eARC Review: A Crown So Silver by Lyra Selene 👑

I’m a bit lost for words when it comes to getting my thoughts together for this review. For one, I loved the expansion of this world, the inclusion of more Celtic and Irish mythology into the story, the addition of two new characters, and that treacherous cliffhanger. But the drama between Irian and Fia done mostly (in my honest opinion) by the latter . . . Ooo, that really turned what could have been a binge read into “I-need-to-read-this-in-chunks” read. 😮‍💨

For the positives. I really liked the deeper dive into Selene’s Tír na nÓg and how it incorporates Celtic and Irish mythology. The inclusion of the Fomorians and Fir Bolg from the Mythological Cycle was an interesting take, though I would’ve loved seeing more of them in general. The addition of Laoise (a mysterious redhead who shows up out of nowhere) and Wayland (a tortured prince with dreams of his own) to the gang was great in my opinion, though I wasn’t too keen on the weird love triangle happening again with the latter. I also really enjoyed the deeper look into Irian’s background and childhood as it really expanded his character from a tragic antihero. While the way he goes about his goals in this book wasn’t the best of ideas, I can still see why he did what he did and was more willing to give him some grace than apparently Fia was. 🪶

Now on to my main issue with this book: the main character. I don’t know what it was about Fia in this book, but man did she annoy me to no end. Her recklessness takes on a whole new level in this book and at times, I was on Irian’s side of “girl, hold your freaking horses!” I also really didn’t like the fact that she just casually dismisses Irian’s trauma over the event that includes her but I won’t mention it in case of spoilers. I also was just astounded by her inability to remember that she doesn’t know Folk culture and traditions and yet blindly goes into deals with them without a second thought. Like come on girl, think for once!! 😡

As much as I really disliked Fia in this book, I can see where she is coming from in the end. The ending 25% started really making sense as to why all the characters were making just the worst possible decisions imaginable. This is definitely one of those books where you just have to trust that the author knows what they’re doing even if it is making you incredibly mad with the characters. The cliffhanger at the end really gets you pumped for the third and final book, and I’m even more so interested because of what a piece of work Eala is in this one. 😳

Either way, huge thank you goes out to Orbit Books and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and the Selene for really making me question everything for a hot second there. ❤️

Publication date: January 21!

Overall: If I’m rating solely on Fia’s actions, 3; if I’m rating on the plot itself, 3.75; so with my terrible math skills, it’s averaging around 3.5/5 ⭐️

👑 ARC Buddy Read Review 👑
Thank you Orbit for the gifted eARC

A Crown So Silver
Lyra Selene
Publishing Date: January 23, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

➡️ Swipe for Synopsis ⬅️

Ahhhhh this is a tough one to review. Let me first say that I LOVED A Feather So Black, and read it recently, so expectations here were pretty darn high. Unfortunately I think this book fell victim to the second book slump and bridge book problems. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as amazing as the first book.

This book was a slow buildup to the main action and then so much happened so fast, and I feel like a lot of things weren’t fully explained or resolved. We are left with a cliffhanger ending, which did leave me wondering what happens next.

The dynamics between our FMC and MMC were so frustrating throughout this book, they honestly acted like children. However, I do appreciate the development their relationship went through. I don’t want to spoil, but the author easily could have taken things a different way and I appreciated that she didn’t.

After loving the first book so much, I am definitely still eager to see where this story goes. Lyra Selene has a beautiful writing style, and I have faith that this book was a necessary bridge to get us from book one to the next chapter in these characters journey.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Love love love! My most anticipated released.I absolutely loved A Crown So Silver.From the very first page, I was swept away into an enchanting world filled with intrigue, complex characters, and a plot that kept me hooked until the very end. The author’s world-building is simply masterful; the descriptions of the settings are vivid and immersive, making it easy to picture every scene in my mind.

The characters are so well-developed, with emotional depth that makes them feel real. I found myself rooting for the protagonist, as they navigated the challenges of power, politics, and personal growth. The romance in the story was equally captivating — it was slow-burn, perfectly paced, and full of tension that kept me turning the pages.

The twists and turns in the plot were unexpected and kept me on the edge of my seat. The pacing was spot-on, with enough action and emotional moments to balance the tension.

Overall, A Crown So Silver is a beautifully written fantasy that I can’t recommend enough. If you love fantasy with strong world-building, compelling characters, and a plot full of twists, this book will not disappoint!

This book and series have so much potential but fail to deliver. I hoped to get an interesting Celtic high fantasy and thought maybe book two would grow up, but no. Still juvenile, like twilight in a costume.

Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
A Crown So Silver is the second book in the series, following A Feather So Black. After Fia's sacrifice, she inherits powerful magic and is determined to stop her sister from waging war on their homeland. Her husband Irian suggests they find safe haven on a far away island, and Fia reluctantly agrees. The Silver Isle is ruled by a king who ensnares them in his Tournament of Kings, a competition in which the winner gets a treasure of their choice. Fia sees this as an opportunity to gain power against Eala, but Irian sees it as an opportunity to grant his wife safety. At odds with one another, Fia realizes she can only rely on herself to see things through.

Like the first book, the second was rife with Celtic folklore, mythic creatures and earth magic. Fia and Irian struggle with their differences and continuous arguments. Fia believes it to be her responsibility to set things right. She defeated death and gained an immense amount of magic, which she intends to put to use. "What is any of it good for, if not this?" Irian does not want to lose her again, but this causes him to become controlling and manipulative. He ends up pushing her away, and losing her in another sense. Overall, there was tons of character development. I had no idea where this story was going at any given time but it worked. Absolutely loved Linn. Thank you to Lyra Selene, NetGalley, and Orbit Books for the advance reader copy!

This book was so good! It is the second book in the feather so black series and I loved it so much! The world was so interesting and I could not put the book down!

I had planned to binge these first 2 books thinking that it would be a lot of fun, and only after deeply disliking the first book did that strike me as a horrible idea BUT here we are.

This book can't decide if it's classic celtic fantasy or a trashy tiktok romantasy, and the back and forth really gives me whiplash. The flowery prose and constant use of gaelic words makes me expect a deep and well thought out fantasy, but the romance between juvenile characters feel too YA and unrealistic to allow me to get lost in the story.

The second book syndrome is heavy in this one, and considering how messy the first book is that did not leave a lot of room for enjoyment for me. I was struggling with the pacing and repetition, and found myself more frustrated than not.

I cannot express how disappointing it was to see YET ANOTHER useless love triangle in this series. I could understand the first one if I really stretched it, but this time I could not get behind it. The characters often feel like they're making the most brain dead decisions possible, and this situation really made me think that the author doesn't have a clear understanding of who these characters are or what she wants them to be doing.

I didn't have high expectations at all, but this book proves that this trilogy is not for me.

A Crown So Silver

Lyra Selene is back with a beautiful second installment of the Fair Folk Trilogy, A Crown So Silver. I absolutely devoured this book, and I’ve waited far too long to share my review. A Crown So Silver pulled me out of a book slump-it was a lovely dive back into all things fair folk, Celtic mythology, and a stunning expansion of the earth-magic filled realm we see in A Feather So Black. And yet, it’s a completely different journey than we experience in book one-new settings, new characters, new deadly challenges, and *new fair folk creatures*-I love it all.

Milld spoilers below if you haven’t read the first book! Please check out my review of A Feather So Black and READ IT before picking up this volume.

A Crown So Silver picks up after Fia’s sacrifice and mysterious release as the heart of the forest. Equipped with a thorny, new magic and the determination to learn its bounds, Fia follows Irian’s lead to the Silver Isle where a Tournament of Kings is behind held by a tyrant blacksmith king. Conflict arises when Eala enters the tournament with Rogan as her champion, and new characters, quarrels, and political tension thickens the stakes.

My girl Fia goes THROUGH IT in the first book, and even more so in the second book. The ending of A Crown So Silver has me in a chokehold. Feelings? Fia has them, and in the plot in A Crown So Silver we see Fia go through every shade of her emotional composition-from unbridled rage (we love to see it) to the most intimate moments of vulnerability. All of the characters go through a fine-tuning of development. After a Crown So Silver, I truly feel like I understand the depth of Irian’s motivations and Fia’s passion.

Also Rogan? *sigh*

My heart has been squeezed one too many times by this book.

Inspired by Celtic lore, I adore all of the cunning (and oftentimes conniving) mythical creatures that Selene brings into her books. I’m 100% invested in Pond Scum’s, Fia’s mischievous steed of sorts, lore and subsequent backstory.

If you love:

- found family, new characters with intriguing side plots
- ROMANCE (ofc)
- ~love triangle~
- deadly tournament
- heist vibes
- touch her and I’m worried for you, bc Fia bites back

You’ll love this book!

I’m so excited for the January release-it’ll be the best beginning to a year full of highly anticipated fantasy releases.

For me, I LOVED A Feather So Black that I was wicked excited to get this e-arc. However I found myself disappointed overall with the story.

I loved Irian in the first book and found him too possessive (though I do get why he was) for me for a lot of the book. I rolled my eyes a lot. I also found myself not caring for Fia in the second book as much I did it in the first. I don’t care for the “I know it all” attitude when you clearly don’t. I can get behind a strong female who respects the people she is surrounded with and what they bring to the table too, and I didn’t find her that way for a lot of the book.

We have a sort of love triangle and some games being played but I wish we had seen Irian in action for that a little more. There were things that easily fell into place that had me asking, why that was allowed, like the whole apple situation. I hope that’s explained more in the third book.

There were things I loved too but mostly I was left feeling disappointed in the sequel. I am hoping for more in the third book. The writing and magic systems though, continue to be my favorite pieces of these stories.

This book was really slow to get into. Slow enough that I had a difficult time paying attention to the details of what was going on. Overall good writing and good plot, it was just slow and kind of meh in comparison to book 1.

Picking up slightly before the end of A Feather So Black, but from another POV, A Crown So Silver hooked me immediately. Like with A Feather So Black the fae world keeps you on your toes and you are still often unsure of who you can trust or what you can believe. I wasn't sure where we would be going in this sequel but it defiantly went places I did not expect and kept me engaged from start to finish. I really like Fia and Irian as well as the side characters and even though their struggles were frustrating at times, they made sense in the context of the story. Lyra dances the line with the love triangles in both books, my normal annoyance with this trope isn't as intense as it normally is since as it becomes clear who Fia loves. I still have so many questions and cannot wait for the next book.

I really enjoyed A Feather So Black and I was so happy to get an ARC of A Crown So Silver! Even though this was a great sequel that created a much stronger plot, I feel as if the story lost its lush, fairy-tale quality that made the first book so memorable.
Fia seemed a lot more immature in this installment than she did in the first book. While I appreciated the idea that not all fairy-tale couples are perfect, I was shocked at how quickly Fia's and Irian's relationship devolved in just a few chapters after all the buildup from the first book. However, their development throughout the second half was very nicely done and I enjoyed watching both of the main characters learn how to grow and change alongside each other. The addition of more characters like Laoise and Wayland helped flesh out the plot and gave me more to root for, and I'm excited to see more of them!
The first half of the book was definitely a lot slower than the second, and the magic system was a little vague. However, once the trials began and Fia began unraveling the mystery of the Treasures, the story quickly drew me in and I was unable to put it down. The cliffhanger left me wanting so much more, and I cannot wait to read the final installment.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit books for the eARC!

I’m not gonna lie, the first half of the book had a tendency to be pretty frustrating at times. But I’m really glad that I stuck with it because the second half was so good! I really enjoyed it and I’m very excited to see where things go in the next book.

I may have enjoyed this one more than the first! The characters grow and change so much in this book as their lives take on new meanings. Usually a second book in a series is short on action and feels slow as the story has to build for the third book. However, this was not the case for this one. There was a lot of action and development while also building for the next book. Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC!!

Lyra Selene’s sequel to A Feather So Black is lush, decadent, and entrancing in its prose and plot. We pick up in A Crown So Silver immediately following the events of the first book, meeting some familiar faces as well as some new ones, whom assist greatly in propelling the story forward through the first half of the novel. I love Fia as much as I did when I first read her— she’s feisty, strong willed, a skilled leader, and loyal to a fault— and it was good to be back in her head as she navigates a more permanent life amidst the magic and folk of Tir na Nog. Fia’s tenuous relationships with our cast of main and supporting characters were complex and well fleshed out. I won’t spoil the major conflict here, but I loved that as a sequel, this book stands on its own two legs as it continues the struggles from A Feather So Black while expanding on the world and magic system within it.
In my opinion, this novel’s greatest strength belies its greatest weakness: the flowery narrative and language made the pacing feel quite slow until about 50% in. I struggled to feel invested in the story prior to that point despite genuinely enjoying the writing style and characters. The intimate connection I sensed between our main couple was frought with arguments without communication, but I was reeled back in by their true connection at the end. Despite the slowness of the first half of the book, I genuinely did enjoy getting to continue Fia’s adventure and anxiously anticipate the next installment to this series! Hello cliffhanger! I’d recommend fans of Holly Black, Sarah A. Parker, Stephanie Garber, or Alex Aster give this series a look. All in all, this is a rich story filled to the brim with color and intrigue, and is well worth the read even with some pacing issues.

Thank you to Orbit, NetGalley, and Lyra Selene for this advanced copy!

I was so excited for the follow up to A Feather So Black! Thank you to the publisher and @NetGalley for allowing me to read an early review copy.

If you loved the first book, you'll recognize the same style of lyrical prose in the second book. Fia and Irian are back but both are moody, Irian is overprotective to a fault, and their love fest can't last lest there be no conflict. This book suffers from middle-series slump with a sluggish first 40% forest traipsing with no clear plot. About the half-way mark, a Hunger Games scenario emerges complete with a love triangle (and no, it's not Rogan). From here the pacing picks up, although the ending leaves us with another to be continued until book 3. I'll be looking forward to the conclusion to the series and have hope that it will be redeeming!

I absolutely fell in love with this story when I read the first book. I was so excited to get my hands on the next book in the series. The writing is so beautiful and lyrical. The tension, banter and love between Fia and Irian is top notch. I enjoyed the detail to world building in this book and how it explained more about the magic treasures. Some new characters were introduced and their addition really added to the book. The book's ending had me on the edge of my seat and the third book can't come soon enough. I highly recommend this if you enjoy Romantasy !

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit books for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

A Crown So Silver by Lyra Selene releases on 1/21/25. I was so thrilled to get a copy in advance since I could not wait for the sequel to Feather So Black. It was a satisfying read, but I have struggled with the last few sequel books. This was the same.

The first book was action packed and I could not stop reading. So I had this as a highly anticipated read. While I enjoyed being back in the world of dangerous fae, it was a bit on the slower side. Fia and Irian are together and in but then they decide to attend a tournament in another part of the fae world.

This adventure leads to new fun characters (loved the strange horse creatures) and more intrigue and deception. A misunderstanding happens upon arrival and a newish character vies for Fia’s attention. I am not a fan for love triangles. Fia is reckless and Irian is childish, even though they both have their reasons. Fia’s sister and Rogan return to add more to the already packed plot. I still despise her and my heart broke for Rogan.

This middle book was a bit frustrating but I will definitely continue reading because I must know what happens to all these characters, especially Fia!

Thank you NetGalley & Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC 🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
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My two favorite things about A Feather So Black were the almost lyrical descriptions Lyra Syrene creates and that I didn’t know who to root for in the love triangle.

In the sequel, A Crown So Silver, the beautiful writing continues AND we get a few great new characters that had me questioning things a couple times. 👀

A Crown So Silver is set in a deceptively beautiful new location- which did create a bit of a slow pace for the first 30% (ish) of the book since there was some world building and new character intro. The aughisky that Fia so lovingly called “Pond Scum” truly carried the beginning of the book.

Once the competition begins, the pace picks up and there’s some frustration in the tumultuous relationship of Fia and Irian. There’s so scheming, lots of danger, and some questionable decisions.

Fia has gone through many changes- and they both are coming to terms with those. She always remains true to herself, even when that becomes stubborn. Her growth in this book was sensational. If you ever get frustrated with either character (which you totally will), trust the process 👀

Eala is the other side of the coin to Fia and I honestly wanted to punch her in the face at least six times. I cannot wait to see more of their duality in book 3.

Now I need book 3 ASAP to get over that cliffy.

Thank you so much Lyra Selene and Net Galley for allowing me to have an ARC copy of this book! I have been foaming at the mouth for book 2 in this series since I read A Feather So Black this past Spring. Once again, I was absolutely immersed in the beautiful world and story that Lyra Selene has painted for us. This book picks right where Book 1 ended, thank God, and we are immediately introduced to new challenges our main characters need to overcome. We have trials, more information on Irian & the Fae in general, more Celtic Lore (YAY!) and a lot of problems and tensions with Fia and Irian’s relationship. My favorite large theme from this book is to not let men, specifically men in power, control or collar you, and I think that is a very important sentiment in times like these. I also adored the new side characters that were introduced, they added great layers to the story. My only critique is that the first 50% of the book was a little bit slow, but once you hit the second half of the book you literally cannot put it down. Overall I still adore the series and cannot wait until Book 3!

The link to the content I created about this primarily discusses Book 1 because I did not want to give any spoilers away, but I still mentioned the large themes and takeaways from A Crown So Silver.