Crown of Feathers

Okay first, just gaze at that cover for a little while. Just - wow. We get dragon riders all the time, but phoenix riders? That is new. AND AWESOME. I have been ridiculously excited about this book, and then I received it just as we were really gearing up to move. I have FINALLY gotten around to it, and man. I need the second one now. And it's not due out until 2020!

The book tells the story of Veronyka, a war orphan who wants to be a phoenix rider, like her parents and grandmother. It is mostly told from her viewpoint, but we also get a few chapters from the point of view of Sev, an animage hiding in the Empire's army, Tristan, another phoenix rider, and one or two from Veronyka's sister, Val.

Animages are, as the name implies, mages whose magical power involves talking to animals and making them do their bidding. All phoenix riders are animages; not all animages are phoenix riders. But the empire has outlawed animages anyway, unless they pay a heavy tax. If you're found to have evaded the tax, you get enslaved as a bondservant until you pay off your unpaid taxes. Sev hid his magic and enlisted in the army to keep from being sold as a bondservant.

In between chapters of current events, we have letters and snippets from history books detailing the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, who was the last Rider Queen before the empire turned against the Riders.

The villain in this story is villainous indeed, but at the same time, I don't -want- them to be villainous. I -want- them to be good, and noble, and I can see why they've done what they've done and - I HAVE FEELINGS. I don't LIKE the villain. They're quite unlikable. I kinda feel like Obi Wan here. YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE. We all had so much FAITH in you. So it feels like a betrayal. And I just - I want to be wrong. I want the villain to do the right thing in the second book and no longer be a villain, but I don't know how exactly that would happen. I'm holding out hope though.

This book is good. I'm not putting it in my best of 2019 list because I'm so torn on the villain. But it's very good. I am eager to see where the story goes from here.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

Herlezen 2021 als audioboek (Storytel) en mijn mening blijft onveranderd. Schitterende start van een prachtige fantasy. Het audioboek is trouwens ook heel goed verteld met een goeie cast aan stemmen.
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Recensie 2019
Waauw, dit boek was echt fantastisch!
Het duurde eventjes voor ik erin zat, maar dat lag aan mijn gemoedstoestand en niet aan het boek, want echt, dit boek is fantastisch.

De wereld is extreem gedetailleerd met een enorm rijke geschiedenis, die in stukjes wordt bloot gegeven aan de hand van perkamenten uittreksels tussen de hoofdstukken van het hoofdverhaal. Zo krijg je enorm veel informatie mee, maar dit voelde nooit als te veel aan. In tegendeel, ik wou steeds meer weten. Bovendien was elke nieuwe onthulling over de afgelopen gebeurtenissen direct relevant voor het hoofdverhaal.

Het hoofdverhaal zelf, het verhaal van Veronyka en de Phoenixriders, wordt gradueel opgebouwd en heeft voornamelijk een focus op de personages. Hierdoor leef je echt mee met de gebeurtenissen.

Het einde van het boek was erg spannend en verrassend. Balen dat ik zo lang moet wachten om het vervolg te lezen.

Prachtig boek en de perfecte springplank naar het high fantasy genre.

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.

This book follows a set of sisters, Veronyka and Val. They are animages who are living day to day after a bloody revolution ripped their country apart. At the opening of the book, they are incubating 2 phoenix eggs they found. When one hatches for Veronyka but not for Val, Val's brutal personality is fully exposed. Veronyka runs off in search of the Phoenix Riders. What follows is a story of heartbreak, deceptions, and love.

This is the first book in a while that I have wanted to stay up all night reading. I didn't want to put it down. I was enthralled. I read a lot of reviews saying the pacing was off, but I didn't really have a problem with it. I love Veronyka as a protagonist. She is fierce, but very kind. Sev was such a great side character. His arc was so unique from what you find in most YA books, but I was rooting for him and Kade from the outset. All of the revelations in the last quarter of the book had me squealing out loud. I didn't guess any of them. I like that a lot of the tropes were twisted a little to be unique. Also, who WOULDN'T want to read about people that can connect magically to animals and RIDE PHOENIXES? Like, what more do you need to know going into this story?

Nicki Pau Preto has done an excellent job creating unique characters, an enthralling setting, and a captivating plot line. I have already requested the next two books from my library because I just cannot wait to read the rest of this series, and anything else this author releases.

TW: animal death, death, emotional abuse, gaslighting, mind control, slavery, war