Title: Crown of Feathers (Crown of Feathers, #1)
Author: Nicki Pau Preto
Pages: 496
Publisher: Ink Road
Release Date: 25th April 2019
Blurb from Goodreads:
I AM A
DAUGHTER OF DEATH.
FROM THE ASHES I ROSE,
LIKE A PHOENIX FROM THE PYRE.
FROM THE ASHES I ROSE,
LIKE A PHOENIX FROM THE PYRE.
I had a sister once.
I promised her the throne would not come between us.
But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or
be ruled.
Sometimes the title of Queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken.
In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was
built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders legendary heroes who soared
through the sky on wings of fire until a war between two sisters
ripped it all apart.
Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of
becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking
betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to
find the Riders even if that means disguising herself as a boy to
join their ranks.
Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns
up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change
everything. And, meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders'
return and intends to destroy them once and for all.
Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love's
incredible power to save or to destroy. Throughout is interspersed
the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider Queen, who would rather
see her empire burn than fall into her sister's hands.
My Review:
*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Ink Road and NetGalley*
Sixteen years ago, a
war led to the two heirs to the throne, two sisters, dying and the
Phoenix Riders being wiped out.
Veronyka and her
sister Val don't have a home - they are unregistered animages whose
magic allows them to communicate with animals. They keep a low
profile to avoid being enslaved by the empire.
Veronyka dreams of
finding a phoenix egg and becoming a Phoenix Rider.
Val can be cruel and
controlling, and one day she goes too far. Veronyka goes off on her
own, intending to find any surviving Phoenix Riders. But there's one
problem - when Veronyka does find the Riders she learns that only
boys are allowed to become Riders, so Veronyka disguises herself as a
boy.
Just when things are
starting to work out for Veronyka, things are thrown into chaos.
Will her secret be
discovered?
The concept of
Phoenix Riders was what drew me to Crown of Feathers, and it has to
be my favourite aspect of the book. The idea of giant phoenixes large
enough to ride was really cool, and I wanted my own phoenix so badly
as I was reading this.
I also liked the
concept of animages, and that there was a history of fierce, powerful
queens.
Crown of Feathers
has three perspectives - Veronyka, Sev and Tristan. Veronyka's
chapters were my favourite, but it was also interesting to see things
from Sev (a reluctant empire soldier hiding his animage abilities)
and Tristan's (a trainee Phoenix Rider) points of view.
I also liked that
there were letters between the two warring sisters, Avalkyra and
Pheronia, in between the chapters. I felt these added to the
world-building and history.
The plot was
interesting and held my attention, but I wasn't gripped. There were
some things that I saw coming and others that surprised me.
The writing style
was easy to follow and I would definitely consider reading more from
the author.
While I didn't enjoy
Crown of Feathers as much as I hoped I would, it was still an
enjoyable, unique read.
Overall this was an
enjoyable read.
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