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.

I’m really glad I redid this piece because I love how it came out! Again I must recommend the phenomenal trilogy Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto each book is so amazing and I love them so much!

YOU! Have you read Crown of Feathers? Because I have an idea that's been festering for a long time.

Hi Kat!!! 🥺🥺🥺 So happy to see you in the askbox btw I've missed you. I, however tragically, haven't read Crown of Feathers though. But if you don't mind a clueless yet attentive audience, I'm all ears!

Guys, after all these years I've realized that Sev's story begins with fire and ends with fire. How am I so blind.

he is 90 and now its just focusing on his build 🫡

some matching denis gordeev geralt and ciri icons for the main blog and the sideblog... because it's 2012 apparently

crown of feathers

Hopeful for the new month

Hello again Tumblr, I found my way back yet again.

After another lost handful of time due to the awesome ongoing battles of the minds, I am hoping to spark some joy back into the things I used to do in life.

My goal for the next two months is to read at least 4 books.

When I was younger I used to be able to read a book, no matter the size at most in a 3 day span, and that was around school and the various activities that I was pushed into.

Now....I want to try again.

The Four Books that I will be trying will be:

*Insert drumroll*

LegendBorn

2. A River of Royal Blood

3. Crown of Feathers

4. Bitten

Bitten is actually a re-read. I originally read the Women of the Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong when they were first coming to America.

Looking back now I can see how they were not really appropriate for someone that young ^^; but honestly that series was a life line for me for many years, and I have recently become blessed to finally collect the fully series again! As well as the original two anthologies!

Now, to take a deep breath, and pick a book.............

I think I am going to plug these into a random spinning wheel to help me figure that leap out.

Well everyone, send me luck and happy June 1st.

Izaveta // These Feathered Flames by Alexandra Overly // Anti Hero & Karma by Taylor Swift

“Just as her mother had taught her, Izaveta had turned everyone into playing pieces in her own game. For better or worse, there was no turning back now. Even if she was no longer certain she knew the difference between fighting for the right reasons and fighting for power.”

“How was it that her sister had been taken to live with a monster, but somehow Izaveta had become one? A creature molded by her mother’s manipulations, by the constant betrayals of the court. Asya might have a monster beneath her skin, but Izaveta had one in her heart—in her very essence. So much a part of herself that she no longer knew how to separate one from the other.”

I got 3 new books this week! The first one was The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Which i'm currently reading and is amazing) the second one was Last Night at the telegraph club (haven't read yet but i heard it was good so i'm super excited about it) and the final book is Wings of Shadow, (which is the 3rd book in the Crown of feathers trilogy). I'm super excited to read all of these and could use more book suggestions!

This Cursed Crown review

5/5 stars

Recommended for people who like: fairytales, courtly intrigue, dual POVs, magic, fantasy, The Bear and the Nightingale, sister stories, Russian folklore, morally gray characters

These Feathered Flames review here Big thanks to Netgalley, Inkyard Press, and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! The book starts off focused on Asya as she navigates the political waters of court, searches for answers regarding Iza, and tries to find Yuliana. I definitely felt for Asya in the first book, but I really feel for her in this one. She hates the intricacies and machinations of the court, but desperately wants to find answers about her sister and ensure that the throne is still there for her when she (if she) returns. It was interesting to see Asya grow during the course of this novel. She carries so much guilt from what happened at the end of These Feathered Flames and is still resistant to cutting her human ties, as Tarya is still urging her to do, but at the same time she also grows to understand her sister and the Firebird a bit better. There aren't really any easy choices for her in this one, and a lot of her actions involve balancing what she believes with what she wants. Iza is in an interesting boat, we don't get her POV until several chapters in and, as mentioned in the synopsis, she's trapped in a tower in some unidentified location. There's a part of her that struggles in realizing that she's still alive, that the end she thought was coming, thought was going to cleanse her conscious, did not in fact come. Iza grapples a lot with the choices she made in the last book, both on page and off, and a lot of her arc is trying to figure out who she wants to be, outside of what her mother expected and trained her to be. Iza is still manipulative, but she's also more willing to let people into her plans and trust other people (mainly Asya, but a couple others) to see their goals through, either Iza's way or a different way. The sisterly bond is still very strong in this book, with both Iza and Asya wanting to ensure the other is well and protected. Asya's decisions in this book mirror Iza's in the first one: Her desperate search for answers and her own questionable decisions in this book can be tied directly into her hope that Iza is still alive somewhere, much like how Iza's questionable actions in the first book were directly related to wanting to protect Asya from the anti-Firebird people at court. There is still some tension between the two of them, but I liked how it played out and I think Overy did a good job showing that kind of ride-or-die relationships siblings can have. Regardless of how they felt about how the other's actions, Iza and Asya were always willing to step up to defend one another. Nikov is a recurring character here. It'd been a while since I read the first book, so I remembered there was something going on with him, but couldn't remember if we knew what it was (and if we did, what it was). He acts as a good friend to Asya and serves as someone she can share her hopes with. At the same time, Nikov has a lot going on himself and has some of his own machinations to account for. Yuliana is also back in this one and as someone who's much more clearly on Asya's side. Yuliana regrets a lot of what occurred at the end of the last book, and kind of struggles to understand how Asya could have already forgiven her for all of that. Yuliana actually ends up playing an integral role in the book at multiple different points, and, more minorly, we get some more romance with her and Asya. After the conclusion of the last book, I wasn't entirely sure what the main conflict would be. Iza being gone was clearly going to be an issue considering no one liked the Firebird still and the queen-to-be was gone. However, I wasn't anticipating the conflict/villain that showed up and was pleasantly surprised at how well it plays into the original firebird myth (as well as Russian folklore in general). I don't want to be spoilery, but I absolutely loved the villain, and not in a 'oh they're sexy' kind of way, but more in a 'this is a quality villain' way. There's underlying manipulations, there's betrayals, and there's lies, but then there's also outright aggression and fights and magic, and it all ties nicely into everything. You can definitely feel the stakes of this book and I definitely had moments were I thought everything was going well and then saw how much of the book I had left and knew things were going to hit the fan. There were also multiple points where I wasn't sure if people were going to make it through, and honestly sometimes they didn't. I will say that the ending was...a lot. There was a lot happening, a lot of hope and then hope getting ripped away, and then more conflict, etc. I think I would've liked an ending that was a little further from the edge of ruin, perhaps one that ended just a handful of pages before where it did. At the same time though, the way that it ended did right things, so the conflict probably resolved in the right place.

Finished the Crown of Feathers trilogy by Nicki Pau Preto and oh my gosh it is so good!! If you loved the How to Train Your Dragon movies then I highly recommend this book!! I will be redoing this piece digitally so keep an eye out for that in a few days!

Hey, I was wondering if you could do a really fluffy Mattheo Riddle always cuddling and touching you (especially late nights in the slytherin common room), I love all your posts, especially the Mattheo riddle content

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆｡ﾟ. ───

Pairing: touchy!Mattheo riddle x reader

Warnings: Mattheo whining about you not being glued to him, a mention of Y/N

Word count: 853

Disclaimer 1: Everything on this Blog is fiction!!!

Disclaimer 2: Made this by listening to the smiths

"2:35 AM". :☆｡ﾟ. ───

You love quiet moments like this. The whole group was just sitting around, everyone doing their own thing in each other's company. Pansy is coloring her nails while sitting on the floor, Theo is reading Dead poets society in the big armchair across from you, Enzo is laying on the floor in front of the couch you're sitting on, twirling his wand and staring at the ceiling, Blaise is making a mixtape next to the fireplace, Draco is studying for potions at the small table your feet are laid on, Tom is scheming about how to ruin some poor souls life and Mattheo is turning a feather into all sorts of things (currently a pigeon) whilst annoying draco. You are just watching your friends and humming along to the earworm in your head, while trying not to fall asleep.

Your heavy eyes fixate on Mattheo and the way he pokes his tongue into his cheek in focus. A singular curl falls into his face and you have the urge to stand up, walk over and move it away as if he couldn't do it himself. He doesn't seem to notice you're staring at him. Pansy does.

"God, Y/N this is disgusting. We get it you have a boyfriend," she says while fake gagging. You startle out of your staring and instead fumble with an answer that won't get more annoyed groans from the boys around you. "I wasn't even doing anything!"

Draco perks up from the corner to give his just lovely input "Just making love eyes at our local idiot over there." You roll your eyes. "Shut up and study"

And if this wasn't already uncomfortable of course Mattheo has something to say too "Why so embarrassed, love? I don't mind" He smirks and swiftly gets hit in the head with Theo's book causing you to snort out a laugh and the others to join in while Mattheo's staring daggers at a smirking Theo. "You know what, for that i'm going to flirt even harder."

Pansy laughs at theo's misery when suddenly she realizes she's going to have to witness you two being all lovey dovey, "What have we gotten ourselfs into"

You watch Mattheo stand up, step over Enzo on the ground and settle down next to you. You smile and let out a small giggle as he kisses you. As your lips connect a warm and fuzzy feeling washes over your body. It's comfortable and familiar. You can hear enzo gag and for some reason that is the funniest thing you've heard all day. You break the kiss by breaking into a fit of giggles that only get stronger when you see Mattheo's amused look.

Chuckling, he pulls you into his lap while you keep laughing. "Love, are you high?" You look up in shock, "No!"

"Then what is happening right now?"

You shrug and hide your face in his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his body. Your limps start to relax and you let yourself melt into him. Humming in comfort when he gives you a little kiss on the crown of your head you let yourself fall asleep.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆｡ﾟ. ───

When you open your eyes again, they're a bit tacky and you have to blink a few times to realize where you are. Mattheo has apparently carried you up to his dorm and is now cuddling you in his bed. Your whole body feels mushy as you stretch and turn in Mattheo's arms making him grumble in his sleep. You look at the cherry red, heart-shaped clock on his bedside table. You bought it for him at a little market in your hometown, seeing as red's his favorite color and the clock was just too cute not to buy. You were kinda scared to give it to him, thinking it was too 'girly' but he was so happy that you even thought of him over the holidays that he (in his words) was forced to kiss the living shit out of you. It's currently reading at 2:35 AM.

You try to wiggle out of his arms to get your wand to charm yourself some water into the empty glass next to the clock. But Mattheo's strong arms only grip your waist tighter when he realizes you're trying to get out. He kisses your neck and whispers "Stay, love," into your skin. "Téo, darling, I need some water." He whines and pulls you impossibly closer. "You can get water in the morning." He keeps leaving light kisses all over your neck and shoulder to try and coax you into staying and any other day it would've worked but your mouth is feeling more disgusting by the second. "Where's my wand?"

"Left it downstairs," he mumbles, his breath tickling your neck and making you giggle lightly. "Watcha laughing 'bout?" You squirm in his hold as his hands start traveling up your sides, knowing how ticklish you are. "Téo! Téo, stop it, you're tickling me." You breathe out between laughs. He kisses your neck, "That's kinda the point."

You end up forgetting about the water.

This Cursed Crown - Alexandra Overy

Read: 23/11/2022 - 29/11/2022

Rating: 4/5

Rep: sapphic main character, sapphic love interest, f/f relationship, deaf side character

CW: fire, burning, on-page death, fantasy violence, major injury, torture, magically-induced suicide attempts, references to physical and emotional abuse, mind control, death of a parent (in backstory)

This book picks up a few weeks on from where These Feathered Flames leaves off. Tourin has been left without a ruler following Izaveta’s disappearance, only Asya knows the truth of what happened on what was supposed to be the night of her sister’s coronation, and the political situation in the palace is looking dicier with each day that passes. Asya is faced with having to figure out a way to survive in this environment despite the vast majority of people there despising her, when all she really wants to do is find her sister. Meanwhile, Izaveta wakes up in a totally sealed room, with no idea how she’s even alive, let alone where she is or how she can hope to make it out of there.

Asya was my favourite of the two sisters throughout the first book, and I still loved her here, but surprisingly Izaveta nudged her off that top spot for me. Izaveta spends the first half of the book almost entirely isolated, so a lot of her chapters are dedicated to introspection and trying to figure her situation out. I really loved seeing inside her head, both in this and the second half! Many of the decisions she makes can be seen as heartless, but she always tries to do the best thing she possibly can. The choices she’s presented with often don’t have a clear right answer, and making these decisions isn’t easy for her. Adding to this is the fact that she’s come back to life just that little bit wrong, and she spends a lot of the book’s runtime grappling with this and trying to account for it. Izaveta here is not entirely the same as Izaveta as she once was.

Asya snaps and it’s glorious. Don’t continuously torment the person who can burn you alive with merely a thought if you aren’t prepared for her to burn you alive. Yes, there are consequences that are less than ideal, but they had it coming. Asya has never done anything wrong in her entire life.

When I finished the first book, I was expecting the relationship between Asya and Yuliana to be a lot more complicated going forwards than it ultimately ended up being. The rise of a bigger threat has given Yuliana’s brother a bit of perspective, and Asya forgave Yuliana for her part in everything pretty much immediately. Asya and Yuliana spend this book on the same page regarding their relationship, and I really enjoyed that! They both had more than enough going on, the last thing they needed was relationship drama on top of that, and I was glad that they got to spend the book confident in their feelings towards each other.

I really enjoyed the development of Nikov’s friendship with Asya during the first half of the book! He’s the only person at the palace that Asya can trust to care about Izaveta’s wellbeing, and they quickly join forces to hunt for any sort of clues that could lead them to her. Eventually Nikov and Izaveta are reunited, and their slow burn romance develops some very interesting new layers to it. He cares deeply for both sisters, one romantically and one platonically, and wants to do everything he can to help them and keep them safe. Whether it’s possible for him to do that is another matter entirely. There’s a lot more to him than initially appears.

Like in the first book, ultimately the emotional core of this book is the sisters and their relationship! They love each other so much, to the point that they’re probably willing to go too far and sacrifice too much for each other’s sake, and in Izaveta’s case without much regard for Asya’s opinion on the matter. Watching their relationship develop from this into something a lot healthier, without their closeness having to be sacrificed for it, was a joy. By the end of the book they’re closer to one another than they’ve ever been

I didn’t reread the first book before diving into this one, and that was a mistake. I remembered the broad strokes of the plot but there were a lot of details that ended up being a lot more significant than I was expecting them to be, and I had no memory of them. This undoubtedly limited my enjoyment of this book, which is a shame! I’ve probably learned nothing from this, but maybe don’t make the same mistake as me and make sure to have read book one recently before moving on to this one.

All in all, this was a solid conclusion to a strong duology that I’m sure fantasy lovers will enjoy!

Thank you to Edelweiss, Inkyard Press, and HarperCollins for providing me with an e-arc in return for an honest review

🌟🪶👼👑❤️🌹😈🌊