This book was a good balance of plot and romance. I really liked the lore elements that were introduced, but they weren't too heavy-handed. This is a fun standalone story with a fresh take on the fallout after a human-fae-magical war. It felt adult, and there were good character interactions. I did wish that the romance was a little slower burn.

“Love is rarely anything but a prelude to tragedy.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m bewildered. This was a breathtakingly gorgeous twisted fairytale.

You may also be bewitched by A Feather So Black if you like:
- Celtic mythology met with a twisted Swan Princess folktale 🦢
- Lush romantic fantasy 🥀
- Dark twisty fae earth magic 🌿
- Friends to lovers 💛
- AND enemies to lovers? ⚔️
- And who couldn’t use another morally gray man with shadow magic? 🖤

Fía, a defiant changling, and her dashing prince are tasked with travelling to the land of the Fair Folk to save her stolen sister (and the prince’s betrothed), and defeat a dangerous fae lord in the process.

Only able to travel between realms on the full moon, Fía soon learns her sister is cursed to become a swan by day and only return to her true form at night. And that dark fae lord? He might be more monster than man, but he seems to understand Fia in a way no one else ever has… 👀

It is reminiscent of the romantic prose style of For the Wolf, Where the Dark Stands Still, and A River Enchanted. I can’t wait for the story to continue in book two (the downside of advanced copies).

Thank you to Orbit Books, NetGalley and Lyra Selene for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. A Feather So Black comes out on Tuesday, March 12th.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. I’m a sucker for an Irish folklore based story and this has that.

The one thing I didn’t care for, is how obvious some of the characters were in their duplicity. It made Fia, the FMC, seem really naive. That being said, she is raised in an emotionally and sometimes physically, abusive environment. All she craves is to be loved, so I understand how she would choose to ignore it. I just think it would have been nice if we as the readers also weren’t quite so aware of it.

There’s a bit of a love triangle to this story, which is hit or miss for me, but it worked in this. More so to show Fia’s own growth. I wouldn’t say there was much tension to it in the romance sense of the story though.

All in all, I think this is a good book for her adult novel debut and I will definitely read the next book in the series.

Thanks to Orbit for the gifted copy of this book!

“You are all those things and more. You are dangerous and intoxicating. You are the darkness and the starlight shining within. You are whatever you wish yourself to be. Do not let anyone tell you what you are or what you are not.”

Fia is a changeling, swapped with a Queen's daughter at a young age and raised in the human world. As a woman, she is tasked with using a hidden gate to the fae realm to bring back the Queen's daughter, save magic, and stop an impending war.

A FEATHER SO BLACK is a perfect March read, filled with rich folk magic and Irish mythology. It is definitely a slower-paced read filled with a lot of new vocabulary (and thankfully a glossary at the back), but one that I really enjoyed savoring over a week of reading. The forest is brought to life so vividly through lyrical writing, and I loved Fia's personal growth as she interacted with the Folk and and re-evaluated the relationships in her life and her upbringing. The romance storyline was also really captivating, with a love triangle and morally grey shadow daddy. Highly recommend this one!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.*

I had no expectations of the book going in, thankfully, because this is more of a romance with fantasy elements sprinkled in than it is a fantasy with a romance subplot. I didn't mind this, but I saw this book was said to have Cruel Prince vibes and those aren't the vibes I got. It felt more like it was trying to be the next ACOTAR.

However, I did still really enjoy this book. I read this at a time when I wasn't fully wanting a high fantasy story, so I connected pretty well with this. There are a lot of tropes in this book. "Shadow daddy", love triangle (square?), friends to lovers, forbidden romance, arranged marriage, etc. There's also mommy issues and an identity crisis.

I really connected with the main character's desire to just be loved by someone. Whether it be the boy she loves, or her mother, or the person walking down the street, she just wants to feel like someone cares.

There was a lot of tension and a slight miscommunication trope going on with the main character and lover boy at the beginning. They kind of resolved/talked about it about halfway through the book. I didn't really like lover boy though. Tamlin 2.0 anyone? I don't know, it felt like the author was trying to get us to fall in love with him, just to fall in love with our dark and mysterious character later on, but I've been tricked before and I won't fall for another Tamlin. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way and I just never completely trusted him.

I did like our dark and mysterious guy, but I could have liked him more. But we only got to spend like one day a month with him so I completely understand that maybe we won't be completely under his spell until book 2. I'm almost there, but not quite.

The plot of the book was actually very slow. Nothing really happens until the very end of the book. The whole middle of the book is mostly focused on the relationships. There are some plot developments in the middle of the book, but it seemed like these developments didn't go anywhere until the end.

Even though the plot was a bit slow, the premise of this book was actually super interesting. I haven't read many books with changelings, so this was super fun for me. I really like the idea of the princess getting replaced with a changeling.

The author had some really nice and emotional prose in the book from time to time. There's a confrontation with shadow daddy and the main character at one point and I really felt that right with her.

The author did a good job with the writing, but I hope the second book is just a little more captivating. I wanted to be fooled by the characters who betrayed the main character, but I wasn't able to trust a single person in the book, so I never really got that chance.

I can't wait to see where the second book takes. The ending of this one was done really well, in my opinion. There wasn't really a cliffhanger at the end, which was kind of nice. It just leaves it open and you wondering where the author will take it.

Thank you to netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to love this book, and there were some really great pro's!
The writing itself was pretty and the different settings were described beautifully, even if I felt the story itself was a little lackluster.

1. To start, the pacing was rough. It started so slow, and then by the end it felt like we were rushing to get a conclusion before the book ended. The only time anything happened was in the Fairyland, but we barely spent any time there. So much of the time was just filler until they went back, and I still don't understand what the castle by the gate and the magic creature there had to do with any of the plot.

2. The random celtic (I think) words could have added to the story, but she used them so much and then never explained what she was talking about. It was tricky to get into a story when I have to keep stop and looking up words to know what is even going on. It felt like I was trying to read an entire story in a different language instead of pulling in cultural elements. It was also extremely info dumpy at times, especially in the beginning, that I felt like I wasn't even retaining any of the information that they wanted me to.

3. Our MC was just so dumb. But then also randomly just understood things out of nowhere. She was so easily manipulated by everyone around her. She never learned. She talks so much about how she was forged into a weapon but we never actually see her be successful at it, except that she can dive into a frozen lake and survive I guess. She just has no critical thinking skills even when it's so so clear she's being lied to. How she randomly discovered how to save the day at the end I'll never know. I can forgive her not realizing her mom was manipulating her because she was just so desperate to be loved. But her sister? From the story Rogan told about her, to every single conversation Fia had with her it was clear she was trying to manipulate.

4. The romances. So bland. I understand the initial falling for the prince, because he was the one person who showed her kindness growing up. But man he's so spineless and his only trait is having the hots for her. I even understand her succumbing to his "charms" because of her attachment. But that's genuinely all he had going for him. He was there, and he wasn't mean to her. But his attachment to her was just as shallow. There was nothing holding them together so why it took them so long to end it is beyond me. And once they ended it that was just kind of it? There was no aftermath or addition to the plot. We just moved on to the point that if they had just been friends the whole time the story would have been the same.
The other romance was at least more interesting if not any deeper. It still seemed like that love also happened as a matter of convenience though due to the lack of time they actually spent together. She was there and his skin didn't burn her so he fell in love. For how much of the book was focused on the romance instead of plot, we still barely got to explore actual depth to their relationship.

5. What happened to the random dude that she owes a kiss to?

6. The ending was abrupt. She suddenly knows how to save him, and her, and the world. Clearly there are things left unresolved for us to discover in the next one, but it just felt so convenient that she found the perfect solution with no real build up / quality foreshadowing to her thought process.

A huge thank you to Lyra Selene, Orbit Books and Netgalley for this eARC of A Feather So Black in exchange for an honest review. This book would be perfect for anyone who loved One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns, also published by Orbit Books.

I loved so, so much about A Feather So Black. The prose is wonderful, the worldbuilding is immaculate, the story and lore were beautiful and haunting and sad and lovely. This story feels like Blackswan, but if the tension between light and dark, good and evil, was between two estranged sisters. Between the humans and the fairy. Between a mother and her daughter. Between your first love and your last.

I'm giving this four stars, because while I thought the story was wonderful, it felt a bit long. I think there could have been a bit more pairing down to keep my interest peaked. It took me quite a few days to get through this story, and I found myself daydreaming and wandering off just due to some of the length.

I cannot wait to get my special edition copy from Fairyloot.

This was so refreshing. I’ve been in a reading slump and getting annoyed with the predictability/redundancy of the “fantasy formula”. Of course this has some of those things- but those are the things that entice you to want to read it in the first place. Such as shadow daddy’s and smart mouthed and introspective fmcs. The writing in this was beautiful, the story interesting and I just feel like it did right by the genre in a way I haven’t gotten from a lot of what I’ve been picking up and looking forward to this year.

The writing was so lyrical that at times it just became a little overdone. The attention to detail and poetic way of describing literally everything with a multilayered and imaginative way got a little heavy about 3/4 in, for a while. I think this is part of the reason the pace fell off for me for a moment from about the 65-75% mark, but my interest and appreciation for that writing was sparkled again from that point through the end once the plot picked back up.

I saw a red flag in the beginning when it mentioned multiple times on one page how small the fmc is because I’m tired of that trope, but it didn’t become an ongoing thing and I’m glad I didn’t let them put me off. It’s just a trope I’m over hearing and I don’t think needs to keep happening. I forgot about it until it was mentioned one more time in the bonus chapter, so I forgive it (still don’t care for it though)

Lastly, a man smelling like “moonlight and ice water” is silly, especially when it’s mentioned more than once, but that’s fantasy for you (respectfully)

Mind the glossary in the back for help understanding the Celtic folklore, or you might feel a little lost with the creatures and world building.

Despite those things, I’m still going to give it 4.5 solid stars. You can tell a lot of care went into it. I liked the characters, their backstories, we had good villains, GORGEOUS nature magic, comedic relief via silly folk-creatures, researched and interesting folklore, character arcs, twists… I loved it and can’t wait for book two.

I loved the concept of this book. A Black Swan retelling? So fun!

It took me way too long to get into this book though. The writing, though beautiful, felt like nothing happened for a long time.

It’s a typical fantasy with a love triangle, a best friend love interest, and a shadow magic wielding character. It was fine. I didn’t love it or hate it.

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene - ebook ARC

Botanical Magic, atmospheric fairytale vibes, romance, angst, monsters, and has some spice…. This books has a little dash of everything that makes an addictive and engaging read! This book had me from the very beginning. It had a familiar vibe but such a unique plot and the magic is so flippin cool! Fia our main female character is “forced” to accompany the one who has your heart to go and rescue his betrothed. That dynamic alone is worth the read but there is so much more! If you love a book for a vibe that is filled with all the other good stuff… you need to add this to your TBR. The plot, the characters, the themes, the PROSE!!!! This is an enchanting read, my only complaint is the end! I need book 2 now.

Loved this unexpected read and can’t wait for more!

There have always been stories told about the fae that steal a human child and in that childs place leave behind something else, something not human.

Fia was left behind years ago when the Queens daughter Eala was stolen from her bed and in her p[ace a child left behind. A child known immediately as not being the princess if only because of her mismatched eyes.The queen loathed the changeling left in her daughters place only deciding long after mistreating her that she could be used. She had a greenmark, the woods and earth flowed through her and she could command them. That is something the Queen saught to use.

Many years later the Queen sends Fia on a mission to go into the Fae lands called Tor Na Nog to break the geas placed upon Eala and the 12 other princess's that were stolen from their beds. She sends Fia with a Prince named Rogan the one man that she knows Fia will not say no to for they have been in love since Fia arrived but Rogan is betrothed to Eala and must help find a way to break the geas so they can be wed and their kingdoms united. However the Queen has anoter task for Fia. She wants wild magic returned to the land at any cost, Fia is meant to return with a treasure called the Sky Sword which is the last item that holds the wild magic at bay.

Going to Tor Na Nog has awakened the green and black blood running through Fia's blood, awakening desires she was scared to confront. Claiming the Sky Sword will not be as easy as she hoped for, she must take it from Irian that Fae Gentry that holds the geas to the princess. Breaking the geas will not be what they thought, if Irian dies so to do the princesses ut come Samhain if he has not tithed the sky sword he will die and so too will the princesses. Fia and Rogan face an impossible task to find a way to break the geas. As time passes and they go into Tor Na Nog on the full moons they find themselves drifting from eachother anda chasm beginning where once Rogan and Fia were so close.

#AFeatherSoBlack by LyraSelene will whisk you away into enchanted lands of the Fae. Don't forget behind every enchanting thing found in Tor Na Nog something dark lurks.

Thank you #Netgalley and #Orbitbooks for the chance to read the eArc of #AFeatherSoBlack by #LyraSelene in return for a fair and honest review.

A Feather so Black pulls from Celtic mythology, it was new and unique for me. So I don’t have any critique on that aspect of it. I enjoyed the main character, Fia, she was independent and strong willed. Fia is a changeling (not quite human, not quite Folk), who is living in the human realm as the Queen’s foster daughter. Fia is eventually sent on a quest to find/save the Queen’s real daughter, who was kidnapped 12 years ago and has been in the Folk realm ever since. There is a love triangle, I’ve also heard some say it’s a love square. The first half of the book somewhat dragged for me, I had a hard time picking it up, it took me 12 days to finish. I sped through the last 40-50% though. I did not see the ending coming, I’m not sure yet if I was a fan of the ‘After’, the epilogue if you will. I will read the 2nd book when it comes out, very interested to see what comes of these characters.

My absolute favorite character in this book was Corra. Corra is a side character who doesn’t have a body, more of a spirit, and just flits around from object to object, mostly carvings on walls. When Fia comes across Corra for the first time, Corra describes themselves as such:

‘We are broken hearts and old sorrows. We are crumbling rocks and empty glasses and forgotten hallways and the tolling of the bell in the highest tower.’

Corra had a lot of great things to say, this being one of the first things, and I knew right then that this character was going to be great:

‘We tend to stray as time slips away - centuries, years, and minutes at play. No one to talk to. Well… no one who’ll stay.’

One bone I have to pick with this book was the amount of times something tasted or smelled like something… here are some examples:

’Tasted like all the things I’d told myself I didn’t want.’
‘Smell his sharp male scent of sun-warmed rock and vetiver.’
‘Scent of warm steel and spiced soap filled my nostrils.’
‘Smell his sharp, masculine scent, like sun-warmed skin and vetiver.’
’Smelled caustic, like carrion and burnt metal.’
‘Smell the sharp, spicy scent of his soap - vetiver and anise.’
’Smell - like sun-warmed metal and spicy musk.’
’Tasted of desire and resentment and wasted time.’
‘Taste of his lips - sweet as honey mead.’
‘Scent - like sun-warmed metal and spiced wine.’
‘Smelled like sunlight on grass, warm as the memory of a long-lost summer’s day.’
‘Scent of cool wind and black metal.’
’Sharp scent - like ice-chased water and cold steel.’
’Tasted like caged lightning and cold nights.’
‘Tasted like cold wind and new-forged metal.’
’Tasted blood and heat and ice-chased metal.’
‘Tasted of indescribable things - of sleepless nights and hidden desires.’
‘Inhaled the cool-bright scent of him, like moonlight and ice water.’
‘Tasted like old memories and spiced secrets.’
‘Tasted like unsung songs. Unspoken regrets. Unshed tears.’
‘Smelled like moonlight and ice water.’

Now that I’ve put this all out there you can tell the different people she is describing based on these descriptions. One part of the love triangle is ‘warm’ and the other is more ‘cold’.

This book is not for you if:
You don’t like extremely descriptive writing (as seen above with the tastes/smells).
You don’t like a glossary for words you’ve never seen or heard in your life.

I’ll leave you with one last quote:

‘It seemed brutally unfair that love did not follow the same laws of balance that nature did. Love could be offered but spurned; longed for but unrequited. Love could simply end - in heartbreak or triumph or slow, dull fade.’

This was exactly what I wanted it to be! I adore retellings, and Swan Lake is one of my favorites. I also love the ancient Irish tale of the Children of Lir, which likely inspired the ballet, so the Irish Celtic vibes of this were perfect. Fia is a changeling, left in the High Queen’s castle after the princess was kidnapped along with eleven other maidens in an act that halted open conflict in the long war between humans and Fae. Burdened with strange magic, Fia is raised to be a weapon in the Queen’s arsenal. Our story begins when she is sent to rescue Princess Eala, in company with the prince who was her childhood companion and first love, and who also happens to be promised in marriage to the Queen’s true daughter. No one’s motives are entirely clear, and Fia begins to discover how little she knows about the world and her place in it.

The characterization was the standout in this novel. Everyone is more than they seem, and most have nuanced and layered personalities, motives, and growth. The world-building was engaging, with minimal info-dumping. I enjoyed the writing, but my only real critique was with pacing. There were times when things seem to proceed in fits and starts, with a long buildup only to have something revealed in a moment that felt anti-climactic. This was a minor complaint for me in an otherwise exceptional story, though. I will absolutely be continuing the series, and I highly recommend this to any lovers of retellings, Irish Celtic lore, complicated characters, and plot-heavy fantasy with a strong romance element!

Let's lead with some quotes from this gorgeously written romantasy novel:

"I might not mind oblivion, if you were the one to deliver it."
"Princeling. Changeling. I've missed you."
"When you give me your heart, colleen, I want all of it. I want all of you. If you are sharp with broken thorns, let them cut me. If you churn with dark shadows, let them engulf me. And if your love destroys me, let it destroy me. I am already a doomed man."

A Feather So Black is a black swan retelling full of Celtic mythology, complex characters, and lyrical immersive prose. Fia is a changeling, left in the human world to be raised by a Queen whose own daughter has been kidnapped by the high fae and held captive by a curse that turns her and her 12 companions into swans every night. Fia has been ruthlessly trained to become an assassin, raised alongside her childhood friend, Prince Rogan, who eventually become one another's first loves. However, Rogan is betrothed to the captured human princess, Eala, and he and Fia are sent on a dangerous mission into the Fae realms to rescue her. Fia and Rogan are only able to cross the gates into the fae realms for one night each month, so the story follows them over a year of those encounters. 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 and her botanical magic 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.

I so enjoyed the unique magical world, Fia's botanical magic, the morally grey heroes and heroines, the love triangle/square, and the way Selene uses story-telling and riddles as a plot device and communication tool between Fia and Irian. There are magical castles, dark conniving fae monsters, and a high-stake mission that held my attention until the conclusion! It ends with a HFN, and I am excited for the next book.

DNF at 21%. This wasn't for me. Fia was pretty annoying and she kept needing to mention just how small and dainty she is but fights like a ninja. Her personality consists only on pining over Rogan or doing what the queen says and she feels really cardboard-y in rest. The prose also seems pretty YA, despite this being marketed as an Adult book.

I had a hard time rating this one because I enjoyed it but it also took me forever to read it because the plot moves at a glacial pace. It wasn’t until the last 50 pages or so that the plot really picked up and the book had me invested. The best part of this book was the slow burn romance but it really doesn’t pick up until the second half of the book so be warned! There is a lot of gardening and sitting around going on in this book.

I was very excited when I was approved for A Feather So Black. I was sold on the premise: changelings, a quest to get the mortal princess back, complicated relationships. It sounded like the exact kind of fearie themed fantasy I’ve liked in the past. However, A Feather So Black didn’t work for me.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve bounced off the beginning of a book as hard as I did here. My main issue with Fia was a pet peeve of mine, but that, unfortunately, affected how I viewed the story, and it dampened my overall interest in what was happening.

It’s a case where it’s me, not the book. I still think this one will appeal to many, and I encourage you to read other reviews and make up your own mind abou A Feather So Black.

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Orbit Books and Lyra Selene for allowing me to review this book.

I liked the plot and story of this book. However, I wish I would've done more research into what the story was actually going to entail. It was very hard for me to keep up with all of the Gaelic terminology; books like this are not usually ones that I go for because it is hard for me to keep up. That part of my review is fully my responsibility for not looking at it beforehand.

I felt like the "world building" was basically non-existent. Especially with there being two different realms, I don't think it was explained well enough. I was left feeling confused about a lot of the meaning behind the different realms and why they were so separate. I understand there was a war, but why did those girls get stolen? Were they chosen for a purpose? Were the other girls also princesses? No explanation, unless I missed it.

I had higher hopes for this book. It took me a long time to get interested in it, but it also took me a long time to finish. It was descriptive, but at times maybe too descriptive and I forgot what she was even explaining in the first place.

I know this will be a series, but I do wish we could have gotten some answers at the end. I don't feel compelled to read the next one in the series, but I guess we will see.

I loved this!
I was going through a bit of a slump and I found it was hard to actually sit down and read. Which is probably why the beginning of this book seemed slow.
Once I got the chance to put a lot of time into a reading session, I got really into the story.
It’s very rich storytelling. I think there’s a very whimsical aspect to this book that I found quite refreshing.

It’s a little bit different as far as structure goes because we’re getting time skips in between events. The story mostly taking place on every night they can enter Tir na Nog.
Personally, I didn’t find this disruptive. The story felt smooth even with the time skips. I can see why some people might find it choppy, but I didn’t.
I’m still wondering how this book made me fall for Rogan in the beginning and Irian by the end.
It’s a brilliantly executed romance and I really want more of Fia and Irian.
I hope there will be a second book because my only complaint is that Fia and Irian didn’t get enough time to breathe as a couple. The buildup is there, and it’s well done, but I wanted more content of them actually being together and we really only get it at the end.

A fairy tale without a fairy tale ending.
Admittedly, I was a little annoyed having to constantly flip back and forth to the glossary in the first 10-15%. I also found a few words that would have benefitted from being added (lough, for instance).
However, once I started to internalize the meanings of these words, I absolutely ATE this book up. A heroine raised to be cutthroat, to trust no one but her single-minded mother, to kill, to poison, to destroy. A childhood best friend who will do anything to have her, and a mysterious fae man she can't help but fall for. Twelve swan princesses stolen from their human parents and raised in Tir na nOg, desperate to escape their curse. A magical artifact that could change the world. A power within, waiting to be recognized.
Yes, the prose is flowery and sparkles like moonlight. It is, after all, a fairy tale. Yes, the man-she-must-not-fall-for is wreathed in feathery shadows. I loved this book all the same.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me early access to this book! I desperately await the sequel.