It’s almost as if you’re reading something that’s part fantasy book, part history book. The undeniable result is a solid fantasy world.

Which all means to say, that, there’s a lot of information in the book. The story is written with multiple POVs, and Pau Preto spends time writing in history and culture into each of the POVs, so you spend a lot of time learning mythology, the details of the war, and the relationship between the Sister Queens: Avalkyra and Pheronia, as well as a history of the Phoenix Riders and how the phoenixes themselves grow, and are cared for. In these initial pages, world building swayed towards the “tell, don’t show” method, and it felt like a bit of a drag, but I guess the flip side to that is that Pyra, and the other kingdoms in The Golden Empire felt incredibly well created. My initial thoughts for Crown of Feathers is that it’s very info-dumpy, the first 50 or so pages felt like the author was throwing information at me, with just enough plot to get the story moving, and to be completely honest, it was a bit hard to get going. And that’s the most eloquent way I can describe it whilst retaining some mystery! And – being totally spoiler free here- the betrayal that Veronkya suffers at the hands of her sister? Wow, hardcore messed up. It didn’t shy away from the death and poverty that often follows the start of a new regime. This is a book that is set less than two decades after a war and really, it reads like one.

And maybe worse, the new empire has learnt of the Phoenix Rider’s return… and they’ve set out to destroy them, once and for all.Ĭrown of Feathers was… brutal. But when Veronyka suffers a betrayal at the hands of her sister, she strikes out on her own, desperate enough to become a Rider, she pretends to be a boy to hide amongst their ranks.īut nothing good ever lasts forever, and just as Veronyka feels her feet underneath her again, Val shows up, revealing the tangled web of lies surrounding them. Both girls dream of becoming Phoenix Riders, just like the legends their grandmother told them about. Nowadays, war orphans Veronyka and her sister, Val, are living a less than luxurious life. Until sixteen years ago, when a war between two sisters ripped it all apart. The Golden Empire was ruled by fierce warrior Queens, built upon the backs of mythical phoenixes and the men and women they chose to become their riders. If I had known then what I know now, I might have chosen not to love her.

Crown of feathers by nicki pau preto