A Crown so Silver gives us all the lyrical/magical vibes that we came to expect after a Feather so Black, but brings even more emotion.

Summary: In an attempt to defeat Eala and live more than 13 years together, Fia and Irian go back to the man who "raised" Irian, the man who forged the treasures. If they can compete in his tournament and win, they can request a forged boon. Irian and Fia's marriage is challenged when they realize they know very little about one another, much less how to support each other and work as a team. Can they repair their trust issues in time to defeat Eala?


Here is what you can expect
✔️ morally gray shadow daddy
✔️love triangle
✔️Celtic mythology
✔️unique magic-heroine has botanical magic 🌿
✔️story telling/riddles
✔️rival siblings
✔️deadly trials/games

I adored this sequel. You get the continued development of both Fia and Irian, without the ease of true love. The pacing was fantastic, and the twists were unexpected


Overall, this story was so magical and will live rent free in my mind for a good long time. If you're a romantasy lover pick this one up!

Thank you to Netgallery and Orbit Books for this Arc!!

This was a bit of a letdown. We pick up right where Feather So Black left off, Fia and Irian are freshly bound to their Treasures and have both changed and gone through a boatload of trauma.

We follow them poorly trying to gather support to oppose Eala in her bid to become a Queen over both worlds. The first like 35% of this book took me over a month to read. It was slow, felt unnecessarily drawn out, and Fia was just as arrogant as ever. She and Irian would disagree, fight, have sex and then accomplish nothing. Rinse and repeat. Fia having virtually no control over her new insanely powerful magic was a constant danger, and her insisting that she had control when she clearly did not, got VERY old VERY fast.

The story really only got interesting again by the time the tournament actually started. But with Irian being a schmuck and removing Fia's agency in the matter, that got taken away as quickly as it came. So instead we get this weird background love interest tension which felt very disingenuous to everything the fought for in the first book. I didn't mind Wayland as a character, but the unnecessary romantic tension did nothing to endear me to him.

The last 20% of this and the end result of the tournament was REALLY the best part of this book. Eala and her super slimey end goal makes for a great step in her solidifying her further as a villain. The betrayal felt obvious as well as the Heirs of the remaining Treasures.

I am absolutely loving this trilogy so far. I will admit that the second book had me a little worried for a while, but it pulled me right back in as the story progressed. I'm so sorry I doubted your vision, I won't let it happen again. It's hard for me to review a sequel without spoiling anything, so I'll just say that if you enjoyed A Feather So Black then I think you'll have similar feelings for A Crown So Silver.

Lyra Selene's writing style is impeccable. She writes beautiful prose and swoon-worthy romance. Please give me the third book immediately.

4.5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read, but I think it suffered a little from second book syndrome. I was a big fan of A Feather So Black, and I'll definitely continue on to read the third book when it comes out, but A Crown So Silver was definitely weaker than its predecessor. I just wasn't as riveted by the competition aspect of the book, or their experience in a rival monarch's court. One of the things I most appreciated about the first book was the Celtic influences on both the human world and the faerie world, and those influences kind of fell to the wayside, making the setting seem instead like a basic fantasy. I also didn't love Fia and Irian arguing constantly being used as a plot device, and I hated the love triangle that was being hinted at. I'm very much hoping that the third book has more of the qualities I loved about the first book.

Lyra Selene is a goddess of a writer and I loved every damn second of this book. I was ADDICTED to A Feather So Black and this one ended with yet another cliff hanger. Lyra!!!! The characters are entrenched in a mess and continue on throughout the book. While I feel like this one suffered from the normal second book curse (slow and feels unbalanced), I enjoyed it a lot.

I liked the first book of this series so I definitely wanted to pick up this one. I did find it very slow at first, and the first half of the book was difficult to get into. I wasn't really sure what was going on with Fia and Irian--the characters didn't really feel like the same characters from the first book, and I feel like... where did the relationship go? It was really confusing and I kept wondering what I misremembered about the first book to lead to where things started here.

However, I did find the second half of the book picked up. We finally started to see some explanations as to why the characters were acting the way they were, particularly Fia. I felt like it took me forever to read the first half and I flew through the second half quite a bit faster. The competition aspect was definitely faster paced and I liked the introduction of more characters and folklore.

If the entire book had been like the first half, this would be a 2 star read. If the entire book had been like the second half, a 4 star. So, I will average it together. I am definitely much less excited to pick up book 3 but at the same time, the cliffhanger....

The Second book in Selene's "Fair Folk" series, "A Crown So Silver" adds dimension and ups the stakes to its first volume "A Feather So Black." Drawing from the Swan Lake story, Fia is the black swan (dark, opinionated and unwanted) who is sent to save her sister Eala (Fair and beautiful) from the fae realm, only to realize Eala is not what she appears. After sacrificing herself to save the fae Inian at the end of the previous book, Fia awakens with some new skills and some much larger problems, mostly orchestrated by either Eala or Inian's father, King of the Silver Isle. It doesn't for him to lure all of our main characters into a tournament that puts Inian against his foster brother Wayland and against his wife Fia, now sister-in law Eala, also championed by her new husband and Fia's former lover Rogan, who she has enthralled against his will. Needless to say, it is a little complicated. All this for a boon of a granted wish.

Let me start by saying, I wish more Romantasy was written like this! It is quite riveting, delivering great storytelling, unpredictable twists and complex characters in memorable prose that captured my imagination and immersed me in the world without skimping on the spicy scenes (I mean, like right out of the gate! whew) To be honest, the book definitely pushes my comfort zone here (4 chillies for me), but unlike in other novels in the genre that seem to shoe horn the sex in as much as possible in weird ways (like on the battlefield) or just downright interrupting the flow of the plot, or as a means for "pillow talk" info dumps, these scenes add to the story in richer ways that I think will be quite satisfying for readers who look for the smut, but also those like me who see it as one component of a whole story.

The romance itself is also unconventional. The first book ends with Inian and Fia's marriage, but both go into the union thinking they will not live out the day to save the other. But surprise, neither dies [not a spoiler if there is a book 2] so now, they have to figure out how to live together, and that gets messy. Their fighting and the stress on their relationship is probably the issue I have seen most frequently critiqued in negative reviews, and yes it is a bit frustrating at times to read, but also (at least for myself who has been married for quite a while) it was believable. They cross boundaries they shouldn't and don't talk to each other the way they should precisely because they have to learn how to do this through trial and error. Inian is overprotective in icky ways, yes. But can he learn and change? Maybe. There is also the presence of Weyland and Rogan, 2 other "end game" possibilities that are out there and do create more tension. I wasn't sure for a while where all this was going, but without spoilers, let me just say trusting the author here paid off!

I did still struggle a bit in the first 1/2 to get my bearings (thus the 4.5 rating). There is a lot going on, yes, but more so, I think the tropes and expectations readers may come into this book with are often turned on their head, and in amazing ways! As a result, it is hard to see where you are headed because the formula is what Selene is playing with in making the story compelling. By the end, I was on the edge of my seat, having no idea who was going to live or die and what would happen and it was incredible. If sticking with a a story that raises questions without quick answers isn't for you, then I can see how some folks didn't enjoy this one. For me, the ending has shades (don't come for me bros) of a "Sanderlanch" effect and I was all in!

My one quibble is I went in (yet again with me) thinking it was a duology. But no, there is third book on the way, and it couldn't get here soon enough. Boy is there a cliffhanger. But here again, there is still some satisfying closure to the story in this book. We understand what has happened, but we need to know what it means for the characters, and where they go from here at the same time. Don't keep me hanging too long Lyra!

I absolutely loved A Feather So Black and so I'm a little disappointed about this sequel. It seemed a bit disjointed and the petty fighting between the main couple was not my favorite. I am still invested in the story and thought overall it was still a decent read but I really hope Fia is closer to book 1 Fia in the next one. 💞 Irian. Hope it's not turning into a love triangle situation.

Before we get the review started I want to give a big Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review! The thoughts and feelings below are my own.

DNF 38%

Fair warning, I literally took a gamble on this one. So a little backstory I got the first book in this series from a Fairyloot subscription box. But I didn’t read it until I got approved for this arc. Because I thought to myself how awesome would it be to read both books back to back. Turns out after reading book one I realized I made a grave mistake. Because I did not love book one, I did enjoy it enough to finish. However, I put myself in position where I had to immediately read the second book in series that I honestly didn’t give two craps about. Honestly the book didn’t need a sequel. Yet here we are. So we pushed through and decided to give it go to see what the author could be setting up. And as you can tell from the top of my review I only made it 38% through…

My biggest gripe with what I did read is with freaking Fia. There is only person who can be Bryce Quinlan and Fia honey that is not you. I’m getting a head of myself let me back up. Our main characters Fia and Irian under went some pretty traumatizing events at the end of book 1. And instead of being systematic and showing compassion. Fia disregards Irian feelings completely. Like ma’am he went through an ordeal. Can you try caring just a smidge. Noooooo instead she has to snap at him constantly and then continuously does dangerous arrogant crap. I knew I couldn’t continue on if I was already that pissed off and I wasn’t even half way yet. Which absolutely sucks because I have coworkers that love this series and the books Fairyloot did for them are so freaking pretty.

A Crown So Silver
(Fair Folk #2)
Lyra Selene
3.5⭐️

Pub Date: 1/21/2025

Let's go back to Tir Na Nog!
I was invested in Fia and Irian's story from book 1. And this second installment picked up right where it left off. The beginning was so good. So chaotic. I didn't know what was happening but in a good way. It started off with a bang and lots of tension. The plot answered some questions and then made more! And then it slowed down for about 50% of the book. I thought the pacing was much slower compared to book 1. But still, tiny and larger details were dropped here and there that kept me going. Irian's reaction to what happened to Fia in the beginning broke my heart. I understand but it was obviously an overcorrection (hint: he did like maybe 20% of what Tamlin did in ACOMAF). But I still love the MMC. I wish there was more of him. The folklore that they were re-ennacting was so interesting that I didn't realize how big of an impact it truly had in this plot. Again, similar to the first book, the crazy plot happens towards the end and the cliffhanger is killing me!

The writing style is okay. It has a lot of dialogue and descriptions of the places which is appropriate for visualization i realize. But even then, it doesn't take away the fact that this is a bit too slow for me.
I thought it was an okay read. This one has trials and tests and definitely more intricate secrets but not quite as captivating as I thought it would be. I definitely am invested enough to read the next book in this series.

Thank you @netgalley and Orbit Books for a gifted e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I said it with the first book and Ill say it again with this one, this series needs to be way more popular than it is! I seriously cannot express how much I loved this. Fia and Irian fought a lot throughout the first half of the book and while that could be off putting to some it somehow drew me in even more? I got so invested in just wanting to scream at each to talk to each other. It got to the point where I was much more sad that they were fighting than annoyed that were like many might be. The way the author went about their fights and relationship overall felt much more realistic to me than many others in similar books. The trails were amazing and the plot twists kept me on the edge of my seat. I felt the pacing was great in this book. Ugh I just cannot wait for the next book!

I absolutely adored book one but sadly did not feel the same about this one. The pacing was off and the beginning was slow. It felt like nothing was happening and then too much. I still love the female main character who is good but takes no shit. The ending were just okay but I wanted so much more.

3.75/5 - Roudned up to 4 for Goodreads.

This was one of my most anticipated releases for 2025, as I really loved the first book and it had ended on a cliff hanger. I did need to go back to the first book and reacquaint myself with some of the characters and plot, because book 2 really dives right in. The writing of this series is very lyrical and it took me awhile to readjust to the style of story telling. The first half of the story felt very slow, however this does pick up quite a lot in the back half.

This book really strengthened and added on to the mythology, and I really enjoyed the additions to the world Lyra Selene has built. I really enjoyed the 2 new characters that were introduced (Laoise and Wayland). They added to the plot in interesting ways. The aughiskies and Linn especially were awesome. Who wouldn't want a murder-y water-horse as a companion?

While I liked this book, I didn't enjoy it as much as the first installment, and I don't quite think it hits that 4 star mark for those reason. I didn't love all of the miscommunication between Fia and Irian in this book. It felt like they needed to talk and deal with things instead of just butting heads and trying to go against one another. Miscommunication tropes just really piss me off and this one was no exception to the stupidity. Trying to introduce Wayland as a love triangle was not necessary. Just more ridiculous drama to the main couple that really just needed to talk. (I am not a love triangle hater by any means, but this intro to one felt forced and it was obvious that it wasn't going to ever amount to much.) I'm also a little irked that we end on a cliffhanger, again. I'll be back next year for the thrid book though, as I am curious to see where this story goes.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for an eARC of this book.

A Crown So Silver is the perfect sequel to A Feather So Black!

Still in the stunning Celtic faelands, the suspense only continues to build! I loved Fia’s development in this installment! Irian’s journey was simultaneously frustrating and heartbreaking and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved the new characters we met and the new dynamics they bring into the fold as well as the depth of new insight we get into the lore and magic system.

The betrayals and decisions leading up to the cliffhanger have me anxiously excited for book 3!

Lyra Selene continues the tale based loosely on Swan Lake. A Feather So Black (paper) ended with Fia killing herself to save her new husband Irian, only to be reborn with a new version of one of the four magical treasures that sustain the fae lands. The only way to restore the other two treasures is to travel to the Silver Isle. Its King, Gavida had forged the original treasures and Irian, an adopted son of the king, hoped his father would forge replacements. Unfortunately there’s a tournament filled with death that has to be won, another son of the king, Wayland, kept in chains to control his magic, and a deep secret hidden under the island. It doesn’t help that the newlyweds are fighting. Will they win A Crown So Silver (paper from Orbit) or will Fia’s ex-boyfriend Prince Rogan and his new wife, the princess Fia rescued in the first tale, Eala who wants control of the Fae gates. There’s a third part coming to this romantic fantasy and I’m curious how the full tale will end.

Sadly, this book fell completely flat for me. I was so looking forward to this, but I was 13% in and couldn't believe how little was happening and just how long it was taking. To be dragging so early was an indicator that unfortunately, this just wasn't going to work for me. Maybe some day I'll come back and give the series another try, but the idea that this book was over 500 pages and seeing other reviews that the first 50% is incredibly slow, it just did not inspire confidence. So unfortunately a DNF for me (which I truly hate doing) and I hate to do it after a great first book. Sigh.

Once again, I let the hype get to me and requested book two before finishing book one. I did make myself finish book one last night, and until like the last twenty percent, it was a STRUGGLE. So unfortunately, after making it only twenty-three percent into book two, I don't think there is any world in which this book will make the payoff worth the slog for me.

I did see that people say it gets better around the fifty to sixty percent mark, but the constant bickering and the regression in our main character and love interest have just turned me off, and while I didn't go into this caring all that much about either of them, I definitely don't now.

YES! YES! YES! i loved the first book in this series so much and this next installment didn’t disappoint! i loved the trials aspect and lyra’s writing is just soooo beautiful! knocked down a star for how insufferable i found fia in this book but still really looking forward to the next book!

I had to put this down after the main couple had sex five times within 20% of the book and they were entirely all over each other, all while the author was setting up a possible love triangle. I just got frustrated with it. I miss the yearning before the sex, it felt less satisfying since we didn't have much of the story before the sex to get us excited for when the characters got together. Probably just a me thing.

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

I really enjoyed the first book, A Feather so Black, so I was excited to get book 2! Unfortunately this did not live up to expectations.. I’m still giving it 3 stars because I don’t think it was bad, but I do think it suffers from middle book syndrome. I think I was most disappointed that it veered away from the main issue set up by book 1. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC