They Called Me The Feather-Crowned Queen

~Crown of Feathers~
Book 1
By Nicki Pau Preto
Amazon ~ Powell's

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.

Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love’s incredible power to save—or to destroy. Interspersed throughout is the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister’s hands.

I read this through the RivetedLit (Simon Teen) 25 Reads of December, 2019. They grant free access to one book each day in December (up to Dec 25), but I've found that so long as you bookmark/open the book on the featured day, you can continue accessing it on that device afterwards... Don't know how long it'll last, but I have access to this one nearly a whole month past the free date.

Anyway, since I thought I was on a time-crunch, I jumped straight in without seeing much past the cover. And, let's just say, I did not expect a lot of what I got here.

The book started out a bit slow, following 2 different narrators through the first few chapters. We get a lot of backstory and history in the beginning which left me rather bored, to be honest. And then I got hit with the sudden death of a character, and I was surprised and completely hooked.

Once we hit the girl-disguised-as-boy bit, I admit I wasn't expecting much new. Having read a fair few of those storylines (Alanna: The First Adventure, The Gentleman Outlaw and Me--Eli, Defy, etc.) I thought myself fairly well versed in that trope, yet I was pleasantly surprised. Veronyka (now known as Nyk) didn't focus on overcoming her weaknesses (female or not), nor did she attempt to one-up the boys to show her stuff. Really, very little focus was on her gender/sex, other than the fact she lied to her friends and commander.

Not that there wasn't romance developing, but for a medieval fantasy world that had a no-girls-allowed policy (however new/temporary it may be), they seemed very progressive when it came to love and identity.

Okay, let me explain a bit of backstory first. The magic of this world mainly revolves around animals, and phoenixes in particular. Back in the dark ages, the first Phoenix Riders (and animages) were women. As the magic moved through the generations, men were also Riders, but women were still traditionally leaders. After the recent war, in which the majority of Riders fell, the last contingent of Phoenix Riders regrouped, and with their limited supplies and remaining phoenix eggs, decided to instate a boys-only policy for recruits. Thus there isn't really a stigma against women in general, just the guy in charge trying to make the best decision for their survival.

That being said, the world still seemed very progressive when it came to LGBT+ issues. There's a part where Veronyka goes into detail about how she knows she's lying:

Veronyka didn't feel like a boy on the inside - she wasn't like some of the other children she'd known growing up who might be born as boys or girls but didn't feel like they fit that category, and so they dressed in a way that felt right to them. That was their truth, no matter what the world saw. But Veronyka wasn't Nyk; she was Veronyka. Nyk was a lie.

Plus Veronyka also shares narration duties with two guys, both of whom don't seem to have problems being attracted to other men. Granted, Tristan doesn't know the truth about Veronyka... but his mannerisms and affection toward her don't change when he discovers the truth. I'll be very interested to see how things develop romantically in future installments.

Back to the world building, I loved the lore of the magic. Unlike other high fantasy stories, this world doesn't have elemental magic, but rather has the magic to communicate with and control animals. Animages, as they're called, can bond and speak telepathically with animals, which can, over time, increase the intelligence of said animals. They can also outright control the animals, which has led to distrust from and persecution by the non-magical masses. The politics of everything take a bit to unravel, which unfortunately led to my slower/bored initial reading, but once you get the essence of things, it's easier to find the awe in their magic. Especially the phoenixes, which are practically magic incarnate.

Overall, I found this book to be above expectations, and I'm excited to see what lies ahead for Veronyka, Sev, and Tristan. The world of the phoenixes and animages was detailed and engrossing, and I can't wait to visit it again. Plus there are a couple huge twists (one that I called fairly early on, and another that was a huge surprise) that I need to see the fallout from. With engaging characters, a fantastic world, and intriguing politics, I will definitely be back to read the next book(s) as soon as it's out.

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