REVIEW: Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander

Our Mother of Monsters reviews Liv Zander’s Feathers so Vicious for your dark romantasy pleasure.

Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance

“There is nothing left of me worth saving. Just promise me you will, should you ever come back and find my body, burn me so my ashes can drift forever on the wind.”

Feathers So Vicious is a dark fantasy romance that features morally gray characters and explicit content. This may not be your cup of tea, but it is definitely in my Texas Sweet Tea with a twist of lemon.

This book is intentional and blatantly uncomfortable as it explores power balance / control, trauma / survival, obsession, violence and for a dark “romance” it doesn’t ever romanticize softly. This story pushes into murky territory. Relationships are complicated and definitely unhealthy . . . but let’s be honest, this is why we love these stories.

What I loved most about this series is the uniqueness of them being raven/crow-like shifters. It’s what drew me in to start. While it follows the “formula” for these types of stories with the love triangle, I loved that the setting was light in the high fantasy, giving it an element of more realism. Yeah, I know. I really said that after telling you they are blackbird shifters.

So let me get the trigger warnings out of the way: non-consensual, coersion, captivity, trauma bonding, and I’m sure a lot of other things that people might be sensitive to. Just don’t read this if you have the heebie-jeebies for BDSM. It’s not Twilight.

At the center of the story are two brothers, Malyr and Sebian, who are connected to a world of winged beings. They become deeply entangled in our main character, Galantia’s, fate. Of course, each of them represents a different kind of pull on her. This creates a tense and complicated triangle as Galantia tries to acclimate and survive in a place that operates by completely different and inhuman rules.

As the story unfolds, Galantia learns more about the nature of the raven shifters and their hierarchy and as the more intense the relationships grow between her and the brothers, the more complicated things become (obviously). The plot twist is revealed as secrets about the kingdom and its power structure begin to surface.

The plot of this series is driven by its character relationships, shifting loyalties, and emotional tension.

All in all, I actually really liked the concept. There were some underdeveloped world-building issues, and at times it seemed a bit repetitive (like using the pet name “little dove”. a lot.). Some of the characters and scenes were a little, hmm . . . how should I put this? Amateur-ish. I still enjoyed it as a guilty pleasure read. I will admit I was enchanted by the gothic atmosphere. If it’s got a good Goth aesthetic, you’ve baited me like a crow to a shiny thing. I will admit I am a little disappointed that it was so short. I would’ve liked to see more fleshing out of the characters and history of the world Zander created.

I’d put this in the same pile as A Court of Thorns and Roses, with a little more edginess to it.

“If you believe death is the worst I can give you, then clearly, you haven’t experienced much of life.”

Have you read this series yet? What did you think?

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.