When I first started reading this book, I was certain it would be a 5⭐ read. It has a likeable main character, Fia, who is strong, funny and well developed. She's a changeling left in a human world and no one ever lets her forget it, least of all her own magic that still betrays her at times.

We also have a save the princess storyline which promises action and adventure. But the princess has been living in the fae realm for so long, under a geas, that they find unexpected challenges.

There's a fair amount of spice if you're into that 🫣😁.

What brought this story down for me was the length. There was a lot of repetition in Fia's thoughts. There was a lot of repetition in the book. In order for Fia and Rogan (childhood best friend and a prince who broke her heart years back) to cross to the fae realm it must be on a night of a full moon. And they only have one night in said realm because of they don't leave by sunrise, they'll be trapped for a month. After the first several times of them going, finding miniscule information, and coming back, wash rinse repeat, I was expecting more. I thought maybe they'd stay in the fae realm for a month- imagine the adventures and Intel! Or maybe the Queen who sent them would get impatient and interfere. Again no.

Instead, they are away from home, camped out in ruins month after month while waiting for the next full moon. Don't get me wrong, the ruins themselves have some lore and there was some cute and fun storyline there, and some old feelings & tension between Fia and Rogan, but it too was drawn out.

All in all the pacing was just too slow for me. But my copy is an ARC so there may be changes made to the final copy.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Feather So Black follows Fia, a changeling, and her journey through discovering love is complicated and messy. If you like Sarah J Maas (describing what men smell like and their eye color) and Stephanie Garber (the FMC feelings/emotions are VERY plainly laid out and fairytales but with more teeth) you will probably enjoy this. If you are someone who has read a fantasy romance that has come out in the last 5 years, you don’t need to race to pick this up as it is incredibly similar to everything else on shelves right now BUT I know some people LIKE reading the same thing 5-6 times (WOAH ME INCLUDED SOMETIMES CHILL THIS ISNT A NEGATIVE!) and so I thought I’d give you some comp AUTHORS instead of comp titles. I’m so kind!

Speaking of kindness let’s start with the positive.
-I like the Celtic/Irish inspired world (until we got a few TOO many gaelic words but we are staying positive for now)
-I liked Tir ma nÓg and the Fae.
-I liked SOME of the writing (in a chapter maybe a paragraph but as a whole this is actually a negative)
-I liked the sister and how she was actually mean!! (more later)
-I actually kind of liked Shadow Daddy ™️ in this which is rare for me
-Chandi as a side character needed more page time bc I liked her a lot!!
-The interesting swan maidens and random Few revels were a delight

Okay negatives.
-The pacing is brutal. in the worst possible way this author gets you interested in the world and then ram slams you back into the other with no style or grace. THIS COULD BE FIXED. ADJUST THE TIMELINE. WHY ONLY FULL MOONS/ONCE A MONTH PLEASE!!!
-The constant back and forth between Rohan and Fia was unbearable. I get it! she’s growing out of this relationship. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BEAT THIS IDEA OVER MY HEAD THANK YOU OUCH IT HURTS PLEASE STOP!!!!
-I am not sure the people speaking positively about the world building bc it’s asinine and the ~flowery writing~ does not make up for it
-Our main character is stupid. i’m not being mean, i’m not sure if this is intentional as she doesn’t have memories prior to 8years old and grows up somewhat sheltered or if we are trying to be (unsuccessfully) convinced that she’s actually a ‘sharped weapon’ for the queen and a ‘spy’ that has the most frustrating inner dialogue that counters her ‘training’ ?????
-The word ‘whore’ is thrown around too much for my liking. I get the point but again, ouch my head.
-The ‘development’ chapters are also brutal. I can’t say that I understand the hierarchy in Tir na nog much less Fodla as kingdoms bc when it is described it’s such a mess. Fodla (homeland) has multiple ‘kingdoms’ ? but also there’s one queen…but the prince, Rogan, talks about his own land and how ‘it won’t survive another bad king’ so I am a bit lost in the sauce there
-Since this story is so similar to LOTS of fantasy romance I kept finding myself looking for S O M E T H I N G to anchor myself to this book. There were times I was enjoying myself but then due to the pacing/timeline I’d be ripped from the elements I liked back to bickering with Rogan and gardening for 4 weeks.

I was so desperate to like this. Even now i’m conflicted as to if I am being too harsh or if I am simply outgrowing ‘New Adult Fantasy Romance™️’ as a genre. Which sucks because I LOVE FANTASY! I LOVE ROMANCE! This should be something I LOOOOVE!!

Thank you to Orbit 🖤 and Netgalley for the advanced copy to give my honest review!

I’ll start by saying I liked the story and thought it had a lot of potential. However, I had too many issues with this book that I just couldn’t get past. At times the prose was strong and beautiful, but it often veered into being too much and I would end up lost and unsure of what the author was trying to convey. Then there was the language itself. I appreciate wanting to incorporate language from folklore, but it wasn’t done well here. A strange word would be used with little to no explanation or context. While on the subject of language… can we please use a phallic descriptor other “velvet”?

One of the weirdest parts for me was the use of real quotes at the beginning of each section. It felt super out of place in a fantasy book and took me out of the world a bit. There are multiple plot holes and things that don’t make sense. For example, they’re a day’s ride from home, but had to stay in an abandoned fort for months while waiting for the one day a month they can go into the other realm? And we’re supposed to believe Rogan spent all that time in the abandoned building and didn’t question where all of the food, dresses, gardening supplies, etc. came from? He thought it was villagers sneaking it in for months without him noticing it?

Overall, I was really disappointed. I wanted to like this book so much, but ultimately there was too much detracting from the potential of the plot.

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit Books for this book.

Whete has this author been or rather whete have I been? Loved this book.

It has everything I love. Fantasy, fairytale retelling, magic, spice, mythology, love!

The bookbwas a total adventure from start to finish!

Recommend.

3.5/5

Likes: Irish-inspired folklore, faeries, lyrical descriptions of settings, nature, time, etc., a complicated heroine with a tough exterior and a soft heart, a hot and morally-grey love interest.

Dislikes: the main character, Fia's, flip-flopping with her childhood friend/lover Rogan, slow-moving plot, confusing world-building (I really don't understand the whole tithing thing, why did people need to give their lives for the treasures? I have no idea), not a great development of the main romantic relationship due to the foregoing flip-flopping.

Fia, a changeling who was replaced during childhood with the human queen's daughter who was in turn taken to the fae land, is sent to said fae land to recover the human princess and a treasure that will return magic to the human lands. She is sent with her childhood friend-turned lover-turned ex, Rogan, one of the princes in the human lands, and the betrothed of Eala, the queen's daughter. While in fae land, Fia meets Irian, a powerful fae lord keeping Eala hostage and in possession of the treasure Fia is meant to recover. Fia starts to learn the truth about who she is, about the princess she is meant to recover, and about Irian...the hot and mysterious fae guy.

So much time is spent with this renewed relationship with Rogan though, that I feel like Fia and Irian's relationship was totally underdeveloped. And it was annoying because we could see from the beginning that Rogan never really accepted who she was or her powers so eventually it was like okay, come on now.

Also after that ending, what could possibly happen in the second book I'm not sure. I guess we will see!

I had high hopes for this one, but I did not end up loving it the way that I wanted to. A really cool premise that unfortunately fell flat in the execution of the story.

Fia is immediately described as being so tiny but so badass and she just doesn’t fit in. She’s been forged to be a weapon, and has nature magic, and she’s developed sharp edges from the way she was raised. She felt very one dimensional, and her character felt rather undeveloped. There was not a lot of growth over the course of the book, and then suddenly at the end she goes through a ton of growth in three whiplash chapters.

The biggest issue I had was the relationship between Rogan and Fia. It got old very quickly, and there’s nothing more draining that having to read two characters have the same argument for the entirety of a 400+ page book. On the other hand, I wanted so much more of Irian and Chandi because not only were they the most interesting characters, but they somehow had more depth than any others despite how little we saw of them, especially Chandi. Eala’s character was also there and it was very clear from the start what was going on, which made Fia’s decision making frustrating.

The pacing of this one was also a struggle for me. The way it was sectioned out of going to Tir Na Nog for a full moon and that one night being a full and interesting chapter only to be followed by sometimes multiple chapters of a month of Fia and Rogan just sulking around was not working for me. It made it very difficult to become invested in either plot line.

Overall I would say this is a 3⭐️ read for me. I’m not sure if I would continue the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for allowing me an early read of this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.

The more words I cannot pronounce in a fantasy novel, the better the fantasy novel. Yes, I am aware all these words exist and are not made up, but I was struggling man.

I split this review into three parts, to follow the three parts of the book. Each section has which part it is above it

Part 1
This book employs my favorite method to world building, which is we learn the world as we go. I don’t like info dumps in books, for me it takes me out of the story because I’m trying to process everything, but here we get bits of information as we go or in the various flashbacks Fia has.

At the party at the end of part 1 where the story really picks up, I wasn’t sure how to feel about our friends in the folk world. Going off what I know of the swan lake tale and from other books I’ve read with a separate fae world, I didn’t trust Eala. Just as Fia has grown accustomed to the human world and shunned her folk side, I assumed Eala had done the same in reverse. Another character I didn’t completely trust was Rogan. I don’t have a concrete reason why I felt this way in part 1, but the vibes weren’t vibing.

Part 2
Fia realizing all the manipulation the queen has done to her absolutely crushed my heart. Reading her realizing all along that there was an underlying meaning behind what she was always told and realizing all that her mother had kept from her hit me. Fia going through a personal journey of understanding her greenmark more and what all she can do with it and changing her own viewpoint on it is beautiful and I can’t wait to see how it continues in part 3.

I am so suspicious of Eala and her true intentions, I don’t believe she’s an innocent who just want to return to the human world. Just like Fia was raised by humans, she was raised by the folk and is more like them than Fia will let herself realize. I think that she’s going to sacrifice Rogan in the process of trying to free herself, further alienating herself from Fia.

Irian is the best character in this book. While I am enjoying Fia as a narrator and have no qualms with her, Irian is stealing the show and I’m here for it.

Part 3
I am staring into the void trying to make sense of the last ~20% of the book.

I knew Eala was going to sacrifice someone, I just assumed she was going to kill Rogan not her fellow swan maidens. I mean she kinda does sacrifice Rogan by turning him into a brain-less lackey, but not like dead sacrifice.

IRIAN MY PRECIOUS LITTE BOY. I was very very scared for a second. I knew there was a book 2, so I hoped the four main players would at least live for that book, but there were moments where I didn’t think it would happen.

Fia having the big brain moment to sacrifice her own heart to the tree of life and the corra and being the heir of the sept of antlers had my jaw on the floor. Every time I feel like I’m getting smarter than fantasy writers y’all pull something else out of the hat and I’m suprised all over again, I love it!

Overall
I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK 2 OR FOR THIS BOOK TO COME OUT!!!! I will definitely be buying a hard copy for the trophy shelf, recommending this it all my friends and family and anyone else I can get to listen, and thinking about this book for the next month. I did give it 4/5 stars for two reasons. 1) it has room to grow and the second book has a chance to overthrow this one. 2) while this book was very captivating when I started reading it, it was also very easy to put down. I don’t say that’s necessarily a negative, but I didn’t get drawn into the story until the last ~40% of the book.

Although this book was promising, there were several issues that made it fall flat. The story had potential and the writing was beautiful; however, I only made it about 70% through the book before I couldn’t go any further. One major issue was the pacing. It really threw me off. I felt like we sped through the parts where Fia was in the human realm just to slow it down in the magical realm. I didn’t really understand the purpose of her going back and forth between the two realms at all? Maybe that would have been clearer later in the book, but I wasn’t invested enough to find out. Also, the relationships between the characters didn’t seem fleshed out at all. Fia seemed to create opinions about other characters with little to no interaction with them. She had pined after Rogan for years, but it didn’t feel genuine since the book begins after their relationship had already fractured. She trusted then mistrusted her sister, but only interacted with her a handful of times. She felt a strong bond with Irian, but it didn’t come alive for me on the page since the attraction didn’t have a firm foundation to begin with. I just couldn’t invest myself in the interactions among the characters. Although I really wanted to love this book, it didn’t hold my interest. I look forward to seeing what the author has to offer in the future as I think she can and will write some amazing works, but A Feather So Black just wasn’t it for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for the digital arc of this book.

“A Feather So Black” is a lyrical story of a swan princess and the changeling that was left behind in her place. This enchanting tale contains a prince and a shadow heir; opposing kingdoms, magical treasures, and a mysterious living building.

For those who enjoy:
🦢Swan Princess Retelling
🦢Romantasy
🦢Love Triangle (Square?)
🦢Nature Magic
🦢Folk and Faeries
🦢Morally Grey Love Interest

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning was a bit slow but as you get invested in trying to figure out who is truthful and who is lying it really sucks you in. The writing felt like poetry. I am very curious to see where the series goes from here.

A Feather So Black is a Swan Lake retelling, full of Celtic mythology and all the intriguing magical mysteries. Fia, a half-magical changeling left in the human world, is sent by her mother the Queen to retrieve Princess Eala–the true heir to the kingdom and the child with whom she was switched. Eala was brought to the world of the Fair Folk, Tír na nÓg, where she and 12 other girls were cursed to live as swans by day, overseen by the tánaiste Irian.

Though raised to be a weapon, Fia is forced to make the journey with Prince Rogan, her childhood love and Eala’s betrothed. Rogan may have broken her heart, but will being this close to him cause those feelings to resurface? Even if he isn’t meant for her? And what about the dark, shadowy tánaiste? Is he as evil as she has been told?

My Thoughts:
Immediately, I would have strongly preferred the glossary/pronunciation guide at the very beginning of the book. Google became my best friend throughout my reading journey, as 1: I couldn’t pronounce half of the words and 2: I didn’t know what the words meant even in context. Though it is very appreciated a guide was included when words from another language and culture are used, seeing this information right away better prepares me as a reader.

That being said, I really enjoyed this story, especially the nature of the magical system and the Celtic mythology inspiration. Every second in Tír na nÓg was so enchanting, from each of the septs, to the 12 human girls and their abilities, to the monsters in the woods. Selene’s writing style is spellbindingly descriptive, and I felt transported to this world with every sentence.

I LOVE me a good triangle but this was more of a love square. We all knew how things would end with Rogan, but I was literally shouting at Fia every time she’d contradict or repeat herself with him. GIRL. You know you won’t end up with him. You know he’s going to marry your “sister.” You know you likely shouldn’t fuck him…but all logic goes right out the window. And then you feel guilty. And thus the cycle repeats. After the second mistake with Rogan, I basically started skimming to whenever Irian would make an appearance instead. BECAUSE SHADOW DADDY. Enough said. His and Fia’s love arc didn’t feel right to me for some reason though. Maybe it was too fast, or maybe it didn’t feel all that genuine, idk. The lust was 10000% there and the spice was spicing, but love? I’m not so sure.

Corra is the best character in this book though hands down.

VERY interested to see what comes next for these characters, as the ending left me with a LOT of questions. I’ve read an obscene amount of romantasy, so I’m always looking to be wowed by a unique story in this genre. A Feather So Black did just that. Bravo to Lyra Selene on her debut novel!! I'd highly recommend this one.

*Goodeads review to post closer the publishing date*

Loved this fairytale retelling with Celtic mythology mixed in! Fia's character growth was done so well, her journey of self-discovery, her awakening to realize that what she truly deserves is love, respect and loyalty. The magic system, based in nature was perfect, the beauty leapt off the page. The weaving of the world building with the story was very well done, none of it felt clunky. I'll look forward to the second book in the series.

Twelve girls are stolen from the human realm, including the High Queens beloved daughter Eala, and taken to the fairy realm Tír na nÓg. Fia, the changeling left in exchange for the princess is raised to be the Queens weapon and spy. Eala is bound to the realm by a curse, spending her days as a swan and returning to her human form by night. When a gate to the fairy realm is found, Fia and prince Rogan, Eala’s betrothed and Fia’s love, are sent to rescue her. Fia soon learns that not everything is as it seems and she will be forced to choose between duty and her heart.

A Feather so Black is the exciting first book in the Fair Folk series. I read quite a bit of Fae fantasy so I wasn’t expecting anything too new going into this one but surprisingly it had some new twists that were quite enjoyable. Fia has a “gift” which is introduced as a bit of a curse when she changes living things into plants. I enjoyed several of the characters, like the feisty little sprite, which added a lot of charm…plus you can’t go wrong with hot fae lords I look forward to reading the next novel in this series when it comes out. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy steamy fae romance.

A Feather So Black drew me in with its premise and cover then proceeded to keep me captivated with its lovely writing and well developed cast.
Pros
-ties to Celtic mythos
-Slow burn with enemies to lovers vibes
-morally grey characters
Cons
-Pacing: the first fourth of this work felt so slow
Who I recommend this title for
Fans of books that have a strong tie to folklore and myth will find that A Feather So Black is a delight.

DNF at 25%. I liked the characters so far and I feel like it might get a lot better. I'm just finding myself not getting into the world very well. There isn't enough intrigue to keep me wanting to read. It might be that it's just a little too fantasy for my liking.

I’ve read so much fae romantasy in the last year that I was cautiously optimistic going into this one - I’ve never been more pleasantly surprised. I’ve been absolutely yearning for this without even realizing it.

Lyra Selene’s writing style mixed with the ties to folklore, myth, and the imagery (like swans and 12 princesses) anchoring the story in such classic tales gave A Feather So Black almost a nostalgic air for me. I felt like I was immersed in a fairy tale, the classic kind with a lesson to teach, unsure if things would actually end happily or tragically. The way this plays into Fia’s own personal feelings about stories was just the cherry on top.

The characters in this book were so interesting from top to bottom - the way my feelings for them changed slowly as the story carried on really helped sell the timeline of the book. While the story took place over a year, the pacing didn’t drag or feel rushed. The side characters were all interesting in their own way without distracting me. Fia’s complicated feelings about herself and her place in the world felt purposeful and important (instead of a cyclical character quirk like we often see in this genre) and she was the capable, kindhearted, powerful protagonist I was hoping for. I just so truly, thoroughly, enjoyed this read!

This book is so goooooood!!

You have a changeling raised in the human world and doesn’t remember her life before then. Shes raised by a queen whose own daughter was stolen by the fae. The queen mother is reminiscent of the mother from tangled. That manipulative love that’s not really love but toxic and selfish. Fia, the changeling, goes through a lot of growth in this book. She was raised to despise fae (and therefore half of herself) but she does indeed find herself and learn to love herself. It’s so beautifully written. The love triangles are there. The dark fae lord (shadow daddy) is there. The spicy scenes are there. The world development and character development is there. Just a fabulous book!

This was overall a very enjoyable romantasy! I admit I wasn't a huge fan of either of the love interests, especially Rogan, but I enjoyed the mythology, the magic, and the manipulations. The pace picked up a lot in the final third and had me racing towards the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚏 𝙰 𝙵𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚘 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔, 𝙱𝚢: 𝙻𝚢𝚛𝚊 𝚂𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚎

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
🦢 Fantasy romance
🦢Curses
🦢 Enemies to lovers
🦢 Love triangle
🦢 Swan princess retelling
🦢 Morally Grey hero
🦢 Strong fmc
🦢 Slow burn tension
🦢 Celtic mythology

“Set in a world of perilous magic and moonlit forests, this seductive romantic fantasy tells the tale of a defiant changeling, her cursed sister and the dangerous fae lord she must defeat to save her family.”

To start I really enjoyed the writing, it was vivid without being too flowery. I enjoyed the accuracy of the Celtic mythology used within. I would have liked for the glossary to have been located at the beginning of the novel instead of the end so I was not mispronouncing words throughout the entirety of the read. The plot touched on themes of toxic parental relationships, trauma, and self acceptance.

I liked Fia as a fmc and thought her botanical magic was unique. I enjoyed her arc and watching her self acceptance. I loved that she was strong willed, relatable yet flawed.

Rogan, Fia’s childhood friend, is the king of gaslighting and that’s all I care to mention of him. Irian was far more interesting and being the misunderstood morally grey character he is, I inevitably fell for him.

What threw this book off course for me was the pacing. The read started out promising but the middle and end seemed to come to a halt and was repetitive. At times I was wishing for more in depth world building during the “slow parts”. There were two big plot twists at the end, one of which I did not predict.

I suggest this read to those who enjoy new takes on classic fairytales with some unexpected spice and enemies to lovers element.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for an arc copy of this book in exchange for a honest opinion.

Pub date: 12, March 2024

I really LOVED this book. I could not put it down after about 20% in. If this book doesn't blow up I am going to be so disappointed!

I really resonated with the MFC Fia. She goes through what I would describe as an identity crisis of not know who she is or what she wants to be. Many of us can relate this struggle of not knowing whether to be ourselves or be what others wanted for us. I loved getting to see Fia work through these mixed feelings and I really loved where she ended up.

I cannot wait for more from this series