I am really sorry to have to rate it as such, and I hardly DNF.. so in that regard a dnf equals the worst rating I could give. I will do my best however to give my feedback on this book.

I gave up around the 50% mark. Vowing to myself that I won't torture myself anymore because I really do hate to DNF a book, but this was just extremely bland.

I feel like hardly anything is happening up until this point (cant vow for the rest of the book). Our FMC Fia is a changeling and has magic (which is called green marked) and she's besties with the prince Rigan who she had a crush on since their younger days, but was denied since he is betrothed to her 'sister' Aela. He suddenly leaves and parts with her saying he is a prince and she is no-one, causing a rift in their friendship.

So when he comes back to town and they're sent on a quest to retrieve her sister from a realm she's kept captive in, the dynamic has changed however the pull towards eachother kinda stays. They go on their little quest every now and then and achieve hardly a thing. Despite finding her sister from the get go. And when she could have retrieved the sword she's after to save her sister, she gives it back to the broody character named Irian that keeps them captive because he tells her their lives are entwined. When he dies, they all die with him.

Ofcourse both him and princeling are incredibly handsome and blah, blah. I don't even see the appeal of the latter, he seems like a spoiled little brat that can't do a thing for himself and cries about his life every corner (doesn't have a choice in who he marries, don't you care what I want, my beard is itchy but I can't shave my beard myself blaaaa).

So, basically the story is quite boring as nothing really happens (and I am no stranger to slow builds in books!), the characters are very .. boring ? And the writing could be less repetitive. It felt like word vomit and just some words to hit some page number at some point.

I invested 50% of my time reading this book and I feel like it's completely wasted. I caught myself yawning and getting a bit stressed out even, forcing myself to continue. I'm really sorry to say that I can't really find anything that I liked or loved about this book, because I rather not be so negative about someones life work, but this book hasn't been it for me.

I listened to the [arc] audiobook and I'm very sad to say that I thought this was very monotone aswell.

4,5 stars

Having delved into "A Feather So Black" by Lyra Selene, the first installment in The Fair Folk Trilogy, via an audio arc from Hachette Audio, narrated by Heather O’Sullivan, I must say it's been quite the enchanting experience. Selene's writing is lyrical, with a darker edge that adds depth to the story. Despite a denser buildup, the narrative remains engaging, weaving together elements of nature magic, intriguing folklore, and imaginative world-building.

One of the highlights of the audiobook experience is Heather O’Sullivan's narration. Her lovely voice, beautiful accent, and impeccable pronunciation enhance the storytelling, drawing listeners deeper into the enchanted world of the novel.

Having delved into "A Feather So Black" by Lyra Selene, the first installment in The Fair Folk Trilogy, via an audio arc from Hachette Audio, narrated by Heather O’Sullivan, I must say it's been quite the enchanting experience. Selene's writing is lyrical, with a darker edge that adds depth to the story. Despite a denser buildup, the narrative remains engaging, weaving together elements of nature magic, intriguing folklore, and imaginative world-building.

One of the highlights of the audiobook experience is Heather O’Sullivan's narration. Her lovely voice, beautiful accent, and impeccable pronunciation enhance the storytelling, drawing listeners deeper into the enchanted world of the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book for review. Format is audiobook.

I ended up DNF'ing this at 54%, after trying very hard to become invested and feel the vibes. It did not work and I am making the decision to move on. I'd like to advise readers that there is animal death (not as a result of hunting) early on in the book, occurring twice.

Firstly, I'd like to say that the narrator does a wonderful job. I would love to hear Heather O'Sullivan do more audiobooks, she has a lovely voice, a beautiful accent, and wonderful pronunciation.

This title is FILLED with purple prose. And normally overly-flowery language doesn't bother me, as a very flowery writer myself, but this was truly overwhelming. If you took a shot every time Fia compared herself to nature or the environment around her, you'd be dead pretty early on.

For a romantasy, I really couldn't tell you anything noteworthy about the character interactions. The love interests are bland and uninteresting. Rogan is kind of an ass. I didn't care for him at all. Irian was also an ass. The only part that somewhat excited me was the exchange of stories between Fia and Irian, but even that was tedious.

Fia is difficult. She's filled with copious amounts of self-hatred and loathing, she has clearly been abused and gaslit by her adoptive Queen Mother, but it was really exhausting to have to listen to it over and over again in her dialogue. I've seen first person adult fantasy done right. This wasn't it. I've seen a lot of comparisons between this story and Maas's work, and I can agree that both Fia and Feyre are annoying and unbearable to me.

The timeline was insane to me. If Stephanie Meyer doesn't know how to do a time skip, then A Feather So Black needs to be blacklisted from doing them. I literally could not believe that there were actual months passing by over the course of chapters. There was no character development over the course of MONTHS. Why would you make this magic system of revealing the super secret Fair Folk location rely on the full moon if you weren't going to use the passage of time to your advantage? The pacing was bad to listen to, especially with this being a love triangle(square?).

The sex scenes were almost entirely unbearable for me. Heather O'Sullivan, while quite a good narrator, has a rather flat, monotone voice that pairs negatively with the incredibly clinical and almost prudish descriptions of smut in this title. Multiple times I realized that sex was about to occur AS IT WAS OCCURRING, because the build up was so flat and methodical. The language used is so clinical, sterile, and detached. Which is a choice, one free to be made, but I've heard there are about eight sex scenes in this book, and the thought of sitting through any more of them makes me cringe vibrantly.

The plot was boring. Beyond Fia trying to rescue her Switched At Birth sister from Tírnanóg, I couldn't really tell you what was going on. Something about a war, surely. Swan maidens (the most boring adaptation of swan maidens I have seen to date, pray for me) turning against the cruel master holding them. A really important sword. Yeah. That about covers it.

Finally, please stop having your characters refer to each other ad nauseum with horrid little pet names. "Changeling." "Princeling." Fourth Wing was criticized for doing this with "Violence" and A Feather So Black isn't an exception to similar criticism from me. It's not cute, flirty, romantic, or charming. It just makes dialogue cringey.

I desperately wanted to love this Romantasy, as I'm aware that I should be acquiring a copy in the coming months through subscription, but I did not love it, nor enjoy it. Perhaps in the future I can take a gander at reading a physical copy, to see if that helps with the issues I listed, but until then, I'll be calling it quits on this title.

Thank you netgalley and Orbit books for letting me read this arc!

The premise of this book had me looking forward to reading it, but oh how i was dissappointed! I had a hard time connecting to the main character. She was broody and was complaining almost all the time. She was constanly comparing herself with her mother, her sister and any other character, and it honestly became to much. And I didn't quite understand if her being a changling was a reknown thing or not. Because why did we have her going like "Noone actually knows who I am. It is a state secret." to her being body slammed by a guard into the wall because he hates changlings. Like make it make sense please! I wonder if I skipped that part by mistake, or if the book didn't quite know what it wanted to do with itself.
But sadly I have decided to not finish this book, because as I said, I was struggling to connect with main FMC.

This is one of my new favorite books if I could give it 6 stars I would!
"Feather So Black" by Lyra Selene is a mesmerizing journey through a world woven with intricate folklore and vivid imagery. Selene's prose dances effortlessly, painting scenes so vivid they seem to leap off the page. The rich tapestry of folklore woven into the narrative adds depth and intrigue, keeping readers spellbound from start to finish. Every page is adorned with breathtaking descriptions that transport you to a realm where magic and reality intertwine seamlessly. A masterpiece of storytelling, "Feather So Black" is a must-read for anyone craving an enchanting escape into a world of wonder and imagination.

4.25⭐️

I really enjoyed this ALC (thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio). Heather O’Sullivan did a beautiful job with the narration and kept me gripped throughout.

I love the way the world building was done and learning more as we went. As I believe this is a series I cannot wait to learn more about the various parts of this world as well.

The tension of the relationships between Fia-Aela-Rogan kept me guessing throughout, with what choices would be made, what alliances were true, was this love or was this manipulation? I love that we have both the following and the subversion of tropes and expectations that we see in romantasy and they’re woven so expertly through the story.

I cannot wait to see the continuation of where we left Aela and what that will mean for Fia, Rogan, and Irian. I also can’t wait to see these characters explore life beyond the point that they’ve known up until now as none of them had truly looked past the moment where they have arrived. None of our cast truly allowed themselves to fully make plans or to know themselves beyond outside expectations.

If you are a romantasy fan, I think you’ll love this book. The prose is beautiful and not over done, the story is so unique, and I love that we have a strong FMC who can also be soft and is learning about herself.

I had such a great time reading this book! This world was so interesting, the Folk are a pretty popular topic to explore, and I was excited to see this take on them. The magic, of the items and the gates, and the premise of balance, I needed all the information!

Fia was abused and gaslit by the High Queen, not that she knew or realized until she had her eyes opened in this book. The queen telling her that nobody but her could love Fia, of having her trained to be a weapon, no. I really didn't like the High Queen.

Neither did I like her daughter, Eala. She was just a little bit too manipulative, and I was always searching what she was saying for hidden meanings, what her true agenda might be. So while I didn't know what she was going to do, when she did it, I wasn't surprised!

Between Rogan, Eala, and Irian, her emotions were all tangled up. They all had their moments, and there was a great cast of supporting characters like Corra, I loved Corra, with her way of speaking and helping for a price. It really rounded out this book!

This was a really great read and I can't wait to see were the story goes from here!

Thanks to Hachette Audio for the gifted listening copy!

“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, especially on audio narrated by Heather O’Sullivan, who is Irish and an absolutely perfect voice for this book!

"For the first time, I didn't want to choose either man. I wanted to choose myself"

Gosh I loved this one. Im.forever searching for solid world building and fun magic systems. This one had botanical magic and that's very much my vibe lately.

Low on spice but heavy on shadow daddy vibes. Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!!

I wasn’t sure I would love this book based on the description but I was intrigued and loved the cover. The story is interesting, the world building is kind of beautiful, the magic, the characters, the atmospheric feelings. Unfortunately some parts of the story didn’t sit well with me, I struggled with some of the decisions and actions taken by the main character. It’s a long book, and it felt slow at times, with a lot of waiting around that felt unnecessary at times.

I really liked the ending and I do want to read a second book in this world. I am
curious to see what happens next.

I listened to the audiobook and I am convinced it is the way to go. I loved the narrator, her voice and the way she is telling us the story is perfection. I think this is closer to a 3 star read but the narration brings it up to 4. That’s how good this narrator is.

3.5 stars

MIXED THOUGHTS.

This one kind of ran me around a bit.

Audio thoughts first: LOVED. I loved the narrator. I was really swept away by this story listening and highly recommend this avenue for trying A Feather So Black out.

Back to bookish thoughts: At first, I was really into it. I loved the set up and the plot. I liked the main character and alllll the fae things. This had all of those hallmark fantasy + fae aspects that I love about this genre.

And then the love triangle came into play. NOW. I knew it was a love triangle and was perfectly fine with that fact. I honestly didn’t mind the bones of it. There’s good push and pull between characters. Conflict of interest and wondering where Fia was going to land. But I didn’t love that she slept with both men throughout the story. It took away from the emotional connection by focusing so heavily on the physical connection instead. I liked both of the guys for different reasons and I am curious where things will go in the second book.

Some scenes did drag on a bit and there’s a lot of hurry up and wait. And there’s a more young adult writing style, but very adult content. The vibes are there and the ending had my attention enough that I plan to continue the series.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: 3+ open door
Violence: moderate-high

4.5 ⭐️ - audiobook

A gothic, damp forest at night with yellow eyes watching you vibe to this whole book. I really love the feel of this story and the story itself. I would describe this as a slower paced, intellectually driven plot. There’s no epic adventure or major battle scenes. There are very captivating characters, political intrigue/human vs Fae intrigue, and an excellent take on Fae. Our main lady, Fia, is a changeling with no memory of her previous life. The story follows her evolution of knowledge re: her history, her “family” and her heart. The use of stories as riddles to present information for the character and reader to sift through was fantastic. If there’s riddles, I’m game. Fae in this story are ruthless, cunning, self-serving, and hoarders of magic. Very folkloric - this is my very favorite portrayal of Fae (similar to folk in the Emily Wilde stories). My only negative thing to say is, as the reader, I got lost a few times in story. A location would be mentioned that I didn’t recall; boom you’re there. I had no idea where we were or how we got there. I did get the hang of it but it wasn’t intuitive for me.

I enjoyed the narration of this story. O’Sullivan provided a delightful Irish accent, that added to the folklore vibe I got from the book. They gave a dynamic performance that enhanced the characters beautifully.

audiobook ARC - thank you netgalley, Lyra Selene, Oribit, and Hachette Audio

Thank you profusely to Orbit Books, Hachette, and NetGalley for the ALC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one at about 50%. I struggled to stay focused, even with an exemplary and pleasingly-voiced narration that allowed me to listen at 2x speed. The events in the book are much too repetitive, and I just could not bring myself to be motivated to read when I knew I had to pick this one up. The audiobook length is around 17 hours, which is hefty even when listening at increased speed. I love the narration and heartily give it 5 stars; but the story, which I can only give two stars, just returns back to the same things over and over again.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the eAudiobook ARC! A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene follows Fia. a changling trapped in the human realm as the gates separating the two worlds have been sealed shut. Fia feels loved by her adoptive parents, but knows that the replaced pricess is out there and should one day return to her place. Eala, the High Queen's true daughter, is trapped in Tír na nÓg, spending the day as a swan and returning to her true form by night. When a hidden gate to Tír na nÓg is discovered, Fia sets out with her first love (and Eala's betrothed) Rogan, to break Eala's curse and return her home. But once there, Fia meets the Fae Lord holding Eala captive and is surprized by his complexities and her attraction to him. Filled with intrigue and deeply romantic, A Feather So Black is sure to please readers of Romantasy. Heather O’Sullivan expertly narrates the audiobook breathing life into each character.

Thank you so much for the audiobook Hachette Audio and Orbit.

I DNF the audiobook at 5%. I don’t think I was vibing with this book.
I really love the premise of this book and may try to reread with a physical copy.
I was having a hard to understanding the audio and comprehending the names and places.

There is not a single thing I like about this book. I’m going to keep this nice and say simply that everything is unoriginal and repulsive.

Fia the changeling that took Eala’s spot when the fairies took the princess. Despite being part fairy the queen took Fia and raised her as her own. Welding her into a weapon the queen could use to being down the fairy’s and bring her true daughter back.

Rogan is Eala’s betrothed and Fia’s child hood friend, go out to save Eala. But as Fia does the side mission for the queen, Fia realizes that Irian is not the monster she was told he was. He was so much more.

Fia fell in love with Irian despite his doomed fate.


To save her world from her evil sister, and to save the man she fell in love with she sacrifices herself and is rewarded with a new life with the man she loves.


Loved this book. So many up and downs and riddles to figure out. She thought she was unloveable, but she was wrong. She was the heart to saving them all

Actual 3.5
A Feather So Black is a dark fairytale retelling that is predominantly told through a series of single nights, once a month during the full moon over the course of a year.
Fia is a changling left in the place of a princess and is fostered and raised by the High Queen. When a previously unknown gate to the faerie realm is discovered, she is tasked to travel to the gate, and using her folk blood, cross into Tír na nÓg and break the curse on Princess Eala so she can come home. Her traveling companion is her childhood friend and former lover Prince Rogan, who is betrothed to Eala.
Selene's writing is very lyrical and descriptive, but the plot is very slow moving because Fia and Rogan can only truly make progress towards their goal of freeing Eala one night a month and then they have to return to the human realm and wait another month to do anything else. In the interim in the human world, Fia tends a garden and greenhouse and makes friends with a sprite/spirit Corra who brings Fia and Rogan the supplies they need. Despite the limited time to complete their mission in the faerie realm, there isn't a huge sense of urgency during the nights spent in Tír na nÓg until it's absolutely crunch time. Fia splits her time during those nights listening to her "sister" and swapping stories with the dark, broody Fae Irian who is the last of the ruling fae with the magic filled objects. Surprise! One of these two people is a duplicitous jerk who completely lies to and misdirects Fia, almost to the point where there are potentially world ending consequences.
Fia has some decent character growth, but for a book that was meant to be a story of female empowerment, she spends too much time with the spineless character of Rogan accepting his overall poor treatment of her.
By the end, the story feels unfinished because there were too many plot points left answered and not solved. I imagine Selene is going to continue the story in future book(s) because this was not a book that can have an ambiguous ending and have it feel complete.
The narrator of the audiobook was an excellent choice. She added an emotional level to the story with her recitation as well as helping me with pronunciation and comprehension of some of the Celtic names, places, and creatures.

I'm torn on this book. It had things I really loved, and other things I didn't. I'm somewhere around 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.
The book:
The good: I really enjoy fairytale retellings, and always love a Celtic inspiration in books. Once I got about 30% through I couldn't put it down. Think you need at least a small understanding of the folk and their ways before reading, but I enjoyed the little touches of magic, sly wording, bargaining, etc. I thought the juxtaposition and reversal of personality and morals of the "sisters" after coming up in the different realms was interesting. It kept me guessing at who was genuine and who was not through most of the book.
The less good: I think it was a little too long and slow, it spanned over like a whole year, so there were parts that had to be breezed over, and I think less time and more detail could have benefitted some parts. Less spicy scenes (which were more or less the same) would have left time for that. I found it a little confusing how much Fía talks of the way she was brought up and how she was made to be a weapon, but her resolve is nearly nonexistent too quickly if that's the case. Maybe because of the revelations by Rogan putting questions in her mind, but still I'm not sure I bought it. A couple times I was a little confused with time jumps, not sure if it was because I was listening or it was written that way too.

The audio:
The narrator was excellent, I always enjoy having a narrator with an accent that fits the location of the story. It helps me get into it even more. It also helps with pronouncing words correctly and not having to stumble over them. The speed of speaking was perfect, cadence was great, easy to understand and follow along. Sound quality was excellent as well.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC of this book!

In a lush tapestry of perilous magic and entwined fates, this romantic fantasy captivates with its tale of a defiant changeling, Fia, her cursed sister, and their encounter with a dangerous fae lord. Masterful world-building, combined with a balance of romance and fantasy, makes for a refreshing read in a crowded genre. Fia's journey—marked by strength, wit, and poignant self-discovery—is enhanced by vibrant character dynamics, especially her banter with childhood friend Rogan and the enigmatic fae lord, Irian. The audiobook narration adds a delightful layer to the experience, making this story not just a read, but an adventure.