A Feather So Black is a dark fairytale retelling inspired by Celtic mythology. Fia is changeling, switched with the beloved princess by the wicked fair folk. She is raised by her queen mother to be a spy, but is despised by all else because of her fae blood which gives her a magic she doesn’t understand. Meanwhile the princess is bound to the fae lands and cursed to be a swan during the day. When a gate to the fae land is discovered, Fia is sent to rescue the princess.

I always love a Cruel Prince-like wicked fae land as a setting. Fia coming to terms with her upbringing and who she is makes her a great main character. Sometimes what the author said about her and her actions did not line up, but ultimately that was something I could look over in the end. There is a love triangle, which I found redeemable because one of legs of the triangle is clearly weaker than the other and it was more a character development tool. I am very excited for the next installment.

This is for the girlies who like wicked fae, a morally grey love interest, dark fairytales, and complex characters.

Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

This just felt empty?

I wanted to like it as changeling stories are right up my alley, but there was very little depth to this. The whole thing was filled with surface level ideas that were mishmashed with other recent romantasy tropes. The whole genre feels like it's authors writing like their characters are just thin paper dolls with no real motives or agency that makes sense for the story.

The love square was silly and very obvious as to how it would end up. It's also much too long for a story that doesn't explain anything especially for the world building. The lore felt like far away backdrop for the annoying characters to stand in front of.

This is the first in a trilogy inspired by Celtic mythology and I am here for it! This steamy romantasy focuses on Fia, a rare changeling, who is part human and part Folk. She was raised by the human High Queen whose human daughter was stolen and Fia was left in her place. Princess Eala, the Queen's daughter by blood, is being held captive in the folk region of Tír na nÓg. As a part of her captivity, Princess Ella was cursed to be a swan twenty-eight days of the month. Fia and her childhood friend Rogan are tasked with missions from the High Queen to rescue Eala and steal a powerful weapon that will assist the human realm gain power over the Folk. They are able to enter Tír na nÓg once a month, when a forgotten gate to the Folk realm is discovered, however, must return before sunrise or risk being trapped. As each month passes, Fia grows closer to the dark-hearted Gentry lord holding Eala captive.

First off, I'll say 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. I do wish I had a pronunciation guide but hey, that's what Google is for, right? The writing left me entranced and absolutely longing for more. The ending I did not see coming whatsoever and I’m still gathering my emotions because it was honestly intense. I loved this so much and can't wait for the second book. I will also be buying this in hardcover so I can highlight and annotate.

This book showed so much potential, but unfortunately missed the mark, as many YA fantasies do, at successfully fleshing out the ideas introduced at the beginning of the book. I loved the concept, the retelling aspect, and the atmosphere, but the insta love and lack of character development left me without any desire to continue with the series.

I loved this. If you like a good fae romance with a “shadow daddy” MMC, this is for you. I thought the romance was really well done, other parts of the plot (not so much). If you are looking for a fae romance with an emphasis on Enemies to lovers, I highly recommend.

Swan Lake meets the 12 Dancing Princesses in this fresh new fae tale.

Exciting from page one all the way until “the end”. I’ll be reading everything this author writes!

I really looked forward to reading this, but I found it really difficult to get into. I would have appreciated a pronunciation guide or a glossary of some sort. Without one, I was left leaving my book to venture to google to learn how to say a word or discover what it meant. I was brought out of the story far too many times which left me wanting.

I did like the overall story. I'm all for a good retelling when done correctly. I appreciated the world building and the overall writing. It was just a bit slow paced in a few parts, which added to the 'hard to get into' factor.

Overall, if there is more to this series, I will likely read them to see where this goes.

I DNF’ed this book at 60%. Reading is supposed to be fun and comforting for me, but if I keep having to force myself to read a book that I really have no interest in continuing, I will lose complete interest in reading and end up in a reading slump.

4.5/5

This read is perfect for those looking for a dark and wicked fantasy that explores the secrets of the past in this world filled with fae lore. The story follows Fia, who is desperate to prove herself and wanting to be loved. Fia felt a little flat as a character but I thought this made sense with her story and did enjoy her character growth that we saw. I did feel as most of the characters were pretty predictable but the story really does focus on Fia.

I enjoyed the whimsically dark fae world filled with wild magic and the complex lore of the world. I did feel like it was hard to imagine certain parts of the magic, but I believe that is part of the complex nature of the fae world. This fae world is a little more mischievous and dark rather where the magic has a mind of its own. The story had a fairly slow pacing that I didn’t mind as it felt fitting that she has to slowly discover all the clues needed. The book takes place over the span of months on end as she can only visit the fae world once a month.

I did enjoy seeing the where the plot went, even as Fia gets distracted with side quests. Some parts were predictable but there were still a few good twists, that may surprise readers. This book focuses on the small mysteries and secrets of the world and felt a little more low stakes due to the slow pacing. I did feel like the book spent a lot of time analyzing relationships as the character tries to understand her own feelings while waiting to uncover more. I did not mind this and thought it didn’t add or subtract from the story for me. If you are not a fan of inner monologue - this book may not be for you.

Overall I enjoyed this read and would say this is perfect for fans of Emily Wilde looking for a darker Fae read with more magic. The pacing is very similar as well as the way Fae are depicted - I would say this felt a little more high fantasy than Emily Wilde with a similar plot style.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Pub Date: March 12, 2024

3.75 stars
I actually wound up pausing this one for quiet awhile. I loved the world and the characters but I struggled to get pulled into it. While there was a decent amount of description I think there needed to be more emotion from the characters in order for me to get pulled in and really care about what was going on. There was a little bit, but I think it needed more.
There were also a few things that got repeated often enough they got annoying as well - yes we get it, his eyes are the color of river stones...
I am certainly interested and plan to keep reading the series though.

A Feather so Black is a mystical, beautiful dark fairytale reimagining. This was beautifully written!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the writing; it was romantic and vividly descriptive without being excessive. The world-building was excellent and skillfully integrated without overwhelming info dumps. I loved exploring the various types of Fae and other creatures in this world. If I had one critique, it would be that I wished for more lore. This book evoked many emotions, striking a perfect balance between angst and tension with lighter, more joyous moments.

Fia, the main character, has quickly become one of my favorites. Her strength and cleverness made it easy to root for her, especially as she learned to love herself. Her unique background as a changeling in the human world provided a fascinating perspective, and I thoroughly enjoyed having her as our narrator.

I loved all the characters and their journey.

Overall, a great read and I'm looking forward to reading more!!

DNF at 53%

I really tried with this book, but I found myself increasingly frustrated and bored as I went along. The pacing was off since not much happened most of the time. I couldn't connect with the FMC because she was implausibly naive and trusting, and for some reason she was drawn to Rogan (I agree with the various fae who described him as gross or dumb, lol). He was a giant manchild and she let him treat her terribly for far too long.

This book was not it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for an ARC.

I would like to thank Orbit and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

CONTENT WARNING: self harm, animal death, child abuse, drug use

Fia is a changeling whom has been chosen to replace the queen's daughter, Eala, without any clues about how she got there in the first place or what her origins were. The queen requests her to go to Tir na nOg, the land of the Fair Folk, to bring Eala back when it has been discovered that an open hidden gate to the land has been discovered. Her childhood friend, Prince Rogan, goes with her, and along the way they run into Irian, a Folk lord who is holding Eala captive under a curse.

I really loved the magic system that was used here, as it was mainly a wild, lush, plant-based magic. Fia can make flowers grow as well as thorns and brambles, depending on her emotions. I also enjoyed the humour that was sporadically put into the story. The part where Rogan gets cranky when he grows a beard did give me quite a chuckle! The mysterious character, Corra, was also a nice touch! Despite the fact that Corra spoke in riddles, they were always happy to help Fia out with retrieving the items she needed as well as assisting her with growing the plants and flowers in the greenhouse. I found Corra to be a welcome, cheeky character, and I hope that they make an appearance in the sequel of this book.

This book also includes a glossary as well as pronounciations of the characters' names, which gives this book bonus points!
 
The romance was great too, as it was both a friends-to-lovers romance and an enemies-to-lovers romance. They were both slow burn, which is also great! There is some smut in this book, but it doesn't overpower the story, and I would describe it as soft smut, as there's no hard mention about certain male and female body parts, if you know what I mean. The swearing in this book is also minimal. As a result, I think that this book would be excellent for the New Adult audience. Even non-romance readers (such as myself) would enjoy this book too.

"I was made to be loved fully, or not at all" is a line that shattered my soul and should be taught to everyone from the time they can conceptualize.

A beautiful novel that will inspire you to chase the love you deserve.

The writing felt subpar, the story predictable, and the romance scenes just did not hit - which is crazy since 90% of the book is just the FMC pining. I wish the author the best - but this was definitely not for me.

A Feather So Black is a magical retelling of The Swan Maiden. It was a compelling story. The author used elements of dark romance and fantasy to weave a fantastical world with strong characters. Despite following a fairly standard plot of many dark romance retellings, the storyline managed to stand out to me with its twists and turns as the mystery slowly starts to be revealed. The characters were, for fantasy characters, realistic at times likable and engaging, and other times, mildly irritating. The love triangle between Fia, Rogan, and Irian hooked me from the beginning. The childhood best friend versus the immediate attraction and foolishness of falling too quickly in love was welcome jet back to my teen years when I wished for a similar romance to happen to me (thankfully I have grown out of that fantasy).

One criticism of the story is that the family relationship and dynamics seemed to be brushed over. I hope in the next story there is a heavier focus on the sisters, who were fantastically written. I wanted to know more about them.

Overall, it's a strong read that allows you to escape reality for a bit. I am looking forward to the second book.

I was provided with a copy of A Feather So Black by NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books, for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a magically unique book. I loved the musical prose of the book, and the story was unlike any other fantasy romance book that I have ever read. I adored Fia as a character - her strength, determination, loyalty and her flaws made her the perfect heroine. I am not typically a fan of love triangles, but this one I could get behind.

I had initially thought that this was a standalone novel, and when I saw that it’s in fact a series, and the next one is coming out next year, I screamed! I cannot wait!

This admittedly wouldn't have been on my readar if not for the gorgeous edition from Fairyloot, but I loved the FL edition and I always enjoy retellings, so I happily picked it up!

A Feather So Black is a retelling of Swan Lake inspired by several Irish mythologies. I would recommend to readers who love gorgeous & lush prose, but don't necessarily need an action-packed & fast-paced plot. Even though I enjoyed it, I thought it was very slow-paced. There were also a lot of words that would have distracted me if not for the audiobook so I highly recommend supplementing the read with the audiobook instead of having to flip back and forth to and from the glossary/pronunciation guide - Heather O'Sullivan (the narrator of the audiobook) does an excellent job immersing you in this world of cunning, both fae & mortals, of magic, curses, and love. It is a tale of secret missions and breaking curses, but most of all, it is about the stories we tell about ourselves and the ones told us and we believe.

Fia is the fae daughter to the queen who was left in exchange for the mortal Princess Eala trapped in faerie. Several years later, Fia is sent on a mission to retrieve the princess from the faerie realm and secretly, to retrieve a powerful weapon called the Sky-Sword. Always ready to sacrifice and do what she is told by her mother the queen who insists that only the queen knows how to love someone like her, Fia is convinced that she cannot have what she wants including Prince Rogan who is betrothed to Princess Eala. In faerie, Fia begins to discover and accept her power, and the path to no longer just being the substitute but the main character.

This quote really stood out to me: Does it have to be real? To be true?

Book 2, A Crown So Silver is set to release in Jan 2025, I'm excited!

Ehhhh this book was okay. But like just okay. We have two alternating sections to it, the time when Fia is waiting with Rogan to enter the fae realm, and then the one night a month when she gets to be in the fae realm.

I found myself not caring about the time in between Fia’s trips to the realm and kind of skimming those sections. The relationship she developed with Irian was interesting but seemed rushed and forced with them not really getting to know each other before falling in love. It was an enemies to lovers vibe but more insta love immediately following some hate.

I can see why some people would love this book, it just wasn’t a strong enough story for me personally.

I listened to A Feather So Black on Audio and enjoyed the narrator.

A Feather So Black weaves a compelling tale with a strong emphasis on world-building and fantasy elements. The romance added a nice touch to the story and had many tropes handed well.

I found A Feather So Black to be unique. It delves into the journey of our protagonist, Fia, a rare changeling abandoned by the wicked Fair Folk. Despite the disdain many hold for her fae blood, Fia finds solace when the queen takes her in and raises her as her own. The queen, recognizing Fia's unique abilities, even trains her to be a spy. When a hidden gate to the realm appears, the queen tasks Fia with a mission that could change everything, retrieve it, and break the princess's curse. As she takes on this quest, she has an unexpected companion. This companion is her childhood friend and the princess's betrothed, Prince Rogan. But then, Fia finds herself attracted to the princess's capture, Irian.

There is a love triangle woven into this story. As someone who grew up with young adult fantasy in the mid-2000s and 2010s, I experienced many love triangles in fantasy. I am not fond of the trope when it pops up in books. I am still not fond of it in this book, but the author handled this trope well, so I was not rolling my eyes and not hating the romance.

I found this book enjoyable and unique, with its retelling of Swan Maiden. All the characters were likable and fleshed out well. An issue I did have with A Feather So Black was the pacing. At times, the pacing felt fine, with a great pace, but then there were times it dragged.

If you are a fan of high fantasy, romance, or romantasy, do not hesitate to pick this book up. I will be reading the sequel in the future.