Looking for a captivating fantasy book to binge read? If you're searching for an escape from reality and would enjoy reading about someone else's drama instead of dealing with your own for a few hours, Crown Of Feathers is a great read. For those who love the intense pursuit of an empire, fierce female fighters as character leads, and delight in a twisted sibling revelry, this book will deliver.
Crown Of Feathers is like a virtual reality ride that takes place on the backs of the mystical Phoenix and has the right amount of mythology woven into the fantastical story. It's focused on dreams and devastation, but betrayal to the core, with an inconceivable twist in the final pages the reader didn’t see coming. What didn't kill the war orphan sisters Veronyka and Val made one stronger and one an obsessed control freak. Through the hundreds of pages, the main characters live lots of lives and have interesting arcs. The timeline spans 1,000 BE (before empire) to present day AE (after empire). One element of this book’s storyline in particular that I loved as a Harry Potter fanatic apart from the presence of a phoenix, is that several of the main characters are animages. This is the gift of being able to talk to animals. This is central to the theme because it’s how the warrior queens guide their animals in battles and war.
On the flip side, the way Crown Of Feathers is written can be a make-or-break. For example, it has a lot of wordy set up. I believe a lot of the pre-backstory could have been better summarized and did not need to take almost fifty pages to explain. The book probably loses lots of readers that would love it if they could get past the minutia and unneeded detail. In an unusual fashion, the book comes complete with a timeline, glossary, and a map of the world. The main language spoken is English but has Pyraean references. It's also written with multiple points of view. This isn't everyone's cup of tea either as it's not mine. I found this title to be irritating. I found this similarly written to Candymakers. Also, it’s worth mentioning that it’s a male dominated world and at one point Veronyka goes undercover and disguises herself as a boy for a shot at becoming a Phoenix Rider. This reminded me of Joan of Arc. The book is just shy of 500 pages. I bet it could have been just as compelling at 350. When I read about the author Nicki Pau Preto, I instantly related to her. She has a design background and seems to be as allergic to a 9 to 5 job as I am! I will definitely be committing to reading the rest of the trilogy.
Comments