Reviews with content warning for Death - These Feathered Flames

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an arc of this book!

When they were younger, twins Asya and Izaveta were inseparable. But their paths were torn apart when they were 10, and Asya was destined to be the next Firebird, Izaveta the next queen. While Asya has been schooled in magic and what it costs, Iza is schooled in the politics of the court. They come back together when their mother is killed, and Asya must find out who did it before magic tears their queendom apart--all while Iza has to scheme to be allowed to claim the throne that is rightfully hers!

I was immediately gripped by the story and mythology behind this book. The writing had me on the edge of my seat and wondering what was going to happen next. The entire time I was reading, I was really routing for Asya and Izaveta (mostly Asya though) and wanting them to reconcile as sisters and work together! I also loved the rest of the cast of characters and how different they all were. I definitely was routing for Yuliana! And Nikov was such a cinnamon roll!

I loved how everything came together at the end of the book. It felt natural and how it should have been! My only complaint is that I didn't think there was enough chemistry between the love interests. Hopefully I will get to see more in the sequel!

Pub Date: April 20, 2021

Content Warnings

unicornsbookshelf's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Asya and Iza are twin sisters torn apart by their destiny. While Iza lives in the court, surrounded by hypocrisy and politics, Asya travels the forest with her aunt, training her body to take on the mythical Firebird - a creature that protects the kingdom from a catastrophe by making sure everyone pays a price for their magic. They’ve been separated when they were younger but when their mother dies, they have to face each other again, despite no longer knowing what has become of the other.

I honestly didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. I’m not interested in books about sisters, especially twins and they seem to be a recent trend in YA fantasy. However, I was promised a Slavic-inspired world as well as f/f romance so I couldn’t say no, right?

Let’s start with the plot. There’s a lot of going on and it’s in the best way possible. Each sister is investigating her angle of the same case going on in the court. Iza does this by using her cunning and manipulation, Asya by following the power of the Firebird. There’s a lot of politics and plotting in this book, which I appreciated. However, there’s also a lot of action. All of it is connected to the Fading - the phenomena of magic slowly disappearing from the kingdom, which causes even basic spells to cost much more. Iza is trying to make the court see her as worthy of being the queen, despite her young age. Asya follows a mysterious Calling, looking for someone who’d used magic inside the palace and hadn’t paid the price. There’s a lot of going on and despite the ending being a bit of a mess (though I’m hoping for more explanation of what happened in the sequel), it is entertaining and makes you want to read on to find out what’s next.

When it comes to the characters and their relationships with each other, I think I preferred Asya but I loved Iza’s part for all her plotting and manipulation. Iza is flawed and makes a lot of mistakes towards people she cares about, due to the way she was brought up by her mother and the environment she grew up in when Asya is a more sympathetic person who had a very questionable thing thrown upon her. Iza goes through life doubting that there’s anyone she can trust and Asya goes through life questioning if it’s worth hurting or even kill one person for the safety of the country. They’re both very different characters and I like how they are not close from the beginning - it’s only logical for characters to have to get to know each other all over again after years apart even if they have some Magical Twin Bond going on. I also really enjoyed the romances for both sisters, which I was pleasantly surprised about. The romances are very subtle - you get only one kiss between one of the couples. I’m sure they will be built up more in the next book but for now, the couples are only getting to know each other. It’s worth mentioning that Iza gets an m/f romance and Asya an f/f romance.

The worldbuilding could have been more in-depth, especially how does magic work exactly and who the gods and the saints are but I still enjoyed this Russian-folklore vibe it had going on. I mean, riding on bears? That is delightful. I’m also very curious to learn more about the Firebird and its relationship with the Fading because I honestly loved that concept.

All in all, I think These Feathered Flames is a promising beginning to a new YA fantasy series and I would whole-heartily recommend it. Go get your Slavic mythology goodness with badass sisters.

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