These Feathered Flames is a YA Fantasy and WLW retelling of a Russian folktale The Firebird, which I was not personally familiar with prior to reading this book.

I am not a huge fantasy reader, but I thought the world-building in this book was excellent and I'm so impressed that this was Overy's debut novel.

I especially loved the duel perspectives, the exploration of the complex relationship between the two vastly different twin sisters, and the enemies-to-lovers romance. My biggest "critique" is less of a criticism and more of my own bias showing through, as I just wish we got to see more of the romance! But I know that's definitely a "me" thing.

Overall, if you're a fan of fantasy - specifically political fantasies - with sword-wielding lesbians, and complicated sibling dynamics, this book is for you!

My Rating: 3/5 stars

My Review:

I received an e-arc of this book from Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review and place on this blog tour – thanks!

I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this book, but I did enjoy reading it. I had never heard of the fairytale that this story is a retelling of – but I don’t think that hinders the reading experience at all. It was very much a character driven story, which I don’t mind, but I felt like it was missing something. What that something is … I am not quite sure. I will probably pick up the next book, especially after the way this one ended – I need answers!!!

One thing this book did really well was building up Izaveta’s and Asya’s personalities, showing how their time apart has changed them. I felt like we really get thrusted right into the middle of their reunion, with all of the emotions and disappointments they faced when trying to rekindle their relationship. The character development in this book was *chef’s kiss*. I felt connected to these two, to the point where you can see where their actions are taking them and I think that is a sign of really great character development.

What I do wish there was more of was world building. I am still very confused by the conflicts the story presents. We are told constantly about the feuds between Tourin and other kingdoms but we are never shown what that means nor do we really learn much about how this plays into the politics of the Tourin court. The reader is expected to just accept these realities and I think that expanding upon them could have really helped build the world around the characters.

I don’t want to spoil anything about this book, but there is a very slow burn queer enemies-to-lovers subplot and it just made my heart so happy. I cannot wait to see what the next book holds for this pair.

All in all, These Feathered Flames was an excellent read, one that I think will be great for those who prefer a character driven fantasy rather than one with dense world building. I look forward to seeing where this story goes next.

Happy Reading!

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this is much as I did, especially since I was conflicted about the two characters. I couldn't help but immediately like Asya but Izaveta really surprised me, especially at the end. Also, I absolutely loved the lesbian vibes and am sad with how it ended. Except it sounds like this isn't the end so perhaps I can still hope! A very interesting story

This book had a great premise however I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I didn't feel overtly connected to the sisters as I really thought I should be. Unfortunately, it wasn't as interesting as I had hoped and I won't be following with this series.

Two sisters navigating court life after the death of their mother. Iza and Asya don't even know if they can trust each other, and I believe that was one of the most difficult things to get through. Filled with scheming, politics, and a fantasy land out of balance.

Aw man I wanted to like this one more. Unfortunately it took too long to get to anything interesting plot wise, and only Asya as a character engendered any sympathy whatsoever. I didn’t care or actively disliked a lot of the others, which made the POV switching a bit of a naissance to me. It happens sometimes though.
Full review on YouTube

Very dark, very heavy, very clever. You get sucked in so fast it's hard to put down!!! Definitely get a snack and settle in, you're not going to want to get up!!

Based on the Russian folktale of The Firebird, we meet two sisters, separated at thirteen--one to become the next Queen, the other to become the next Firebird. Of course, because this is a folk tale there are beats that need to be hit as we go along: the small country, the advisors with their own agendas, the sisters separation leading to an estrangement, etc.

Overy does a decent job of that part of the book, but doesn't do as good a job giving readers a real reason to care about Asya/the Firebird or Izaveta/the Queen, the matters of state, etc.. There are other books adapting this story to better effect, but YMMV as to enjoying this entry.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

I found this book difficult to really get into. I didn’t really connect with the sisters, and felt that the premise lacked depth. The world building could have been better as well. I don’t think I would follow up with this story.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

This retelling of the firebird has such incredibly lush writing. I can't wait for the sequel! I loved everything about this book, especially the sibling relationship at its heart.

These Feathered Flames was a good read but I hope it gets more world-building in the 2nd book. I didn't enjoy the political aspect, it became boring and repetitive. But I enjoyed the hints of romance and look forward to seeing how they play out.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

A great fantasy read with a beautiful built world and carefully crafted characters. One of the major things I appreciated, was the fact the names weren't insanely hard to pronounce. That's a huge bonus for me!

A great book! Well written and flew by. Highly enjoyable in this genre. A four star read! I would recommend this to anyone.

While I initially liked this book the more I reflected on it the less I liked it. Life seemed hard for the main character for no other reason than her birth. While this can be life, I think this is a message we are trying to move away from.

You know those books that are so good that you can’t formulate words? That whenever you try to talk about it your brain turns into a flailing muppet? That is These Feathered Flames for me.

This sapphic enemies to lovers, Russian firebird folktale retelling is everything I craved but couldn’t put my finger on. It follows Asya & Izaveta, twin sisters with entirely separate destinies—one to be the firebird & the other the queen. Asya is perhaps one of my favorite characters, ever, officially. She is such a relatable, emotionally raw, & has a f/f, slow burn romance that dealt with overcoming biases & misunderstanding. Izaveta is a product of her environment that I loved & wanted to shake/scream at all at once. Plus don’t get me started on her romance which surprised me but I loved it. Their sisterhood & growth & years built walls? Fantastic.

The writing, the author’s voice, the storyline, the characters, the romance, the EVERYTHING? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This made my sapphic heart soar. Read this & come talk to my about it ASAP. & bring on the art, PLEASE!

Unfortunately this book is one for the DNF shelf. The premise is really interesting but I found I couldn’t really get into the book.

The magic is interesting, though it’s not fully explained in the first couple chapters. The sisters don’t reflect on how their bond has changed, even when they think about each other. I felt very disconnected from the characters.

I love this retelling with a LGBTQ spin. Lot of adventure and dramatic storytelling which is a must in a fantasy retelling.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review.

Ummm y’all! They ride BEARS in this world, not horses. Super cool.

On the whole I felt like this followed the lines of typical YA Russian-inspired fantasy/folklore mixed with court politics that have been coming out in the last few years. It was a good read, but not anything that wowed me for its originality, or sucked me in to the narrative. At points I found that I missed parts of the narrative because I had stopped paying attention (which is usually not something I experience with audiobooks) so I think I might have struggled with staying interested if I had been reading a physical copy.

I honestly could take or leave the sisters (they were neither interesting nor boring) and the side characters felt flat. I wish the firebird plot line was taken a step farther. Overall I liked the concept but had hoped for more.

Fiona Hardingham does a decent job with the audiobook narration.

I don't even begin to know how to review this book. It felt like something that should have been DEEPLY inside my wheelhouse, but for some reason it never really latched on. Even more frustrating is that I have no idea why. I can't pinpoint anything about the characters or the plot or the writing style that turned me off so much. Everything felt pretty much as it should be... yet somehow I truly did not care one little bit about this book or the characters within it.

The premise is interesting and delivers on all the things you might expect from the synopsis. Some of the characters feel a bit one dimensional, but have several redeeming moments that bring them to life throughout the book. The setting and magic system are both intriguing and described in such detail that they feel very colorful compared to some of the other aspects of the book.

I really struggled with the pacing. The entire first half consisted of me forcing myself to turn pages and continually checking page numbers, eager to put it aside and move on to something else. It felt like the author was trying to build drama with all the conspiracies and the court intrigue, but it just felt drawn out and painfully slow. None of the pay off in the end felt worth the lengthy slog of the build up. I likely would have enjoyed this book much more if it were closer to 300 pages than a whopping 500. All of that said, I will admit that the final quarter of the book picked up rapidly. Exciting things started happening, shocking moments occurred, twists were revealed, etc. But for me, it was all too late to redeem the almost 400 pages of ugh I'd had to endure before getting anywhere even slightly interesting.

In the end, I feel like this book just wasn't for me. I know other people who loved it. I expected to love it. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
I'm glad it found its audience somewhere, even if not with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.