationship between her and rogan was very well written, it truly showcased how friends can quickly turn into lovers and back to strangers again. There was so much keeping them apart and at times I really did want her to end up with him. But in reflection, I am glad she didn't. there were so many parts of her Rogan couldn't understand and I'm glad Fia came into herself to know what she was worth and that she wasn't damaged goods. Some things Fia said that were poetic, emotional and really stuck with me were: 'love could be offered but spurned: longed for but unrequited.' and ' But I should never have had to work so hard to be loved.'. I think those sum up her character development so well, she grew into herself and her greenmark and ultimately chose herself which was beautiful to see.

Rogan and Irian were great love interests. Both different in the own ways, both better for Fia in their own ways. The way Irian grew to love Fia was beautiful. I can't go into too much detail about the two without spoiling anything. So please just trust me when I say: the chemistry is there, the attraction is there and so is the seduction. I really enjoyed reading about Irian especially. If you love morally grey men then this is definitely a man you should read about.

Honestly, I don't actually have a fault to say about this one. The ending was.. just wow to be honest. I wasn't expecting what happened and I'm not even sure I fully understand it. If you read this you will get what I'm talking about. I highly highly recommend reading this, romantasy lovers, cruel prince lovers, this is for you. I have already added the second one to my TBR, I am impatiently waiting for it to be released.

One of my favourite net galley reads by far. Thank you to net galley & Little Brown Book Group for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this! I went straight out and got the hardback as soon as it was released too! Defo worth a read if you are into fantasy romance like me!

I really wanted to like this book because I’m Irish and I love to see my culture and language in books but unfortunately it wasn’t completely accurate. I don’t know much about Irish folklore so I won’t comment on that but the Irish in this book was awful. I’m not sure if it was supposed to be a mix between Irish and Gaelic but personally I think it was poorly executed. One use of Irish in particular was ‘colleen’ to mean ‘girl’ when the actual Irish is cailín. This frustrated me because I was excited to go into this book and find words that I understand only to see Irish words wildly misspelled.
I found it hard to follow this book and I was never sure of where the two main characters were. I’d be half way through a chapter and I thought she was talking to rogan instead of Irian the whole time.
I didn’t enjoy how repetitive the book was for the first 80%. Every chapter they’d switch between dún darraig and tír na nóg. It also felt like we were making no progress with their mission until the very end. I didn’t know what the point of them being there was for nearly the whole book.
I did however enjoy the seeing fia learn to love herself after being taught her whole life to hate the folk side of herself. I loved seeing her grow into herself.
My absolute favourite character despite not really knowing what it is is corra. She’s so cute and I loved whenever she would pop up.

I struggled with the motivation to pick this up over the first 120 pages as the read very slow (a lot of world building and not much going on). I was tempted to DNF, but I'm so glad that I didn't as the rest of the book was enjoyable, and I felt that the slower world building in the beginning did pay off towards the end, as I did feel angst for Fia (the main female character). Was this a perfect book? No, the fantasy world didn't quite feel right to me (I can't quite put my finger on why), and for adult fantasy Fia (the main female character) read young. But overall, I liked the story and enjoyed the progress of the middle of the book and the felt content with the ending.

A Feather So Black is perfect for those who like a very descriptive, bordering on poetic, prose.

Struggled to get into this one. It was a bit slow at the start, which made it hard for me to feel invested in the story and the characters.

Ohhhh this book! I absolutely adored it, the mirroring of two stories, two sisters, first loves and real loves, magic and finding yourself.

Fia was such an awesome FMC and I loved her development through the book and how she learned to love herself and make the change to hers & Irian’s story - not entirely sure how she has changed the rest of the world after what Eala did. Going to the fae world finally made her be proud of who she is and go home. ‘I was made to be fully loved, or not at all’

Rogan was a character I was so torn on. I really did like him at parts even though I never thought he would be endgame, Fia loves him and you can see why. But then there were the little parts that got to me. Like when they slept together and her Greenmark sent flowers out and he said ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that’ just another notch in the coffin for Fia hating what she is and trying to hide it. But I truly think that he THINKS he loves all of her and that it’ll be enough. I really hope he managed to get free of Eala’s compulsion.

Eala I instantly just had a bad feeling for although she did still surprise me. The other swan maidens clearly saw her as a leader, but for her to slaughter them for her own gain at the end was a shock. And for her to control Rogan against his will, although she has made it clear she hates men. I kind of expected her to be working with her mother, but she ended up hating her and that caused more of this. She’s so manipulative and I wish Fia had seen it a bit earlier. But her & Fia’s dynamic was awesome and I hope we get more in the second book.

Overall this was such a great book and I am already excited for the sequel 😍

I got thit book as an ARC on @netgalley a while ago. I had a hard time getting into it because the author insisted pn using sooo (and I mean SO MANY) many unkown words in the first few chapters, that it really made me dread reading it. There was a glossary, at the end of the book, with no mention of it in the beginning, so I didnt know about it until I actually finished the book. It didn't bother me so much to have all the unknown words, it bothered me that they were never actually explained. Throughout the whole book I kept asking myself wtf is a tanaiste wtf is a sept. Maybe I'm also dumb, but the power dynamics of the fae made no sense otherwise, and even naming them in these different categories didn't make it easier, because they were never explained enough.
About the story. It was ok. Our main character is naive af. In the beginning she said she was a weapon, went on many missions to kill people, she was an assassin, bla bla. And then in the end, she says she is failing her "first mission".
I also noticed that I'm not so much into self discovery stories, because most characters keep telling themselves lies and are all naive and I keep wanting them to stop whining and just go kill someone, lol.
Anyway. The self discovery was rather ok here, I enjoyed how Fia struggled, and persevered, how she was finally able to let go of her first love.
I wish however that the author explained more stuff in plain words. I enjoy lyrical writing, but i also felt that there was so much left to my own interpretation, that im not actually sure what happens at times.
I read for fun, not to get confused.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I found it really difficult with all the Gaelic words. A lot of books will give pronunciations of these words to make the story glow a bit easier.

Aside from that, I was really interested in the story but got to around 40% before adding it to the DNF pile. Not really sure why but this book just wasn't for me.

3,25 - 3,5 / 5

This is one of those books where I’m not sure if everyone around me read one version of the book (and loved it) and I read another one and don't seem to “get it”.

Fia and Rogan didn’t make any sense to me. Their whole relationship is based on their teenage past and every time they have a moment, I felt like the author was forcing them on me. Especially for like the whole first half of the book. It was just a bold attempt to make me believe they have any chemistry. Which they didn’t.
Yet at the same time, Fia and Irian were somewhat having a vibe. I too would melt if someone were to say I look exquisite. Ignoring the sort of love triangle situation (which: ew), I’m not sure if Fia and Irian made more sense to me, because they just genuinely made more sense and Irian really grew on me (considering who and what they are, I guess they did) or because I couldn’t stand Rogan. Either way, I was happy when Rogan finally was more of a subplot situation.

Fia was surely something. She wasn’t really annoying, but definitely naive to the point of annoyance. Especially when it comes to her sister. And Rogan for that matter.
The fact that this book was written in first person and as a reader you know everything that goes on in Fia’s head, Fia herself seemed very oblivious to her own thoughts and suspicious. She could very clearly see through everything Eala said and yet she still decided to believe her sister’s words over her own instincts. Mind Blowing, really.

The last 15%-20% of the book dragged on for what felt like forever. Not sure why.

The writing reminded me at times of storytelling. A lot of the descriptions were a mouthful/over the top/too much. Whatever you want to call it. There was really no need to describe that one thing for like five or six (short) sentences, even though I understand the intent behind it. It was fitting for the world and the Folk. Someone might want to call it poetic, which I would agree with to a certain extent.
But then again the world confused me so much, especially during the beginning (and this might be my own fault for not paying 100% attention) that I’m not sure if the writing added to the confusion or not.

In regards to the Folk, if you enjoyed Emily Wilde, you might enjoy this too. Though this is Emily Wilde in a not so Emily Wilde way.

I might also have enjoyed this more, if it weren’t written in first person.

Thank you to Orbit UK for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was immediately intrigued by the premise of A Feather So Black. The author had all the ingredients to weave an enthralling story, combining Celtic mythology and Swan Lake. But the book had crazy potential that, unfortunately, was terribly wasted.

But let's go in order.
The story follows Fia, a changeling left behind in the mortal world, and Rogan, her childhood friend/crush. Their mission is to return Eala, the high queen's real daughter and Rogan's betrothed, from Tír na nÓg, the fae realm. The cruel and ruthless Irian holds Eala captive. But is he really the monster Fia thinks he is?

One of the first problems with the story is pacing. Although the story spans 12 months, there's not much happening for much of the book, as Fia and Rogan can only be in Tír na nÓg for one night per month. Fia and Rogan don't seem to grasp the urgency of their task: they stall, waste time and seem to completely lose sight of their mission. They only realize how little time they have left toward the end and that's when things get hectic. Overall, the sensation is of a slow and dragged narrative.

I'm not a fan of love triangles, but this story has a love square, which - needless to say - isn't really my thing. Moreover, the romance drags in the repetition of the same (unnecessary) drama between Fia and Rogan (with Irian entering the mix later on), creating a cycle of mutual pining, lust, disappointed hopes, and feelings of guilt. Spiced up with scenes of sex here and there, this book is meant to be an adult fantasy, but the characters have little personality and act more like YA characters. The wordbuilding is only hinted at and never explored in-depth, and the plot is decidedly too vague.

As other readers have already pointed out, this book (and my disappointment) is a product of its time. The romantasy genre reigns supreme, making it increasingly difficult to find good fantasy novels with a romance plot-line. More often than not, I come across books that forget the detail in the plot and the care in the construction of fantasy universes, turning the fantasy component into nothing more than a pretext to write spiced-up fairy smut stories with too many plot holes.

2.5 ⭐️