*3.5 STARS*

Content Warning: neglectful parent and abandonment, death, grief

+ I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book because it is very lyrical, and we are in Alix’s head a lot. Alix’s mother left her and her dad, her dad is a neglectful parent and her best friend just died. Alix finds herself being brave enough to ask to apprentice at a feather artist shop. I thought her growth in the story was inspiring. I loved Alix’s connection to feathers and how working at the shop helped her open up to people, and to her own art.

+ My favorite part of the story I think had to be about the feathers! Mademoiselle Salomé is a premier feather artist in Paris. I went to the Moulin Rouge during my honeymoon so I was actually fascinated about the setting and theme of this book. I could really envision these feather works of arts that Mademoiselle Salomé and her team would create and loved the drama behind the scenes with the other staff at Mille et Une Plume. I liked the secondary characters in the book also, they had so much character.

+ The romance is a bit of a love triangle. Alix is caught between two boys. She starts hooking up with one boy, Raven and then starts befriending the other boy, Blaise, as they both grieve over Alix’s best friend. You could kind of tell how it would play out and honestly, I didn’t mind it because Alix is a broken soul. And if she’s looking for love because she doesn’t even have parents around to be there for her, then I was there rooting for her on this journey – even if it meant her trying to fix some relationships.

~ This is all part of Alix’s growth but she is very timid at times especially in the beginning and I just wanted her to do the right thing, when she did the wrong thing.  She doesn’t know how to communicate how she feels and that was frustrating at times. Like I said, she learns eventually to come clean, so there is growth in her character.

~ There is a lot of French words and I didn’t know what they meant but it didn’t make it hard reading. I just hoped I was saying them correctly in my head – but I’m pretty sure I was wrong!

My Thoughts:

I thought this was a beautiful story about personal growth and how an obsession with feathers helped keep Alix afloat during her grief of losing her best friend and even losing her dad, who leaves her in a time when she really needs someone to stay with her. I love how Alix finds a family with the staff at Mille et Une Plume and she learns a lot about fashion, and actually expressing herself. The secondary characters really bring the story to life and the romance, though a love triangle, I thought had a beautiful ending. By the end of the book I was as obsessed with the feathers as Alix was.

A girl who dreams about becoming a feather artist gets an apprentice ship under her idol while dealing with the grief of her best friend's death, a possible love triangle, and finding her place and what she wants to do with her life. Alix Leclaire wants to work as an apprentice for the feather artist at Mille et une Plume. She dreams about her creations becoming high fashion and that her best friend Jeanne will become a famous musician and together they will take over the Paris art scene. But then, Jeanne dies and Alix is lost, she feels empty, trying to deal with her grief and decides to pursue the job at Mille et une Plume. As she begins working there she begins finding herself as an artist as well as falling for the handsome son of the artist, Raven... but then there is Blaise, a boy who knew Jeanne and was in a band with her and who has reached out to Alix to grieve together. Alix finds herself falling for both boys while also trying to deal with her grief. Alix has tried to live like Jeanne but maybe it's time for her to live for herself and make her own wings. This is a story about grief and finding yourself after losing someone important to you. Alix throws herself into her work but by trying to be Jeanne, she has to figure out where to draw the line between remembering a friend and being herself and grieving. It's a unique story for sure and I think if you are looking for an emotional story about grief this would be for you.

*Thanks Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I never thought feathers could be so magical.

'If I Promise You Wings' tells the story of Alix Leclaire, a teenager who dreams of being a famous feather artist. But wait, she's still grieving the loss of her one and only best friend and she doesn't dare to speak up for herself if she could. The only times she ever felt free was when she was with her wild-as-heck BFF, and whenever she worked on feathers---and then she gets transported to this enchanting headspace where nothing is impossible. She gets a position in Paris's most famous feather boutique where she trains on the art of feathers.

Honestly, it took me a long while to even get through the first ~25% of this story because it was all about Alix feeling sad for Jeanne's death, who by the way sounds like someone who I wouldn't befriend IRL (Alix has questionable company lol), and the fact that her dad is a major jerk. Also her mom abandoned their family a long time ago so it couldn't get any more depressing for Alix. Until she decides one day to, "Hey, I'll go to this super famous salon and ask the owner to put me under her wing", which is probably the first time she acted brave-ish.

You'd think it gets better from then on, right? Not really. Sure, we get to meet Mademoiselle Salome and the people behind Mille et Une Plume, including the oh-so-hot Raven, but things only move forward when Alix makes an acquaintance with one of Jeanne's boys, Blaise. A love triangle ensues, and oh my god, just like Alix, I can't seem to choose which of the two she should end up with. Both are the exact opposites and yet I couldn't help but fall in love with their charms.

The story was utterly beautiful. A.K. Small wrote everything in such an easy yet flowy language that I felt like I was floating, just like one of Alix's feathers. Alix's painfully slow progress from being directionless to eventually finding her true calling got me rooting for her in the end.

And finally, the cover! Gosh, the cover's the main reason why I grabbed my chance for this eARC in the first place. Enchantée!

Thank you NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for the chance to read and review If I Promise you Wings by A. K. Small.

I do really appreciate that A. K. Small set this in the world of feather artistry which was completely new to me! It felt like being in a fantasy! Like feather artistry does feel completely unreal even now! The inclusion of Emily Dickinson’s poem was also a lovely touch!

The book is sweet. There is no other way to put it. It’s great to see Alix grow and deal with her grief and meet new people and branch out, but aside from that a lot of the stuff with her father was really anti-climatic (even though I understand that life can be that way) and even stuff at Mille etc Une Plume was very everyone wins and is happy at the end of it all.

But again, I am 28, I am absolutely not the target audience for this book, which may love it a lot more than I do!

First, I want to thank NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for providing me with this beautiful e-ARC.

I love it so much. I couldn't stop reading it until I finished. The story about Alix is so inspiring. It feels magical and cozy with a little bit of darkness tint. I also love the trope of found family here. I could imagine all the wings they made with heart, how Alix connected with those feathers (she sometimes felt the feathers were alive). I also can feel Alix's grief for her best friend, Jeanne.

These are some quotes I like:
- "Being an artist means not being afraid of tackling everything, especially what we are terrible at."
- "Infuse the wings with what lives inside you."

I would love to recommend this book to everyone, especially if you like Disney's vibes!

First of all, thank you Algonquin Young Reader and netgalley for the arc.i will write a detailed review for Goodreads and Instagram, soon.
📚 Summary:
The story is about Alix who wants to be a top premiere feather designer in Paris. She got a job at a top premiere feather boutique because she promised her friend she would follow her dream. The tragic thing is her friend Jeanne who she made this promise to passed away in a car accident.
Alix learns the ropes of the job by being trained by Raven the dark mysterious boy who is the shop owners son and a feather artist. In the meantime her shop wins the bid for the next Moulin Rouge show. In the meantime Alix is torn between the handsome rebellious boy, Raven and her friend from school, Blaise who is a very cute and nice musician.

👍 What I Loved:
—>self discovery
—>fighting the grief and guilt of her best friend's death
—>the family abandonment (?)
—>life is a struggle for her everyday while trying to chase her dreams
—>a very quick read.

The book has you(not me tho...) rooting for Alix to make it throughout her trials.

🤔 Thoughts:
Before I say something else I want to let everyone know that i have a love and hate relationship with this book.
Alix was a b**** but the she out grew herself and became a bit bearable. I have always hated book girls who are torn between 2 different boys at the same time and still somehow, I always end up picking up books with that trope... From Avery to Alix, I am unable to pick just one certain emotion for them between love and hate.
Books like this one make me question my own ability of comprehension.... tbh, Raven was not a "bad boy" as everyone else keeps saying, he is just a kid stuck in his own tragedies(?) and difficulties, he deserved better!! Blaise is our goody two shoes(not in the last few pages👀) he also deserves better, this Alix girl.... nah he should get someone better!!! Blaise and Alix are breaking up after the epilogue for sure!!

I was totally entranced from the beginning as Alix has a dream of being a feather artist in Paris. I had a vague idea what "feather artistry" might be but searched and was flabbergasted by the beauty and expertise needed to create these illusions.

Like Alix, who is dealing with grief at the loss of her friend, feathers are strong, beautiful, soft, colorful, and useful for flight and protection.

A glorious story of friendship, artistry, dreams, and love.

I have high hopes for this story. The synopsis intrigues me to read it. It not common you get to introduce to the world of feather artist. It feels like living in fairytale but in real life settings. We see magic from arts and of course translating the magical feeling into words is not an easy task. It feels magical and it a bummer that i’m not that diligent to google every feathers mentioned in the stories. The only way is to create my own imagination of the feather.

Plot wise is okay. Plays a lot with Alix monologue, inner conflict. But relationship wise it’s a bit cringy. Especially with Raven. He was princed charming too much to the point that it’s cringing and we dont see the chemistry between Alix and Raven. Only Raven perfect side. The perfect guy to fall in love, handsome and all. That’s it. We don’t see Alix truly rely her emotions to Raven which makes their relationship far from fetch, the way we want. To the point that I totally support Alix if she ended up with Blaise. But after all it’s not a bad thing and it’s make sense if the reader truly understands the characters.

After all, it’s not bad. It’s a good book with a complicated side of it. People who deemed for solid personality won’t understand Alix and Alix’s choices, I think.

This book sent me into the chaos of a rollercoaster that left me not only reeling but also swooning and grateful for the people in my life.

I loved the whole setting of Paris and that it's set in the fashion industry - one that makes me so fascinated. This is a glamorous story but also filled with overcoming grief and finding yourself.

There are some things that I enjoyed and disliked in this book.

First, I liked the scenes focusing around the main characters past and her friend. I thought they were interesting to read. I liked Blaise as a character, in both as his general personality and how he treated the main character. I also enjoyed the Paris setting.

I didn’t like Raven’s character at all and the way he treated Alix. Even from the start, when he was first introduced I wasn’t fond of his character.

Alix as a main character wasn’t my favourite. I thought the way she dealt with the whole Raven or Blaise situation was odd and how she refused to believe Blaise was telling her the truth about his relationship with Jeanne. Small details but the still irked me lol.

Overall, this was enjoyable, but due to the characters personalities I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I could have.

DNF at 52%.

Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for an ARC! Unfortunately, I'm finding myself struggling through this book and know a review would be difficult to write since I just don't have a lot to say about it. The plot, characters, and writing style aren't ultimately for me although the premise and setting are great.

When her best friend Jeanne dies in a car crash, Alex finds herself approaching Mademoiselle Salomé of Mille etc Une Plume about a possible apprenticeship. Alix finds herself torn between Raven, Mademoiselle Salomé's son and Blaise, a boy from her childhood.

A tender story about growing up, following your heart and never giving up on your dreams.

I was fortunate enough to win an early copy of IF I PROMISE YOU WINGS by A.K. Small through a Shelf Awareness Giveaway. Thanks to the publisher, and have a safe and spooky Halloween!

There is a lot to enjoy here -- I love the stream of consciousness voice, the self discovery, and the Parisian setting. Teen romance readers will totally love the love triangle even though it is so obvious Raven is absolutely up to no good. There is an element of this being a dream fantasy of young adulthood (the lack of parents and scant mention of phones make this feel a little outside of time and reality). I wish I had connected with the grief story more but I think I needed more moments of Jeanne being a good friend for me to truly be sad she died. I will say despite the explanations, I was perpetually baffled by Alix's obsession with feathers. But this book is definitely a vibe, as the kids say.