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Rate: 2/5

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Medium: Audiobook

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Overview (No Spoilers):

With inspirations drawn from the beautiful fairytale Swan Lake, I was excited to find out what magic A Feather So Black had in store.

That eagerness soon waned as between the pacing and wholly unlikable characters I struggled to fully be pulled into A Feather So Black. I even contemplated the unthinkable of just putting this story down. The story spans almost a whole year, with trips into faerie only being allowed one night a month. This means much of this book is spent biding time until the next whirlwind of a night. I found this waiting time to be rich, especially as Rogan and Fia start occupying themselves with restoring the old ruins that have been covered in time. 

Rogan and Fia are estranged childhood friends who find themselves on an unexpected quest. Both of them have significant parental trauma and unresolved sexual tensions. While they both have major flaws, their redeeming qualities can’t quite make up for the former. Even beyond this duo, I struggle to come up with one character that is genuinely likable except the fae spirit that is in the castle. Fia has been through a lot as a changeling in a hostile castle, though her inability to grow or challenge her truths in this novel grows tiresome. Poor, tortured Rogan is shackled by the duties of his birth but pushes for something beyond what Fia is willing to accept. The amount of time they spend sulking in this book is wearysome. 

Overall, there is one date that looms large in A Feather So Black and it couldn’t come fast enough as I was eager for my time with Rogan and Fia to draw to a close.

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Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound): 

• Can Rogan escape Eala’s control?
• The other girls sacrificing themselves so Eala can gain more power was so hopeless.
• Eala being a Villian was a fun twist on the expected persona of the kidnapped princess.
• What is Fia’s true past?
• Will Eala be able to be stopped? Will she reunite with her mother?

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