Written by Peta Hardiman
I had a sister once. If I had known then what I know now, I might have chosen not to love her. But is love ever truly a choice?
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. Until sixteen years ago, when a war between two sisters ripped it all apart.
Nowadays, war orphans Veronyka and her sister, Val, are living a less than luxurious life. Both girls dream of becoming Phoenix Riders, just like the legends their grandmother told them about. 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.
But 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. 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.
Crown of Feathers was… brutal. This is a book that is set less than two decades after a war and really, it reads like one. It didn’t shy away from the death and poverty that often follows the start of a new regime. And – being totally spoiler free here- the betrayal that Veronkya suffers at the hands of her sister? Wow, hardcore messed up. And that’s the most eloquent way I can describe it whilst retaining some mystery!
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. 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.
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. Which all means to say, that, there’s a lot of information in the book. 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. But it also felt as if you had to put a little too much work into figuring the world out.
As for our characters, we follow three main ones: Veronyka, Tristan, and Sev.
Veronyka is our heroine, and one of my favourite aspects of the novel was watching her develop from the broken shell of a person she is when she first leaves her sister, to a strong and confident young woman. She’s got this real go-getter attitude, but she refuses to knuckle under when someone tries to push her back into line. She’s an animage, as all Phoenix Riders are (they have to communicate with their mounts somehow), and even the way she ‘talks’ to various animals is different than the norm. She’s a little left of centre, and I really appreciate that as a personality trait. One of the other great parts about Veronyka, or Nyk, as she becomes, is that, even as a boy, she questions why the girls aren’t included, or aren’t allowed, but more on that a bit later.
Next up, is the commandant’s son, Tristan. So, I still have unfortunate ‘Commandant’ fear’ leftover from reading An Ember in the Ashes, but while Tristan’s dad expects a lot of his son, he does stop short of being outright cruel. Tristan is desperate to prove to his father that he has the potential to become a great general, but nothing he does gets his father’s approval. With a tendency to be dark and broody (just how we like them), Tristan is at his core, a good person, and a young man who’s fighting an internal battle to overcome something that’s impeding him from being able to become the best version of himself. He’s hotheaded, stubborn, and a little bit of an ass, and I love him. There’s something very refreshing about the “strong male protagonist” fighting his own demons that makes him very human, and his developing relationship with Nyk is just beautiful to read.
Last up, we have Sev. Sev is probably both the most and least interesting character. He’s an animage, hiding in the army for an empire that enslaves animages, and it’s made him bitter and untrusting. Sev is flawed, you’ll see what I mean when you read the book, but because he’s primary place is locked inside the story that’s unfolding across the kingdom, not just with the Riders, and it’s made him bitter and untrusting. He lives in a constant state of fear that he’s going to get caught out and placed into indentured servitude, so much that when he finally gets a part to play in the bigger picture, he’s so reluctant, and yet, so helpful to the main cause.
A lot of the plot of this book is setting up for the inevitable final battle, but I found just a couple of things worth noting. The first is that when I was first reading this book, I was getting very strong Eragon vibes as something about the Phoenix Riders, and how the birds chose the rider… it just reminded me a lot of Eragon. However, that was before it swapped to giving me mad Mulan vibes.
Now, here’s where I need you all to not kill me, because I love a good Girl-Disguised-As-Boy story as much as the next person, but it felt like it didn’t need to be there. It would’ve been enough for the Rider’s to exclude new members based on wealth and their ability to pay for their own training, it didn’t need to be gender exclusive. Even in the book, none of the characters had a reason for why women were being excluded besides “just because”. I understand the point it’s trying to make (an important one), but devices like this need to move the plot forward, not just be there for the sake of the drama.
Overall, I enjoyed Crown of Feathers, the writing style is quite beautiful, and I certainly can’t argue with the depth of the world, but it’s a long book, and I think you have to want to read something quite intense to get the full depth of the story here.
It’s 100% worth a read, especially if you like complex political plot lines, badass women, and phoenixes, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Crown of Feathers is available from Amazon, Book Depository, or other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
