Tag Archives: Kingdom of Birds and Beasts

Review: Feathers of Snow by Alice Ivinya

Welcome back friends! I’ve got another book review for you today, this time it’s a fantasy fairytale retelling that’s perfect for these frosty, winter days. It’s Feathers of Snow by Alice Ivinya, book one in the Kingdom of Birds and Beasts series.

I bought the ebook of this story as soon as I saw the cover (I mean, just look at it!), but I was actually given a signed copy by Alice when we met in person last July, so of course I read that! And I was so honoured and emotional to see my name in the acknowledgements when I finished.

This was a gorgeously gripping read, keep scrolling to see what I thought of it…

Blurb

In Brianna’s new world of ice and snow, the coldest things by far are the eyes of her betrothed…

Brianna bears a deadly secret: she’s not the princess she is pretending to be. If the prince finds out, her life will be forfeit and her country plunged into war. But there is more to the icy prince than meets the eye, and Brianna slowly unravels the secrets of his dark past while surviving in a strange culture.

However her goodness and wit will only get her so far. Terrifying beasts stalk the border and a murderer is at work in the town. They know the truth of Brianna’s identity and will stop at nothing to destroy all she has fought for.

Review

Title: Feathers of Snow: A Goose Girl Retelling (Kingdom of Birds and Beasts #1)

Author: Alice Ivinya

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Feathers-Snow-retelling-Kingdom-Beasts-ebook/dp/B08MZ69K29/

Rating: 5 fairytale stars!


This book swept me away to a snow-covered castle and made me fall in love with a frosty prince. I loved the unique world Ivinya created, especially the snippets of history, myth and folklore we were treated to.

It’s a truly original adaptation of The Goose Girl fairy tale, with a strong, steady heroine who faces danger and heartbreak head on, and a stoic, brooding prince who’ll do whatever it takes to protect his people from the threats over the wall.

If you love clean but still swoon worthy romantic fantasy, fairytale retellings and lush, richly detailed world building, you’ll love Feathers of Snow. 

I adored Brianna from the beginning, Ivinya has such skill with character creation, she really makes you identify with her protagonists, hate her villains (ooh I really wanted bad things to happen to the baddie in this book!) and fall for her love interests. Plus, her side characters are fully-formed and have their own back stories and motivations that inform the plot and make the whole story feel very well-rounded – I have such a soft spot for Jeremiah and may have messaged Alice at the halfway mark threatening our friendship if anything bad happened to my sweet cinnamon roll of a guard.

In a nutshell, Feathers of Snow is the book for you this Christmas if you love:
  • Sweet, clean but swoon worthy romance
  • Fairytale retellings
  • Rich world building with unique magic
  • Quietly strong, independent heroines (badass but in a subtle way)
  • Brooding, reluctant heroes who don’t soften easily
  • A villain you will LOVE to hate
  • Mind-talking animal familiars
  • Tense whodunnit murder mysteries
  • Fantasy series you can really get sucked into and fall in love with

Find it on Amazon and read the sample:

Add it to your Goodreads shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55858962-feathers-of-snow

Ready for book two? Check out my blog on Feathers of Blood‘s release here.

Happy reading!

Lyndsey x

Feathers of Blood release giveaway! Win SEVEN fantasy paperbacks

It’s the day you’ve all been waiting for! (OK, I’VE been waiting for, but hopefully you’re excited too.) It’s Feathers of Blood release day!

To celebrate, the absolutely fabulous author, Alice Ivinya, has joined together with some other incredible fantasy authors to host a huge giveaway.

Click here or on the image to enter this fabulous giveaway and be in with a chance of winning these SEVEN paperbacks, worth over $75! (UK, US and Canada only.)

Prizes include:

The giveaway will close on 22 October, so get your entries in quick. All you have to do is enter your email address, but you can get extra entries by following the authors on social media, checking out Alice’s books on Amazon or sharing the giveaway with your fantasy-loving friends by email.

And don’t forget to buy your copy of Feathers of Blood, Kingdom of Birds and Beasts #2!

How gorgeous is that cover??

Need a refresher of book one, Feathers of Snow, before you dive into the new book? You’re in luck! Click here to read Alice’s recap and find out more about books two and three.

I’ll be sharing my reviews of Feather of Snow and Feathers of Blood soon, so keep an eye out!

Lyndsey

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Kingdom of Birds and Beasts by Alice Ivinya refresher!

Hello friends and foes, I hope you’re excited because today I’ve got a real treat for you: a little refresher for Feathers of Snow, Kingdom of Birds and Beasts #1 by Alice Ivinya, before the release of book two, Feathers of Blood, on 6 Oct!

In the interest of avoiding spoilers, if you haven’t read the first book yet, click here to go to Amazon and read the official blurb instead.

Still with me? Here we go…

Feathers of Snow

In Brianna’s new world of ice and snow, the coldest things by far

are the eyes of her betrothed…

The second book in the Kingdom of Birds and Beasts trilogy, Feathers of Blood, is coming out on the 6th October 2021!

Has it been a while since you read Feathers of Snow? If so, here is a handy recap of the events of book one!

Please don’t read any further if you are yet to read Feathers of Snow, as this synopsis contains spoilers.

Brianna is lady-in-waiting to the vain and cruel Princess Elyanna in the country of Sybera. She has been serving her since she was six years old.

When they were twelve, Elyanna locked Brianna in a barrel for several hours. Since then, Brianna has suffered from nightmares, flashbacks and a habit of buckling under pressure. She also struggles to breathe in small, dark spaces. Brianna has never told anyone what happened, though Queen Geraldina knows.

Princess Elyanna hears the news that she has been betrothed to Prince Jian, the second son of the Borderland King and Queen. This marriage has been arranged so that Sybera can access the Borderland’s military might to defend against the growing threat of Killamore to the south.

However Princess Elyanna and her mother, Queen Geraldina, decide to send Brianna in her stead as they fear for Elyanna’s safety. The two look very similar as they both have the same ancient bloodline. They both have white hair and are tall. The blood in their veins can be traced back to the old tribe of Thurm’ban. This was a tribe of an ancient race of humans and giant birds.

Queen Geraldina threatens to kill Brianna’s family by blaming them for the recent loss of life in their province due to flooding. Brianna sees no choice but to go along with the plan.

Elyanna travels to the Winter Palace in Sybera where she plans to spend the rest of her days masquerading as one of her many cousins.

Brianna travels to Stonekeep, the capital of the Borderlands, disguised as Princess Elyanna against her will and has only one guard stay with her, Jeremiah, who is not even a full knight. She travels with her oldest and best friend, a Spirit-Horse named Falada. Because they are bonded, she can hear him speak in her mind. The only other person he is bonded with is Elyanna.

Prince Jian, her betrothed, is cold and dismissive when Brianna arrives. She finds out that he wishes to focus on the Border, a mountain range and two forts to the north that holds the Spirit-Beasts at bay. He is in charge of the troops at the Eastern Fort and has been renovating the defences. He sees Brianna as an unwelcome distraction and fears attachment due to losing his sister, Feng, in the past. He suspects he will dislike Princess Elyanna.

Throughout her time in Stonekeep, Brianna hears a mysterious voice on the wind calling her true name. She has no clue who is calling her or how they know who she really is. Nobody else can hear the voice.

The people of the Borderlands seem quite paranoid about attacks to Brianna, and she adopts the tradition of always carrying her sword with her. She is assigned two more guards, Hai Rong and Cai Rong, who she gets on well with.

Prince Han, the Borderland Crown Prince, is attacked and killed while checking the villages are ready for winter, along with all of his men. Prince Jian and the King start to investigate to find the culprit.

Brianna travels with Jian to the Border to meet Tama’ha, the Spirit-Beast who is the leader of Sal’hadar’s tribe. The Spirit-Beasts of the plains. The Borderland royal family share some of this bloodline, so they have an uneasy truce. Tama’ha suggests Han was killed by Spirit-Birds and that Brianna would be the best person to discover what had happened, since she has some of Thum’ban’s blood.

Brianna and Jian start to have feelings for one another as they realize they can work as a team. Jian is taken aback by Brianna’s resilience and kind heart. Brianna finds Jian is finally a member of the nobility she can trust.

Elyanna’s soldiers are found dead near Stonekeep. There is no reason they should be in the Borderlands, and not still in Sybera, since Elyanna was meant to stay at the Winter Palace.

Falada is killed mysteriously. Brianna suspects Elyanna, and worries she will reveal her true identity, which would mean Brianna is killed for treason. Brianna tries to find her, but with no success. Elyanna appears the night of the mid winter ball and challenges Brianna to a fight..

Brianna is tired of lying and tells Jian the truth, who banishes her from Stonekeep with nothing but her guards, food and money.

Elyanna is told that Brianna has been killed for stealing her position and pretending to be the princess.

Brianna is heart broken and leaves with Hai Rong and Jeremiah, following the voice on the wind that calls her name.

The story continues in Feathers of Blood!

Feathers of Blood, coming 6 October!

Rejected by her betrothed and banished into the wilderness, Brianna finds herself broken-hearted with nowhere to turn. She wants nothing more than to be left alone.

But greater threats loom across the Border, and there are whispers of war on the breeze.

The Spirit-Beasts are coming and Brianna might be the only thing that can stand in their way and stop the massacre of a nation.

But to do this she will have to face her worst enemy, who wants nothing more than to see her dead, and, worse, the man she once loved who let her down.

Kingdom of Feathers, coming 2022!

Kingdom of Feathers, the final book in the series, is coming March 2022! Preorder it now for just £1.99 and get ready to find out how Brianna and Jian’s story will end.

Lyndsey

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