[Review] Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto

Series: Crown of Feathers #1

Rating: 3 stars

Published: February 12th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

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. 

Crown of Feathers is one massive undertaking of a fantasy. Veronyka and Val are two sisters who live in a world where the Phoenix Riders - animages who bonded with phoenixes, once ruled. Now, they are exiled and cast from society, with the remaining animages living in hiding. Veronyka and Val hope to find phoenix eggs in order to join the Phoenix Riders. This story is interspersed with the events of sixteen years prior, when the Feather-Crowned Queen and the Council's Queen - two sisters, fought on opposing sides of a war that drove their country apart.


I wanted to like this so much! Because epic fantasy is always a fun ride. But this ride turned into a dull and taxing one. The pace of this novel is so painstakingly slow, with any plot progression pushed to the side for encyclopedic knowledge. It is clear that the author imbued her story with rich lore and history. But it really took away from the plot - every other paragraph was some information about the past, or about animages, or about magic, etc. It was really draining to read, and really prevented me from enjoying this book.

The story is split between several plotlines. Veronyka is learning to become her own person after her sister pushes her too far, and so, she joins the Phoenix Riders disguised as a boy. Tristan is one of the Phoenix Riders, and befriends 'Nyk', who helps him conquer his fear of fire and showcase his potential to his father, who leads the Riders. Sev is an animage hiding amongst the enemy army, an army bent on eliminating anything to do with the Riders and animages.

It really took awhile for these plotlines to kick off because there was so much info dumping beforehand (and after, too!). The most compelling moments had to be when Veronyka stood up for herself and developed her agency. It was a journey of emotional growth to her.

"I can't be broken forever. I have to make my own happiness."
His words struck a chord deep inside Veronyka. She'd been looking outside herself for answers, for a way to bandage the wound she had inside. But maybe she had to heal herself before she could hope to find a phoenix that would want to bond with her. She didn't know if she'd ever fully recover from the loss of Xephyra, but she could start by trying to feel whole again, by trying to find happiness instead of constantly striving for things beyond her control. - p. 235

However, her plot (and the rest of the story) was far too muddled with info dumping that I could not enjoy this as much as I wanted. I will say that the twist in the end was unexpected, so maybe I could see myself picking up the sequel to see what happens next.