**Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC; all opinions are my own.**

4.5 ⭐️
2.5 🌶

This sequel to A Feather So Black starts off immediately after the end of the first book. Fia is learning to control her new powers, but she's struggling to know, exactly, who she is. Setting off on a quest with her husband, Irian, and two human friends, they are trying to stop Fia's sister from attacking everyone. A lot of things happen- THE BETRAYAL- and my mind is reeling with all the possibilities book 3 will bring. I CAN'T WAIT for the next one!

If you like:
▪︎morally grey characters
▪︎classic faeries & spice
▪︎fairytale retellings
Then please give this series a shot!!

Maybe I'm just a sucker for Irish mythology, but man do I adore this series. I firmly place both A Feather So Black and A Crown So Silver into the category of: Stayed up too late to finish. I have one caveat though. It's so much better as an audiobook - not to say it's not great as a physical read though. I ended up switching back and forth between my Kindle and the audiobook and was hands down drawn to the audiobook more. I am a little sad that she didn't truly participate in the trials, but that's only because I love trials.

I love the use of Gaelic and folk in the fantasy. The author does a good job making you feel like you’re in the shoes of the main character.

I’m sending Lyra a bill for emotional DAMAGE!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I usually don’t ARC read because I don’t have the time but I was desperate for book two and it did not disappoint. Lyra made me love another character and I know the third and final of this series will really hit me hard. Her lyrical writing always gets me and I get so drawn in I don’t realize I made it through 50% of the book.

I highly recommend this series to anyone!

The follow-up to a recent highly rated read of A Feather So Black - I found A Crown So Silver unfortunately had middle book syndrome. There was a lot of repetition of themes from the first book but having already read it I didn't see the need for introducing another love triangle nor continuing to have Fia again act so reckless while being so uninformed.

One thing this book did that I was so grateful for was the further development of female friendships - book one had Fia have one friend who wasn't a love interest and at here we got a few more. I did not like the additional love triangle nor did I like that Fia held reservations about the women who were trying to help her but instantly trusted and befriended men. When Fia is later betrayed in the book I found myself not shocked as she continued to treat them poorly and took so long to trust her female friends.

I did also enjoy that this book delved into the conflict of Fia and Irian's basically whirlwind love affair and marriage and signing their souls together. There was a lot of conversation the two of them needed to have, the conflict between them felt authentic - they had married each other expecting one of them to die and now they are living.

I am intrigued to see where this goes especially with Eala at the end - she is a wonderful villain and I hope she is fully our big bad in book three.

Thank you Netgalley, Lyra Selene, and the publisher.

I wish I would have read the first book again before diving into the second one because I read a lot in between. However it was a very well written book and I was hooked pretty soon. I didn't expect that ending at all. Anxiously awaiting A Heart so Green to be released so I can find out what is going to happen next to Fia.

A Crown So Silver was one of my most anticipated sequels, but it didn’t live up to the magic of the first book. The pacing felt uneven, with a slow buildup that suddenly turned into a whirlwind of events. The romance frustrated me because Fia and Irian spent more time apart than together, and their conflict felt forced rather than meaningful.

I did enjoy the introduction of new characters, and the last half of the book picked up with some solid action and twists. But overall, it felt more like a filler book than a necessary chapter in the series. I am still curious about book three, but I really hope it brings back what made the first book so good.

DNF at 12%
I want to try this as an audiobook. I struggled with the writing style in the first book too. I am moving away from ebooks and sticking with print and audiobooks.

3/5

A delightful fantasy novel that amps up the stakes from book 1! Unfortunately the constant arguing between our two main characters got on my nerves and really impacted my enjoyment of this book. The writing, as always, was gorgeous.

Thank you for the opportunity to review A Crown So Silver! I’ll be honest that I am a little burnt out by the romantasy genre.. but even still I loved A Feather So Black and was happy to have a change to read the follow up. I think that the author has done a great job writing what one would consider romantasy, but without it feeling like a story you’ve read before.. while taking you into a fantasy world. I love the folklore aspect and how this book went more into the characters and the environment.

I thought I would enjoy this way more than I did because I LOVED A Feather So Black and was disappointed by how slow of a start this book had. I kept picking up the book and then putting it back down again and really couldn't get into it until about 40% in. But then the pacing finally did pick up and got significantly more interesting! The arguments between Irian and Fia struck me as petty and annoying, but I appreciated the realness of them (couples are going to have issues to work past) and how they were committed to each other and fixing things rather than just give up on their relationship - even if for minute there I was nervous for them. For some reason this was to be a duology in my head, so I was surprised to find it didn't wrap up at the end (HI, CLIFFHANGER). I truly enjoy Lyra Selene's almost lyrical prose and would continue the series for that alone, but I also just need to find out what happens after that ending. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Thank you Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am giving the book 3 stars! I enjoyed Book 1 but did not enjoy Book 2 as much. The book is very slow and picks up around the 50% mark. I would have been OK with that if this was book 1. I had high expectations with this book, and I started to feel pretty disappointed as I waited for the book to take a turn for the better. I liked the book after I was 50% through and we better understand Fia's decisions and motivations, but it was too late for it to salvage the rest of the book for me. I do not think I will be continuing this series, but I will recommend this book because I know there are people who may not mind the first 50%, but I was not one of them.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and Lyra Selene did not dissapoint. A Crown so Silver picks up where we left our broody fae male, Irian, after Fia sacrificed herself on the Ember Moon to save him from his fate. When a beautiful black sawn appears in the lake outside his castle he knows it has to be his beloved Fia but doesn't know how. Once the two are reunited they devise a plan on where and what to do next but it seems the two have different ideas of the "what" they must do. Irian is only set on protecting Fia and Fia is determined to save both the fae world and the human word from her power hungry sister, Eala.

The world building that Selene gives us is unparalleled and lush with equal parts beauty and whimsy with just a touch of the horror. The friendships gained and grown are stunning in their complexity and the betrayals much more heartbreaking for our dear Fia. I am absolutely in love with this world and these characters and I cannot wait to see where Selene takes her stories next.

What a lovely follow up to the first book! We read the first book for my in person book club and all gave it 4-5 stars! I needed to immediately request an arc of the second and it didn't disappoint! I really love these characters and world that Lyra has created and I'll continue to recommend it to friends and family! We love a fae folk centered story and this was truly so much fun and I'm so glad it was a string second installment

A Crown So Silver was one of my most anticipated 2025 releases, and I’m torn on how I feel about it. I loved being whisked back to faerie, but oh boy Fia was tough to like. The initial half of this book was a struggle. There is a fine line between being confident and being arrogant. Fia obliterated that line. Her immaturity and the way she treated Irulan made me want to scream.

Despite my frustrations with Fia, Selene’s magical writing and The Tournament of Kings ultimately saved this book for me. Around the 50% mark it started to pick up and I found I wasn’t watching the page count go by. That cliffhanger has me by the throat. Tír na nÓg has become a comfort to me, and I will anxiously be awaiting the next in the series (how could I not with that cliffhanger!)

A Crown So Silver is the second novel in Lyra Selene’s Fair Folk series of Celtic romantic fantasy. It picks up right where the first book left off, and it ends on a cliffhanger, so I recommend reading the series in order. As with the first book, I loved the magic, mystery, romance, and intrigue, as well as the author’s poetic language and vivid imagery.

Although she sometimes makes frustrating decisions, I still found our fierce changeling heroine Fia easy to root for. Her hasty marriage to Irian, followed by her death and resurrection, unsurprisingly leads to a rocky relationship. I was sometimes shocked by the things they say and do to each other, but their actions are understandable given their histories. The other characters are also interesting, and I love the found family vibe that developed, although it’s not initially clear who can be trusted. Fia’s aughisky (a vicious, predatory water horse), nicknamed Pond Scum, tends to steal the scenes she’s in, and I love their banter.

The story gets off to a very slow start, but if you stick with it, it gets much more exciting in the second half, to the point that I found it very difficult to put the book down. Readers seeking fast-paced thrills and action may not be able to wade through the first half, but I found that I really wanted to know what happens next for all of these characters, and I do even more so after finishing book 2.

I recommend this book for fans of romantic fantasy, Celtic mythology, and political intrigue.

I received a free advanced review copy of the ebook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

I absolutely LOVED A Feather So Black, so A Crown So Silver was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. I’m so sad that it fell totally flat for me. The pacing was very slow for the first half and I felt that the communication between characters was NOT good. I want to root for Fia, not get annoyed by her.

I feel like a lot of my favorite series suffer the sophomore slump with book 2 so I’m hoping that’s all this is. Since I felt like there were questions that still need to be answered I’m assuming there is a book 3!

A Crown so Silver - second book in Fair Folk series

I DNF at the 60% mark. I truly wanted to love this book. It was my most anticipated release for this year. To say that this book was a struggle for me is understatement, especially since I loved the first book. I may come back to this as the release of the next book approaches.

I could not get into the messy character development or the main love interests possibly entering into yet another love triangle. I understand Lyra wanting to explore the ebb and flow of a relationship when the characters are sorting themselves out. However the pacing of it and repetitive nature of each character made it unbearable.

What I did like was the exploration of the side characters from the previous book. Although there was much to still be explored ,hopefully we’ll get in the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Fair Folk series by @lyraselene continues to be one of my all-time favorite audiobooks! Everything about it is sheer perfection. The Celtic fairytale retelling just would not be the same without the narration of @avena_mansergh_wallace
She just has a way of really enveloping you into the story and her use of accents, inflection and drama really capture the moment of what is occurring, and the emotions of the characters.

***SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 BELOW ***

We left as Fia sacrificed herself in order to save the life of Irian and the magical forest that maintains balance in both the Fae realm and the human realm. Book 1 left me at the edge of my seat, BEGGING publishers to send me an arc so that I could heal my broken heart.

Book 2 was not a disappointment. I really love trials in magical realms and although I was not expecting this for the Fair Folk series, it really worked! There were so many elements to this book that I felt my heart being pulled in different directions. Who is her true love?! Could it be Irian who is just an ass for almost this entire book?! Is it Rogan, who is still under the thrall of the evil Eala. A new mystery man?

I loved all of the magical creatures in this story, especially POND SCUM!! I love Kelpies so much and I am so glad that Lyra decided to include them. AND THE GIANTS. Ugh. Just so good.

Now, back to my "I dont have the next Fair Folk book in my hands yet" corner to sob until the next one comes out!

A crown so silver
"Live for me instead of die"
As before in a feather so black, Lyra Selene delighted us with lyrical prose and beautifully enchanted world of the fae. This story resumed not long after A feather so black. Selene did a wonderful job recapping the ending of the first book it was easy to fall back into this world.

Keeping true to an authentic relationship, we are thrown in for whirlwind of emotion when Fia and Irian must test the boundaries of a new marriage. In the process Irian becomes consumed with protecting his wife at all cost. His reasoning is overcome by his male dominance. I felt it mirrored his lack of love and maturity, which were clear consequences to his development and ultimately lingering affects of his previous curse.

I really enjoyed the deathly trails as well as seeing a little kindling of a love triangle form. It was a great way to keep us on our toes, and show how important it is to evolve in a marriage. Overall I gave it a four stars because though his worry was warranted I didn't like the way he expressed it. I did enjoy seeing them grow as a couple and move passed a hurdle in the end. Anxiously awaiting for the next book after the brutal cliffhanger.