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REVIEW
As ironic as it might sound, it is often rare to find a YA Paranormal romance with a lot of mystery to it nowadays. It often happens that the paranormal elements in the story take a back seat to the romance in a lot of the current Young Adult novels that are out right now. But, guess what, my fellow readers? That does not happen here. And it was refreshing. Lucy Swing manages to create quite a heart-wrenching story in Feathermore that is packed with suspense, intrigue, and mystery from start to finish. This book is just shrouded in mystery and there is more to every single character than meets the eye, not just the protagonist, which was really interesting.
Which leads
me to the characterization of this novel. I just loved it. Jade, our female lead
in this novel, has a great voice. She is a regular high school student - well,
so she thinks - who likes to hang out with her friends and family. She may not
be the most popular person in her town or school but she has quite a lovely
personality because she is nice but not a pushover and she is incredibly funny
and sarcastic. And as the story develops her reactions to things were
refreshing. She has quite the sense of humor and instead of accepting the
changes that are happening to her immediately, she freaks out and is resistant.
Her feelings about things just felt authentic because how can a person take it
lightly that their real background is supernatural and that they are not really
human as they thought, right? That is enough to make any person even lose their
mind. I also liked that Claire and Nate who are Jade's best friends, are also an
integral part of the story, with their own hidden history and character
struggles. It was great that the family and friends of Jade were really
important to her life, it gave the story a realistic touch and it helped add
dimensionality to Jade's life story.
Another aspect of Feathermore that I really liked was the world-building. It was intricate and complex and dark. Definitely dark and mysterious. And what I liked about it is that the author didn't quite reveal from the start what the true identities of the characters were and what was going on. The reader gets to learn along with Jade what she truly is, what is after her, who her friends really were and it was interesting. The title does give a hint but the lore behind it was surprising from what I've read in other angel centered books. It was unique. Speaking of complex angel lore, I loved that the villain in this book was not your typical stoic/machiavellic power thirsty villain with a little too much time on his hands. No. In Feathermore we have a lady villain and boy is she ruthless and vengeful and her identity was quite surprising. She is a prominent figure in angel lore/myth and I liked the twist the author gave to her story.
When it comes to the romance in Feathermore. I would have to say that it was sweet. As you're reading, it feels as if this book is gonna have your typical case of instantaneous love at first sight. And all you can think is, "well, okay, the guy is cute and nice and has charm but why does the protagonist like him so much if they've just met" BUT as the story develops, the reader soon learns that that is not the case. There is actually quite an immense reason for Jade's attraction to Avan which is the male lead in this story. And that reason was quite layered and unique. There also was another character in this book named Blake that I felt had an interesting connection to Jade, though, for those who hate love triangles, no worries. It never quite reaches that status in this book. The main love story is Jade and Avan. Although, maybe in book two there is potential for a love triangle with Blake in the mix? It's hard to tell since Blake's true identity was left as a mystery even until the end of the book, which, in my opinion, was quite cruel because his scenes in this book were the most fascinating. Who is Blake? - I was dying to know but I'm hoping book two will clear that up.
My advice: Read this book. It had an amazing cliffhanger. Did I say amazing? I shall repeat myself. It was good. The writing in this novel is very fluid. Lucy Swing definitely has a way with words. It was easy to get lost in her writing. Feathermore was dark but fun - due to Jade's amazing sense of humor as a character and it really felt like a paranormal book. It was full of mystery. It almost felt like an episode of the show Supernatural where everything starts off happy and blissful and then it all descends into madness, basically. I really liked this book.
Favorite quote in this book: "Once again, the vampire idea came to me. But it couldn't be. We definitely didn't drink blood, and we were perfectly fine in the bright sunshine - we didn't sparkle or go up in flames" - pg. 140 &141
Another aspect of Feathermore that I really liked was the world-building. It was intricate and complex and dark. Definitely dark and mysterious. And what I liked about it is that the author didn't quite reveal from the start what the true identities of the characters were and what was going on. The reader gets to learn along with Jade what she truly is, what is after her, who her friends really were and it was interesting. The title does give a hint but the lore behind it was surprising from what I've read in other angel centered books. It was unique. Speaking of complex angel lore, I loved that the villain in this book was not your typical stoic/machiavellic power thirsty villain with a little too much time on his hands. No. In Feathermore we have a lady villain and boy is she ruthless and vengeful and her identity was quite surprising. She is a prominent figure in angel lore/myth and I liked the twist the author gave to her story.
When it comes to the romance in Feathermore. I would have to say that it was sweet. As you're reading, it feels as if this book is gonna have your typical case of instantaneous love at first sight. And all you can think is, "well, okay, the guy is cute and nice and has charm but why does the protagonist like him so much if they've just met" BUT as the story develops, the reader soon learns that that is not the case. There is actually quite an immense reason for Jade's attraction to Avan which is the male lead in this story. And that reason was quite layered and unique. There also was another character in this book named Blake that I felt had an interesting connection to Jade, though, for those who hate love triangles, no worries. It never quite reaches that status in this book. The main love story is Jade and Avan. Although, maybe in book two there is potential for a love triangle with Blake in the mix? It's hard to tell since Blake's true identity was left as a mystery even until the end of the book, which, in my opinion, was quite cruel because his scenes in this book were the most fascinating. Who is Blake? - I was dying to know but I'm hoping book two will clear that up.
My advice: Read this book. It had an amazing cliffhanger. Did I say amazing? I shall repeat myself. It was good. The writing in this novel is very fluid. Lucy Swing definitely has a way with words. It was easy to get lost in her writing. Feathermore was dark but fun - due to Jade's amazing sense of humor as a character and it really felt like a paranormal book. It was full of mystery. It almost felt like an episode of the show Supernatural where everything starts off happy and blissful and then it all descends into madness, basically. I really liked this book.
Favorite quote in this book: "Once again, the vampire idea came to me. But it couldn't be. We definitely didn't drink blood, and we were perfectly fine in the bright sunshine - we didn't sparkle or go up in flames" - pg. 140 &141
Oh, wow. This is so awesome.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked it, Lucy.
Can't wait to read Fallenmore. =)