I liked this, but didn't love it. The characters were great. Detailed, likable, easy to connect with. The story was good. Clear progression, detailed, intriguing at times. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I felt myself frequently asking "okay... and?". I'm Irish, I have family in Ireland. I was stoked for this folklore to be turned into a romantasy... but it fell flat for me. I'd still recommend this novel for romantasy lovers though. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Between starting on my Kindle but reading most of it in hard copy form, this took me almost 5 months (?!?!) to slog through. One of the worst reading slumps I've been in ever, and this book wasn't helping anything.

What killed this one for me was the characters and the love square <s>sex fest</s> romance. Fia is a drama queen who is constantly comparing herself to nature, mountains and ash and wind and plants and such. Because she's Fey and has magic, naturally she is strange and practically unlovable but actually all the men fall at her feet. She talks/thinks way too much about herself and is definitely a "badass/not like other girls" trope, but then repeatedly shows herself to be not that badass.

The romance starts off with Fia in love with Rogan, a childhood friend turned lover turned ex. She still loves him but he's technically betrothed to her "sister", the human girl Fia replaced as a changeling. Ouch. They dance around each other for a bit on their quest to break some magic and save Eala, but eventually end up banging it out repeatedly because Rogan claims he can't stop loving Fia, even though he's still gonna marry Eala. Pretty much he's like, be my mistress and she struggles with this, gives in to his appeals for a while and then calls it off because, respectfully, she'd rather not be his whore. Okay, cool. Rogan is not husband material anyhow. Meanwhile, she's met Irian, who is a Fey lord who's all dark and sexy and literally hot. I think you can see where this is going. All of this is just not my cup of tea whatsoever. Clearly a good number of readers are into this crap, given the popularity of Maas, but consider me unimpressed.

The fairytale elements could have been stronger, with less of a focus on the romances. That wouldn't have saved it, but it sure would have helped. I loved the idea of the mashup of Swan Lake and the 12 Dancing Princesses and I do think that the little we did get on that was fairly well done, in how they were incorporated and woven together.

Also the pacing was so painfully slow, it desperately needed some editing.

Corra, the fey creature, who occasionally pops up to help/hinder/annoy was the best character, honestly.

Will not be around for Book 2.

This book was a little slow to start but when it picked up, it picked up and once it did I had a hard time putting it down. I really enjoyed the writing and will read more by this author.

Other than a few times where I felt like nothing had happened in a while, this book was good.
I found it refreshing that we got the perspective of the changeling instead of the princess. And I really liked getting to know the world.
I was also nice that the MC worked through some childhood trauma to get to the point where she made the decisions she did. It made everything feel more organic.
I can't wait to see where the next book goes. (Hope it has a little more action)

Wow, this story was incredible. I can’t say I’m familiar with the fable of the swans but now I’m curious. We follow a changeling whose “sister” has been taken to the Fae world. I’m a sucker for Fae, and this book was no exception. I will warn you that this book had a delicious love triangle and that I could not stop reading. I CANNOT wait for book 2.

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

I was granted both an ARC and the audiobook version of “A Feather So Black” by the publisher and I used both mediums to read the book. First off, I would highly, highly recommend the audiobook of “A Feather so Black”. The production and narration are both excellent. I loved Heather O’Sullivan’s mellifluous voice and her Irish accent brought life and charter to the book. Her character voices are spot-on and let the listener easily identify each speaker. O’Sullivan’s voice also helped to smooth out some of the trouble I had with the world building. The beginning of the book contains a significant amount of info dumping and O’Sullivan’s pronunciation helped me to better understand the people/places/creatures that were being introduced (it also really would have helped to have a glossary at the beginning of the book).

Second, a review for the book itself. “A Feather So Black” had a lot of elements that are automatically guaranteed to draw me in: Irish/Gaelic world-building, mysterious manor, faerie setting, green magic, and a seemingly impossible quest. A bonus was the beautiful writing - I do love purple prose and this book delivers. Lyra Selene has an absolutely gorgeous writing style. So a book seemingly tailor-made for me! Unfortunately everything just fell apart with the plot and pacing.

Two of the main characters, Fia and Rogan, are only able to cross over into Tír na nÓg during the night of the full moon which means they can only make progress on their quests in faerie once a month. Otherwise the two spend their time in the human realm basically waiting around to go back to faerie. The plot moves through the Celtic Wheel of the Year celebrating the holy days along the way - which is a nice addition to the world building - but causes the reader to spend the whole year with Fia and Rogan waiting for any kind of plot development. The nights in Tír na nÓg are definitely the highlight of the book. I lost interest and stopped reading every time the narrative switched back to the human realm. I ended up spending six weeks reading this book between the arc and audio version - and read five other books in the meantime. I finally gave in and skimmed the last third and found that the pace picked up considerably in the last 30 pages. The ending was interesting but I’m not sure that I care enough about Fia to read the next book. However, I might be tempted if Heather O’Sullivan narrates the audiobook.

Part of my problem with this book stemmed from my expectations: I was expecting a book with a lot of action, drama, and tension. “A Feather So Dark” was more vibes and world building. It’s not a bad book - just very slow.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC and Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Fair Folk #1. This first entry in a new Romantasy series revolves around the fate of a changeling child who replaced the infant daughter and heir of a kingdom ruled by a devious warring queen. Raised by her mother to be a spy and a weapon Fia is defiant and will do anything to win the queen's love and attention. She discovers that the princess is held in Tir na nOg a fae kingdom where she is cursed to be a swan by day and a girl at night. Fia is tasked by the queen to find the hidden gate to the fae realm and break the curse to free her. To do this Fia must seduce the devious lord who holds her and others in thrall. Fia soon discovers that all is not as it seems and she begins to have doubts about the truths that she has always held onto. Time is running out and Fia must make some hard choices about her future. I was really looking forward to this novel but somehow it just never really clicked for me. I think there were just too many threads and characters that never came together in my mind's eye. The time spent at the castle waiting for the full moon and the opening of the gates were the most interesting as Fia interacts with the castle spirits and restores the grounds. The sudden reversal at the conclusion caught me off guard and I found it a bit unsatisfying but that is par for a story to be continued. An interesting premise and perilous magic are always a good combination.

I absolutely loved this fantasy romance!

If you’re looking for a dark, whimsical, lyrical, prose-heavy enemies to lovers book, I can’t recommend this one enough!!

Fia is a girl that has never quite fit in, a girl of two different worlds but never quite in either her character was one that intrigued me from the beginning, and following her arc throughout this story as she goes through love, betrayal, joy, jealousy, hurt was one that always had me rooting for her.

The world that this authors builds, though devilishly whimsical was one I loved visiting throughout this story, and the way that the lore was given to us through story-telling was a beautiful way to expand the world without it feeling info-dumpy.

Parts of this book are classic “romantasy tropes” but there are parts of this book that really stood out to me, and I can’t wait to continue! Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince, Swan Lake, romantasy lovers, fae lovers, and beautiful stories.

Unique and engaging twist on a much used concept. I loved the characters and the relationships between them. The chemistry between Irian and Fia was sizzling and their moments together were definitely the highlight of the story. Can’t wait to see where the next installment of the saga takes us. Thankfully, there was already a teaser for the next one included🙃

I started reading this a couple days ago and finished it yesterday. I've been pondering on this review and I'm going to give it my best. From my understanding this is a retelling. I'm not sure which retelling this is, other than it features Celtic references. This had loads of potential, but wound up being a slow, tedious read for me to get through. Fia struggles to fit in as a changeling, and others don't like her, but then there's also hints towards something bigger happening. There's a lot of battle scenes, lots of political intrigue. The writing is very beautiful prose, and I could see my teenager self enjoying this immensely. I recommend this for those who like fae books and Sarah J Maas.

I really enjoyed this fantasy that was inspired by Swan Lake and Irish Folklore, yet it was totally unique and its own intriguing tale! The characters were complex and well written. The world building was fascinating and magical. It was full action and mystery and even some steamy romance, what more could I ask for in a book!! I can't wait to read the sequel and other books from the author in the future!

I enjoyed this romantasy, there were a lot of fantastical terms but luckily an included glossary. I liked the characters and the plot. The pacing was enjoyable. I didn’t feel like the stakes were super high in this first novel but that didn’t bother me. Looking forward to continuing the series. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

A Feather So Black is beautifully written. The descriptions are lyrical and it has great dark fairytale vibes. The mythology was intriguing and the romance--whew!! Fans of Sarah J Maas will really enjoy the romantic entanglements the main character, Fia, finds herself wrapped in, between a human prince and a fae lord. Family and belonging is at the heart of the story, and is intertwined with a lush, magical world.

2.75 stars rounded up to 3!

I was very excited for this book because I felt like it hit a lot of my buzzwords. Dark fae, a retelling of the ballet Swan Lake, and a romantic fantasy. I think unfortunately it just didn't live up to any of these expectations.

Where I first got bogged down was the way that it was written. Although I felt like the lush description was very nice, there were a lot of things thrown around about the world building with absolutely no explanation and it was almost as if I had been dropped into the book midway through. Additionally, as this is pitched as a romantasy and features something close to a love triangle, I was hoping that I would like either of the love interests and I really didn't. Rogan really didn't bring much to the table and he frankly felt one-dimensional. Irian also was just kinda present, and although cooler than Rogan because he had powers, I never was convinced as to why he was drawn to the main character. Unfortunately, I also was frequently annoyed by the main character, Fia, which is unfortunate because she had the opportunity to be very cool! It felt like she couldn't come up with any thoughts independently of herself. Also, I don't normally mind spice but I had to skim every single sex scene because I was not invested in the romance, and it was cringing me out.

I also did feel like this novel was very long. It totals up to almost 500 pages, and I felt every single one of those pages. One thing I didn't realize was that all of the interactions in the Fae world could only happen once a month and so it would be like a couple pages and then chapters worth of what Fia was up to when she was not in the fae world.

That being said, I think that this has the potential to be a really interesting series. I think the bones of it are pretty interesting, and there is some complexity to some of the other characters. Also, I'm hoping that the romance may be put on the backburner and the fantasy elements will be beefed up. Because of that, I do think I will be continuing the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene is a review copy I received from Orbit. It sounded like a good book for me and I was so pleased with the narration of the audiobook and the story itself that it shot to my favorites of the year immediately. Heather O’Sullivan was a great fit for this book and she did an especially great job with the voices in my opinion, especially a certain swoon-worthy male character.

I really enjoyed the main character and getting to learn about her life, past, and relationships with the people in her vicinity. Despite her own origins, it was fascinating to see how she thought of herself and others of her kind and how she related to humans. The transformation of her views and opinions felt logical and the development and destruction of her various relationships in this book felt well thought out. The plot was interesting, though at times a little slow, but it was interspersed with exciting encounters that made this less of an issue for me. I also felt that some things were a little predictable but they were worked out in ways that I enjoyed, nonetheless.

Overall, I had a really good time with this and have already found myself recommending it several times. I’m eager to continue with this series and hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next book.

I had such a good time with this Swan Lake retelling! The writing was captivating and drew me right into the story. I loved the magic and the whole world that Selene created. It had me gripped from the very beginning! I liked it so much I went out and bought a physical copy after reading the arc!

This is my second Lyra Selene book and I cannot wait for the next book in the Fair Folk series to be released!

Thank you to @netgalley, @orbitbooks_us, and Lyra Selene for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My rating is waffling between 3 and 4 stars because despite its relative common story and plot, I was really swept up by this story! I loved the myths and folklore, the world building and our side characters. All those things really helped beef up a fairly common plotline involving the main characters. I could see every major plot point coming but the writing and story were good enough to keep me reading. I really love Fia and I’m very intrigued about where the sequel will go with her.

I hated Rogan from jump and cringed every time her called her changeling. There’s something very appealing about the typical caution of true names with Fae and how Fía is referred to (or not) by other characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Feather So Black (ARC)
Lyra Selene
4⭐️

Pub Date: 3/12/2024

What an interesting book. Another myth from a different country of origin besides Greece. This one is Irish in Tir na nOg. I was hooked immediately but like the last time I read a foreign myth, the terminologies were challenging. A glossary could help. I couldn't use my best friend, Google, since I was on a plane. But context clues still work great. The plot itself was well written- the concept of bargaining for stories from the FMC and MMC was a good way to introduce character histories while still solidly building the plot. The love triangle for this one was intense since both men are swoon worthy and could definitely be a good match for the FMC. But circumstances made one better than the other. I was loving Rogan more as the story went on. Irian (MMC) could've been made more lovable. I needed more from this man but I guess that's what the next book is going to do. The twist/climax of the plot though was easily predictable. I knew who the offenders were almost immediately. It's slow paced but very engaging. The rush came so late into the book that I knew I was going to be left hanging pretty darn bad. The world building was adequate. Interesting enough that it made me research the actual myth. Overall a great read. It's dark, it's mysterious, it's magical. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Thank you @netgalley @orbitbooks_us for a gifted e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this fantasy book. I think it is a wonderful exploration of the mythology surrounding the fae and the powers that they hold. This book focused more on the world building than many other fantasy books with romance subplots, and I really enjoyed reading about that. The ending of this book was explosive and I absolutely loved it. I didn't see the twist coming, and I am SO GLAD that the author made the choices she did with the ending. This is a refreshing and lovely take on the fae/mortal story.

3.5 stars
I loved the Irish narration! This was a compelling changeling saga & I’m looking forward to the next two books in the series. I liked the world building/set up with changeling Fia is sent with her former flame to rescue her “sister” from captivity. There are feelings everywhere in this one and we need two more installments to find out how it’s all going to play out!