The Fair Folk series by @lyraselene continues to be one of my all-time favorite audiobooks! Everything about it is sheer perfection. The Celtic fairytale retelling just would not be the same without the narration of avena_mansergh_wallace

She just has a way of really enveloping you into the story and her use of accents, inflection and drama really capture the moment of what is occurring, and the emotions of the characters.

***SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 BELOW ***

We left as Fia sacrificed herself in order to save the life of Irian and the magical forest that maintains balance in both the Fae realm and the human realm. Book 1 left me at the edge of my seat, BEGGING publishers to send me an arc so that I could heal my broken heart.

Book 2 was not a disappointment. I really love trials in magical realms and although I was not expecting this for the Fair Folk series, it really worked! There were so many elements to this book that I felt my heart being pulled in different directions. Who is her true love?! Could it be Irian who is just an ass for almost this entire book?! Is it Rogan, who is still under the thrall of the evil Eala. A new mystery man?

I loved all of the magical creatures in this story, especially POND SCUM!! I love Kelpies so much and I am so glad that Lyra decided to include them. AND THE GIANTS. Ugh. Just so good.

Now, back to my "I dont have the next Fair Folk book in my hands yet" corner to sob until the next one comes out!

3.5 stars
A Crown So Silver picks up where A Feather So Black left off, but unfortunately didn’t quite capture the same magic for me. The pacing felt uneven—starting off slow, then rushing through key moments without the buildup they deserved. The setting, while ambitious, sometimes leaned more chaotic than immersive, making it harder to stay grounded in the story.
That said, what really stood out was the evolving relationship between Irian and Fia. Their bond felt grounded and authentic, even amid the high-stakes fantasy backdrop. I appreciated the emotional complexity and realism in their connection—it added much-needed heart to the story.
I was hoping to see more of the tournament scenes—those segments had so much potential for tension and character development. Instead, much of the focus shifted to external adventures that didn’t always hold my interest in the same way. The main twist was somewhat predictable, but I still appreciated how the book wrapped up. It echoed the tone of the first installment while leaving room for further character evolution and unresolved tension.
Overall, while this sequel didn’t fully meet my expectations, here’s hoping the next installment finds a stronger balance between worldbuilding, plot, and character development.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC!

Okay, I officially call it - I'm DNF'ing this.

I read the first book, and thought it was okay, but this book was just so hard to read. I kept losing interest, and had to keep coming back to it in the hopes it would grab me and keep hold of me. The main character, Fia, was really annoying to read, which really dismayed me as I thought she'd done a good job with growing a backbone from the previous book. If anything, she took this too far. The romance, from what I read, also just was not giving.

Whenever I pick up a second book in the series, there’s always the worry that it’s going to suffer from second book syndrome, but this book absolutely did not!
I adored book 1 & A Crown So Silver retained all the aspects of A Feather So Black that I loved. The beautiful prose continued throughout this book & the characters only improved with the depth more time with them gave. The pacing felt better than book 1 & I loved that the plot was split between what was happening in the world overall vs just to Fia.
Absolutely cannot wait for book 3!!

I just realized that I forgot to write my review for this book! So sorry!

Just like the first book, I loved this one as well! I really enjoyed the world building because this one took place in a new and intriguing location called the Silver Isle. The storyline was a slow burn start but it picked up. I can't wait to read the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for this ARC.

I actually enjoyed this one much more than the first! There is always the worry of second book syndrome but, in my opinion, this book does not suffer from that affliction. There was a lot more going on in this one!

The things I didn't like so much in the first book we're not an issue in this one - besides the glossary/pronunciation guide at the back again! I didn't have to suffer through a character I found irritating instead I got to enjoy quite a lot of page time of either Fia on her own or getting to know a few new characters like the aughisky and the gruagach who I loved!

My favourite character is tied between Pond Scum and Wayland - the names will make sense after you read I promise!

I am also a big fan of books in a series ending in complete chaos and this absolutely ticked that box.

If you were undecided regarding continuing the series, I'd say give it a try to see if it's right for you because I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it but, was happily proven wrong.

I was worried about this - I have read far too many second books with too much filler and not enough action. I also saw the mention of a magical tournament and thought I knew exactly what to expect. I am delighted to say I was wrong on both counts. This absolutely subverted my expectations, and while it sometimes felt the characters had gone backwards a little, it was within the context of them addressing the major events at the end of the first book- it worked. I wasn’t entirely happy with the ending, but I will see how it works out in the next book.

Thank-you very much to NetGalley and Little, Brown for the opportunity to read an eArc.

This sequel to A Feather So Black was such a rollercoaster. The first half was tough—I really struggled with Fia’s impulsiveness, and her constant arguing with Irian felt frustrating.

BUT.

If you push through the slow start, the second half more than makes up for it. The tension, the reveals, the magic—it all clicks into place, and suddenly, I couldn’t put it down. Fia’s actions start to make sense, Irian gets more depth, and the stakes skyrocket. Also, the Silver Isle setting? Stunning. Lyra Selene’s prose is lush and immersive, making the world feel alive.

Wayland? Absolute favourite. Irian? Still obsessed. Fia? Took me a while, but I got there.

This sequel is darker, grittier, and not as fairytale-like as A Feather So Black, but it’s still just as captivating. If you loved A Court of Thorns and Roses or Lightlark, you’ll want to pick this one up. Just be ready for emotional turmoil and a wait for book three! 😭

Would I recommend? Absolutely. But have patience—it’s worth it.

⚔️ Deadly trials
👀 Secrets from the past
💔 Relationship struggles
🏔️ Stunning world-building
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Found family
🌶️ 4/5 spice
😱 Major cliffhanger

Thank you to Lyra Selene and NetGalley for the ARC! This review is voluntary and as always, all thoughts are my own.

“A tale to savour and devour, one that gleams like starlight and cuts like a sword”. A dark and dangerous story that is teeming with romance, magic and adventure. A story that walks along a knifes edge between romance and epic fantasy. Darkly enchanting and beautifully written that will satisfy readers of the genre but will still leave them craving more from the author.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐔𝐊 | 𝐎𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐒𝐨 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞

In this book we follow Fia after her sacrifice in the previous book, which gave her a powerful magic.
She would love to just find her sister Eala and fight her upfront, but her husband, Irian, doesn't share her sentiments.
At his suggestion, they find themselves on the Silver Isle, an island at the edge of the fae realm, riled by the smith-king Gavida.
And they are just in time for a tournament - the winner gets a powerful magical forging of their choosing.
Fia and Irian must face challenges, in the tournament and outside of it.
While still trying not to let Eala win and bring war to both human and fae realm.


While I really liked the first book, this one certainly suffers from middle book syndrome.

The romance was bad, just bad. While I kind of understand what the author tried with this, it didn't work. Fia didn't have any regard for Irian's feelings, and Irian also did things that should have been handled differently.

They are married for such a short time and, instead of working things out, the author introduces another love interest. I don't think every book in the same series needs a love triangle. There are different ways to still make the couple interesting or have conflict.

I felt bad for Wayland.

And if I'm not mistaken, it's a YA book - there is no reason for this book to have so many spicy scenes. In my opinion, they made the relationship seem underdeveloped, no other chemistry, talking things out, just sex.

The book ends on a kind of cliffhanger.
And I stand by what I said about the first book - more povs (we get a few by Irian). I would love for this story to be from Eala's pov.

<i>I received this ARC thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.</i>

It kinda hurts to stick with 3.5 stars for this one, but my gosh Fia was SO FREAKING annoying... I loved her conflict within the first book, but as that one was all about morales, who's good, who's bad, all while being a girlboss, now she's tried to girlboss a bit too hard, making her insanely vulnerable. Duh, not only her - everyone
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<b>"You are not my home."</b>
Dear Fia, I know you're a girls-girl, but it really ain't that bad if a strong man wants to protect you in a realm you're not familiar with, with its own customs, dangers, and mad half-sisters. Yes, her anger can be justified, but if the game's already deadly, why do you make it harder for yourself, your love, people trusting you, just to, I dunno, collect a super-girl-boss badge? Irian was trying so hard to make her see he does appreciate how strong she is on her own, but this required a game of magic she ain't the master of yet, so instead of trusting him she overestimated the trust in herself, making this book a bit miserable to read. I mean I did feel the same magic as reading the first one, but I'm simply a bit too annoyed to rate it any higher

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<b>"I was now married to a story so much bigger than the one I'd ever dreamed of telling."</b>
Offtopic, but do you remember how every Barbie Fairytopia movie ended in big Elina's transformation? At this point it seems like a trope for this series, I'm a bit terrified if Fia won't once again get her guts over her brain in the next book lol. At least Irian was trying to carry this book on his shoulder, alongside Fia throwing the constant tantrum.

<img src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExczliYTUyZ2Z3eWlsZ3YwZzgxeGg3YWQ0aHM0MTV5NzM1cWdoZnB5aSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/EH4qpRHIUM492/giphy.gif" width="auto" height="auto" alt="description"/>
<b>"I will reveal my secrets only once. Will you learn your destiny and claim your fate—or remain in endless ignorance?"</b>
I really enjoyed the slow villainization of Rogan in the last book. I've talked more about it on my IG but long story short, their toxic relationship and how Fia was able to step out of it was really healing for me as a person who had a similar experience. So now having Rogan as literal marionette for the entire book with no progress in his story felt really uncomfortable, especially that Fia still has the same feelings about him from the book one. I was really hoping that the 'he deserves better we must free him' shenanigans would end sooner, as much as Fia might feel that need to save that man, it kinda breaks the narration of how she must've allowed him to save himself first in the previous book. It just felt really weird, when before me as a reader got a vibe that some people that we love must be let go of for our own good, should now still be glorified and treated the same as before, even if they don't deserve that. I know I'm maybe digging into this one a bit too deeply, but I'm simply not a fan of just how fast the night changes as the manipulative person becomes 'speechless' for the victim to slowly get back into her old habits.

Long story short, I did enjoy this book, BUT 1. MC was unbearingly annoying 2. the second love interest's motive with an abusive past was slowly having his bad side erased out of pity 3. the cast of characters was super chaotic in this one, except for Irian and Eala who seemed to be the only ones using 100% of their brainpower. Fingers crossed we'll be blessed with the heart so green in a year time or so, because I can't wait to see which Barbie will Fia turn into this time

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Actual rating: 3,5 stars

I'm feeling a bit conflicted about this book.
I loved A Feather So Black and was really excited for the sequel, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.
However, I still had a really good time reading the book, but once I finished it, I couldn't but feel like it was a bit pointless?
I can't say too much without spoiling anything, but there were several plot points that to me seemed to only be there to create tension for a bit but then they got resolved and it didn't feel like they really left any consequences.

Originally, I decided to round up to 4 stars, but after giving it some thought, I'm rounding down to 3 stars.
The main reason for that is that I really didn't enjoy the way the romance developed in this book.

I enjoyed the overall plot and there wasn't a time when I was bored. I also really like the world and how it expanded in this book.

Overall, this sequel felt all over the place. At this point, I'm under the impression that this series could have been a duology as I didn't feel like this book amounted to much, but I will obviously have to read book 3 to really pass judgement on that. I still recommend this series and I'm hoping it's going to get a stronger finish!

On a mysterious snow island ruled by a trickster king where magic comes at a price a deadly trial commences the prize a chance for vengeance
Blood of my blood and bone of my bone I shall not permit thee to wander alone
Among the folk the magic of handfasting is not unlike the magic of ages it is a binding an obligation a knitting together of two into one two bodies two hearts two souls
Give me your heart and let it be known that then now and after you are my home
I was made of mountains and forests and burned out stars I was not made for an ending I hadn't earned
love her writing its so whimsical it flows like petals on water on a beautiful summers day it shines like a wish in the starlite sky
This writer has a wonderful talent this series is so underhyped it is phenomenal and it just keeps getting betterOmg..... she's done it again lyra has done it again a feather so black was my favourite book of 2024 and I think a Crown So silver could be my favourite book of 2025 I love this series I really think the series is so underhyped it needs so much more hype I loved this

I think this wasn't as stold a second book as it could be, and it definitely suffered from middle book syndrome. That being said, I'm looking forward to the conculsion!

This book definitely has middle book syndrome. There's no character development, and there's certainly no chemistry between Irian and Fia, or even the new love interest that is introduced. The plot took ages to get going, and by that point, I'd lost a lot of interest. I feel like there was no real conclusion to any plotlines in this story, and we end up in pretty much the same place that we were in at the end of the first book. I don't think I'll be picking up the final book.

3.5 ⭐

The best thing this book has going for it is the writing. Beautiful, lyrical, descriptive, especially about nature and emotions.

The author also did a great job recapping the events of the previous book within the story, without it seeming repetitive or out of place.

I was truly looking forward to the new dynamic between Fia and Irian, and there were some intense "my wife" moments, but I wasn't the biggest fan of another love triangle, we already had that in the first book so I was hoping for something a little different.

I did enjoy the few intimate moments between Fia and Irian, some spicier than others, but all really well done.

My biggest complaint is Fia and the decisions she made, which really made little sense and some were frankly annoying at times. It felt like she was being difficult, just for the sake of it, especially towards Irian.

I didn't fully love this book, but I did enjoy it and thought it a solid 3/3.5 star read.

I really did enjoy this, however I still enjoyed the first more, think it suffered a bit from second book syndrome, but as always it was a great story and it really picked up in the second half , I think if if the whole book had been like the second half it would be just as good as the first, but still a great read

I think I will forever be in awe of the Selene’s lyrical writing style. I had loved the first book with all my heart partly because of this, and this second installment was not any different.
I was so happy to follow Fia and Irian once again. I love that Fia is anything but the perfect heroine. She is full of edges, she is wild and makes reckless decisions and this is so incredibly refreshing. Even when I hate the decisions she takes.
My only issue with this second book was the direction the romance took. It had me so worried for so long that I almost lost interest because I was so disappointed. The wonderful narrator of the audiobook kept me going, but I wasn’t sure I was going to read the next one at some point. However, if you’re going through the same thing, I can tell you that it’s worth reading on. In retrospect, although I’m still bitter about some parts of the book, it was really nice to see the growing pains of Irian and Fia’s relationship, they felt so much more relatable that way.
Now, obviously that ending had me on the edges of my seat, and I can’t wait to see all those incredible characters again. The new additions to the cast are so loveable all in their own way, and you can tell and Fia’s friends are going to become her found family. I can’t wait to see that.

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit and the author for early access to the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

After enjoying a Feather So Black so much, I was super-keen to continue the story and read A Crown So Silver. I am glad to report that I am still really enjoying this trilogy. Book 2s are hard, and I wasn't sure whether I was going to start to lose interest, but this kept me engaged throughout, and I am very much looking forward to the final instalment. A fun, fantasy romance with an intriguing plot. I'd recommend the audio if you find some of the names/places pretty tricky. I was glad to have both.

A perfect next book! I adored the first book and I was so excited to dive back in and it definitely didn’t disappoint! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.