Feathertide ARC Review

GoodReads:

A girl.

A secret.

A life-changing journey.

Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.

The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.

And Marea will never forget what she learns there

Book Information
Title: Feathertide
By: Beth Cartwright
Published By: Cornerstone Digital of Penguin UK Books and DelRey
Publication Date: July 30, 2020
Page Count: 432
Format: Hardcover, Kindle

My Review

This is a very atmospheric book. The writing style is meant to slowly draw you into the world of Marea and to let you in on her journey.

She’s a girl, but she’s different than others around her, she has feathers, and her mother hides her away out of fear of what people will react.

Marea though longs to escape her small room and explore the world, and, to find her father. She knows he must hold the answers she’s been longing for all her life.

So, Cartwright takes us on this slow-burning adventure where a girl has come of age and sets out on her own to a city that could help her find her father and her answers.

The city is enchanting and magical and filled with others who are different, she meets a mermaid who misses the sea and they bond and Marea falls in love for the first time. [Marea is also bisexual :)]

Marea also makes friends and meets those who show her kindness and show her that it’s okay to be different, that her differences make her wonderful.

The atmospheric and careful writing made it an extremely immersive experience for me. Admittedly once I put the book down it was hard to convince myself at times to jump back in but I read it in about 3/4 sittings and I really truly enjoyed this debut novel.

I loved Marea, and I loved her quest to find her answers.

It’s a soul finding/self-finding journey and Marea learns so much more and comes to have those in her life who she loves and cares for, and she makes herself at home.

The ending was also a favourite of mine, it could have ended where everything was tied up, but instead, Cartwright gave us a more fulfilling ending and a truer ending for what Marea deserved and wanted.

An overall gorgeous and cathartic novel, I hope to read more of Cartwright’s works as she joins the writer’s scene! 4/5 cups of coffee from me, thank you to Penguin UK Books for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.