This had potential to be really good, but unfortunately it fell flat. It had too many character perspectives. Which wouldn't have bothered me if it wasn't difficult to differentiate between them. There was too much going on at once.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

In a world where magic is outlawed and if you’re found to have magic you will be burned by the religious sects, but if you find yourself lucky enough to be taken in with other Nightbirds you will have protection against the religious sects. The Nightbirds will gift individuals with their unique magic with a kiss if you’re willing to pay the cost. They’re always to wear a mask in public and not to let anyone know who they are or else and you really don’t want to know what the “or else” part is.

I found this book to be something fresh, I liked that it was a darker fantasy with some great worldbuilding, the writing to be lyrical and easy to follow, the pace was just perfect for me. The characters were all unique and their powers too. I liked that the Nightbirds were close to each other but still held their own secrets, but the more that you read the book you will find them getting closer and closer to each other and soon you will see how unique these powerful women are, alone and together they can be deadly.

I found that each character had their own flaws but at the same time they each had something more that they brought to the book. I found myself not able to put this book down once I got past chapter 3 because I had to know what was going to happen next, with all the twists and turns and the betrayals and wonders. I liked that each girl has a different past and they each have their own beliefs on why they have these powers and the history of the magic that was granted to them. I liked how throughout the book you will see each of them grow and develop throughout the book, more than others, but you will see the way/the way that they think about the end of all the hate against magic users. I liked that this book does have some romance in it but it’s not the main focus of the book. Instead for me it was more about friendship and kinship with these girls.

I can’t wait to see what these girls learn about their own magic and what they’re capable of alone and together.

I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin group for the opportunity to review this book.

I was immediately pulled in at the beginning of this book but then things slowed down for me. It did pick up again in the middle and kept going. I love the vibes of this book, really felt like 20's flapper girlish almost urban fantasy and the magic system is really cool I feel like we have only gotten a taste of what these girls can do by the end of the book and am hoping to see them really get to use more magics in the second book. I also hope their relationships blossom more in the next book. I feel like they didn't have much time to form tighter bonds for a group that is supposed to be supremely powerful when together. They spend a lot of time doing things own their own.


Thank you to Netgalley for the eArc of this book!

The first couple pages drew me in, but the longer it went on, the more obvious it became to me that this book shouldn't have been so damn long.

Despite the book trying so hard at showing its feminist themes, the three main girls are not only one-note but they don't change at all by the end of the book. The narrative was really pushing that these girls were destined to be together, a found family, if you will. But all their scenes together were forced, stilted, and they went nowhere because not one of them could properly trust the other. Matilde tries to make them bond through telling each others secrets, but they still keep a ton more that leads to some very bad things down the line. So much for 'sisterhood.' Additionally, Armstrong tries to tie Sayer's love interest(?) Fen to them over halfway through the narrative as the final element (The magic is based on the four elements - earth, air, water, and fire), but it felt more like a copout to make drama between her and Sayer than a natural plot regression. I dunno. I just couldn't muster any care or thought into these girls (Or their love interests - one of whom shows up, like, three or four scenes out of the ~500 page brick of a book).

The worldbuilding is also very lackluster. The descriptions, despite being very lengthy, felt so barren. I had such a hard time visualizing where the book was whenever the scene changes. Plus, the magic itself wasn't explained all that well? There's a lot of things we the reader learn alongside the girls because the knowledge was buried, but we're still given all this info through big, blocky paragraphs. It makes the whole reading tedious and not fun. There was some other things not explained well, like the religion (There were for main gods, but only one of them was driving the magical girl killing? How does that not become contradicting?) or the worlds outside Simta were like (Besides the fantasy Ireland, which one of the girls was from).

Also, the bird allusions got old so fast. They were unending; you could not go a page without something about flying away or being in a gilded cage. I get it, Armstrong, the need to lean as hard into the metaphor as possible, but I feel like some restraint was needed.

All in al, this was just a dud for me. I didn't even know a sequel was coming out in August until after I started reading this, but with it ending on such an uninspiring note, I will safely say I will not be continuing this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Have mixed feelings about this one. I loved the storyline and characters, but the magic system was hard to follow.

I think this could be a terrific novel with a bit more editing and work on the magic system.

Overall I really enjoyed this ead and look forward to book 2 in the series.

This is the first novel by Kate J. Armstrong (https://www.katejarmstrong.com/home). Nightbirds was published in 2023. It is the 60th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

This novel is set in Simta, the capital of the Eudean Republic. Magic there is rare, and practicing it is illegal. Those with money or power can find a way around the legal barriers. The great houses of Simta have seen to that. The Nightbirds are the answer. The Nightbirds are young teenage girls capable of magic who can gift their powers with a kiss to any man or woman capable of paying. They dress in bird costumes to hide their identity.

Girls who are Nightbirds only stay for a while, then are married into one of the great houses. While magic ability is rare, new girls can always be found to become new Nightbirds. It is the beginning of the social season in Simta, and the Nightbirds are ready.

Matilde, like most of the Nightbirds, comes from one of the great houses. Her grandmother was a Nightbird when she was young. Matilde is getting to know her two new Nightbird companions. She has been wild and rebellious. Her family wants her to settle down, marry into one of the great houses, and contribute to a new generation of Nightbirds.

With Matilde are two other girls. She has yet to bond with them the way she had with their predecessors. Sayer is an orphan who has lived on the streets and resents everything associated with the great houses. Yet she has the magic to become a Nightbird. Æsa is from one of the great houses, but is timid and believes the church’s preaching about magic being a sin.

The three girls are drawn into the political scheming of the great houses. The righteous of the church, the En Caska Dae, want to see all the witches capable of magic imprisoned or worse. The girls must set aside their differences and band together to survive.

The girls realize that the Nightbirds have been the tools of the great houses for years. They live a well-to-do existence, but it is little more than a prison. A way to have girls with magic abilities at hand anytime they want to take advantage of them. The girls reach out to the very few friends willing to help them. Along the way, they uncover secrets about themselves, their friends, the great houses, and Simta.

I enjoyed the 12.5 hours I spent reading this 475-page young adult fantasy. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.8 (rounded to 5) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

While this book is rather long, I found myself flying through it. Firstly, I loved the world building this author created; I really felt like I was in this world, which evoked feelings of the Jazz Age/Gatsby era pretty well - plus magic incorporated into it! I liked that the characters' abilities were based off of an element they were associated with, so there was nature incorporated into the book as well. The plot and the scenes moved along very quickly, I never felt bored reading what a character was thinking or doing over the course of multiple pages. I also really enjoyed how the girls were the central plotline in this book, and how they used their intelligence and wits to navigate the politics. This was an excellent set up and start to a series I am very intrigued with!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Young Readers/Nancy Paulsen Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just absolutely had so much fun getting to go along on these characters journey. I was just swept away and I just absolutely can’t get enough of this series or its wonderful characters. This author just has away of drawing you in with her wonderful stories and you just can’t get enough of them. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

3.5 Stars
Fantasy. Magic. YA

Don't let the slow start deter you from continuing. As with any fantasy series, the details are plentiful and building up to the story world. When this book got going, it showed me the potential this series could have. I look forward to a much deeper look into our characters in book 2. Would this be a top recommendation for me to give? not at this time but I need more of the story to make that final call.
Thank you #netgalley for the chance to read and review this title.

DAMN. BRAVA!

Highlights:
⭐️Just the whole plot -> girls have magical powers but magic is illegal & they give their pieces of their powers away (at a price) with a kiss. But something is changing with our 3 protagonists.
⭐️Perfect amount of heaviness without it being TOO heavy. You get a decent amount of information to be able to build the country/time period/government structure without scratching your head flipping back to see what you missed.
⭐️Writing style was good; everything flowed nicely & I was engaged enough that I finished the first 50% in a day.
⭐️Some feminist power over here as ONLY girls have magic yet here we are being dictated by MEN. 🙄
⭐️Decent cliffhanger. There is nothing crazy shocking where I need the next book & have book depression. Our author ended things with a not so happy ending but not so bad ending - it’s a for sure to be continued.
⭐️I also listened to this as an audiobook & would recommend both formats

Pitfalls:
❌NONE!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in anticipation of the sequel's release!

Given the world building required, it took me a moment to become invested in Nightbirds. But once in, I greatly enjoyed this feminist fantasy with prohibition-era glamour! While the core of the story is familiar (not a negative, I am always interested in a good magical girls vs religious fervor fantasy), I found the author's writing and twists on classic tropes to be engaging. Every character in this book has at least one secret that kept me on my toes while reading.

Things that worked well for me:
-Flawed characters with messy feelings who don't always make the best choices.
-The sapphic representation. Looking forward to where Sayer and Fen's relationship is going and learning more about Fen, in particular.
-The somewhat cliffhanger ending.

A few things did fall flat for me: namely unanswered questions about the world of the story, magical system, ambiguous commentary on sex work, and certain love triangles. That said, I am looking forward to reading Fyrebirds and seeing where Kate J. Armstrong goes with this story!

The Nightbirds are able to bestow magic with a kiss. Protected by the elite of the city there are rules and procedures that must be followed in order to purchase a visit. However, the church believes the nightbirds are evil and are intent on killing them or removing their power. When the four current nightbirds come together their power surges, unlocking gifts that were previously only legends.

This was a very different, very interesting world. I liked the magic system, its lore, and how it grew and expanded throughout the story. I thought the characters could have been flushed out a little more. While their backstories were interesting their personalities seemed so similar. I felt that the girls were a bit interchangeable. Despite this criticism I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.

I think it was so in depth with world building that it was a little slow. I also didn’t think any of the characters really got fully developed so I hope in the next book (yes I enjoyed it enough to read the next one for sure) there is some deeper character development.

I think this book is great for people who love the premise. The writing didn't flow well for me, but I found the magic system and relationship between certain characters fascinating.

Picture a fantasy land with all the glittery vibes of the roaring 20s… but prohibition is for magic instead of alcohol. Speakeasies are filled with jazz and alchemical concoctions, and people wear their illicitly purchased magical items as a sign of rebellion, or just as a sign of wealth. Big money can buy big magic in Simta, and the biggest magic on hand is that of the Nightbirds, girls whose magic is given with a kiss… for those who can afford the high price. But violence is brewing in the city as various groups want to excise magic, and the “wicked” girls who wield it, from the land for good.

This was a fun, ambitious debut novel that absolutely glittered with magic. I’m glad that I knew going in that there is a sequel coming out soon because I was prepared for it to not wrap up completely. It touches on themes of feminism and sisterhood, some coming-of-age stuff and lots of girl power. Something that made this book stand out to me was the inclusion of little tidbits between each chapter; we saw things like letters between characters, relevant quotes from local poems and songs, family creeds, etc. So fun and definitely added to the world building!

I’m a big fan of character-driven novels and, while I loved the fast paced action and was never bored, I found that there were simply too many characters doing too many things for me to really CONNECT with each of them and feel deeply their struggles and triumphs. I did care about them but on a very surface level. Especially where the romance was concerned I wished the author had either done more of it or just skipped it entirely because I wanted it to be much more fleshed out. However, super happy with how clean it was in language and content! I’m hoping that in the sequel we see much more development of the main characters and their relationships!

The sequel to Nightbirds comes out August 27!

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong was a very interesting and engaging YA novel.
Her writing is just superb and she knows how to captivate her readers.
A very entertaining fantasy story.

Thank You NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Magical women set in a fantasy world that evokes the glamour and society of 1920s. I cannot wait for the next installment!

# Nightbirds
# 7/21/2024 ~ 7/23/2024
# 5.0 / 5.0

I really enjoyed this and I'm really excited to see where the series goes. I think its quite unique and it kept my attention the entire time

This story was one of the more unique ones I have read in a long time. The magic system was well done and so different than anything I have ever read before. I throughly enjoyed this read and think it is the perfect starter YA fantasy

While it was slow to start, the sinuous writing and rich detail were what moved this along for me. The magic system felt unique and well developed and coupled with the political workings made for a compelling story!

The twists weren’t exactly out of left field and there were definitely topics I wish had been explored more but this is a debut and a series so I’ll hope for more in the next!