"Of Flesh and Feathers" by L.M. Pierce is a gripping and fast-paced novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. The story follows Sylphie, a young woman who discovers that she has the ability to shapeshift into a bird. As she navigates this newfound power, she becomes embroiled in a dangerous world of supernatural beings and secret societies.

The world-building in this novel is superb, and Pierce does an excellent job of bringing the various magical creatures and factions to life. The plot is also well-crafted, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between Sylphie and her love interest, Kael, which added an extra layer of emotional depth to the story.

My only criticism of the book is that at times, the pacing felt a little rushed. Some scenes could have benefited from a bit more detail and description to really allow the reader to fully immerse themselves in the world. However, this is a minor quibble, and overall, I thoroughly enjoyed "Of Flesh and Feathers."

If you're a fan of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, I would highly recommend giving this book a read. It's a thrilling adventure that will leave you eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series. 4/5 stars.

A foul wind blows through the chicken coop. The flock's caretaker no longer comes to collect Chickory's eggs or bring her feed, and the stench of death is everywhere. Her friend Fayne is haunted by visions of danger and by a prophecy of safety beyond the farthest horizon a chicken has ever known. With the help of their faithful farm dog, Chickory must convince her flock to follow Fayne into a frightening world of disease and predators, both natural...and unnatural.

Great lead character. Interesting ideas. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was a great fantasy and science fiction book. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I want to start this review by saying I have never read Watership Down by Richard Adams so I can't possibly compare the two. Overall, I loved this book it reminded me of all the best parts of a zombie apocalypse show but with chickens. Each chicken had their own distinct personality which made them even more human to me. It combines Stephen King like horror with reality. As an English major that has been taught to read between the lines there is also an interesting commentary on religion as well. If you are a fan of zombies or chickens you NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really was on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

This book is exactly what you think it is. Sort of a post-apocalyptic Watership Down with chickens. It's absurd and weird and if that's what you want, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I’m not sure what it says about me that the moment I saw that this was a book about a zombie apocalypse with a literal chicken as the protagonist, my reaction was basically “oh fuck yes.” But even though I can’t define what exactly it *does* say about me, I do know that I’m proud of it.

Things have been rough for Chicory and the rest of her flock. Their human hasn’t been around to feed them for a while, and the foraging around the yard is getting pretty slim. But when Chicory’s friend Fayne (who always seemed to know things she shouldn’t, and is a bit of a cracked egg besides) warns the rest of the chickens that they need to leave their coop and do it soon, Chicory is prepared to trust her. Fayne can’t (or won’t) say what the danger is, but she’s very frightened of it and says she knows of a distant valley where they’ll be safe.

What follows is surprisingly fun. I was worried this was going to be one-joke and one-dimensional, but it was anything but. Sure, the main characters are mostly chickens (the farm dog tags along as well), but Pierce does an excellent job of making them into *people*. Frightened (and feathery) people venturing far outside their past experiences, enduring never-before-felt hardships and depredation, all in the hope of reaching an uncertain promise of safety.

I want to avoid spoilers, but I do want to say that the choice of chickens as the protagonists (as opposed to, say, cows, or llamas, or squirrels) was not done randomly. There is plot-significance there.

This wasn’t a book that is going to change my life. It didn’t deeply move me. But I enjoyed reading it, and now I can check “book about zombies told from the perspective of a chicken” off of my bucket list.

Bingo categories: Magical pet. Maybe climate fiction, but that’s a little bit of a stretch.

This book was super entertaining, and I came upon it simply because I raise chickens as a hobby. Some of the animal death was upsetting, but all in all i enjoyed this read. Zombies and chickens? What’s not to love!

I really wanted to enjoy this book but it really just feels like Watership Down with chickens instead of rabbits. Even the character types are similar. I couldn't finish because I just couldn't take it seriously. Maybe if I hadn't read Watership Down and absolutely loved it I could appreciate this one more. Would not recommend.

This book is crazy! I've never read from the point of view of a chicken, but it was intense. Not only were there zombies, but being a chicken, Chickory had to worry about cats, coyotes, dogs, and regular humans. I was on edge a lot, hoping none of the chickens or the dog, Tucker, would die and rooting for them to find the valley.

The world building of the chickens was so good. They have a god and prayers and beliefs. The way they understand things is so different from a human but made total sense. I liked Chickory, she kept faith in her friend, even when the other chickens didn't.

I ended up really liking this and the ending was well done. I think I'll check out the companion novel to see things from the human side!

I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Of Flesh and Feathers will introduce you to some interesting characters. Not sure if you have ever read a book from a dogs or chickens POV, but if you ever had the dream to do so - look no further. Here is your book! It was honestly a pretty entertaining book, just to see what chickens will do when a virus comes out and people turn into zombies.

After meeting Chickory, it's safe to say that I was hooked. She was a pretty likable character and definitely loyal to Fayne. No matter what happened to their little gang or how weird Fayne would act toward situations - Chickory stuck by her. Always followed her no matter what.

Throughout the book they are looking for a new place to call home. A new safe haven from the undead roaming the world. It takes them a while and they definitely meet some interesting characters along the way. I'd say the journey was well worth it because the ending was pretty cute.

**I have received a free copy to review honestly from NetGalley**

When I saw the title and cover, I chuckled and thought it was a book I had to read. I was not prepared for the apocalyptic setting and horrors that our heroine would face. Our fierce little hen faces the odds head-on, all the while caring for those around her. Fans of Watership Down will find comfort in the familiarity of this book. I look forward to more works by this author, because I was emotionally invested throughout all of this one!

This book was a very interesting experience. It follows a flock of chickens and other farm animals trying to navigate their way through the end of the world and try to survive without their human masters. It's an extremely unique concept, which I appreciate, but I'm not 100% certain who this book was written for. I feel like this would have made a fantastic middle grade novel, but it seems to be written for more of a YA audience, which I'm not sure is the correct market for it. I loved the creativity shown by the author, and did enjoy his writing style.

An apocalyptic / zombie / virus book about chicken sounded totally fun. It was, but it was also one of this great stories were you really feel for the characters and experience their fate.

L.M. Pierce is an author I absolutely want to read more by. Her writing in this is poignant and concise, with descriptions that not only sound nice but were also quite effective in expressing horror and suffering, but also everything else going on in the protagonist’s head. There were, for example, some scenes where the flock falls into panic which felt hectic and almost stressful to read. So, well done.

Chickory is a great, if typical, main character: She’s likable and the right mix of ordinary chicken, with their way of thinking, and being “different”, by which I mean smart enough to make strong decisions despite being terrified. Her relationship with Fayne that develops throughout the book moved me more than I would have thought. I also like that her name is basically a pun, which I very much appreciate.

The only thing that bothered me while reading is that, especially in the beginning, a little too much reminded me of Watership Down. Maybe it was international, the author’s comment or own take on this almost classic story, and it never felt like plagiarism, however it distracted me, nonetheless. The story stands well on its own, goes in another direction with most concepts and there are things are bound to end up similarly, but it took me a while to shake off the feeling that this seems familiar.

I was enjoying the book the whole way through, but I wasn’t prepared for how much I´d like the ending. Everything came together perfectly and you can’t help but care, is all I’m going to say.

So if you’re open minded enough to read from a chicken’s point of view and it the headspace to read about the world crumbling down around the characters, check this out. The writing style is very immersive, the chicken have their own religion and mindset that I enjoyed exploring and you’ll absolutely be engaged and feel what is going on in this world.