A Feather So Black is a gothic Swan Princess retelling which follows the story of Fia, a rare changeling. I really enjoyed Lyra Selene's lyrical writing. The audiobook was also very fitting for this mystical fairytale.

Overall, I'd give this book a 2.5-3 stars.

It felt very repetitive. I did not enjoy the love triangle/square. This trope is not normally a hit for me to begin with, but it felt particularly grating in his book. The plot also felt really predictable and therefore my interest waned as I continued reading. Overall, while I did enjoy parts of this book, I was overall disappointed.

I would recommend this book to someone who reads primarily romance, and wants to dip their toe into fantasy. I would also recommend this book to someone who hasn't read many romantasy books as it may not feel as predictable.

I did consider DNFing, but it held my interest enough to finish. I appreciated that the audiobook was easy to digest, so I could keep it on in the background or while walking outside. I also really enjoyed the imagery - Selene really did a great job building a lush world - love the forest vibes. I likely won't continue the series, but I won't rule it out entirely.

Thank you NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Hachette Audio for an e-book and audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

OH. MY. GOD. Celtic swan lake retelling? Fae? Swoon worthy romance with spice? Enemies to lovers? CURSES? MAGIC? AAAHHHH This book was everything I wanted it to be and so, so much more.

What I honestly loved about this book was everything. The pacing was perfect -- not too fast, not too slow, and parts that seemed slower than others took advantage of that break in action to really give us more character development. The setting was perfect, the action was intense, the characters were all unique and untrustworthy in different ways to the point where I was suspicious of everyone for lying up until the very end.

But what I loved about this book more than anything was the writing itself. The language the author uses to describe something is just absolutely gorgeous. I can guarantee I just found a new favorite author.

The audiobook itself was great. The narrator did a fantastic job and really brought the characters to life.

I've been in a reading slump for the past month, and this helped me get out of it. I wanted this to keep going so bad, I can't wait for the next book. I loved the writing style and the attention to detail. I love the relationship between Fia and Rogan, so pure. I really rooted for Rogan in the beginning, but the introduction of Irian had me switching sides real fast, we definitely need more of him in the next book. I also really enjoyed the audiobook narrator. I have issues understanding accents, as I listen to my books at a fast speed, but it was worth it, the accent added to the fae folk flavor. When it comes to the story, I got confused a little here and there but I ultimately got it in the end. My only issue was how hard they were trying to get us to believe how strongly Fia believed her adoptive mother loved her despite being a changeling, the repetition of that was a little too much, I got it after the first 3 times this point was clearly important and it would be crucial to the plot. Overall, I loved it and I will be waiting impatiently for the next book.

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
A Feather So Black was simply not for me. I finished the book last night and even slept on it trying to come up with some nice and positive things to say about it, but I regret to inform you I’m coming up empty. Eeek! This book was entirely too long. It could have been half the length and still have told the same story. Despite being incredibly long, the characters were not well developed, the magic system had never really been explained or even shown, the main character kept being referred to as a “weapon” and yet??? No evidence of such??? There was a poorly done love triangle/square sort of thing that did not pay off and also felt pretty stilted. The romance went from like zero to sixty? There were parts where she wouldn’t even say sex, just hint at it, and then later in the book there are full blown smut scenes? I beg your absolute pardon? Oh! And another thing!! If you’re gonna give me a 17 hour audiobook you better be giving me YEARNING. And LONGING!! WHERE ARE THE YEARNING AND LONGING?! The romance was just so poorly done, the “action” was also so poorly done, the politics were poorly done, I’m sorry but I think I hated this book. In addition to all my other issues, it was boring to boot! This book was a freaking SLOG. I had really high hopes for this one and tbh I found it a colossal waste of time. Give me 17 hours back, please!!!
1.5⭐️ rounded up to 2

I’m not going to lie, I was a little put off by the title of this book, but I’m extremely glad I went ahead and read it anyway because I enjoyed the hell out of this book. Swan Lake meets Beauty and the Beast centered around Celtic lore in this - I have to say it - enchanting tale. There are a lot of books out there about Fae and the Fair Folk (especially lately) but this one is a true gem amongst them all. The plot was compelling, the world building and lore well articulated, and there was a wonderfully surprising amount of spice and romance intertwined among it all.
The reason I ultimately gave this novel five stars was because of the main character, Fia. Throughout the story she grapples with following her heart, being herself or being who others want her to be in order to gain their love and trust, and learning to love even (what she thinks) are the ugliest parts of herself. I relate to Fia very heavily during this time in my life, and I very much felt like I was living through her at times. It’s always a delight when I find books that really connect with me at the heart, and you can bet I 100% recommend this to any and all of my fellow fantasy and Fae lovers.
Thanks to Netgalley for ARC access!

As much as I wanted to love this book I just could not get through it. It's a very slow-paced book, which makes it hard to get into. I reached 30% before putting it down.
The author's writing was beautiful, which I appreciated, however the book just dragged on.
Fia is a rare changeling who has been left behind when the queen's daughter was kidnapped. Now she is in the queen's care, as one of her adoptive daughters however not really treated as such. She has powers and was always taught that because of these powers, she is a weapon. She is incapable of loving and caring, and can only damage and destroy. She grew up with Rogan, who is set to marry the queen's daughter one day and become king. Fia and Rogan had this romance at some point, and when it was discovered Rogan was sent off, only returning years later when he is chosen alongside Fia to complete a mission of bringing the queen's daughter back home. On their journey, Fia does a lot of questioning and wondering.. why did Rogan leave her? Did he really love her? Did they ever share anything special?
That's majority of what I read. It dragged on and it made it difficult for me to complete the book. I'm a bit disappointed because there seems to be so much potential, however I just did not enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In an endless sea of romantasy (a romantasea?), this book felt so fresh to me and I loved every minute of it. I listened to this book in one day because I did not want to put it down and I was desperate to know what happened next. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I was never bored. This book had the perfect balance of romance and fantasy and is top tier romantasy to me.

I really enjoyed the writing, I found it romantic and descriptive, but not overly so. The worldbuilding was really good, and not info-dumpy. I loved learning about the different types of Fae and other creatures in this world, and if I have one critique about the book it would be that I wish we had gotten more lore. This book pulled at so many of my emotions, and there was great balance of angst/tension with lighthearted moments.

Our main character, Fia, has to be one of my new favorite main characters. I loved how strong and clever she was, and it was easy to root for someone learning how to love themselves. Her unusual upbringing as a changeling in the human world made for a great POV and I really enjoyed having her as our narrator.

Rogan, the prince who is betrothed to her "sister", was so funny and I really loved him and Fia's banter. I could definitely feel the familiarity that comes with knowing someone for years between him and Fia, it felt so natural.

Irian!!! I loved him also, he was so tragic but also witty and a few of his lines had me like "is he cheesy or is he hot" (definitely hot (right?)). I loved the trading of stories, and learning lore that way but again I WOULD LOVE MORE LORE. ALSO THE BANTER. Fia had great banter with everyone though, even Cora (Kora? I had the audiobook so I haven't a clue of spellings besides the ones in the synopsis).

The spice was spicing. I'm not someone who needs spice, but I thought it was well written but did have very familiar phrasings that come with all romantasy.

The narrator was amazing, and I really think that listening to this book really added to my enjoyment. The timing and tones that Heather O'Sullivan had were perfect. 10/10 no notes.

I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!

Thanks to Hachette Audio and Orbit for this ALC!!!

Unfortunately this just felt like Tamlin (ACTAR) 2.0 with "Rhys" coming in at the end. It had potential but for me it sadly fell flat.

Thank you for this ARC!

What you get here is Celtic-inspired mythology, a twisted and dark kind of magic and fae that are up to no good. Which all sounds pretty darn decent, right?

Unfortunately you also get an annoyingly dragged out love triangle (more like a love square, really) that completely kills the plot 💀

Other things I didn’t like:
- How the timeline makes no sense. Minor spoiler here, but why only go to the fae-land once a month? It makes the story feel weirdly jumbled.
- How our main characters spend most of their time (and this book) only one day’s ride from home, and yet they choose to stay away for no reason at all - except to provide a convenient sense of forced proximity between them.
- How obscure mythological creatures are named, but not described (a glossary at the very end is not very useful in an audiobook).
- How the Shadow Daddy is way too much like every other shadow daddy in similar books.
- How many times his eyes and smell is described in the exact same way.

I’m making it sound like this is an absolutely awful book. It isn’t. It has some good twists and pretty (though sometimes a bit dense and excessive) writing.

To me it’s more a case of a missed opportunity to write something really good. The outlines of an exciting plot is there, but it’s drowned in tropes and a nonsensical love story.

I might read the next installment in the hopes that it gets better. I really want it to.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for an ARC of the audiobook.

The audiobook narrated by Heather O’Sullivan gave me similar vibes to Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, a book which I also found delightful and really enjoyed listening to on my drives to work. I love fairytale-esque stories that manage to be simultaneously whimsical and dark, and this story accomplished that.

I was invested in the story right away. I knew it was going to be a fairly high rated book for me, I was really enjoying the writing and the world that the author was creating. Fia is an interesting main character and initially has the mindset of someone who has been in an emotionally abusive relationship her entire life, which she has with her mother. She is loyal to a fault, but easily manipulated which was frustrating but understandable. I really liked the idea of her fae magic, but also the descriptions of her relationship with her magic and how it developed throughout the story. I will say that as the story went on, it became more difficult to stay invested. It felt like it was supposed to be high stakes, but for a long while there was no clear path of action so it was just "high stakes" with a lot of brainstorming.

That being said, I still found the story to be compelling overall. And I enjoyed it enough at the beginning and at the end that I'm overlooking the brief period in the middle where I didn't care as much about what was happening.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Changeling Fia and best friend Prince Rogan are tasked with going into the faerie realm to rescue Eala, Fia’s sister’s and Rogan’s betrothed. During all of this Fia struggles with her complicated feelings for both Rogan and the dark-hearted fae lord who captured and cursed Ela.

A Feather So Black is a Black Swan with a lot of Celtic mythology as well as more traditional ideas of the Fae. This book had all of the romantasy vibes with beautiful prose. I was drawn into the story in the first 10%, and I enjoyed the chaos of the characters running through the enchanted forest making questionable decisions. The main downside for me was the book lagged a little at times.

The narration was done really well. The different voices for the various characters sounded distinct.

What to Expect:
- Celtic Black Swan retelling 🦢
- Enemies to Lovers 🗡️
- Friends to Lovers 👩‍❤️‍👨
- Botanical magic and sentient forest 🌲
- Complicated relationships with sister and mom 👩
- Sacrifice 🧨

Thank you to Lyra Selene, Hachette Audio, Orbit, and NetGalley for providing an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really really really wanted to love this. I absolutely adore Swan Lake and stories that are similar and have been inspired by. However, this fell short to me.
The story seemed to be going in every direction all at once. One page we are having dialogue between love interests and the next a sword fight? It just seemed very jumbled to me. Some of the big moments, the climaxes of conflict or magical moments felt very short and rushed through. It would have been nice for the characters to live in the moments longer, allowing us readers to also.
That being said, I do think that the story is intriguing and I genuinely wanted to know how it ended. I loved Lyra Selene's prose, the magical metaphors, and the little homages she gave to Swan Lake.
I enjoyed the narration of this audiobook, and loved the narrator's accent which helped pull me into this world. I think I am going to try to read this again with a physical copy and see if it hits me any different. Although the narration was easy to understand, good inflection and speed, there were a lot of different characters and names and new words in this fantasy realm, that reading it physically will be easier to follow, and I will be able to keep track of the characters better. It's hard to have this many characters with one narrator.

Overall, if you enjoy Swan Lake retellings, magical realms, and a coming of age story, you'll enjoy this. Also...this is not YA which I thought it was so just a warning if you thought it was YA too! I highly recommend reading this physically either by itself or in tandem with the audiobook.

Thank you so so much to NetGalley, Hatchette Audio, and Orbit for the eARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

“Then I would become the weapon I was forged to be.”

From the first chapter, I was sucked into this world and desperate to learn more.
I adore fairytale retellings. I read so many of these as a teen and I’m thrilled to have this new adult fantasy version to obsess over.
A Feather So Black has all of the tropes we love but is a fresh, new mythology-inspired story with intriguing characters and set in a mysterious magical world. As much as I love fantasy books for the magic, my true love is for fantasy political intrigue and this book balances magic and politics perfectly. I still have so many questions after devouring the final chapters and am already highly anticipating the release of book 2. I definitely need to go back and read Lyra Selene’s Amber & Dusk duology while waiting for the Fair Folk sequel.
I think this book would be incredible whether read in print, or digital, but having this Celtic mythology inspired fantasy read to me by Irish narrator Heather O’Sullivan was an absolute dream!
If I could rate this book more than five stars, I would.

This was such a captivating story! The mythology and secrets you learn along the way are so intriguing. I loved this book! I gave this a 4.5 stars. This follows Fia who is a changeling that lives in a kingdom where magic has been lost. She is sent on a quest to restore magic and save the princess. I will definitely be purchasing the physical copy once this comes out March 12th! I highly recommend reading this once it’s out!

Ok, the audio voice is amazing , I adored that part. The story itself is entertaining and interesting, i like this take on the black swan inspiration, I loved the fairy stories and the folklore of the book. I did not loved the first love interest and the FMC most of the book i wanted to strangle her with my hands. I do understand why she is how she is but still. Now the supposed villain I adored 🤣. Yes I think personally he is the best parts of this book. Also the intrigue and manipulation were good even that it was easy to guess at time what was going on. Overall I did enjoy and waiting for the next book.

I have a new favorite!

I love this book. A Feather So Black was absolutely beautiful.
It's a reimagining of the Swan Princess story told from the perspective of Fia a changling left in the mortal world. She's been raised by a manipulative queen who tells her that only she knows how to love her and then has her trained and abused to turn her into a weapon. She is sent on a mission to retrieve her mother's true daughter, Princess Eala with her childhood love Prince Rogan.
Fia goes through major character transformation in this story as she tackles how she was raised, who she loves, and what she is. I felt sorry for her every time she told herself she was not meant to be loved. I found the relationships realistically complicated as she navigated her way through them. S
The use of figurative language really helped me visualize Fia's feelings throughout.
The romances felt natural as she explored both her relationship with Rogan and then with Irian. It felt like she was battling between two parts of herself.
The story does feature some darker themes and has some spice. Definitely for a more mature audience.
The narrator spoke in an Irish accent which complimented the Irish lore and tone of the whole story. I listen to audiobooks when I'm driving for work and it had me looking forward to every delivery.
I loved this so much I am looking up Lyra Selene's other novels and adding them to my tbr.
Thank you to Netgalley and hatchet audio for this audiobook. All thoughts and feelings are my own.

This is a Faerie story true to its core, mesmerizing and dangerous, where it's easy to lose track of time and truth.
There's so much I love about this book: the celtic mythology (along with great accents in the audiobook), the reversed roles (kinda), the deep dark vibes and the real strong FMC.
Fia is of the fair folk but raised as a changeling by the queen of the humans. Eala is the queen's daughter, raised by the Fairies, Rogen is a human princeling bound to save Eala, and Irian is ... shadow daddy.
In this story it's not the human entering the world of the Fair Folk, but the other way around. The dangers though are just as real, and what was a straightforward quest becomes world-changing events.
A Feather so Black is super immersive. The danger is palpable, and even though the date was stated in the chapter titles, I found myself lost in time. Sometimes things got blurry, and truth and lies were not easily separated.
These things were the absolute strength of the book, but in the middle part also sometimes a weakness. At times I wasn't sure where things were headed, and if Fia lost her way along with the storytelling.
The ending though...oh the ending! It restored my faith in the story, the author, and our protagonists. Now I can't wait to read/listen to book 2.

The audiobook is really well narrated, the voice just as mesmerizing as the story. And I love the accents the narrator chose.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaudio for the audiobook in advance!

#AFeatherSoBlack #netgalley #bookstagram

I had the chance to review the ebook and audiobook versions of this story. Usually I have a solid favorite between the two, but in this case I think they're equally enjoyable.

The narrator for this book is solid, and I can honestly say I would have mispronounced all of the names, places, and half of the nouns in this book without her lyrical performance to guide me.

A Feather So Black is the first in a series of books about Fia, a changeling woman raised by her foster mother the queen to be a warrior and a weapon, who sets out on a quest to Tír na nÓg. She accompanies her childhood best friend Rogan on a mission to rescue his betrothed, the queen's biological daughter Eala. from a terrible faerie curse. The queen has also given Fia a secret mission to retrieve an object of great power that can restore magic to the human realm, if only she can steal it from a powerful member of the fae gentry.

Fia faces dangers and betrayals on her journey. She does not know if she can trust the fair folk, her foster sister, or herself, especially since she's harboring feelings for Rogan and knows there is no version of their story in which they end up together.

Lyra delivers a version of faerie that is as whimsical as it is dark and rife with danger. I love the way she builds the tension between Fia and Rogan, slowly revealing secrets and half truths as they spend more and more time together. I love getting to walk alongside Fia as she learns that she can trust herself, and that while she may be something to fear, that does not make her any less worthy of love.

The good:
Besides the fact that Heather O’Sullivan is an excellent narrator, I'm very glad I opted to listen to A Feather So Black rather than reading it since I would not have pronounced most of the names correctly. I enjoyed Fia as a main character for the most part and loved all of the folklore/mythology references, some of which I was familiar with and some were completely new to me. It felt surprisingly character driven for a fantasy book, the mission often felt secondary to the relationships between characters. The story had a bit of spice but nothing too crazy. I thoroughly enjoyed the world-building, I love a good Fair Folk world.

The not so good:
I'm always a little bit skeptical of books written in first person POV because they so easily can fall into the trap of a repetitive inner monologue. Fia and Rogan often had the same discussions over and over again and it was difficult not to lose interest. The pacing in the middle half of the book was pretty slow and the side characters fell a bit flat unfortunately.

Overall, this is more of a 3.5 star book to me. I enjoyed A Feather So Black and would consider continuing the series.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook arc!

The cover is gorgeous and the plot was interesting, but it never caught my attention. I kept waiting to feel engaged in the story and the characters and unfortunately ai never got there.