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bebocarrick 's review for:
A Feather So Black
by Lyra Selene
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I will go on record as saying this is the type of book I usually stay far away from. I am not a romance novel person (much less a hetero romance novel person) and have made it a point to avoid romantasy because it just strikes me as needlessly spicy romance with some fairies thrown in for the hell of it. So off the bat, this book had a LOT to overcome when it came to my usual interests. BUT IT DID THAT! I thought I would tire of the book quickly, with it being one of my least favorite genres, but Selene did such an EXCELLENT job with her worldbuilding that I was hooked.
The idea of a changeling going to rescue the human they had replaced was such an intriguing idea to base a story on, and I really enjoyed the execution. I also loved Fia as a character. Her fleshed-out backstory and motives made me cheer her on. I also really enjoyed how magic functioned in this story, especially when it came to Fia's magic.
The inclusion of retelling elements from such stories as "The Swan Maiden" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" made this story all the more enjoyable because of these familiar (yet delightfully new) elements.
Some reviews mention that the book is a "smut without plot" story, and I did not find this to be the case, as the plot and the suspense were very well done! I think the suspense around Irian's plot line and the mysteries around his character/motive were especially interesting to read about. (Do rest assured if you like spice, there is certainly some of that as well, though for readers like myself who are generally not fans of those types of scenes, it's really not too unbearable.)
My only complaint about the book would be Rogan's character. He really sucked as far as love interests go, and for the life of me, I had no idea what Fia saw in him in the first place. I think the author intended his prince background combined with a lack of common sense to be endearing, but I found it super annoying. He just didn't have enough of a personality/motive to be interesting in the slightest. Despite this, I will definitely check out the next book in this series because I sincerely did enjoy this one!
I don't think this book was strong enough to push me into the romantasy girlies' world (I still will never read ACOTAR), but I think it's made it more likely for me to pick up a book in this genre if the premise seems interesting enough, and that's some high praise.
Publication Date: 12 March 2024
I will go on record as saying this is the type of book I usually stay far away from. I am not a romance novel person (much less a hetero romance novel person) and have made it a point to avoid romantasy because it just strikes me as needlessly spicy romance with some fairies thrown in for the hell of it. So off the bat, this book had a LOT to overcome when it came to my usual interests. BUT IT DID THAT! I thought I would tire of the book quickly, with it being one of my least favorite genres, but Selene did such an EXCELLENT job with her worldbuilding that I was hooked.
The idea of a changeling going to rescue the human they had replaced was such an intriguing idea to base a story on, and I really enjoyed the execution. I also loved Fia as a character. Her fleshed-out backstory
Spoiler
(hello, family trauma!)The inclusion of retelling elements from such stories as "The Swan Maiden" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" made this story all the more enjoyable because of these familiar (yet delightfully new) elements.
Some reviews mention that the book is a "smut without plot" story, and I did not find this to be the case, as the plot and the suspense were very well done! I think the suspense around Irian's plot line and the mysteries around his character/motive were especially interesting to read about. (Do rest assured if you like spice, there is certainly some of that as well, though for readers like myself who are generally not fans of those types of scenes, it's really not too unbearable.)
My only complaint about the book would be Rogan's character. He really sucked as far as love interests go, and for the life of me, I had no idea what Fia saw in him in the first place. I think the author intended his prince background combined with a lack of common sense to be endearing, but I found it super annoying. He just didn't have enough of a personality/motive to be interesting in the slightest.
Spoiler
Hence, I was quite happy when the love triangle stopped love triangling and Fia made her choice to be with Irian.I don't think this book was strong enough to push me into the romantasy girlies' world (I still will never read ACOTAR), but I think it's made it more likely for me to pick up a book in this genre if the premise seems interesting enough, and that's some high praise.
Publication Date: 12 March 2024