Author – Kellie Doherty

PREAMBLE

*This is a spoiler FREE review*

Let us begin first of all with the important news that “Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties,” is out tomorrow! Go follow Kellie on Twitter so that you don’t miss it. If you can’t wait, there is a sneak peek available here.

I had the absolute pleasure of reading the book in advance of its release. Although I have a reviewer copy, all the opinions below are mine. They are in no way influenced by the author. This is the chance they take when they ask someone to review.

That being said we can begin without the worry of bias.

THE REVIEW

This review will be spoiler free, however, there will be some pieces of information trickled through where I think an explanation is required.

Sometimes the eyes we get to see through, aren’t the one we might have picked. The character Dylori is wonderfully interesting. Beautiful, strong, independent, yet kind and fair. She is a natural leader and her abilities as a Moon Knight have propelled her through the ranks. We cannot help but love her as soon as we meet her.

Yet Misti is our protagonist and from the outset, we can see she is quite flawed. It is in her flaws, however, that makes her accessible to us. She is nuanced, messy, and struggling with her role as a Moon Knight. In the first few pages alone she lets herself down more than once. She also implies she abandoned her younger siblings. She could no longer live with her parents and leaves on her 18th year to join the Moon Knights.

Misti, our delicate yet resilient champion, struggles throughout with inner turmoil. Her feelings for her friend and superior Dylori often get in the way. Making her decisions and judgement muddled. Misti is afraid of both ruining the friendship they’ve built, while also appearing weak.

In the opening chapter, Misti is affixed with a pendant by the adversaries of the book. This orb sucks the life out of all night creatures that venture near her, and she blames herself. She also possesses magic. The Vagari, of which she is a member, have orange crafting magic and a connection with animals.

The story has undercurrents of animal rights, and vegetarianism is dealt with in a gentle way. Animals are treated with the highest respect in the Vagarian culture. Aluriahian law (the law of the land) prohibits cruelty. Throughout the book, we are treated to different kinds of creatures with fierce loyalty and sentient intelligence. We see each Vagari is paired to an animal companion, and Misti is no different. Her companion Zora (pictured above), fights alongside her. Zora is missing when we meet our hero first, and she Misti carries around an orange feather of hers for comfort.

Doherty’s writing style dangles just enough world information dotted throughout conversations, to intrigue the reader without burdening you with the details. The campaign we follow grips us, holding us hostage to the end. The world assembled is one of literal night and day. Where the creatures and people of the night are harmonious. While the day is filled with despicable banished souls and vicious versions of otherwise tame animals.

Misti is the underdog. In relation to all the bloodlines within the Vagari race, hers does not have the brute strength of the others. Yet she has endurance and stamina. These qualities make her engaging and we long for her to redeem herself. The hero’s journey, of finding what she needs to survive, inside herself.

You will love this story, so don’t forget to get your own copy when it’s available tomorrow!

ANYTHING ELSE?

Yes, it’s wonderful news actually. Kellie Doherty has written 2 other books, she is the author of the ‘Cicatrix Duology.‘ I have linked this down below so you can easily grab yourself a copy. You can also follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. You know, the usual places.

A big thank you to Kellie for letting me use her images and for giving me a chance to review this book. What a ride it was.

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/kellie_201/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Kellie_Doherty

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KellieDoherty89/