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.
Review: I wanted to like Crown of Feathers and, in theory, I should have loved it. We follow a few perspectives, but the main character is Veronyka. She lives with her sister Val who is an awful person. She is controlling and manipulative. I liked seeing the dynamic between the sisters. I thought Nicki did a great job of showing how Val forced Veronyka to depend on her, and how Veronyka was able to break away from that. We see her cross paths with Sev and Tristan who are the other perspectives we read from. Sev is works for the empire who wants to eliminate Phoenix Riders. Tristan is a Phoenix Rider trainee. I enjoyed reading their points of view. It helped to share what the world is like.
So, I liked the characters. What didn't I enjoy? Mostly, it was Veronyka dressing up like a boy. As someone who will always have a complicated relationship with gender, I wish this had been handled differently. It's one of those stories that feels deceitful. I would have liked this concept more if Veronyka was a gender-fluid person and regularly switched between genders. There was also a line where Veronyka justified her dressing like a man because a royal in the past would bind their chest and that made it seem like they were trans, which is fine, but dressing like man to trick people for your own gain shouldn't be compared to a trans person. That made me deeply uncomfortable. She is also outed in an awful way, which is definitely something to look out for. That was the biggest thing that I disliked, but I did appreciate story elements at the end. Nicki does take typical tropes and twists them in an interesting way. She is also able to highlight Veronyka's personal growth, especially in regards to her relationship with Val.
Fast-paced story, but poorly handled aspect of gender.
3 howls
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