It was the cover that snagged my attention – and why not? It is absolutely gorgeous – and the premise also sounded intriguing, so I was very happy to be approved for an arc…
BLURB: Marea was born to be different – a girl born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets. When her new tutor, the Professor, arrives with his books, maps and magical stories, he reveals a world waiting outside the window and her curiosity is woken…
REVIEW: I have shortened the blurb, because I don’t think it will help readers to know anything of the unfolding plot, given the way it’s written. Actually, that gorgeous cover is a good indicator of the writing. The prose is lush and very descriptive. I was initially pulled into young Marea’s world – not only being able to visualise, but smell and taste it, too. This sensitive, intelligent child, brought up in a brothel, is tucked away for her own safety – but that doesn’t make the long hours alone any easier to bear. That said, I found Marea’s mother beautifully portrayed – the sense of her trying to do the very best for her child in difficult circumstances, along with her love for her feathered daughter was one of the most poignant and moving parts of the book, for me.
However, this isn’t a short book and round about the halfway stage, once I’d become accustomed to the rhythm of the writing and settled down with the characters, I was expecting the pace to increase somewhat, or at least find the story taking an unexpected turn along the way. Sadly, neither of those things happened and as I’d already worked out where the story was going, I was conscious during the second half of an increasing sense of disappointment when it did just that. While the descriptions and sense of wonder that Marea experienced within the City of Murmurs (think Venice with magical corners) were delightful, and would have been outstanding had this only been novella-length, the actual plot wasn’t sufficient to sustain a book of this length and density.
However, Cartwright is certainly One To Watch and I’m hoping that her next effort is better paced – her worldbuilding is fabulous. Recommended for fans of lush, beautifully described fantasy tales. The ebook arc copy of Feathertide was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
7/10
Brainfluff 
I love the idea of a girl born with feathers, and I’m trying to see how a mermaid might fit into that story, but it is too bad that the plot wasn’t strong enough.
The plot was good – but not sufficient for the length of the book, imho. I think she was going for the magic realism, literary vibe, which is generally slower paced anyway.
Interesting premise. I wonder how this would fair on audio given that the tempo didn’t pick up.
That’s a really interesting point you’ve raised. It could go one of two ways – if the narrator is really, really good, and there are some awesome talents out there, then you might be happy to go along with the pacing, given the prose is beautiful and I’m guessing sounds lovely when read aloud. Or… you could get really fed up at the ongoing sloooow pace! I am aware that I process books quite differently, depending on whether if I listen or read them, though.
I would need a twist or a turn, for sure. Fair, honest review–good job, hon.
Thank you, Rae – I’m glad you think it is fair. I do worry a bit when my review isn’t completely positive whether I am doing right by the author – but as a reviewer, my duty is to provide an honest report as a reader for other readers, so they can judge if the book is a good fit for them. So that’s what I try to do…
And you do sit well.
:))
That is a beautiful cover, to be sure. Your review makes me wonder if the author was more caught up in the world itself rather than the story that had brought her there…?
Yes, I think that is a fair comment. The passion and effort poured into depicting the world certainly could have been portioned out a bit more into the storyline. I kept waiting for it to ignite into something more original and interesting – and was rather disappointed when it didn’t.
What a bummer! But like you said, we’ve all got our growing pains as writers. Perhaps this was hers.
She is certainly One to Watch – her prose is stunningly beautiful and her characters are wonderfully nuanced.