Feather and Blade - Impressive and illuminating tale of Intrigue
Rachel Taylor Thompson's work is a world building exercise which combines aspects of casteism, political quagmires and a coming of age with a sorcery thrown in the midst. At the center of the plot is Emrie, the second daughter of House Das. She starts getting symptoms of witchery, which is punishable by death. The second heir to the kingdom, Dereik Valiyard, is imprisoned with Emrie being charged for his well being without revealing her own identity. The story follows Emrie's growing into her powers while navigating the shifting allegiances and trying to protect her family' place in the court, her budding romance with Dereik and an attempt to come into her own.

The story begins slowly but picks up pace once Dereik and Emrie start interacting. This is a slow burn with lots of interesting stories being spun between the two leads. The side cast of Emrie's friends and siblings also help the narrative. There are some unfinished threads in the tale, but this may be the first of a series.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Rachel Taylor Thompson for providing me with an ARC, all opinions stated above are my own!

"Feather and Blade" is an intriguing romantasy set in a politically complex world. The world-building is rich and in-depth, but I personally struggled with the pacing—it felt too slow for my taste. If you're looking for a quick, easy read, this may not be the book for you. It requires patience to fully appreciate the intricate storyline.

The writing leans more toward telling rather than showing, especially in the beginning, but once Emrie and Deriek’s paths intertwine, the plot becomes more engaging.

Overall, this is a solid read for fans of fantasy romance with political intrigue. While the slow start and writing style might not appeal to everyone, I believe this is a great debut novel. It’s a solid three stars for me, though it could be more depending on your reading preferences!

4.5 stars
I picked up this book the moment I received my ARC even though I was in the middle of four other books, and yet I did not regret it one bit.
The characters
I loved these characters, they felt real and everything they did made sense for their character and their motives which is something I haven’t seen often in newer books. They react to the events in realistic ways for the character and the world rather than doing everything only for plot convenience.
The plot
I love the politics in fantasy books but sometimes they can get overwhelming, this book never does this. It somehow manages to have a fantastic plot and reasoning behind each character’s action without making me feel like I had to remember every little detail.
The romance
The romance was also something that I loved. I went into it thinking that it would be another boring romantasy which is all I see online anymore. But instead, the author gave me this incredible fantasy with the perfect slow burn that made me scream when they would sit close to each other.
(And the love intrestttt… <3)
The writing
I found this writing very easy to read, it felt like I was deeply immersed in the world. I felt like all the descriptions and every word was necessary for the story and the plot rather than only there to reach a word count.
Who would I recommend it to?
I recommend this book to people in desperate need of a fantasy romance that isn’t smutty but will still have you giggling and people looking to get into either the fantasy or romance genre.
Thank you to Rachel Thompson for the free ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. Emrie was an interesting character, that developed well throughout the story. The plot continued to move, there were twists and turns, lots of things that surprised me. But be warned, this is not one that as a speed reader myself, I felt like I could truly appreciate in one sitting, or reading. It's complicated. It takes time. Don't rush it. You don't want to miss anything.

This book was amazing and although it seems like it could be a stand-alone I would gladly read anymore books set in this world.

Feather and blade is set in a unique world with deep political intrigue. The plot was well thought out and executed. I especially enjoyed seeing Emries character development and the relationship between her and Deriek grow.

This is definitely not a light read and will keep you guessing the entire time. If you’re unsure about reading it take this as a sign and pick up Feather and Blade, I promise you will not regret it.

I am so terribly sorry, but I cannot recommend this book. The writing was awkward and I had to reread sentences multiple times to understand what was happening. I still don’t know what a matie is, even after a google search I couldn’t be sure of its meaning. The worst part was the “catching the palsy”. Such an archaic and ableist statement gave me the ick right away.

The story has a good premise but this needs work.

I received this book as an ARC.

This story follows a young woman trying desperately to live up to the expectations of her father while quickly finding herself caught up in a situation she is ill equipped to handle.

I really enjoyed this story and the character development as the book progressed. I have to admit that I found the FMC to be unlikeable for the first half. As she was forced to confront her perception of her family and the rest of community, I grew to like the individual she was maturing into.

The one qualm I have is that the book did not delve into anything other than this main city. We do not know anything about the rest of the realm or any other areas and I feel like this could have created amble opportunities to branch out for further books.