⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- absolutely loved hearing more about Irians past and seeing more of him and Fia🥹

This book started off so intense and honestly really frustrated me so much. But baring with my frustration and getting to the point of understanding and explanation really made me fall in love with this series all over again.

Irians past was soo interesting and I loved finding out more about him. He is truly an amazing man and his story really shows his strength and character and allowed me to understand him more.

Fia really annoyed me in the first half of this book. She came across and naive and immature however in the second half she was soo much better and it allowed me to appreciate her actions.

There is so much arguing in the beginning which is rather frustrating because I just wanted them to be happy but it made for such a great reading.

There is so many plot twists and emotional rollercoasters throughout this book and it had my emotions all over the place.

This book does end on a cliff hanger and I NEED the third book in this trilogy asap. I love this series and I cannot wait to see what happens!!!

Lyra’s writing style and world building is amazing and really allowed me to picture the scenes and fall in love with the world all over again. The characters developments were amazing to read and the writing style makes for an easy and enjoyable read.

Thank you to Lyra and Netgalley for the ARC of this book 🫶

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.
I love the story and characters but have to be honest that the intro and first chapter almost made me give up on it as the felt rushed and confused as I got into chapter 2 I started to get a better feel of the book and started to enjoy it and was fully hooked.

Having loved Fia and Irian in A Feather So Black, I was very excited to read the sequel and see where their journey took them next.

Once again, I couldn't put this book down.

All the things I loved about the first book are back in abundance - the beautiful and descriptive language, Celtic folklore, Fia and Irian, magic and romance.

In addition to this, there are new characters who add a found family element to the story, new villains, more otherworldly creatures, and a whole new setting as the story takes us deeper into Fae lands. Fia is on a quest for vengeance, while Irian is keen to retreat in order to keep her safe. As each strives to meet their own goals, they find themselves in the Silver Isles participating in a deadly tournament while trying to uncover the secrets of a trickster king. The sisters conflict also continues with Eala insinuating herself into the King's Court in a bid to grab more power and thwart Fia's plans.

I really enjoyed the mystery surrounding the king's magic. I was constantly questioning who the true allies and enemies were, which kept me on my toes. I loved seeing Fia and Irian's relationship tested as they grappled with conflicting goals and expectations, and I loved learning more about Irian's past and his early life. I also thought the world building was fabulous. The drama, romance and action delivered on all fronts, and I fell for Fia and Irian all over again, which is exactly what I was hoping for!

My conclusion - A Crown So Silver is a great sequel and the cliffhanger ending promises great things still to come from the Fair Folks trilogy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book however I wasn't as engrossed as book 1.

Beautiful storytelling but I wanted it to be more pacy as I felt like the first half didn't have enough high stakes moments to keep my attention.

The second half was fabulous. I loved the intensity of potential betrayals and there was so much more tension.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed book one, and while this book still had beautiful descriptions of the world we'd come to know for me, the story just fell a bit short in places. Some of the less action-packed parts seemed to drag out a little, which you'd expect more from a first book, not the second. The writing style was still great, and Fia was still as strong-willed as she was before. I will definitely be continuing with the series, though.

Thank you to little brown and netgalley for the arc for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was eager to dive back in, especially with how it ended. I really liked getting to see Fia learn about her new powers and I loved learning more about the world that Selene has created. Selene has a beautiful way of writing and I love how darker this one was in comparison to the first one. I also loved the change of setting and some of the plot points just really fascinated me.

I will admit I struggled a lot with the beginning half of the book. Fia becomes quite impulsive and absolutely disregards how Irian feels after the events of the first book. Their relationship really deteriorated and they were just arguing constantly.

However the book really did pick up around the 45% mark and I'm glad I stuck with it as I really enjoyed the second half of it. We got to know Fia's motivations and why she was acting the way she was. We also got to see what she was feeling in regards to her relationship. I also felt like the second half was better paced and I really do urge you to stick with this one because once it picked up it was amazing and gave me the same vibes of the first one!

I'm excited to see where the story takes us next, especially with that ending! I need to know what happens!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This carries on from the dramatic ending of A Feather So Black, with Fia and Irian fighting to stop Eala’s evil plans, and realising that, despite being wed, they may not know each as well as they’d hoped.

This was gripping and full of fae lore - a fabulous continuation of the Fair Folk series and one that has me eagerly awaiting the next book!

A Crown So Silver follows just after the cliffhanger of A Feather So Black. Fia and Irian must learn to live together, understand each other as both are fighting for control in a complex situation. Fia has just found herself and Irian is terrified of losing her again. Now, they are on the Silver Isles, competing in a tournament to the death. With evil sisters, relationship tensions and a handsome Prinsona, how will their relationship survive?

This is a very simplified version of the plot and I really enjoyed the complexities of it. I thought it would be another trial/hunger games inspired story but an event that happens early on in the book means that Fia is free to follow her own plot, with the competition aspect being secondary. I quite enjoyed that. I liked the introduction of Wayland, said Prinsona, and Laoise, a red headed warrior with a secret. Sinead was also a very good addition, giving another voice to the 12 swan princesses from the first book. I had feared that with Wayland there would be a love triangle (hate them) but while there is one of sorts, it’s not a will they/won’t they kind of situation. The romantic focus was very much Irian and Fia’s relationship as Fia returns from the dead with a want to learn more about herself and Irian desperately wants to keep her safe, even if that means not giving Fia a choice. With her backstory and events from the first book, choice is important and creates good conflict. There was a lot of miscommunication which was irritating at times but the main plot of the story - once it kicked off at the 50% mark - meant that it wasn’t so much of a drag to get through.

The ending of the story was wonderfully dramatic, and leaves me with a bunch of questions for what will happen in the next book. This book did end the same way as the first which would be for parallels and juxtaposition, so hopefully the next one has a little more than Fia being a step towards becoming something else. Again.

Overall, I enjoyed the reading experience of A Crown So Silver. I enjoy Lyra Selene’s writing style as it reads well and is easy to immerse yourself into. I am looking forward to picking up book 3 (hopefully soon)!

I rated 3.5. I still liked the description of the world which made it even more stunning in this second book and for some of the parts I enjoyed it.
I found myself frustrated for more than 50% of the book. I felt it slowed right down to then ramp up to the good bits. The slow parts just dragged on way too long for me personally. I couldn't get to grips with the story to how I felt in the first book and as for Fia well, I don't know how she got even more blinking stubborn in the second book and that infuriated me. The last 5 pages of the book redeemed itself to the rating as now I need to know what happens in the 3rd book.
I will say that I loved the writing style in both books, it's just I felt disconnected too often in this book, which is a shame.

Thank you little, Brown book group UK, orbit and Netgalley for the opportunity and sending the ARC in exchange for an honest review

A wonderful sequel full of mystery and magic that is a fabulous follow up to A Feather So Black. My particular standout was the dual POV and seeing the same things from the different characters.

✨"I was made of mountains and forests and burned-out stars. I was not made for an ending I hadn't earned.‘✨

I had loved ’’a Feather so Black" ,and it’s sequel was definitely one of the reads I was most curious about this year as I really had no idea what to expect.

I found ‘a Crown so Silver’ so similar but at the same time totally different from the previous book: “a Feather so Black” was about finding yourself and putting yourself first. In “a Crown so Silver”on the other hand, it is vital to respect one's own and others' freedom of choice, no matter how stupid or wrong a decision may be.

The lyrical and vivid prose blends with new places, lethal tournaments, new aspects of Irish Folklore, secondary characters who shone and continuous revelations kept me glued to the pages until the end.

The only flaw I found was the relationship between the protagonists which, especially in the middle, I found it really difficult to read..
But I’ve to admit that ,for the way their storylines are handled, arriving at the breaking point helped them both to respect and accept each other's choices and to understand all the ways in which the events of the first book changed them.

✨ ‘A Crown so Silver’ is therefore definitely a good sequel that entertains and surprises in many different ways. And the ending? It is illegal to say the least!

I think this book was the pefect continuation to A Feather so Black - it picks up the story right where it got left previously and the story development did not disappoint!

I especially enjoyed reading about the stories of both characters and how they both perceived what the other went through, which we learn as we go.

I also loved the new setting and the banter between Fia and Irian - some of my favourite characters for sure!

Thank you so much Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book!

3.5 stars
Content warning: death, gore and blood, murdering, deadly tournament, torture, captivity, mind manipulation
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy to review. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I have been anticipating the return to The Fair Folk Trilogy for a long time now. Whilst Lyra Selene's lyrical prose and lush world-building skills returned exceptionally well in this sequel, I struggled to remain interested in the book due to the storyline's progression and subsequent character actions.

I love the concept of morally grey protagonists, and following along with Fia, who isn't afraid to speak up, kill without thought, or fight for the ones she loves now that she's gained her strength as a person was one of my favourite things the author tried to convey in A Crown So Silver. Here is a character who has been forced into somewhat naive suppression of her true self for most of her existence, and she's not prepared to go back there in book 2. Unfortunately, whilst I enjoyed this about her, it wasn't balanced out enough to make it fully believable within some of her actions. Fia is incredibly volatile, and whilst I respect the author's intention, it sometimes was the failure of this book for me. I dislike having to say I loved and hated this character development for her.

Fia's passionate relationship with Irian takes a nosedive as she tries to establish herself and her worth without compromising this newfound power and belief she has in herself. Her feminine rage does have some valid moments, but overall, the miscommunication between the pair grew so tedious. Their relationship fallout was rather unnecessary, especially when another male was introduced. Thus the biggest issue I had with book 1 was reused - though in a poorer attempt this time. It felt like pointless reading to add this character in this manner, especially when he was such a decent addition to the storyline. To feed him into things yet not utilise him as anything more than a convenience tool was unfortunate at best. I'll admit, the romance of this book didn't hit nearly as well as it did in the first, and I'm overall disappointed by both storyline decisions and the excessive smut that filled places where the plot could have been further developed.

I didn't enjoy the tournament element, but I liked that it became more background noise as Fia and her newfound friends discovered the secrets of the isle. A lot of the plot felt too convenient, but the latter parts of this book are utter perfection. The pacing in the first half is very slow going, and it took me a long time to digest this all because of it. I agree with several other reviews telling readers to prepare for this slog, and that the ending is worth the wait, to a point. I think there was definitely room for this story to be constructed in a way to make the first portion less tedious without compromising on storyline progression. It felt overwritten at best, and I can't say I fully recommend people to sit through it to get to the action because I had a lot of issues with this read.

Overall, I think Selene has the potential to conclude this world in a fantastic way and rebuild her characters to be more intriguing in the third instalment. But A Crown So Silver has unfortunately fallen to second-book syndrome. Whilst I loved several moments in this book, it took sheer endurance through a lot of unnecessary elements to get to them, and lessened my interest in this series, which is why despite having a fantastic last portion of the read, I've had to give this an overall lower star rating.

“I was made of mountains and forests and burned-out stars. I was not made for an ending I hadn’t earned.”
This book was a complete surprise from beginning to end. We find the same luscious and descriptive writing style of the first book, but a completely new setting and scenery, which I loved. Every single page kept me entertained and eager to keep reading, and while I did guess some of the plot twists I can honestly say this book continuously surprised me, going in a completely different direction than I thought. Where the first book was slow-paced and rich of fairytale retellings, this second instalment is much quicker-paced and darker.
My only issue is that the middle dragged a little and felt particularly irritating: Fia and Irian’s personalities and relationship became insufferable, and while I do agree that they had to work through their (justified) issues I found myself constantly screaming at them to just talk and listen to each other instead of going around in circles!
Once that was solved I flew through the rest of the book. I loved the Silver Isle setting and all the new characters that were introduced (especially Wayland), so many questions are answered and so many others are raised and I am so eager to read how the story concludes in the next book.

Sadly I have DNF’d this book. I persevered with the first book as I struggled with the style of writing and the volume of descriptive writing for describing the settings in the book but I have really enjoyed the story line. The volume of descriptive writing slows down the story (by descriptive writing I mean a page plus to describe a tree) and this has meant that the slow moving story line has made me lose interest.

I can recommend this book to everyone who read the first book for the romance and the worldbuilding. (So if you're really into romantasy)
I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the writing is still amazing, the world is becoming even bigger and I love every aspect of it. On the other hand, it was a letdown from the first book. I missed the fairytale aspect that was the reason I loved the first book so much. I didn't enjoy the romance and the probably needless love triangle. I was in a block when I started it so getting through the first, slower part was a struggle. But the best redeeming thing in the book was the ending. I'm not sure I'll be continuing the series after this book.

In so many ways i preferred this book to the 1st one. I loved the progression of Fia's character, and even when she is chained her spirit and magic doesnt diminish which is a great lesson for young women everywhere. This picks up right after the events of the 1st book and Fia and Irian continue their fight of Fia's sister Eala and her quest for total dominion over both worlds.

Their adventure takes them to the Silver Isle and a competition of Kings where we meet Wayland who damn it i prefer to Irian in every way. I was actually rooting for them to get together all the way through the book. He is a much better match for Fia and i dont get the obession with Irian at all, he is controlling and obnoxious, Wayland on the other hand is sweet, caring, vulnerable, and hot as hell. I was actually rooting for a throuple all the way through, i thought it would happen at one point when Weyland casually commented that Irian would be more than ok with sharing Fia with Wayland, internally i was like yes Fia go for it!

I enjoyed the story, the quests and the side characters and i found it really engaging and fun.

That being said, i am half Irish, Lyra can you please, and im begging you, to stop Irian constantly using the term colleen when he talks to Fia. It is not a term of endearment no matter what the internet says, its actually very patonising, and i cringe every time i read it. In Irish colleen means girl/woman, so when Irian is saying what do you need from me colleen, he is saying what do you want from me girl/woman. I find it infuriating, and if i were the editor i would go in and replace it with her actual name Fia. I hate terms of endearment though in general so this is a personal thing, i dont like love, honey, darling etc, just use my name please.

Anyway, overall i think this is better than the 1st one, it was certainly more interesting to read, and i am looking forward to reading the next one.

Great follow on from A Feather so Black. Really enjoyed the continuation of the story and the world getting richer and deeper - long may this continue! I need more

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As the creator of the ship name Firian, nobody loves this story more than me (I expect Lyra to be a close second lol) and I loved this sequel so much. Sorry not sorry Fia, Irian is THE man, and I will protect no matter what. Both A Feather So Black and A Crown So Silver are so immersive. I simply forget everything about this horrible world and just are. I exist in that world with Irian and Fia, their immense love, and the awful odds they are against.

If A Feather So Black was about finding yourself and shed others' expectations of you, then A Crown So Silver is about choices and free space. Space to make your own choices whether they are smart or stupid. Space to exist with your own mind and free will.

I'm sort of biased here because I loved Irian from the moment we met him in the first book, and while I also like Fia, well....Irian is Irian, my man, the husband of my soul. Did Irian cross a certain boundary? Yeah he did. Was it also the right thing to do? Well yeah. The way he did it was stubborn and off the boundaries, but what he did was the right thing to do, and I am sort of surprised that Fia didn't realize it much sooner... Though, she was always headstrong and very set on her beliefs.

If you love Irian a lot, you will be irritated with Fia. If you love both more equally, you will realize what Lyra has been trying to do much sooner than I did lmao. Irian and Fia love each other a lot, but both of are very determined and opinionated. And they have been alone and starved for love, care, and intimacy for many, many years. If they didn't clash, it wouldn't be authentic. How can you communicate well with your person (with any person) if you haven't been close to someone before? How can you communicate well when you yourself have change drastically recently? How can you communicate well when all you've ever done is survive?? Fia is driven by a sense of purpose after her transformation, while Irian is desperate to protect his love after losing her. She wants to fight, he wants to flee so she can live. Was I annoyed with Fia? Yes. Do I understand her now? Yeah. My problem was that I love Irian too much so anyone who hurts him becomes enemy number one lmao....

And there's spice, people. Lots of spice!! Because Irian is a hulk and Fia can't stop herself which is the most relatable thing in the book haha

We had many plot twists and new elements! Lyra Selene manages to expand the world and the stakes masterfully. I would comp it to Nisha J. Tuli's Artefacts of Ouranos series!! If you loved that one, you will like this too.

Loved it all!!

Sincerely,
The feather on Irian's shoulder
Irian's protector
Firian's creator and president

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series so much, it was one of my best books of the year so I was really excited to continue this series.

Book two broadens this world and introduces us to new characters and new parts of the realm, with challenges introduced building on the events of the first book. I did enjoy the expansion of the world and the new folkloric elements that were brought in to the second book. This was my favourite part of the book seeing the new elements of Irish mythology we were given to explore.

The books started off and ended well, but I found the middle section lost a bit of pace. There was a bit of repetition in the dialogue between two characters and it felt like we were rehashing the same issues over and over again which derailed the story for me a bit. However it did pick back up towards the end to reach a satisfying conclusion.

One of my favourite parts of the first book was how strong the characterisation was. Character building was just so distinct and excellent! We did lose that a bit in this book which that strength of character dipping a bit. However we’re set up well to get those strong voices back in book three.

A wonderful exploration of mythology and an incredible world is delivered in this book that just had a touch of middle book syndrome. Still an incredible series overall!