Author: Beth Cartwright
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 30th July 2020
Pages: 432 [Hardcover]
Pages: 432 [Hardcover]
A girl.
A secret.
A life-changing journey.
Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.
The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.
And Marea will never forget what she learns there
Feathertide is an enchanting, magical novel perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale.
A secret.
A life-changing journey.
Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.
The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.
And Marea will never forget what she learns there
Feathertide is an enchanting, magical novel perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale.
Feathertide is a beautifully woven tale about acceptance and discovering who you are. Set in a magical world, the story follows Marea, a girl born with feathers that after spending years hidden from prying eyes, leaves her home in search of the father she never met.
Storytelling: Feathertide is a really sweet coming-of-age story with speckles of magic. As a matter of fact, there is only one word to describe Feathertide: whimsical! The narrative is whimsical. The settings are whimsical. The characters are whimsical. The cover is beautifully-whimsical! 😍 This book gave me a lot of fairy-tale vibes - a magical world with floating cities, a girl with feathers hidden in her ivory room by her mother, a prophetess with a heart of gold, alluring mermaids, etc.
As I wrote in this short review, there was something about Feathertide that didn't let me fall completely in love with the story. I thought a lot about it and perhaps it was the slow moments in the narrative (there were many descriptive moments, with all these fairy-tale and flowery details that were very well-written, but slowed the pace of the story) or maybe it was the comparison with The Bear and the Nightingale, which I did not think Feathertide that was evocative of.
Characters: So much character development! Marea goes through such an amazing transformation. As I mentioned above, she spent most of her life hidden in a room in a brothel, where she and her feathers were kept a secret. Why? Her mother wished to protect her from the outside world that would see her difference as something awful. Of course, this didn't stop Marea from thinking about her heritage and wishing to leave her nest in search of her father. It actually enhanced her dreams and when the time came, Marea was brave enough to her first steps into the "real" world and leave everything she knew behind.
After arriving at the City of Murmurs, Marea begins a journey of accepting who she is (of accepting her feathery body). She learns that the matters of the heart that aren't always certain (you will have to read the book by yourself if you wish to know to whom does she give her heart). This journey allows her to learn who she is outside her childhood bedroom and what are her wishes for the future.
World Building: Everything about the world building is ethereal. The City of Murmurs was simply enchanting. With its whimsical streets, canals and buildings (this is the word that describes perfectly this book), the City of Murmurs reminded me so much of Venice. This is a city used to the unusual and welcomes mermaids and birdmen and everyone with "peculiarities" in the eyes of many. I must confess that I would to love to visit such a magical place.
TRIGGER WARNING! Animal death.
Note: This is not a young adult novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Storytelling: Feathertide is a really sweet coming-of-age story with speckles of magic. As a matter of fact, there is only one word to describe Feathertide: whimsical! The narrative is whimsical. The settings are whimsical. The characters are whimsical. The cover is beautifully-whimsical! 😍 This book gave me a lot of fairy-tale vibes - a magical world with floating cities, a girl with feathers hidden in her ivory room by her mother, a prophetess with a heart of gold, alluring mermaids, etc.
"The Keeper of the Hours considered my question. 'Time is neglected, forgotten, squandered, people fritter it away like gamblers. In a single moment everything can change and you can lose it all. People always want it back, but time it unredeemable.'"
As I wrote in this short review, there was something about Feathertide that didn't let me fall completely in love with the story. I thought a lot about it and perhaps it was the slow moments in the narrative (there were many descriptive moments, with all these fairy-tale and flowery details that were very well-written, but slowed the pace of the story) or maybe it was the comparison with The Bear and the Nightingale, which I did not think Feathertide that was evocative of.
Characters: So much character development! Marea goes through such an amazing transformation. As I mentioned above, she spent most of her life hidden in a room in a brothel, where she and her feathers were kept a secret. Why? Her mother wished to protect her from the outside world that would see her difference as something awful. Of course, this didn't stop Marea from thinking about her heritage and wishing to leave her nest in search of her father. It actually enhanced her dreams and when the time came, Marea was brave enough to her first steps into the "real" world and leave everything she knew behind.
"Now I would be free to conceal my secret under thinner, much cooler, fabric. But it was my mind that I needed to heal, and the flow of shame that I needed to staunch and suture."
After arriving at the City of Murmurs, Marea begins a journey of accepting who she is (of accepting her feathery body). She learns that the matters of the heart that aren't always certain (you will have to read the book by yourself if you wish to know to whom does she give her heart). This journey allows her to learn who she is outside her childhood bedroom and what are her wishes for the future.
World Building: Everything about the world building is ethereal. The City of Murmurs was simply enchanting. With its whimsical streets, canals and buildings (this is the word that describes perfectly this book), the City of Murmurs reminded me so much of Venice. This is a city used to the unusual and welcomes mermaids and birdmen and everyone with "peculiarities" in the eyes of many. I must confess that I would to love to visit such a magical place.
TRIGGER WARNING! Animal death.
Note: This is not a young adult novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher/author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Do you enjoy stories with fairy-tale vibes? What is your favourite fairy-tale?
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I was all intrigued by this one with the magical vibes and the fact it looked like it would have that weird magical style of writing which I'm not always in the mood for but normally enjoy when I do want to read it. Then I saw the trigger warning and I am just not down with that. I am still weirdly intrigued by this book, though.
ReplyDeleteWow the world-building sounds stunning. I think i'd love to visit that world, too.
ReplyDeleteA pity about the slow pace of the book, but I'm glad there was still a lot to like about the novel. Amazing character development is a plus, too!