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.

This book was such an enchanting surprise. Although the story and plot were built upon years of literary traditions and tropes, and were very predictable, what I did not expect was how utterly obsessed I would be with the author’s writing style.
Really. The writing was so unbelievably poetic I must have highlighted a thousand sentences and I still can’t believe the way some of those are still echoing around my head days after I’ve finished reading it.

The main character was strong and loveable, her journey was often heartbreaking, but her determination to find herself and the place where she belongs was moving.
And yes, most of these characters have been written several times before, by many different authors, but it works.

The only two things that made me give this 4.5 stars and not 5 are the fact that the glossary should have come at the beginning of the book, not the end. I quickly decided that I would not interrupt my reading to look for the translation of the Gaelic words used or the description of the creatures that all had Gaelic names, but I would have been glad to realize beforehand there was indeed a glossary at the end that I could have checked. I loved the way Gaelic was woven with English because of the atmospheric quality it gave the story, though, and it was something even more true with the audiobook (the narrator was amazing).

The second thing would be the ending, that I felt was a bit confusing as I wished there had been more explanations as to what happened before we had to leave the characters until the next book.
That being said, I CANNOT wait for the sequel and all the things that are teased at the end.

I usually can really easily generate a picture in my head of a world or setting in a fantasy book, but for some reason, I couldn’t do that with this book. Because of that, I felt a bit of a disconnect from the world and characters. However the writing is solid and the specifics of the story are unique. The narration was great, the pacing and clarity was perfect.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

I really the storyline was good. I had a hard time focusing on the story. It just didn't grab my attention very well.

I was very pleased with the narrator.

Thank you to Hachette Audio for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook via NetGalley. I tried listening to this book twice and ended up DNF'ing it. It just didn't hold my attention. That said, the prose is beautifully lyrical. The narrator has a great accent that brings the Celtic inspirations for this story to life. The story felt dark and the magic system was intriguing. I suspect readers that enjoy dark romantasy with intricate magical systems with strong mythology ties may enjoy this book.

This was not the book for me, but I do think there are quite a few things here that will appeal to others.

I liked the changeling angle. All the fairy books out there, and I can't think of another that focuses on a changeling.
The writing is kind of lush and lyrical. Almost dreamlike.
The world building is good. The mystery and intrigue of Tir na Nog, the folk's magic, it all was well done and interesting.

But it was painful watching the main character get manipulated at every point by the other characters. She kept flip flopping between "I like him" and "I don't like him". I felt like a yo-yo being snatched back and forth, on a merry-go-round going around and around again and again. It is believable for a character who's neither folk nor human, who's been lied to and abused at just about every turn, but the constant I love him, no he's dangerous or bad was not enjoyable to read.

3/5✨

I have to start my review stating that I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read/listen for review.

🎧 A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene -
Narrated by Heather O’Sullivan

Heather O’Sullivan did a wonderful job narrating this story, making it more enjoyable!

Lyra Selene has a beautiful way of writing a whimsy fantastical fantasy… but the amount of time she took writing all the descriptors, I felt like I really wasn’t sure what she was talking about. 🙃

That being said the world building was fun!! It felt very Spiderwick/Cruel Prince.

Tbh I don’t feel like I really ingested this book, I was just along for the story and it was enjoyable… but not memorable.

A Feather so Black was an entrancing retelling of The Swan Princess infused with Celtic folklore and mythology. I enjoyed the audiobook's narrator. The accent was delightful and it helped to hear the pronunciations of many of the unfamiliar words related to the magic and mythology. I thought the voice actor did a good job at the character voices, too. I love the concept of this story and the writing is well done. However, I did find my interest wandering while listening to this audiobook. I think I'm more used to actually reading and I absorb information better that way, but this book also had pacing issues. There was a lot of focus on the relationships and romance and not enough on the plot, in my opinion. But if you like love triangles, pining monologues, and a little bit of spice, you might enjoy this more than I did. I did enjoy the ending, there were interesting twists and reveals and our main character does go on a rewarding journey of self discovery. I also think ACOTAR and SJM fans will find this book interesting, as it draws on a lot of the same mythology. I found myself wishing for a glossary while listening to this audiobook and there is a glossary, but it's mentioned at the end of the narration. I wish it was at the beginning or that there was a note about the glossary at the beginning. Overall this was entertaining, if a little slow at times. I would like to revisit this story, either in ebook or physical book form and see if that hooks me more.

♡ Audiobook Review ♡
♤ Release March 12♤
4.5 🌟
.
Tropes
- Enemies to Lover
- Friends to Lover
- Found Self
- Manipulation
.
If you are looking for "The Swan Princess meet The Frozen," vibes this book is RIGHT for you! if you enjoy a little darker side of retelling.
In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind in the place of the queen's daughter, and retreated behind the locked gates of Tír na nÓg.
Most despise Fia's fae blood. But the queen raises her as a daughter and trains her to be a spy. The queen irritated my ENTIRE soul! She manipulates a child to believe she LOVE her and ONLY she can LOVE her. And then used her a weapon and a spy.
While her true daughter, the princess Eala, is bound to Tír na nÓg, cursed to become a swan by day and only returning to her true form at night.

"I was made of dusk and leaves and hidden places. I was not made to be loved by men."

A feather so black is a magical, dark fantasy romance with a whimsical magic system and complex character dynamics. Spicy swan princess/twelve dancing princesses vibes, how could I not love it?!

Fia is a changeling left to a queen when her daughter was taken from her. She is raised as a spy and weapon, loyal and ready to fight. When her childhood best friend, Rogan, returns to her kingdom and sent on a task to save the lost princess and break her curse. Fia is tasked with a secret task to retrieve a desired object of powerful magic.

If you enjoyed ACOTAR and to kill a kingdom this is a great read for you.

I was captivated by the poetic writing style and the audiobook played beautifully in my mind. I cannot wait to continue this series!

⭐ 4.5 / 5 rounded up
🌶️ 3.5 / 5

"But I'd learned that no stories were ever just stories. Stories had their lies but also their truths. Stories were how we taught ourselves to fear the things we secretly desired. Dark forests. Beautiful monsters. Broken hearts."

If I didn’t have adultish responsibilities, I would have binged this in 24 hours!

When I pick up a fantasy novel, especially those involving Fae, I want to step out of my reality and into an immersive, atmospheric world, with vivid well-developed characters, fanciful creatures, old or new, and of course magic. A Feather So Black took me away. It felt like a throwback to my beloved childhood fairytales and the first time my mom took me to the ballet. Think Celtic Swan Lake meets Brothers Grimm, but spicier.

I found the prose beautiful and was hooked from the beginning, but I can see how some reviewers felt the plot was slow in places. I highly encourage sticking with it through Parts 2 and 3. That’s when things really get exciting. And the ending…mwah!

Fia is a fae-blooded changeling. As a child she was left in place of the human High Queen’s daughter, who had been stolen and bound to the fae realm, Tír na nÓg, cursed to live as a swan each day, and return to her human, princess form at sunset. Fia is raised as the Queen’s foster daughter. The High Queen recognizes her fae power and sees that Fia is trained to be a fighter, a spy, a weapon to be wielded. When a hidden gate to Tír na nÓg is discovered, Fia is tasked with finding and entering the gate, breaking the curse, freeing her princess sister, Eala, and obtaining an enchanted sword that could bring magical power back to the human realm. She is to be accompanied by Prince Rogan, her best childhood friend and Eala’s betrothed.

The gate between realms is weakest during the full moon, and when Fia and Rowan cross they find themselves in a beautiful but dark, enchanted forest. After finding Eala and the other cursed swans, they discover the curse may be harder to break than they thought and time is running out. Fia and Rogan’s feelings toward each other threaten to unravel their mission. Fia’s situation is further complicated as she fights what she believes to be an unadvisable attraction to the dark, wicked, fae lord who holds the cursed swans captive.

What to Expect:
A dark fairytale feel
An atmospheric fae world based in Celtic folklore (I suggest using the glossary in the back if you’re unfamiliar with Celtic pronunciations).
A romantic fantasy with a good, but not over-the-top, amount of spice
A strong yet imperfect female protagonist on a journey of self-discovery
Treachery / Betrayal
Some original spins on common, tried but true, fantasy tropes (which are actually well done)

Tropes:
The Quest
Orphan hero (kind of)
Enemies to lovers
Friends to lovers
Love triangle (really more of a square)
Good vs. Evil, Dark vs. Light
Curse: he’s cursed, she’s cursed, we’re all cursed
Nature and/or magic demand balance
Powerful, magical artifacts
Morally grey Shadow Daddy

Setting
This is not a whimsical, candy-coated fae realm. It’s Grimm-esque - a shadowy forest, mythical monsters, deceptive fae, an enchanted lake, wicked plants, and the incorporeal creature(s) whose form of communication involves rhythms and riddles. Tír na nÓg is delightfully treacherous.

Characters
Character development is excellent. Fia, the main character, has a strong and complete character arc. Her growth is not linear or contrived, it’s messy and real. She questions herself, what she knows, what’s true. She can be contradictory, with her mind and heart pulled in different directions. She seems to have some cognitive dissonance when it comes to her childhood experiences and her relationship with her foster mother, a forgivable flaw given her history. The secondary characters are not two-dimensional props for the protagonist to maneuver around. They are unique, complex, and flawed. They have their own issues and motivations.

On most visits to Tír na nÓg Fia and Rogan split up. Rogan goes to court Eala, leaving Fia to the spy work with Irian. One of my favorite things in this book is how Fia and Irian share information and get to know each other by telling each other stories, which are a lot like folktales themselves. The stories within stories add depth and likely set the foundation for the next book. I do wish there was more time spent on what was happening between Rogan and Eala, but I get why there’s not.

Romance
The love triangle trope isn’t usually my jam. It stresses me out, which I guess is kind of the point, building tension and whatnot. I have found that in many cases, one of the two romantic interests inevitably betrays the protagonist or does something equally appalling that makes the decision between the two ridiculously obvious. This plotline, however, (which is more of a love square) works. To be fair, it is pretty clear which love interest Fia will end up with, but the path is realistically messy, her feelings are often contradictory, and she is torn by history, duty, embracing or rejecting her powers, and not knowing who to trust.

I know the broody, morally grey, male love interest is, dare I say…overdone in Romantasy, but what can I say? I’m still here for dark, damaged, wicked Irian. * shrug *

"Love is rarely anything but a prelude to tragedy, colleen."

Narration
I received the audiobook format and I have to shout out the voice actor. Heather O’Sullivan was fantastic. She captured Fia’s voice so well. Listening to it was lyrical. I also have a feeling my brain would have been taxed trying to read smoothly through the Celtic pronunciations. I plan to purchase a physical print copy but in this case, I’m happy I heard it first.

Bottom line:
If you love dark fairytales and Romantasy A Feather So Black is worth the read.
If you need a break from the moody, tattooed, shadow-male love interest, you might want to save this one for later.
I am looking forward to book 2!

Thank you @netgalley, @orbitbooks, and @hachetteaudio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook advance. The opinions presented in this review are mine alone.

#AFeatherSoBlack #netgalley #bookstagram #ARCreview #orbitbooks #hachetteaudio

4.5 stars rounded up.

The first 20% was slow going. I thought the writing was beautiful with rich imagery, but the story wasn't as captivating until the second love interest was introduced.

By about 40% I was hooked. I was invested in the story and the characters and I loved the last 20%.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

For a fantasy romance, A Feather so Black stood out amongst the crowd with it's pretty prose and its enchanting folklore.

Thank You Net Galley and Orbit books for the arc copy of A Feather So Black in exchange for my honest review

⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️


Lots of fun to be had on this rollercoaster 👩‍🍳😗

This is a Celtic inspired Swan Lake retelling. Fia is a changeling left in the place of a stolen princess. The Queen raises her and sharpens her as a weapon. When a hidden gate is rediscovered Fia is tasked to cross over, retrieve the lost princess and break the curse. Fia is crossing over with the prince she loves but who is betrothed to her sister (the stolen princess). The plot is complicated further when she starts falling for the captor of the stolen princess.


The drama, betrayal, and double love interest had me eating this up. The world is beautiful and magic captivating, the relationships are devastating and reminds me of how the ones who say they love us the most also hurt us the most (tears were shed). The spicy scenes between Fia and Rogan were awkward.. but Fia and Irian? Exquisite ☺️

I feel like the book wraps up enough it could be a standalone but it is set to be a trilogy.

10/10 recommend

Ok this was fun and enjoyable. A Feather So Black is a Swan Lake retelling, but if you do not know the original story you'll still enjoy it (or at least I did). There's a pretty strong plot in comparison to most romantasies, in my opinion, but it was a bit confusing. Big things happened and I knew they were explained but they weren't necessarily explained the most clearly. I left with a lot of questions, questions I wasn't super invested to take the time to find answers for. BUT I had fun along the way so I didn't care? The writing was great, and the romance plot was intriguing, so I had a good time. As a friend described it, this book is brain candy. The growing romance wasn't exactly explored that deeply, but once they connected I was into it.

This book is smutty for those who don't read explicit sex books, and not smutty for those who do. Which worked for me, but might not for others! Before the on-page sex scenes I had assumed this was YA, so I was a bit surprised when they showed up.

I would highly recommend the audio, mainly because there are a lot of Irish words with very Irish spellings, and I would have had ZERO idea how they were pronounced. Also the author's narration is beautiful. There is a glossary of Irish words which I appreciated, but you will get confused about the love interest calling here colleen even though that's not her name and isn't in the glossary. Still confused about that one.

I really enjoyed this as a non-romantasy fan, and I think a lot of romantasy fans will eat this up. I will definitely be continuing the series.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much to Orbit Books and Hachette audio for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Foremost I enjoyed this narrator a lot, her accent helped immerse me into the story, and I would have been very lost on the pronunciation of many of the words.

Fia is a changeling, swapped for a Princess and raised by the Queen to become a weapon. The Princess has been stolen, a la Swan Princess, and is stuck at a lake, becoming a woman when night falls. Fia is sent with the Princess's betrothed, Rogan, to figure out how to release her from this curse. Rogan wants to abandon all and stay with Fia, but she is also becoming enamored with Irian.

This is a dark, almost gothic tale, with a more true fae story than more mainstream faerie. Full of mischief, bargains, and trickery. This is a true slow burn romance with a love triangle.

I really enjoyed this book! I love retellings of fairytales and folklore, and this one did not disappoint.
The magic system was interesting, and the connection to the magic of nature was beautifully executed! Fia was a really fun main character, and I really enjoyed watching her develop through the story and step into her power.
All the aspects of Celtic mythology with the fae and Tír na nÓg reaklly added a depth to the story, and it just drew the reader in from the first chapter.
Usually when I like a main character so much, I find that I struggle with a lot of the side characters as it feels as though the author has spent all their time on the main character and so the side characters are flat and boring. This certainly wasn't the case with this book!! All of the characters were well-developed and well-written, and they all added another layer of depth to the story. The characters of Cora and Eala were my favourites, and the sly cunning of Eala kept the tension up throughout the novel.
The romance was very cute, and I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope. It felt like the relationship developed naturally along with Fia's acceptance of her magic, and I loved that. A lot of the time, I find that the romance in novels feels forced just to progress the story, but this felt really organic.
Netgalley provided me with the audiobook version of this story, and the narration was PERFECT! The narrators voice fit perfectly into the story, and she provided a range of different, identifiable voices for the characters that just made this great book even more enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hatchette Audio for sending me a arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

this was such a surprisingly fun and enjoyable read! general consensus seems pretty split, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook and thought the characters, plot and overall performance and production was really strong.

it hits a lot of my go-to fantasy tropes, and does have a love triangle (be warned!!). I loved the blend in of different folk tales I grew up with like the children of lir and tir na nóg.

thank you to netgalley & the published for the eARC - will definitely be picking up a physical copy for my shelf and keeping a close eye out for book two!