Two sisters navigating court life after the death of their mother. Iza and Asya don't even know if they can trust each other, and I believe that was one of the most difficult things to get through. Filled with scheming, politics, and a fantasy land out of balance.

Aw man I wanted to like this one more. Unfortunately it took too long to get to anything interesting plot wise, and only Asya as a character engendered any sympathy whatsoever. I didn’t care or actively disliked a lot of the others, which made the POV switching a bit of a naissance to me. It happens sometimes though.
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Very dark, very heavy, very clever. You get sucked in so fast it's hard to put down!!! Definitely get a snack and settle in, you're not going to want to get up!!

Based on the Russian folktale of The Firebird, we meet two sisters, separated at thirteen--one to become the next Queen, the other to become the next Firebird. Of course, because this is a folk tale there are beats that need to be hit as we go along: the small country, the advisors with their own agendas, the sisters separation leading to an estrangement, etc.

Overy does a decent job of that part of the book, but doesn't do as good a job giving readers a real reason to care about Asya/the Firebird or Izaveta/the Queen, the matters of state, etc.. There are other books adapting this story to better effect, but YMMV as to enjoying this entry.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

I found this book difficult to really get into. I didn’t really connect with the sisters, and felt that the premise lacked depth. The world building could have been better as well. I don’t think I would follow up with this story.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

This retelling of the firebird has such incredibly lush writing. I can't wait for the sequel! I loved everything about this book, especially the sibling relationship at its heart.

These Feathered Flames was a good read but I hope it gets more world-building in the 2nd book. I didn't enjoy the political aspect, it became boring and repetitive. But I enjoyed the hints of romance and look forward to seeing how they play out.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

A great fantasy read with a beautiful built world and carefully crafted characters. One of the major things I appreciated, was the fact the names weren't insanely hard to pronounce. That's a huge bonus for me!

A great book! Well written and flew by. Highly enjoyable in this genre. A four star read! I would recommend this to anyone.

While I initially liked this book the more I reflected on it the less I liked it. Life seemed hard for the main character for no other reason than her birth. While this can be life, I think this is a message we are trying to move away from.

You know those books that are so good that you can’t formulate words? That whenever you try to talk about it your brain turns into a flailing muppet? That is These Feathered Flames for me.

This sapphic enemies to lovers, Russian firebird folktale retelling is everything I craved but couldn’t put my finger on. It follows Asya & Izaveta, twin sisters with entirely separate destinies—one to be the firebird & the other the queen. Asya is perhaps one of my favorite characters, ever, officially. She is such a relatable, emotionally raw, & has a f/f, slow burn romance that dealt with overcoming biases & misunderstanding. Izaveta is a product of her environment that I loved & wanted to shake/scream at all at once. Plus don’t get me started on her romance which surprised me but I loved it. Their sisterhood & growth & years built walls? Fantastic.

The writing, the author’s voice, the storyline, the characters, the romance, the EVERYTHING? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This made my sapphic heart soar. Read this & come talk to my about it ASAP. & bring on the art, PLEASE!

Unfortunately this book is one for the DNF shelf. The premise is really interesting but I found I couldn’t really get into the book.

The magic is interesting, though it’s not fully explained in the first couple chapters. The sisters don’t reflect on how their bond has changed, even when they think about each other. I felt very disconnected from the characters.

I love this retelling with a LGBTQ spin. Lot of adventure and dramatic storytelling which is a must in a fantasy retelling.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review.

Ummm y’all! They ride BEARS in this world, not horses. Super cool.

On the whole I felt like this followed the lines of typical YA Russian-inspired fantasy/folklore mixed with court politics that have been coming out in the last few years. It was a good read, but not anything that wowed me for its originality, or sucked me in to the narrative. At points I found that I missed parts of the narrative because I had stopped paying attention (which is usually not something I experience with audiobooks) so I think I might have struggled with staying interested if I had been reading a physical copy.

I honestly could take or leave the sisters (they were neither interesting nor boring) and the side characters felt flat. I wish the firebird plot line was taken a step farther. Overall I liked the concept but had hoped for more.

Fiona Hardingham does a decent job with the audiobook narration.

I don't even begin to know how to review this book. It felt like something that should have been DEEPLY inside my wheelhouse, but for some reason it never really latched on. Even more frustrating is that I have no idea why. I can't pinpoint anything about the characters or the plot or the writing style that turned me off so much. Everything felt pretty much as it should be... yet somehow I truly did not care one little bit about this book or the characters within it.

The premise is interesting and delivers on all the things you might expect from the synopsis. Some of the characters feel a bit one dimensional, but have several redeeming moments that bring them to life throughout the book. The setting and magic system are both intriguing and described in such detail that they feel very colorful compared to some of the other aspects of the book.

I really struggled with the pacing. The entire first half consisted of me forcing myself to turn pages and continually checking page numbers, eager to put it aside and move on to something else. It felt like the author was trying to build drama with all the conspiracies and the court intrigue, but it just felt drawn out and painfully slow. None of the pay off in the end felt worth the lengthy slog of the build up. I likely would have enjoyed this book much more if it were closer to 300 pages than a whopping 500. All of that said, I will admit that the final quarter of the book picked up rapidly. Exciting things started happening, shocking moments occurred, twists were revealed, etc. But for me, it was all too late to redeem the almost 400 pages of ugh I'd had to endure before getting anywhere even slightly interesting.

In the end, I feel like this book just wasn't for me. I know other people who loved it. I expected to love it. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
I'm glad it found its audience somewhere, even if not with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good read. It had a few bumps but it was well written, especially for a debut. While I know a few Russian folktales, I knew nothing about this one besides The Firebird name. I can’t say how close this was to the original tale, but I liked this book in comparison to other YA fantasy. There was a lot of stuff in here that was well done and it didn’t feel like something I had read twenty times already. I’m not sure if this is planned to be just a duology or a series, but I will absolutely read the second book when it comes out.

I really, really wanted to like These Feathered Flames. There's a lot to love, right? A Slavic-inspired fantasy! Russian folklore and culture! Twin sisters! Unfortunately, the story was slow, somewhat repetitive, and the characters were uninteresting (and also somewhat repetitive). Asya and Izaveta were incredibly frustrating, and I hated how they kept making the same mistakes over and over again. Asya gets attacked in the middle of the night? Okay, so obviously she should take a stroll through the woods where no one will hear her if she screams. Izaveta tries to use her sister as a pawn and it backfires? Yes, she should totally do it again and again hoping for a different outcome. Learn from your mistakes and BE BETTER.

I really wanted them to work together and be smarter than their enemies, but they kept choosing to do things on their own without consulting the other or asking for help. Additionally, Asya's aunt is still around (she's the previous Firebird), so it didn't make sense for Asya to try and do everything solo. She had someone she could ask for help. She could have gone to her aunt and they could have sorted through her newly emerging powers and discussed what certain things meant. However, Asya thinks she can handle it - or she doesn't want to feel like a burden - which is ridiculous. She's supposed to be training and learning how to be the Firebird. It was dumb of her to think she could do it all on her own. Izaveta has a similar story, because she thinks she can't trust anyone - not even her sister - because her mother was a manipulative bitch that didn't deserve either of her children.

Izaveta was so caught up in playing mind games with everyone around her, that she doubted everyone's sincerity. She has MAJOR trust issues, and I wish she'd at least had one friend or confidant that she wasn't constantly analyzing or trying to control. I hated that she didn't even trust her sister (someone who kept reaching out despite receiving no response from Izaveta), and felt like Asya was just another piece in her games. Where's the sisterly love I was hoping for? It wasn't present in the first 60% of this book (which was roughly 8 hours of the audio). That's A LONG TIME for nothing to really happen.

The world-building was interesting, and I liked the history we get to see in glimpses, but it wasn't enough to hold my attention. In addition to feeling like the characters kept making the same choices and mistakes, I was bored. I started dreading pressing the play button on my phone, and that's never a good sign. (★★☆☆☆)

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

These Feathered Flames is an #OwnVoices YA reimagining of the Russian folktale, The Firebird, and it was AMAZING. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes for it to become the next "big" YA fandom so I can start a TFF merch collection. I absolutely adored this book and am so unbelievably excited for it to be out in the world for everyone to enjoy!

TFF has so much to love: Unique magic system, political intrigue, two couples to root for - one F/M, and one F/F (something for everyone!), BEARS YOU CAN RIDE! I could go on and on. This is a book you’re not going to want to miss! Absolutely obsessed and already clamoring for This Cursed Crown!!!

i never ended up downloading this but i picked it up recently, so i figured I'd also review it here!

The book had a slow start, and it wasn't until the halfway point that the plot started to kick off. The story is heavily character driven with Asya and Izaveta.
The concept was really cool, I liked the worldbuilding, and both of the main characters were good protagonists and interesting to read about. The sisters' relationship was maybe the best part of the book. There were definitely times when I got bored, and it took me some time to finish this. But overall I really enjoyed it.