I am a sucker for a retelling or a new twist on a tale that is old and in need of a good refresh. I really likes the way the characters were written. I think that they were well fleshed out and well rounded. I loved the development of Fia was great. I liked that she grew into her own person by the end and stood up for herself and what she wanted. The writing is so lyrical and the world building is so intricate that is so easy to get lost in the story. This is a slower paced book but it was done so well that you really can't put it down. The spice level was more than I was expecting but I was happy to see it. I definitely have a new morally grey book boyfriend. Over all I will say that this is one that I am glad that I got this one on audio as Heather O'Sullivan is absolute magic. Her voice coupled with the story was everything.

“Life hurts. Death levels. But love—love destroys.”

I’m fascinated by Irish folklore. There’s something lush and innately romantic about Ireland itself, and its mythology follows suit. This makes it a perfect framework for fantasy romance. I’ve read a handful of such inspired fantasies, but none have so fully captured their sense of place as A Feather So Black. This debut is gorgeously written and takes full advantage of its setting and the mythos that inspired it, as well as serving readers a unique retelling of a timeless story: Swan Lake. However, as much as I should have loved this, it fell apart for me when it came to the actual characters, their relationships, and their movement through the story being told. And, while setting and story matter, neither can carry a book without strong characters as their foundation.

The writing is laden with some truly lovely imagery. The prose is dreamlike, flowery, almost to the point of becoming purple. I’m still not quite sure which side of that line it ended up on; while I thought it was pretty, it also tended to be a bit distracting, drawing focus away from the actual story. I found the world, the blend of mythology and fairytale, fascinating. That being said, there was some kind of disconnect between the intensely compelling setting and the far less compelling characters. I was never quite able to connect with any of the characters; I found them all unlikable and untrustworthy to varying degrees. This includes our main character, Fia. She’s interesting in description, but I found her to be a bit weak of character, easily swayed by even those she knew better than to trust.

I also found the worldview to be fairly unrelentingly dark. Every scene seemed soaked in shadow, even those that took place in the daylight. And the timeframe made little sense to me. All of the major events happened one night per month, and the rest of that month was sped through to reach that next important night. It just made for a weird, unbelievable pace to the narrative.

But what bothered me most was how melodramatic the stories and the interplay between the characters tended to be. I found myself rolling my eyes often. The romance is definitely going to work for some people, but I wasn’t one of them. I’m not a fan of divided loyalties and love triangles, and here we had something of a love square. Also, I found the sex scenes to somehow be overwrought and devoid of emotion at the same time. These always felt like a culmination of purely physical attraction to me, and I didn’t feel any real emotional connection until the end of the book. As for the mechanics of the aforementioned scenes, they were fairly descriptive, but often in ways that felt just a bit cringy to me, in spite of the pretty prose. This isn’t the spiciest book, by any means, but if you prefer your romance with no descriptive sex scenes at all, you might want to give this one a pass.

I’ve said a lot about what didn’t work for me, but I definitely didn’t hate this book. The setting was beautifully rendered, and there was an elegance to the writing and to the story itself that kept me reading. Even though I did end up finding the prose to be a bit much, I appreciate Selene’s poetic way with words. And even though I had quite a few issues with A Feather So Black, I found the story interesting enough to both hold my attention and prompt me to read the sequel, whenever it is released.

Side note: This book is going to appeal to so many readers. If your favorite genre is romantasy, A Feather So Black is tailor-made for you! Also, while I read this via audio, I think I might have enjoyed it more in physical form. The narrator had a lovely voice, but little inflection.

Fia is sent by her adoptive mother, the queen, to Tír na nÓg so she can find her sister, or the queen's biological daughter. While there she finds out a lot of the stories she grew up with have alternative versions where the humans are not the heroes.

There is also a love triangle (quadrangle?) between Fia, her sister, the prince and the captor of her sister. Surprisingly, wayyyy more spicy than i expected, which was zero to be honest.

I found it a bit difficult to follow the different layers of society in the fairy kingdom, but I guess maybe I'm just slow.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Feather So Black is a Swan Lake retelling with a twist. It’s fantasy, romance, and action all in one. I think this book has a lot of potential for its sequel(s) and a lot of people would probably like it! 3 ⭐️

What I liked:

I really enjoyed reading something inspired by Celtic mythology like this books was. I love any kind of mythology in general and this was the perfect book for that.

I was instantly drawn to Irian from the beginning (I have a type) and he didn’t disappoint.

The narration for this audio book was spot on! Heather O Sullivan nailed the atmosphere of the book with the character voices, accent, everything! Hachette Audio did amazing on this production.

What I didn’t like:

I found it to be a little confusing at times just because it’s a lot of world building and terminology to remember. There’s the political mess of the human world and then the chaotic magical ordeal of the fair folk realm told from just one POV to make sense of it. Docked 0.5 ⭐️

The pacing was really slow for me. We had to wait a month in between each gate opening but the time in between was mostly skipped over. Should make things go quicker right? Not exactly. The time we did get in Tír na nÓg felt like a lot of time wasted getting no information or closer to Fia’s goal. Docked 0.5 ⭐️

Fias yearning for Rogan in the beginning was pretty tiresome. The constant, “You were never meant for me, nor I you” conversations they had made me roll my eyes and zone out. That and constantly being reminded of Rogans “river stone eyes”. Looking back at it now, it might tie in with the sequel or the author might’ve just really loved that description. (Speaking of sequels, what happened to that promised kiss from the stranger????). Docked 0.5 ⭐️

We could have really benefitted from multiple POVs with this one. When Rogan and fía enter Tír na nÓg the go their separate ways. Rogan goes to hang out with the swan maidens and fia hangs out with irian for the most part. I would have loved to see rogans POV to give him more depth and maybe make him more likable. Eala’s and Irian’s POV could have given us more insight into their magical realm and helped us make sense of it. I’m sure we’ll get more of that in the sequel but for now we’re kind of left with basically nothing. Docked 0.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6257100431

I thoroughly enjoyed this romantasy! The characters were engaging and the storyline was unique enough to keep me reading. Loved it!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.

If you are looking for a tale rooted in old Irish lore, this is a good book for you. In many ways I liked this story, and in others not so much. In many ways this is a story of breaking away from unhealthy relationships and learning to love yourself, but at times, I did find Fai’s unwillingness to see how she was being manipulated frustrating. And was probably the one thing that slowed my reading of this book. And it’s that which leads me to a 3.5 rating. I loved the rest of the story though, with the hints of the Children of Lir and overall, I liked watching as Fai came to love herself. If not for some of the slowness of character development, I think this story would be 5 stars for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

Mythology
Banter
Magic
Romantasy
Swan Lake Retelling
Two MMC Love Interests
Friends to Lovers
Enemies to Lovers

This story was so beautiful. I absolutely loved everything about A Feather So Black.

I listened to this book on Audio provided to me from Netgalley.
These are my true opinions.

First off the narrator is absolutely amazing. Heather O’Sullivan has such an amazing way of immersing you into the story.

A Feather So Black is a romantasy with a mythology based magic system.
Fia a changeling whom was swapped with the queens daughter was brought up as a weapon. She must return to the land she might have called home once, to break the curse on the Queen‘s daughter and return with her. She has been partnered up with her childhood crush, who is set with a task of his own to marry the queen’s daughter. This story takes place over quite a bit of time because they can only return to the fae lands at certian times.
At first the romance is a love story of childhood friends to lovers then we meet a new love interest. The man that cursed the princess. This turns into an enemies to lovers filled with curses, magic secrets, betrayal, and spice.
This book was a five star read for me. The ending was a wild ride that left me wanting more! Absolutely cannot wait for the next one.

This book was rather unexpectedly delightful.
Fia is the unwanted changeling in her"mother's" court. Honed as a weapon, feared and reviled by most she is told countless times that her mother.. well actually her original's mother... is the only one who can truly love her. Even her childhood friend has deserted her.
And her mother, the Queen, has an all important task for her. Fia must contain her memories and feelings for Rogan, her old friend and her "original" sister's fiance and travel with him to Tir na nOg to rescue her sister, and the other stolen girls, and also secretly steal an enchanted sword to bring magic back to the human realm. No problem for a changeling girl who has been training her whole life to please others, no mater to cost to herself, right?
Throw in some unrequited love, a cursed bevy of girls, a delightful little spirit? sprite who aids Fia, and it was a fun adventure, love story with a bit of coming of age almost as Fia learns a bit about who she when she's not buried under the expectation of her "mother's" love.
Really enjoyed the narration as well!

A feather so black is about a young woman Fia who is part human and part fae raised by a queen who's daughter and other 11 girls were taken away by the fae folk and are locked away inside the gates of Tír na nÓg.

Fia is tasked with an important mission to free the real princess Eala with help of her bethrothed and Fia's best friend Rogan. But queen bequests her with a secret task which is difficult, almost impossible. And so begins journey of Fia and Rogan to rescue the princess.

I loved the narration and it was pleasant to listen to the voice but one thing that I didn not really enjoy was all dialogues were read with same intonations that sometimes confused me as who's talking. I know it is difficult to voice many characters and this sure had many and yet I would prefer atleast some change in main characters' tones.

About the story, it is beautifully written with vibrant and vivid descriptions but the whole book is full of it and it just doesnt really add anything to story. Also most of the times there's nothing happening in the story at all. The visits of Fia and Rogan to Tír na nÓg felt like they were on a trip or something. There wasn't any urgency or action in the whole book except one wedding scene and last few paragraphs. So it felt flat and dull.

I enjoyed the writing immensely but that didn't balance the lack of strong plot and strong explanations for world building. Even though descriptions are detailed, how magic really worked is not explained. I didn't get answers to many questions that bothered me.

Audiobook rating -4 stars
Book rating - 3.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette audio, orbit publishers for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for this audiobook.

I was very excited to for this title due to the nods to Celtic mythology, specifically Tír na nÓg. It did not disappoint when it came to the lush atmosphere, which helped tremendously to keep me moving through the story.

Unfortunately, the characters fell a bit flat and I think it had a tendency to drag a bit. I was disappointed that this was yet another unfathomably petite FMC. I am exhausted of that trope. I understand she is a changeling and perhaps her smallness was because she was Fae but must it be relentlessly mentioned?

I did enjoy the narrator. I thought she did a wonderful job and look forward to other audiobook narrations by her!

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio & Lyra Selene for an audio ARC of A Feather So Black in exchange for an honest review.

I had not heard of this book until it showed up on NetGalley, but sounded like something I would love. It's odd that many of my friends who love fantasy hated this book, but I loved it! I look forward to the next installment of the Fair Folk series!

Thankfully, with the audio, I didn't run into the pronunciation issues that a lot of readers did with the physical & digital ARCs. And I'm not even going to attempt to spell any of those words that I only heard in this review. Not happening! LOL

I enjoyed the characters & the pacing. Fia worked my nerves with her love triangle, though! I loved Irian - always love a good bad "boy."

The plot & storyline was different than any other recent fantasy novels I've read, so I enjoyed that I wasn't hearing the same story I've heard 20 times before.

I'm going against the grain and giving it a solid 4 stars & will impatiently await Book #2!

*Adding a star to the audiobook review due to Heather O'Sullivan's fantastic performance. I loved her as an audiobook narrator!
_____

"The tableau was like something out of a story: a proud, tragic queen; a druid foretelling doom; a golden prince promising heroics. But stories were by nature false—designed to fool the eye and twist the mind, to make us believe in things that couldn’t ever be true. Stories gave us hope, and I hated them almost as much as I hated my stolen face, my uncertain origins, and my wild and wicked magic. Real life wasn’t like the stories. Real life ended in deception, betrayal, or tragedy. Which meant this pretty tale was either untrue or incomplete."

My husband and I are currently in the process of looking for a new house. We recently toured one, and while there was nothing overtly wrong with it, I realized that there were several small things that, when combined, resulted in a home that wasn’t for me. In many ways, that is how I feel about A FEATHER SO BLACK.

Starting with the positive aspects, I loved the fairytale-like world filled with monsters (both human and fae) and maidens. Selene's writing is lyrical, and I highlighted numerous passages simply because they were beautiful. The audiobook narrator (Heather O'Sullivan) was PHENOMENAL. She brought the dialect and pronunciation to life, and her performance of Corra was stellar. It brought me joy, which isn't something that I can say happens often simply due to the way an audiobook narrator portrays a character. Additionally, I am always a huge fan of protagonist growth, and Fia was a great example of learning to love oneself.

"Our stories had all begun the same way—with a queen and her enemies, with war and magic, with stolen girls and vengeance. But this moment—a prince on a fine steed, riding into strange lands to deliver a damsel—was where Rogan and Eala’s story diverged. They would get their tale of rescue, redemption, and true love. I would never be part of their story. And whatever might happen in mine, I feared it would have a darker end."

This is the part of the review that pains me. I'm more than willing to share when I feel that something doesn't work for me, and while that was the case with A FEATHER SO BLACK, I can also truly appreciate the author's creativity. That said, the book is filled with plot threads, but nothing is truly expanded upon with the exception of the main geas and Fia’s internal growth. There is a scene early on where Fia is attacked in the forest by a member of the Gentry, and someone had to save her. We're never told who he is or why that scene mattered. I kept expecting him to appear again, but he never did. Will he appear in book two?

A FEATHER SO BLACK gave off "Mother Knows Best" (picture: Rapunzel's mom from Tangled). It was easy to root for Fia finding her path forward even when so many people in her life were manipulating her. Speaking of, I'd be remiss if I didn't discuss Rogan. Oh, Rogan. Yes, most of us know of or have dated someone like him, but it didn’t make his appearances in the book any more pleasant to read (and there were many). Selene hit the nail on the head when she described him on her Instagram as having "toxic golden retriever vibes".

“Only I know how to love someone like you,” she reminded me. “And no one will ever love you more than I do.”

We never really get to understand the how or what of Fia’s powers other than what is provided to us at the end (left intentionally vague to avoid spoilers). I also really struggled with the pacing of the book. New information was consistently introduced, yet very few things were fully fleshed out, and there was a lot of time spent "between" the scenes with forward motion.

I feel incredibly torn on my thoughts, including as to whether or not I'd like to read book two. The story itself has so much potential. I want to highlight the fact that 2 out of 3 of my Goodreads friends that have read this (to date) have given it 5 stars. Thank you, Orbit and Hachette Audio, for the complimentary copies in exchange for an honest review.

A Feather so Black is a wondrous dive into a new, Celtic-inspired faerie setting, and has the perfect amount of sizzling spice we’ve come to know and love in New Adult romantasy books.
From the characters to the world building, Lyra Selene has constructed a story that is brimming with addictive qualities. Fia is a strong, confident heroine, and seeing the world through her conflicted gaze is a delight. Her constant struggle between loyalty and desire set against the backdrop of Tír na nÓg was utterly compelling, and the love triangle was executed in a way where the reader never felt betrayed or mislead. The ever-present doubt of who Fia should trust kept me on the edge of my seat, and, it must be said, her scenes with Irian were positively scorching in their steamy intensity.
A story so fairytale-esque can only be perfected with prose that is just as lush and beautiful, which is exactly what Selene managed to conjure throughout this tale. The writing was gripping, and every description was so gorgeous I could hardly put the book down.
The narrator also did a terrific job bringing the characters to life! Her accent was charming and her ability to easily slip between character voices in a seamless way was outstanding. I'd love to hear more stories from her.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read, and am eagerly awaiting a sequel!

What a beautiful and whimsical story! And not at all like the Fae-Stories you know from sjm. This one is entirely different!

I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator! Heather O'Sullivan did a great job, I can only recommend listening to this beautiful story.

You can expect a descriptive and floury writing style and a beautiful hidden world, only to be discovered by night. The characters are either to die for or written to be hated (looking at you, Eala). It is also spicy (two to three scenes) and has lots of good tension!

The story managed to grip me from the get go and even though we had long passages where nothing really happened, I was never bored. It is like this: the plot moves forward on full moons, every other day of the month we just wait with two of the characters for the next full moon (but don't worry, we skip through that rather quickly and the wait is worth it for the full moon nights!)

I keep hearing that this story includes a love triangle but that isn't really true. It's more of a "first I want you, then I want you" kind of situation.

My heart belongs to Irian (and yours will too)! But even though I fell for him and cared more about the love story than the actual plot, setting and writing style won me over.

The only real problem I had with the story were the villains. Or better, how Fia (our female main character) interacted with them. To the reader, it is entirely obvious whom to trust and whom we shouldn't. For Fia? Not so much, and that annoyed me. Plus there was one scene with the promise of a kiss (if you know, you know) that was teased and then just dropped. Never ever mentioned again, although it really should have been - or should have been left out. Made no sense.

It is the first in a series so the ending is open, but the book itself doesn't end on a cliffhanger. It leaves the reader satisfied. So go on, read it! Waiting isn't too painful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette audio for the arc!

A Feather So Black is a mystical and beautifully dark fairytale reimagining that captivates with its lyrical and poetic writing. I had to rewind my book a few times to re-listen to a beautiful quote. Set in a world of perilous magic and moonlit forests, the story follows Fia, a changeling raised by the High Queen to be a spy. When tasked to retrieve the cursed princess Eala from the fae realm, Fia's journey is fraught with danger and complicated by her feelings for her childhood friend, Prince Rogan, and the dark fae lord, Irian. The book explores themes of love, identity, and sacrifice, with complex characters and a richly imagined world that will enchant readers. I enjoyed the adventure/quest storyline in this book. However, I would have loved to see the love triangle and romance aspects developed a bit more deeply. I listened to the audiobook and found it enjoyable. I think listening to the audiobook helped me fall into the story and learn how to pronounce everything, which I would have struggled with had I read the book. Overall, I’d recommend A Feather So Black for fans of romantasy, offering a unique and enchanting story that will leave readers longing for more.

Thank you to Net Galley, Orbit Books, and the author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for a review.

A Feather So Black was a little bit of a struggle to get through. I originally got to the 40% mark of the audiobook before realizing I didn't have a good grasp as to what was going on and set it aside to restart when I could get my hands on a physical copy. There is a lot of words that are in what I'm assuming is Irish Gaelic so having the written words to connect with what I was hearing did help immensely. The narrator had (what I believe is) a slight Irish accent that was very soft and soothing to listen to and definitely fit the vibes of the book as a whole. So soothing that sometimes I would have to put the book down because she has a voice like Bob Ross and I was starting to nod off. She only slightly varied her voice for different character voices so again, having the written words in front of me helped keep dialogue scenes from getting muddled in my mind.

I had a few issues with the actual story itself. Everything is overly described. If flowery language and multiple metaphors per paragraph (or sentence) is your jam, you will absolutely love this. I, however, had a hard time realizing that something truly magical was happening in the plot because everything is described as such. Oh... green tendrils of plants are ACTUALLY snaking around her spine this time... I think?

There are basically only two or three short action scenes. I can't even really tell you what happens the rest of the time other than thinking in metaphors and waiting around until the next full moon.

There's also a couple of spicy scenes toward the end if that's your thing.

I honestly don’t even know where to begin with this book. Five stars just simply aren’t enough. I was absolutely and utterly swept away by this dark, lush, magical story, filled with fairytales and folklore. I was fully enraptured as I listened to the immaculate audio performance, and I was left completely bereft when it came to its conclusion.

The story is a gorgeous reimagining of Swan Lake, filled with Celtic folklore, fairytale vibes, dark magic, and forbidden romance. I absolutely adored Fia, the changeling girl left in place of a human princess, who was snatched away by the Fae. Accompanied by her childhood love, who is tasked with reclaiming the lost princess, Fia is sent on a secret mission by the queen to retrieve an ancient Fae relic from Tír na nÓg, in hopes that it will restore magic to the human lands.

Once there, Fia encounters the dark & mysterious Irian, who happens to be a deviously handsome shadow daddy. He reminds me a bit of Cardan from the Cruel Prince, and Jacks from OUABH, two of my favorite villainous MMCs. The scorching tension, and exquisite banter between Fia and Irian is EVERYTHING. I honestly could not get enough of these two- their dynamic is everything I crave in an enemies to lovers story.

While attempting to fulfilling her mission, Fia is caught between her complicated relationship with her childhood love, and the magnetic pull that is ever so slowly inching her closer to Irian. Throughout the course of the book, we’re treated to an intoxicating slow-burn romance, and some delicious, tasteful spice.

This story was thoroughly breathtaking, and I was melting over the absolutely luscious and magical prose. I especially loved the way the characters exchanged information by sharing stories and tales, speaking in riddles, shrouded in mystery. The dialogue was nothing short of brilliant. This book literally checked every one of my dark romantasy boxes, and I don’t know how much sleep I’ll be getting, while waiting for the second installment.

Tropes:
☘️Celtic folklore
🦢Fairytale reimagining
🌿Botanical magic
⚔️Enemies to lovers
🖤Morally gray Shadow Daddy MMC
🗡️Strong and crafty FMC
♥️Love triangle
🤯Riddles and mysteries
🌶️Spice (2-2.5)

Fae Romantasy with a love triangle twist and a little bit of spice added in and you have A Feather so Black. I did love the bit of Swan Princess retelling vibes that it gave as well as that the main character, Fia, is strong and independent. The writing style and world building is good and the story is fast paced but the plot is a bit predictable.

The narrator is impressive and I probably wouldn’t have guessed how to properly pronounce half of the names in this book which actually gives a better feel to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I recieved an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book was really enjoyable and I would absolutly recommend this as an audiobook as the narrator was fantastic and really brought the story to life.

The book has vibes similar to The cruel prince with a dash of ACTOAR which I really enjoy. Throughout the story you keep on questioning who is telling the truth and who you can trust and I was here for it!

World building is done spectacularly well in this book and I felt really emerge in the story. I also enjoy that all characters had some depth. I feel like a lot of time only the 2-3 most important characters feel real and the remaining are just shells of people there to help move the story forwards or serve as assistans to a certain trope.

I will say tho that at times the story felt a bit slow but overall an amazing read that I would definetly recommend.

This was a beautiful and quite stunning story. The writing was eloquent and kept me engaged through some parts that were quite slow. I appreciated how the author mentioned physical details multiple times as it really helped me keep a picture of these characters in my head throughout the beginning world building phase. The author also kept certain personality attributes on the forefront and allowed hidden motivations to unravel as the book progressed.
The author did a brilliant job at taking creatures we all know such as changelings and fae but brought about an interesting spin. The main character, Fia, never losses sight of her mission or who she is yet goes through a journey through both. I think this is a great representation of the "monster" and how no one ever wants to be viewed that way and why. There are parts that explain why characters behave a certain way and what motivates them but it is all done through Fia. I think that was a true testament to great writing. I always love a multiple point of view but I wasn't missing it.
There was a little bit of spice but I do think it made the story complete. The author did a great job keeping the tone of the book throughout all parts of this book. I am excited for the rest of the series to come out!