Name: Ashton Reed's review of Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto
Item: Crown of Feathers
Rating: 4
Author: Ashton Reed

Nicki Pau Preto

An Ember in the Ashes meets Three Dark Crowns in this lush debut fantasy novel about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to join a secret group of warriors that ride phoenixes into battle. I had a sister, once… 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. I promised her the throne would not come between us. 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. But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled. 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. Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken. Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love’s incredible power to save—or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister’s hands.

Crown of Feathers #1

Crown of Feathers

Ashton Reed

Gillian Rose

Technically 3.5 stars.

I'm bummed because I couldn't really connect with this book. It was very slow and the three different viewpoints confused me even if they did intersect. There was a pretty crazy twist that makes me excited to check out the sequel but the book, as a whole, didn't do as much as I thought it would.

Emily B

3.5 STARS:

While I did enjoy this one, I must admit, it's not the most original thing out there. The concept of the phoenixes is nice, but the plot is a bit more trope-filled and simplistic. Still, it was done well.

The world-building seemed to be very lush when focusing on the phoenix queens, as well as the history of Pyra and the empire. The other countries, though, I wish were more fleshed out. That might be something to fix in the next books.

Still, I did like this one, and I think that all has to do with the characters. They were complex and very easy to love. Veronyka was an easy protagonist to root for, but it was Sev that really stole my heart. 

The highlight of this book, without a doubt, was the relationships between the characters, especially Val and Veronyka. It really went into the nature of toxic relationships and how you can recover from the trauma they have inflicted on you.

There were some budding romances as well, and they were very wholesome. I surprised myself because I usually don't enjoy friends to lovers, but this one was done well. But Sev's mlm romance was my favorite. I will enjoy seeing where they go from here.

Overall, while not the most original, it was a fun time and I do recommend it. I will enjoy picking up the sequel eventually.

Nicole Dykeman

Why is everybody sleeping on this book?????? Despite the fact that it’s almost 500 pages, I read it in two days. It’s action-packed and unputdownable. Veronyka is SUCH a great protagonist, and I adore that she’s such a softie. Not all strong female characters have to be heartless, badass warriors. They can also be empathetic badass warriors, thank you very much. Tristan and Sev’s chapters were just as enjoyable, and I fell in love with all of the side characters too. 

The plot and politics were complex, but not overwhelmingly so. A great balance of world building and action and character development all around. Featuring two plot twists that I actually didn’t see coming, so props to the author on that. I’m pumped for book two!!

Megan Lowe

I read this as March’s ultimate reading challenge, a fantasy read.

I went back and forth on the rating for this book so many times! In the end, I did really enjoy it, but I can understand why people won’t like it or will DNF it.
It IS slow to start. There’s a lot of information, the names are very similar and hard to pronounce. I would suggest here moving the glossary from the back of the book to the start. I wasn’t really a fan of the history retellings, even though I know they are useful to the story. It makes the book a bit of hard work and too much like Furyborn, which I also struggled with.
I also don’t really understand what the characters motivations are or where the story is going. It’s more a story you read, not one you experience. You see what the characters are doing but you don’t feel involved.

All this being said, I did really enjoy it. I loved the relationships between the animals and the animages. 
I also like the human relationships, especially Sev and Kade. The light touch of romance is good, but I do expect it to be ramped up in the next book(s).

All in all, I think this is a book which will divide opinion. I enjoyed it, but I know it’s not going to be for everyone.

Shereen Evans

I picked this up because of the cover. I was a bit bored in during most of the book and I almost DNF'd it.. The last 1/3 of the book picked up and I was wanting to get through the story to see how it ended. Other than that I don't have much else to say. 
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I did like that at the end where she stood up for herself to be part of the trainers as herself and not disguised.

Savannah Winchell

1.5 ⭐️
DNFed at @ 20%
- E.X.P.O.S.I.T.I.O.N.
- The same premise and intro as Eragon??? with birds???? 
- I can see why other people will like this, but I could tell early on it was not for me at all.
- the cover is perfect tho #rewd

I don't deserve this mediocrity

Livia

As I was about to give up hope on YA Fantasy, Nicki Pau Preto came barging in as a savior with this book. She treated me with beautiful but straightforward writing, intricate world-building, intriguing myth and legends, and characters that actually has personality.

I adore the history of this world. I love the magic in this world that allows people to connect with animals. I love how the characters have more than one side.

Veronyka's character growth is amazing. She went through a lot, and she learns about life so much. She's such a softie, but once you get on her bad side, you're in serious trouble. And the fact that she's such a badass without having the actual ability to wield a sword and fight.

Val, at first, I detest her. She seems so mean and the thing she did at the beginning was outright cruel. She still is not the best person, and she never sways from her own principle. But I find her to be an interesting anti-hero that is not entirely hateable because not everything she did is bad.

Dear Lord, I didn't see that ending coming. I did suspect something around those lines. And when it was confirmed, I was left shooked.

Eryn Bradshaw

Book received from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau-Preto is an absolutely beautiful book. The story follows three characters on their own paths, Veronyka, Tristian, and Sev. After the war between sisters Avalkyra and Pheronia, 16 years later Veronyka is left as a war orphan with a dream to become a Phoenix Rider. Her and her sister, Val, search for phoenix eggs in hopes of honing their animagic and become Phoenix Riders together.

Throughout the book, there are many history tidbits about the world Pau-Preto built. While some might think it slow, I found it very interesting. Pau-Preto definitely build this beautiful work and amazing backstories and history weaved throughout the book. And though history may not be entirely prevalent in some stories, I felt it was necessary to know and fully engage in the world that was being built.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the characters and the different journeys each of them was taking. I love that each character not only had their strengths but also had internal conflicts and flaws they had to deal with while trying to find how they might fit in the place they had chosen for themselves. I never felt like the book was ever slow or lagged, I enjoyed the pacing of the book and looked forward to each section while left wondering what was happening with the others.

I honestly really look forward to the next book in the series! I can't wait to dive deeper into the characters, especially Veronyka and Val! This is a wonderful book and I'd recommend it to any fantasy lover!

Leah Patton

It took me a ridiculously long time to finish this BUT the ending really made it worth it. Also how the character's loved each other. They were given time to become really good friends.

“Absolutely unforgettable.” —Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Three Dark Crowns series “A beautifully told story about justice, sisterhood, and warrior women.” —Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep “Epic in the truest sense.” —Quill and Quire An Ember in the Ashes meets Three Dark Crowns in this lush debut fantasy novel about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to join a secret group of warriors that ride phoenixes into battle. I had a sister, once… 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. I promised her the throne would not come between us. 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. But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled. 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. Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken. Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love’s incredible power to save—or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister’s hands.

As You Wish Books

I’m so conflicted over this book. About halfway through I genuinely approached my boyfriend and expressed my desire to stop reading it. I’m ultimately glad I stuck with it, and I’ll admit I’m at least a little excited to read the next book, but I probably won’t be picking it up immediately. I’m not a fan of the Big Reveal on the final page of the book; I had my own thoughts on this and am kind of sad that the suspense isn’t being drawn out at least until book 2. I think it’s fitting, don’t get me wrong, just premature. I also found myself skimming at moments because of the info-dumps. I appreciate world building, but there were paragraphs and paragraphs of information coming from multiple characters, sometimes the same info from different POVs (I understand the point of this don’t get me wrong) and it was just a LOT. A lot to handle when you’re in the middle of an unrelated scene, and a lot generally because it’s super in-depth history from different points in time. I struggled to keep up with it and my brain started to refuse to process, so I skim-read a lot of it unfortunately. My other issue is that I personally am not a fan of the pretending-to-be-a-boy trope. Just not for me. But I liked the idea of the story, so I picked it up anyway. Glad I did, I just have higher hopes for book 2 since the boy trope is done now!

Toni Turner

FIRST OF ALL! THIS BOOK HAS A BLOSSOMING M/M ROMANCE AND THE VERY GOOD MULAN or SHE’S THE MAN KIND OF BI/PAN EXPLORATION WHICH IS FUN. This book talks about gender and sexuality very nicely. Ie. gay characters exist and there is no question about their existence which I love to read in fantasy because I’d hope more FANTASY worlds would accept more sexualities. Also! In light of the fact that the mc is dressed up as a boy it’s also revealed trans people exist! And once again. It’s a chill good thing. Love that for my reading experience. 
Also. Look. This story better take place over MANY novels, because WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!? Was that ending?

My time with this book started off weak. I wasn’t in the right mood (burn out from a month long readathon) and the chapters in the beginning seemed to go on for so long with nothing happening. It was like I knew it was going to take a lot from me emotionally and so I kept putting it off hahah, but I quickly gave into the unputdownable reading experience. 
I was totally engrossed on page one I mean come on! “Veronyka gathered the bones of the dead.” Beautiful first line. The sister dynamic was so intriguing and intense. And terrifying. And I love Sevro and Kade and Trix and Tristan. Like LOVE them. And I love Veronyka so much, and even Val, and the history and the Phoenixes and this is just so much bigger than I thought before diving in and I’m so excited. I have two brand new ships I will DIE for and this expansive, beautiful story to scream about for the next couple years at LEAST.
I am a very happy reader right now. 
And I have a lot of spoilers that I will scream at myself in my own head because WHAT IN THE GODS NAME!?!? DID WE JUST FIND OUT!!?????!!!!!!

Euodias

5/5 STARS. I absolutely LOVED it. The world building in this book is just fantastic. The author's writing style drew me in from start till the end, I couldn't put the book down! The plot twists, pacing, storyline and relationships between the characters were all done really well. Can't wait to pick up the second book!

Katie

So this was...fine. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. It was fine.

I had a hard time connecting to most of the characters, and it wasn't until about two thirds of the way through the book that I felt like all of the laying-of-the-groundwork was done, and the actual story could begin. I definitely think there could have been a LOT more paring down of all the info dumps because good LORD there were a lot! 

Also queerbaiting. I'm kinda pissed at the queerbaiting. (view spoiler)[And I would SAY bury your gays, except because of the queerbaiting, we "don't actually know" if that character was queer. (hide spoiler)] Ugh I'm pretty upset at this. It's 2019. Stop putting this shit in books.

Now onto the things I liked! The world is very interesting. I have always looooooved phoenixes and I was really impressed by how they are their own characters within the story. They aren't pets, and they aren't weapons; they are respected members of their society, same as their riders. The history of this universe was intriguing and I did enjoy learning about all the different queens, although again, it was a little heavy handed with the info dumps. I guess the characters were fine? I said I had trouble connecting with them, but really that's the three main characters that were not that interesting. There were several side characters where I was like OOH. TELL ME MORE.

Anyway this review is a hot mess because I'm in the middle of a readathon and can't be bothered to note my thoughts in a coherent manner. Overall, I liked this book and I think most of the problems I had with it, especially the pacing, can be fixed in future installments of this series. I will be continuing the series once more books come out, they just won't be super high on my priority list.

laura

I actually was super invested in all the POV of this novel. I really also liked the world building and loved how this book used different formats like letters and poems to tell the story. This book focused a lot on female realtionships and i really liked how that was handled this was not a story the focused on only the postive side of female realtionships. I think his story even thought it had three different fronts, was so well crated. I think there was some prediciable moments throughout the novel but the ending was a nice surprise and I am def checking out book 2 in the future.

Nickie Mohler

I really enjoyed this one!
 
Veronyka has always wanted to be a phoenix rider. She grew up listening to her grandmother's stories about them, and knew it was her destiny. But, she doesn't even know if they exist anymore. She must go on a journey and find out. She has to be careful though, because being an animage can get you killed if the wrong people find out.

I loved the characters (not Val), and the magic is fantastic. I will definitely continue on with this series.

Kayla Smith

4.5 stars. 

This story is told through three different perspectives. However, it’s clear that our main character is Veronyka which is great because I absolutely loved her character. She starts off as this meek individual who completely folds to everything her sister, Val, asks of her but she’s quick to grow from that. As soon as her phoenix is hatched we see her develop into a strong, independent woman and her character development was absolutely the best part of the story for me. I don’t usually fall in love with characters, but I think it speaks to Nicki Pau Preto’s writing that I so quickly was enveloped in Veronyka’s story specifically through her struggles and character growth.

Unfortunately, that means when we were reading from Sev’s perspective, I had no interest. At least at first. That’s because, initially I didn’t understand why Sev was important enough for his own perspective. He’s introduced as a fighter in the militia who’s trying to track down and kill the animages. It’s hard to root for him simply knowing that. Luckily, that doesn’t last long. Once again, props to Nicki Pau Preto for again developing a character so convincingly that I was easily persuaded to completely root for him after I had no interest in his story whatsoever. Sev is also queer, though his identification is never stated on the page. There was one moment between him and his (male) love interest that had me blushing. I have my ship flag flying for these two, their development was the epitome of hate to love and now I remember why I love that trope in the first place. I’m not one to easily stand behind romance in my fantasy, but this time I was all for it. I’m upset it ended the way it did and I’m over here just waiting for February 11th so I can hopefully see more of this relationship in the second book. I already have it pre-ordered.

The third perspective takes place in Tristan’s POV. He’s an apprentice with the phoenix riders and…unfortunately, I never truly enjoyed his perspective. I could have done without it. I enjoyed it simply because it gave us more of Veronyka’s story, but I think I would have enjoyed those points in the story just as much through her own eyes. Hopefully, he becomes a more developed character who can stand on his own throughout the second book. I think he has potential with the way book one ended.

Besides Tristan’s POV, the only other gripe I had while reading this was the complete info dump throughout the first hundred pages. It was paragraphs on paragraphs of backstory for the world. I didn’t mind all that much but at the same time, I’m completely okay with jumping into a fantasy novel and allowing it to develop throughout the reading experience. I wish more of the history of the world could have been casually thrown into the story throughout the 400 pages, rather than all at once right at the beginning. I found myself going back and rereading paragraphs over and over again to try and remember all of the information being thrown at me. I didn’t find it completely necessary because it didn’t completely sink in at the time and yet I never felt lost. There are moments at the end of each chapter where we get notes from past rulers of this world that are important, and those were what helped me understand the history. Not the paragraphs on paragraphs that we received at the beginning.

Also, trigger warning for a lot of sudden animal deaths. Like, a lot. It’s completely relevant to the story and understandable since most of the characters are animages and their magic is directly involved with animals. But, as an animal lover myself, some scenes were very hard to read.

Fortunately, I have nothing else negative to say about this book. The action scenes were well described, side characters were well developed, and I loved the representation in this book. There’s even a blind character who uses her magic as an animage to see through a bird named Chirp that follows her everywhere. Her disability never hinders her and throughout dramatic battle scenes she’s always helpful to the narrative. I mentioned before that I love animals and now I’ve decided if I were ever able to decide what magical abilities I could have, I’d choose to be an animage. This story is completely underhyped and I hope this review inspires you to pick this book up because I absolutely adored it.

Faith

Lovisa

Vill att alla jag känner läsa denna så jag kan prata om den och gråta med någon. Pga, är allting.

Tiffany Engler

This seems like a well-liked book in the bookish community. Unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. With that said, I am still going to continue with this series. I’m reading Heart Of Flames as soon as I have the desire to pick up an audiobook. I’m hoping that book is more fast paced than this one… that’s my main gripe about this book. It dragged on and on. I liked getting multiple perspectives. I love the idea of the Phoenix Rider’s. I feel like it has some Mulan vibes with Veronyca dressing up as a boy in order to train.

I feel like if this book didn’t wait until the end to get things happening, I would have liked it a lot more!

Read my full review here

Caitlin Johnson

I’m speechless. I haven’t been this sucked into a book in a VERY long time, and so enamored with each character’s POV, NONE of them lacking. I felt their emotions, the scenes were vividly playing in my head, and I constantly wanted to know more. I was shocked multiple times. I’m honestly so glad I waited until right before the final book releasing to start this series, because I can tell you right now, I would’ve been RAVENOUS for the next installment each time as the books released. Easily now in my top 5 favorite series ever. 🔥🪶🙌🏻

Helena Cristina Nogueira Pereira

Joleen

Laura Allen

2.5 stars. I’m between this book being okay and not liking it. I thought the very beginning and the very end were okay but the middle was repetitive and dragged on forever with very little happening. It took me months to read and I almost gave up several times on this book. The ending was a little redeeming.

Veronyka, sixteen, leaves her controlling sister and disguises herself as a boy to join a secret group of warriors who ride phoenixes into battle.

Anyaconda

I loved this story so much! This an action packed story with a rollercoaster of emotions. The characters are fantastic, I love all of them: Veronyka, Tristan, Sev and Kade and the phoenixes of course.

I can't remember when I last enjoyed a YA fantasy so much. I fell quite out of love with the genre, but Crown of Feathers gives me hope.

I simply cannot wait for the next book in the series! And can we please admire that cover art?

Thank you so much Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the eARC and share the love.

4.25 stars

Oh man this book!! *insert heart-eyes emojiiii* It’s soooo good!! I’ve already been on the lookout for other books with the “Mulan” trope because I love ittt!

Before we get started, I want to thank NetGalley, Simon Pulse of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Nicki Pau Preto for blessing me with this arc! I’m kind of late with this review, but I hope I can still help give it the attention it deserves!

Alright, I’m going to skip the summary, if that’s ok, and get to the good stuff.

First of all, the characters were all so interesting and complex! I felt like I learned strength particularly from Veronyka’s journey, which felt truly genuine. It was also amazing to see her experience love in ways she didn’t know existed because of her sister.

And TRISTAN *once again, I call upon the heart eyes emoji!* he’s such a sweetie; you don’t want to miss him! 

Basically the character development all around, even the development of characters I didn’t mention, was just so GOOD.

Next up, the plot was just incredible, and I adore the individuality of the novel, whether it was because of the phoenixes, or their relationships with humans, or the plot itself, I don’t even know. It never ceases to amaze me, whenever I wonder if there’s anything else we could come up with to write about, some genius writer renews something like phoenixes! Just so awesome!

And then, of course, there’s the moment where Mulan’s identity is revealed to Li Shang and she’s in trouble! Oh, the drama (that I eat up, of course). LOVE IT!

Well, I’ll do you guys a favor and stop gushing, but I will say this: you guys need to read this! It’s unique, it’s addicting, and it’s immersive! I don’t really have anything to pick at either! Yay haha. 

Au revoir!




Oh, and if you enjoyed this review and want to experience even more of my craziness, be sure to follow me here on Goodreads! I also have a bookstagram under @ashton_reads if you’d like to follow that as well. Thanks guys!

Ashton Reed &
Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

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