I really had to push myself to get through it and I just didn't like a lot of the characters so I think that could have been my problem

Dnf 15%

I'm so sorry but I hated the narrator.
Found it hard to focus on their words or the story, so I have to DNF.

Really enjoyed the writing style in this, even if I found it at times confusing. I do enjoy a lyrical style and there's a lot going on here and I was sometimes a little lost, but I enjoyed the representation in this.

I requested this book because I was excited about seeing NB rep and "they/them" language normalized in YA fantasy books, but quickly realized it was a sequel and I was kind of lost.

After going back to read the first, it was a great read!

I DNFed this one cause I didn’t realize it was the second book in a series! So I was confused halfway through and the characters didn’t connect with me enough to want to pick up the first one, thank you Netgalley for the eARC!

This just didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure what I was expecting going into it but this wasn’t it. I may circle back to this one but it was a dnf for me

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* ah yup once again started a series without reading the first book lmao, really good book but def will have to reread after i read the first book lol

I have this habit of picking up second books in series and not realizing it...
And if I had KNOWN it was?
I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.
I was confused and lost at the start and never really recovered.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an AudioARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Boi of Feather and Steel picks up immediately after the events of The Girl Of Hawthorne and Glass. Tav, Eli, and Cam dealing with the fallout of the world-eating witch coven coming after them, looking to devour the heart of Earth. Meanwhile, child witches are staging a rebellion against said coven in hopes to recreate the coven in their image. Can Tav, Eli, and Cam save the earth as well as an unknown number of worlds after? And which is the lesser evil, children witches or those already in power?

I really really really want to like this series. I mean, witches making assassins out of inanimate objects? World devourers? Labrynth laid worlds and queer representation? All of these paint a picture worthy of five stars. However, while I gave book 1 three stars due to the plot making up for a lack of world building, I cannot give this more than 2 stars. I still don't fully understand the worlds I was reading about or how the witches devoured the world. I don't understand what about earth made it special enough to defy the witches to essentially save itself. The characters were on this save the world mission but had time to stop and have sex with someone they had known for all of two weeks? It just seems like the priorities of telling this story fell flat. The elements that make you care about a world or characters just weren't there for any of the many main characters, some of them just felt like cannon fodder.

I wish I could recommend this book, but I feel it would be a disservice to readers to do so. Skip this series and find your next great literary love, or reread a world that has captured your heart.

I did not realize this was a sequel until about a half hour into the audiobook and I was like something is not right here, these characters are established. Come to find out I had the e-book ARC from NetGalley as well of The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass so I read that and then started this one over. It made much more sense! BUT I did not love it. I really liked what the author was going for and the inclusivity and LGBTQIA+ rep. Fabulous. But I felt like the story was kind of confusing and all over the place. This is one where I would've rather read than listened.

This book just wasn’t for me. It took awhile for the plot to become briefly engaging and then it fell flat. On a positive note, I did enjoy the narrator.

Beautiful story yet again from this author! Love the LGTBQ representation in this. Love the characters. Loved everything about it and the narrator!? LOVED THEM!!!

*Netgalley Audio ARC*

The story picks up right where the first one ends which was nice. I binged the first and second book together. Despite the amazing cover, this book fell completely flat for me. There were so many directions it was like the author couldn't decide on one linear plot so chose them all. There's so many story influences from other books/series that it's difficult to keep up with the important pieces. Each character definitely had their own arc which was nice but they felt buried under the chaos that was occurring. The final boss battle was as short as Voldemort dying in HP7. I had to backup because I missed it, much like when I read HP7. Over all, very underwhelmed with the book and series.

I recieved an audio book version of The Boi of Feather and Steel. Never heard of it and definitely did not read the first one, so I feel like I missed a lot of background information.
That being said, it was pretty good, even if it was difficult for me to focus on it.
The PoV split between three main characters; Eli, Tav, and Kite, with Kite being my favorite. She seemed the most dynamic and the one with a clear purpose: to take down her mother and the coven.
The action scenes were decent, but the final battle could have been... bigger?
As I said it was hard for me to focus, as I normally do not enjoy audiobooks.. its really hard to listen to them with two puppies and three boys in the home, however I did put in tremendous effort for this. I did NOT enjoy this narrator. Her voice effects didn't do anything for me, I found them annoying more often than not.

Arc provided by netgalley in the exchange for an honest review.
This book was definitely entertaining. I loved it way more than the first one, there was improvement in the writing and development of the story which I enjoyed. Would totally recommend to my friends!

When requesting this title I didn’t realize it was a sequel. Even though I didn’t read the first one I was able to pick up and understand the main dynamics of the story. I really enjoyed the high fantasy aspects of the fantasy witch world and our world and how they collide. I will admit that I was confused a bit at times but that could be just because I had not read the first one. But I did really enjoy all of the characters. I loved the community feeling of the characters. I really found myself interested in the dynamic of the witches and their society. Overall it was very fast paced and quick read great for everyone that includes an inclusive fantasy.

We find our characters right where the last book left off. Eli is trying to figure out how to manage with her new heart. We also read from Tav and Kite's perspective in this one.

I was a little hesitant with Kite at first because she was kind of all over the place in the last book. Almost too "quirky" in her witchlingness, I wasn't sure if she would be believable as a character. But I found myself rather enjoying her perspective.

Overall, it was a solid read, it was a little slow paced and a bit all over the place at times, but again, I enjoyed my time in this world.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an ALC of this book.

Content Warnings at end of review

Immediately following the events of The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass, this book continues with the war between the Coven and the Witch Children. It adds the pov's of Kite, the Heir, and Tav, the Healer, as they both fight to save the earth from the Coven and Tav tries to understand their new powers.

Unlike the first book, this is slower paced and a lot longer. It allows for more character building to take place, which I think is a plus for this sequel. I still felt a little like I didn't really know the characters or their relationships as well as I would like to.

There are a lot of events happening in this book. I almost feel like it is trying to do too much? There is a lot of magic and world-building elements that I still don't fully understand after two books, and I feel like this would have been more consuming if I had understood those things better.

I do absolutely love the diversity in this series! A lot of different identities amongst the characters that are not shied away from, which I really like.

Pub Date: May 25, 2021

Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Racism and homophobia

The Boi of Feather and Steel by Adan Jerreat-Poole: 2/5 stars*

“There is no we with witches. Only one can rule.”

This book is a sequel to The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass, which follows Eli - an assassin who was created to kill. She is highly-trained in the art of killing, sworn to the Coven and her witch-mother. But when one of her missions doesn’t go as planned, Eli finds herself caught up with a group of rebels who want her to steal the Heart of the Coven. Completing this mission, with the help of new and old friends alike, may be Eli’s only chance to save herself.

The Boi of Feather and Steel begins directly where book 1 leaves off. After reading the first installment (which I equally rated 2/5 ), I wrote the following:
“I’ll be the first to say it - I am confused. The concept is really neat. Witch-made assassins? Queer characters? Magic? I love all of these things! However, I think that the execution leaves something to be desired. It seems like maybe the author has created this really cool world that makes sense to them, so they skipped a few steps when introducing us to it. I hope that in the sequel there will be a little bit more explanation about witchy hierarchy, the magic system and what the heck is happening.”

I think that some of my key criticisms were answered with this sequel. We were walked through more of the witch social hierarchies and Eli’s magic assassin blades, which was very welcome. However, by about halfway through this book I decided that maybe I am just not supposed to understand. The world building is so desperately lacking that my enjoyment of the book was seriously compromised by desperate head scratching. Because I was simultaneously confused and bored by the plot, I did not have time or energy to become attached to the central characters. I do not feel that I had enough background or character development to become invested in the arcs of Eli and Tav and their relationship which is a real shame.

In terms of the representation in this book, Eli, Kite, Cam and Tav are a very queer crew (which I love to see as a queer reader), but I think this book missed the mark specifically with Tav’s character. Tav [a witch-adjacent human] wants to use magic to save the human world from injustice and pain, which is a strong motivator, but whenever Tav’s lived experience as a Black, non-binary, queer character was addressed it felt shallow and cavalier. I think, when injustice is one of Tav’s central motivators, this should have been more meaningfully explored.

The only brand of reader that I would recommend this to are individuals who read for the writing. Adan Jerreat-Poole does write beautiful sentences and paragraphs that are very quotable, but if you tend to prefer plot or character driven books (as I do) this one likely will not be for you.

*Rating system for reviews is as follows:
5/5 - I would recommend this book to anyone and I plan to read it again (likely a book I would call my favourite)
4/5 - I would recommend this book to anyone
3/5 - I would recommend this book if it fit the specific genre/trope/style you were looking for
2/5 - I would not recommend this book, but I will not discourage others from trying it
1/5 - I would discourage you from reading this book