Feathers So Vicious

Court of Ravens #1

by Liv Zander

Previous cover edition for the Kindle edition with ASIN: B0CC44Z73T (here)

More treacherous than war... are the battles within a heart.

Perched between branches and shadows,
We watch, we scheme,
Fighting for a kingdom forgotten and forlorn.

Until we rip her away with our claws,
Our prisoner, our pawn, our plaything.

She’s innocent and pure,
Fragile and helpless…
…but oh so guilty by blood.

She calls us beasts,
Wicked and evil,
Vicious and cruel.

We are all that and worse.

One of us offers her shelter beneath his wings,
Whispering promises of pleasure,
Seeking redemption.

The other longs to shatter her into a million pieces,
Whispering promises of pain,
Seeking revenge.

Caught between our feathers,
She endures our deranged desires,
Our secrets, our lies,
Our twisted plans.

Will she surrender to our darkness,
or fight for a destiny growing ever elusive?

Welcome to the Court of Ravens, little white dove.

Feathers so Vicious is a full-length dark fantasy romance novel, and book one in the Court of Ravens duet. The two-part story features two morally gray raven shifters, a young woman at the mercy of their shadows, and a HEA. This world contains dark elements, violence, and themes some may find disturbing. Readers can find more detailed information on the author's website. What this book doesn't contain is a hero - because villains do it better. And two do it better than one…

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Romance, Romantasy, Dark, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy Romance

414 pages, ebook

First published August 24, 2023

Reviews

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fear I ate this up

[Marianna Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I need to go rinse my eyeballs out with bleach.

[val · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is with this author and making characters who "enjoy" being raped? I'm not talking dubcon or cnc, I'm talking full-on SA. Look, it's true that some victims of SA experience complicated reactions to the assault. But damn. I'm seeing a pattern here. Yes, I was warned with trigger statements at the beginning. I find it very odd when rape (and the enjoyment of it) is such a key facet to an author's works, and used as a way to show "wounded" characters or justify their evilness. As a victim and survivor myself, I find it infuriating and gross.

[Kate V · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars!

I could bang Malyr and Sebian like a screen door ‘till next Tuesday.

But honestly that’s not all I got from this viciously vibrant and hauntingly horrifying dark romance. Feathers So Vicious was a spellbinding story about a very broken soul traversing through life wreaking havoc, pain, and revenge. As well as soul trying to make amends for the mistakes he’s made and finally a soul desperate for real love and affection. Three souls who have no idea how to process their trauma and don’t realize the key to their salvation may just be in each other.

Malyr was vengeful, sadistic and full of rage. Sebian was the opposite and wanted to protect. Galantia was naive and kind with a dark streak that matched the men who held her captive. The problem is neither of these men recognized the beauty and special nature of Galantia until it was too late.

So many secrets and twists and sad backstories were weaved through this tale. Feathers So Vicious burned a place into my soul and kept me on the knifes edge of turned on and broken. I hated Malyr but also loved his volatile nature because beneath all the hate you can tell there’s more. Sebian may have been the softer of the two but he too carried demons that could threaten everything he truly wants in life.

Galantia…she was such a unique character. Both hopeful and solemn. She burned bright until the end when all the stitches holding her together tore and she became someone or rather something new.

”From the wreckage of my being, something primal emerged. A force so powerful, so raw, it thrummed with the rhythm of my shattering soul, vibrating through every vein, every nerve, every fiber of my being. The force exploded outwards, a silent, blinding storm of white feathers and plumes that eclipsed my conscience and enlightened it at the same time.”

This story was heavy but within its pages rang a sense of pride and grace. Because sometimes it takes losing to discover not only yourself but what’s at stake if you don’t evolve. Feathers So Vicious ended on a dart to the heart cliffhanger but I can’t wait to read how Malyr, Sebian and Galantia move forward from the pain of their pasts. Well done Liv.

[afy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was gaslighting tf outta me more than any gaslighter has ever gaslighted.

Also STOP🗣️NORMALISING🗣️SEXUAL🗣️ASSAULT🗣️AS 🗣️“DARK kinky ROMANCE”🗣️

[Laura Greenhalgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok where do i start?! this was DARK, a lot of heavy themes and scenes that were at times hard to read so please check your TWs. this was addictive, intriguing, jaw dropping and SPICY.

the love triangle has been done so well, making you fall for both potential love interest and making for a character dynamic that i couldn’t get enough of. the characters in this book are all deeply broken from awful and traumatic experiences which pulls really complex feelings from you as a reader. where Malyr was volatile, vengeful and full of rage, Sebian was softer with an urge to protect Galantia which spoke to his trauma.

be warned this ends on a cliff hanger that will make you want to pick up book two IMMEDIATELY!!

[Victoria Werngreen · Rating 1 out of 5]

how this has an average rating of 4.1 stars is beyond my comprehension!! I’m about to rant.. so buckle up..

I'll mention the one thing I did like, but the rest will not be postive 😐 I did really like the magic system. it's really cool they're raven shifters and how their magic works! super unique! now to the bad parts:

first off, the trigger warning says dub-con, but I would consider the first half of this book very much non-con! some TW are def missing and other falsely advertised! I usually don't really care much for trigger warnings, but I don't want to read a 'romance' build on rape (soo many scenes include rape)! I don't care her body reacts to it in a 😉 way - she is telling them to stop multiple times! body and mind won't necessarily react in a way that makes sense, so this was NOT it! most of the spice is like that.. so not sexy at all but just nauseating🤢 the author was trying to make SA a sexy thing and basically normalizing it🫨 did the fmc even agree to the mmc's sharing her? I dont't think she did🤡

I tried reading a few 5 star reviews while reading this book, because I was not enjoying it and was hoping this would make me see why people love it, but I don't agree with a single review I saw.. people are blown away by the plot twists, but I literally guessed every single😐 they love the possessiveness of Malyr?! he treats her like shit!

Malyr (one of the mmc's) is acting like a piece of trash, but it's kinda 'justified' by his past (which is very traumatic I'll admit) but it didn't justify anthing to me. the fmc is so starved of touch, love and attention she (imo) confuses pain with love and craves the cruelty as a form of love. Malyr literally scars her whole chest and humiliates her in front of everyone every chance he gets - no gracias!✋🏼

the other mmc Sebian did have some qualities I liked: he was trying his best to keep the fmc safe and protect her. but he also wanted sexy time in exchange for letting her stay in his room when she was scared. he 'justified' it by saying it would make her feel good - which it did ig - but who tf demands that when someone comes scared to your room looking for safety?! 🤦🏼‍♀️

sorry for yapping, I usually don't post long negative reviews, but I couldn't help myself when this book has such a high rating🤯

I guess if you like really dark romance or the 'romance' in The Sinner / the first half of Haunting Adeline then you'd like this book🤷🏼‍♀️

[Shamina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I made it about 20% into the audiobook and felt dirty and grossed out. This is some demented shite. This is not a “dark fantasy romance”. It’s torture porn. I’m glad I quit reading when I did because other reviews mention children and that’s beyond vile. No stars, negative 5 stars.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

listen…hear me out okay.

I just want to preface this by saying I like them mean, what can I say 🤷‍♀️

—dark fantasy romance
—non/con-con
—ravens
—cliffhanger ending

There were several parts I really did not care for, not going to lie. I’m looking at you hymen scene 👀
but there were a lot of parts I did enjoy, like the cliff, the writing, Sebian.
And I finished this so fast, I had to read it. And I had to read it fast because I couldn’t get enough.
Was it a bit much at times? Absolutely.
But overall, I devoured this. Just like Sebian did. lol

Also, I love Paris. That’s all.

CHECK TW BEFORE STARTING THIS IS A DARK FANTASY!!!

[EJ MACK · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf

I never knew I could hate someone so much. Wtf. Seriously will never read anything else from this person. 😒

[Erika Braga · Rating 5 out of 5]

My poor heart …… 😭😫


I want to kill Malyr !
I want to kill Malyr !
I want to kill Malyr !
I want to kill Malyr !
I want to kill Malyr !
I want to kill Malyr !

But I also LOVE HIM and want him to be with Galantia so bad 😭😫😭😫

I love Sebian !
I love Sebian !
I love Sebian !
I love Sebian !
I love Sebian !

And I also want him to be with Galantia so bad 😭😫😭😫

I am heartbroken and angry. I want Galantia to have her revenge against all who wronged her.

[Kara Harte (KattitudeReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked ‘Feathers so Vicious’ by Liv Zander, especially the multi-cast audiobook, but I had one major problem, even with the trigger warnings (which I cannot stress enough to pay attention to): the gratuitous SA scenes. Dark romance can get pretty twisted, and I’ve read some wild shit, but dark romance does NOT automatically equal copious amounts of non-consensual SA, especially of younger characters, which I think bothered me the most. I’m not shaming kinks, but in even the darkest romance I’ve read, there’s at least an allusion to consent. And that’s what was missing from a lot of scenes here.

Maybe it would have been better (if they absolutely needed to be included) had the scenes just been hinted at. Maybe. How violent and graphic those past SA scenes were—fully non-consensual SA’s, no hint of dubcon or CNC in sight—was just not necessary. They weren’t sexy. Even the barest allusion to consent in dark romance is what makes it hot. Outright, violent SA of young characters who are fully unable to consent, does not. There was nothing about the way those prison scenarios were presented that would have made any of it sexy. or even given the opportunity for the barest hint of dubcon/CNC. And making one of the male MC’s penchant for violent sex because he was SA’d as a young boy? Not the best origin story to explain his preferences. Fetishizing an SA survivor’s trauma is just not it.

These prison scenes almost made me DNF several times. Dark spice can be great, but not like that. I just started skipping these scenes. I never would have been able to finish this book otherwise.

With those scenes skipped, ‘Feathers So Vicious’ wasn’t a bad dark romance at all (which makes the inclusion of those scenes all the more frustrating). The politics were high stakes, the characters were multifaceted and their complicated entanglements emotional, hot, and twisty. The world building was atmospheric, the magic system was very unique and interesting, the ‘why choose’ element was well executed, and the angst was on glorious point. The constant game of chess between the three MC’s was thrilling and frustrating (in a good way), and that cliffhanger! Whew, that cliffhanger. How can something be thrilling and gut wrenching at the same time? It had me leaping out of my seat in excitement AND yelling at the book. 😂

I cannot wait to see what the next book holds—yes, I will be reading it and hoping there isn’t a repeat of those prison SA scenes—and have high hopes for some groveling and some major character growth for all the MC’s, especially Galantia. That girl really deserves a sense of security and self love/empowerment. Did I mention the hopes for groveling? It’s no less than Galantia deserves, and I hope she makes Malyr and Sebian work for it. They really need to after the way they treated her. I wanted to fistfight them so many times, haha.

The audio was what kept me going when I was about to DNF from those scenes. It really was a fantastic audiobook. I loved that each MC got their own voice, and the narrators—Shaina Summerville, Tor Thom, and Tommy Fuller—gave knockout performances. The audiobook was AMAZING.

If you’re going to read this, CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS and proceed with caution. Aside from the problematic scenes I mentioned, this book really was good. And the audiobook will have you firmly in its grip.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬-𝘺𝘰𝘶!). 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark & steamy!

Galantia was taken captive by a group of Ravens, who are humans with the ability to shapeshift, as an act of retribution for the cruel treatment that her father inflicted upon their kind. Malyr, the leader of the Ravens, entrusted Sebian with Galantia's care while he deliberated on her ultimate fate. During her time under Sebian's guardianship, Galantia had the opportunity to explore the city and experience intimacy for the first time.

Although I found the MCs to be well-developed, I think it could have added more depth to the story if they interacted more with the secondary characters. Also, I believe that some additional world-building would have made the reading experience even more immersive. Besides that, it was an entertaining read that I didn't want to put down!

Highly recommend for fans of darker romances and the captor/captive trope.

*Make sure to read all the warnings before diving into this novel. This is not for everyone.*

*** Thank you to NetGalley, Liv Zander, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

[purlpur · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
такий собі бенкет з похмурої жорстокості у світі людей і воронів. війни, викрадення, тортури, і все це приправлено токсичною любовною лінією з пекельним потягом гг один до одного. тригери тут не для галочки, це було справді ж.о.р.с.т.о.к.о. для тих же, кого темні сюжети не відлякують, може сподобатись 👌

шо по тропах:
🪶 темне роментезі з атмосферою середньовіччя
🪶 війна між людьми та воронами
🪶 ворони-перевертні з магічними дарами
🪶 політичні інтриги
🪶 помста
🪶 шлюб за домовленістю
🪶 від ворогів до закоханих
🪶 лиходії отримують дівчину/mfm

якихось серйозних баталій та епіку тут не очікуйте. можливо, їх приберегли для другої частина. сюжет першої вертиться навколо головного тріо персонажів, їх любовної лінії, травматичного минулого, а фоном розкривають історію цього світу, як все функціонує, причини війни, і як родзинка - палацові та політичні інтриги.

головні персонажі, в більшості, сподобались. питання залишаються тільки до жгг, тому з неї і почнемо 😅
галантія - тендітна дівчина, єдина донька лорда, яку батьки не любили, усе життя тримали в замку, усе забороняли і виховували звичайно що для укладання політичного шлюбу. і ніби можна зрозуміти, чому вона така, яка є, але хотілося побачити більше інших її думок, окрім як: шлюб-секс-кохання. сподіваюсь в 2 книзі її розвиток буде кращим. тут є потенціал і запал. "він хотів бачити її сльози, а отримав добряче гостренький язик" - це про галантію 😏

малір - принц воронів. за холодного, суворого і надмірно жорстокого мена відповідає він. розкриття цього персонажу найбільше сподобалось. розділи з його флешбеками.. просто ❤️‍🩹 а ще саме таким я хотіла бачити безжального shadow daddy і я це отримала 😈

себіан - ворон-слідопит. теж з травматичним минулим і своєю драмою. але тут він відповідає за ніжність, турботу і за постачання гарного настрою зі смішними жартами 🤭

між цими двома я б теж не обирала. як то взагалі можна зробити. ну так, один добрий захисник, а другий жорстокий гівнюк зі зрозумілою мотивацією до ненависті жгг. але нічого не поробиш, люблю таких персонажів в дарках, і тут не встояла 🌚

ох, а які тут спайсі сцени, аж обпікають. це тріо точно знає як розважатися в ліжку. неслухняні тіні і бдсм? заверніть 🥵
ладно, ті, хто прочитають книгу, щось страшне про мене подумають. так, деякі сцени засуджую, але більшість.. ну просто мьоод 🫠

фінал. обожнюю подібне завершення в книгах. це саме той випадок, де на вас скинуть бомбу емоційних одкровень 😮‍💨
не буду спойлерити, але хочеться сказати "а могло бути інакше?" враховуючи усі події минулого і мотивацію, цього повороту потрібно було очікувати. уф, але як я люблю цю драааму 😎 тепер ще з більшим завзяттям хочу прочитати 2 частину.

із мінусів: зняла пів бала за трохи поверхневе розкриття галантії та переобтяжений текст. конструкції речень тут часто ускладнюються для більшої поетичності, але разом з цим важко вловити суть написаного. або хтось просто погано знає інгліш, тому й читалось моментами важкувато 😅
під кінець від цих витіюватих поворотів я втомилось, хоч і звучало це гарно.

[Poppy Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

I don’t know what I was expecting going into this, but it wasn’t this storyline but I definitely found it gripping

Galantia is a human girl bethrothed to a prince, bought up believing the conflict between the humans & ravens, and that the ravens are nasty things etc
There’s an ongoing war with the ravens, and the ravens home is under a curse of shadows which means they can’t return

Whilst Galantia is travelling to the guy she’s supposed to marry, the ravens intercept and take her captive and she finds herself captive in the court of ravens where she meets Sebian & Malyr 👀

I really liked the world and the magic system, the ravens are shifters who shift into 5 different ravens one of the ravens holds their power, and there’s different powers some rarer than others, deathweavers, pathfinders, voids, fates etc

Malyr is the strongest deathweaver for centuries (meaning he can manipulate and control shadows) and Sebian is a pathfinder. Malyr is AWFUL to Galantia (be aware of triggers because consent is not in Malyr’s dictionary) and Sebian is much softer with her, and she falls for them both

This is book is SPICYYYY oh my god, I wasn’t expecting the spice either haha, however for me at this point Malyr is not redeemable so we’ll see in book 2 😩

[Kaila.Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY THE GOODREADS COVER. I REPEAT. DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY THE NON DISCREET COVER.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, this book about morally gray (morally black?) bird-shifting men had no business being this intense and this good. Before you dive into Feathers So Vicious, make sure to check the trigger warnings - because there are plenty. This book is dark, spicy, and has me questioning my feelings about bird men.

[Kat valentine ( Katsbookcornerreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn't for the faint of Heart!!! If you thought Enosh from King of Flesh and bones was a villainous prick wait till you meet Malyr in Feathers So Vicious!!!! He is the most depraved fucking pricks I've ever read!!! I truly hate this bastard!!! I don't think this villian deserves redemption! Its one thing to treat a enemies daughter like a whore and do and say sick shit because daddy dear not only raped him and beat him repeatedly and hand a hand in the death of his brother and tried to steal his dark shadow powers but he went to far!!!! This is the first book that I wanted to smash my kindle in a million pieces! And he isn't the only bastard of this tale! Sebian might have given Galantia pleasure and comfort and played good cop to Malyr's bad but he used her just as much! I hope she makes both of these assholes crawl to her and fucks with their heads like they did to her! I did figure out early in the book what Galantia truly was but the the reveal on the cliffhanger still blew my mind! I loved Galantia she is a strong female and hides the pain of being rejected by both her parents and as her back story was told it broke my heart. All three of the main players Malyr, Serbian and Galantia have been through hell and the scars are their to prove it. Malyr is dark and dangerous but I thought I saw moments of what he could have been if things had gone different but no matter how much Galantia gave it was never enough! I totally get what her father did to him and the other ravens but she was a innocent child when this all happened! If he had continued to treat her like shit and his personal whore that would have been one thing but to make her believe that maybe he was seeing beyond what her father did to him and maybe even be falling in love and even going to the extent to have mating ceremony only to be so fucking cruel ! That was a total dick move!!! And fucking unforgivable!! Book 2 Shadows So Cruel just came out and I can't wait to see Galantia's revenge!!! Liv Zander has a way of getting under my skin with her hardcore writing and storytelling and her villains are dark and depraved as fuck! All their back stories leave my heart breaking one minute and having me what to slit their fucking throats the next! I don't know what to expect in Shadows So Cruel but I hope Zander makes both Malyr and Sebians life hell !! Thank you Liv Zander for ripping my heart out and leaving me torn open! Your fabulous storytelling never ceases to amaze me! But just so you know..... You really pissed me off with how this book ended!😂Until next time Luv's💕💋

[Alma · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I’ve read in a long time. Had nothing to do with the very disturbing “kinks” but the writing and story itself was all over the place! Nothing made any sense the scenes were all 3 were “involved “ just confused me so much because they made absolutely no sense and they came out of the blue. The only part I enjoyed a little was when Sebian was out of the picture and Malyr and Galantia were getting close. I find it hard to believe this is the same author of king of Flesh and Bone. This was so bad and that ending was like ummm okay, one more thing that makes no sense at all. This book lacked all the foreplay that I enjoy in these books and just left me feeling gross.

[Jace · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 16%
I'm not sure if this book is simply too dark for me or if it's just not my kind of darkness but I found it pretty off putting.

There is a lot of rape. Both of the potential 'heroes ' either turn their heads as the rape happens or do it themselves.
When I threw the towel in Malyr was essentially violating her, promising to keep her virginity intact as to not diminish her value and would be raping her anally.
She struggles to get away, scared, trying to use a weapon, this women who is completely sheltered and hasn't experienced anything.
He enjoys inflicting pain, gets off on it.

It's sadistic and not my cup of tea at all, so this book is an absolute no from me.

[Melanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 1 ==> 5+ STARS!!
Book 2 ==> 5 STARS!!

What was the worth of a life if there was no love in it?

Wow, wow, wow - such a deliciously dark and depraved treat. And after finishing both parts of this duet, my heart is FULL. 😍😍

...he tormented my body into bliss, tortured my soul into surrender.

Fantasy plots are impossible to sum up, so I won't bother to try . . . just know that if you like your books dark, you won't be disappointed.

Have care: Triggers upon triggers upon triggers

I'm not sure I've encountered main characters who are quite as messed up as these three.😱

We have Galantia, a lord's daughter on her way to marry the King's son when she's captured by the enemy prince.

"You have no kingdom, no crown. If you call this farce a court, then I can only assume that you're its fool."

Malyr, the Raven prince, and Galantia's father's one true enemy - and now hers.

"What do you want from me?"
"I want you to hurt." His thumb pressed deeper, amplifying the pain as he leaned in, bringing his lips to my ear. "Want you to cry, and whimper, and sob."

And Malyr's best friend, Sebian.

"I don't get off on hurting you. I get off on pleasing you."

With all their secrets, lies, and manipulations, what a trio they made! Not only was the twisted chemistry was off the charts, but their underlying fears and vulnerabilities were raw and visceral, almost elevating them to characters in their own rights.

Kudos to the author for creating such a fabulous heroine. IMO, that line between TSTL and resilient can be a fine one in dark romance, but Galantia was everything I could have wished for. And holy shit, that cliffhanger!! One of the best ever!

Directly on to book 2 . . .

[Amanda H · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @70%. No plot, no character development, no chemistry, incredibly cringey, and if I have to read the word “sweetheart” again, I’m going to drag my eyes through glass.

[Talya · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, aggressively mid

the sex scenes promoted unsafe bdsm practices such as choking to the point of near unconsciousness with no prior discussion of consent or safety measures (this can literally kill you) and back door action with no lube (not as fun as it sounds and can cause serious health problems). also described the main character’s wetness as “frothy” (???!!!!) and referred to her clit as a “throbbing pebble.” the characters never used contractions but at one point someone mentioned “snail trails”

also really needed an editor. see the following…unique…quotations:
“I best heeded it”
“if I wouldn’t know better”
“many a ladies”

I guess it wasn’t all bad though?

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantasy romance set in a fictional land where an intense war has been raging between the ordinary humans and the Ravens, magical beings who can transform into Ravens. There's actually a bit more to it than that but that's the general gist. Whilst journeying to join her betrothed a man she's never met, Galantia finds herself taken prisoner by the enemy and used as leverage against her father.

This was a great read and this was incredibly imaginative and in places so dark. Malyr, her captor can be very cruel it's like all of the hate he's been storing away inside from his traumatic past at the hands of her father he unleashes on Galantia. Who from an accident of birth and being her father's daughter now has a target painted firmly on her and has inherited all of his poisonous venom.

So we have two potential love interests to whom Galantia is drawn, Sebian who is kind to her and Malyr who shows his affections in very much a different way. For a girl who has never been shown much affection Galantia just craves love and sucks it all up like a sponge which then makes her extremely vulnerable and blind to betrayal and now with that dramatic ending, I'm finding it extremely difficult to reconcile and find justification in Malyr's actions. At least at the start of this, he was honest in his behaviour but how this ended well let's just say it was extremely cruel at least Sebian can separate Galantia from her father, unlike his prince. 

I also guessed the reveal regarding  Galantia and I hope she raises merry hell in the conclusion. This was different and so intriguing and very well written, I'm definitely planning to read the conclusion, I highly recommend reading this its a stand-out read.



Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com

[Birjis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feathers so Vicious has a nice concept for a dark fantasy romance. The other fantasy romance I enjoyed was A Fate of Wrath and Flame by K.A. Tucker. The input of the h's betrayal or her side betraying the hero/heroes is always my go-to stories. The cliches, the perfect description of world-building material with snark and sass has appealed me from beginning to end. Though the writting is not strong as A Fate of Wrath and Flame which has more than enough detail described but Feathers so Vicious has me felt lost in its world building; this book has me at its grip.
This book is a mfm romance. We have tortured heroes who are scarred mentally and physically with a female who is very naive but not the doormat kind, you might like her at the end and feel bad for her for what the heroes have done to her. I sense grovelling in the next book.

The war between the ravens and humans has escalated. Galantia has grown up loveless yearning for attention and love. Now marriage to another kingdom awaits when getting kidnapped gets in the way of her royal duty. She meets Malyr and Sebian, the mysterious, tortured and conniving men her world has turned upside down. Malyr and Sebian are raven shape shifters and they hate the humans especially Lord Brisden, Galantia's father.
Galantia re-learns of all things taught to her, a complete change from where she grew up. Life outside her father's palace is different and wilder than she imagined.
Malyr seeks revenge, he completely hates Galantia. Sebian is a little softer than Malyr but he does nothing to save Galantia whenever Malyr treats her harshly though he does warns Galantia to stay out of Malyr's way. Towards the end Galantia suffers the consequence of hatred between Malyr and Sebian and her father's fight.

Malyr is the cruelest of the two. He plays with Galantia's emotions and breaks her. Sebian has been kind to Galantia but has kept her at hands length. The end 30 pages has the author drop bombs of secrets which means a great cliffhanger. The torture 😣. Eagerly waiting for the next book. Highly recommend.

[Nattie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish the book. I read 47% and decided that was enough. The glorification of sexual asaault was too much. It's OK for her to be coerced into a sexual act because she secretly likes it? No. Just no.

[Liana Gold · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3 ⭐️ Court of Ravens is unhinged and cruel on so many levels that it brought on the “ick” early on, making me almost DNF it multiple times. There were so many things that were wrong with this book, I couldn’t look past all the dark, twisted parts and just simply enjoy the story, which in retrospect was pretty good.

First of all, read the trigger warnings (which I have) and just know that Feathers So Vicious is chaotic. It’s full of violence, unkindness, and just scenes of SA, molestation and assault. I can’t believe I finished it—I guess I was looking for points of redemption. I think this alone had overwhelmed the storytelling, taking away points from the whole narrative.

In Feathers so Vicious, an innocent woman, Galantia, is captured by two morally gray raven shifters. She is forced to comply in their Court of Ravens, enduring their twisted desires amidst all the violence and darkness. There is a war that is ongoing between the humans and the Ravens, and she is the daughter of one of the human Lords responsible for starting the war. She is taken prisoner and is awaiting betrothal to the Raven Prince. The prince uses her as leverage all meanwhile a love triangle formulates. While the story is quite good, the aspects of consent and intimacy were not. They were actually rather very rapey in its acts, thus reducing the quality of Liv Zander’s writing in my opinion.

Secondly, none of the characters were likable. Even Sebian, the second Raven, who was “kinder” in nature than Prince Malyr, he too had very chiaroscuro aura—even that is arguable because he was just as vicious towards Galantia as Malyr. Galantia, being so unloved and broken from childhood, is just a mopping mess of stupid. Her innocence and gullibility marked her as prey and she literally had to endure so much trauma through out the book, it just made my head spin. Is there pleasure in constant suffering? In berating a female?

It had so much potential but it failed to bring on normalcy and intrigue. It was written to pry on fear and malicious intent. I think 3⭐️ is generous. Not sure if I’ll be reading the second book.

[Rae (semi-hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liv Zander’s books always have me in a chokehold…just like the MMCs do the FMCs.

Gdm! This was fire! My stomach was actually twisted into knots because of this story. I was wanting it to hurry up and get to the twist so I can finally understand while simultaneously never wanting it to finish because I was enjoying the journey and I knew it would break me. And it did 😭. There was a cliffy of epic proportions 🔥🔥. I cannot wait until November.

A true enemies-to-lovers with one of the MMCs a villain fo-sho. No morally gray here lol. Malyr was surprisingly sympathetic in parts. We loved to hate him and hated to love him. That takes some skill to do considering everything he said and did.

Sebian, the other MMC, was so great. He was the lighter of the two but still very mysterious. While there were two men sexing up Galantia, you never felt like it was a love triangle or one for more or less scenes than the other. Each had their unique parts to play. Curious to see how this plays out- if it’ll end as MMF? 👀

(Side note: There was an on-page scene with an OW and a MMC. It was before they got together with the FMC, but I know some ppl would like to know. There were also mentions of many past sexual encounters from both of the MMCs.)

I’m not usually much of a fan of virgin FMCs, especially naive ones, but Galantia pulled it off well. She grew up in a loveless family yet never stopped believing in love and the goodness of others 🥺. You could tell she just wanted to be free, she continued to seek out knowledge, she was smart and strategic. She also never made dumb decisions just cuz lol (y’all know what I mean-it’s so common for the dumb FMC trope to come out-even if the FMC is supposed to be smart). Many authors could learn some things about FMCs from Ms. Zander.

The plot was so well thought out and intriguing. Ravens and their anoa…shadows and gifts…betrayals and secrets…CHEFS 💋

[Lauren Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one truly should have a fair amount of trigger warnings including R, murder, war, kidnapping, forced proximity, sexual warfare, sexual assault, reluctant consent, sensual harming & gore. True enemies to lovers. He hates her. It was unexpectedly a why choose too! Super spicy. Virginity & arranged marriage trope. Fated mates unfated kind of heartbreak/ emotional damage. The plot twist will have you sitting silently pondering what in the actual fuck.

[TrippyBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

If you are like me and actively seek out dark fantasy romance you will probably love this one.

(I have to warn you it gets really really dark)

Galantia is a noblewoman who is captured by the Ravens amidst a war with the intention of using her as valuable trade to get someone back. She has never known true love.

One of the ravens, Malyr, is extremely toxic and degrading so if you are not into bully romance or you have any triggers, you probably will not like this. He has a pretty disturbing backstory.
They are true enemies ( he has good reason to hate her)so how he behaves makes more sense to me than someone immediately falling for her.

However, there is another Raven, Sebian, who is much nicer and caring by comparison if you need a reprieve from the darkness of the story.

im curious how the dynamic is handled in book 2 .

[Jenniraereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confusingly awesome.

I am at a loss for words. Confused by how drawn I was to this story that is so filled with darkness and heavy tortuous scenes. I have said many times that I am not a fan for overly spicy books, but somehow a 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ book had me spell bound. Apparently, fantastic writing is all it takes!

The story is so well written that the darkest chapters I have ever read never gave me pause to continue. I do not have triggers, but caution to check the warnings for those who do. Was this spicy…💯…were there dark and disturbing scenes…also yes. Will I instantly read book 2….without hesitation.

I may need to take some time to process what I have read…but I know myself and I will be reading the next book starting tomorrow. This story is so much more than the trigger warnings. The plot is wonderful and twisty and kept me hanging at the edge of my seat.

Do I think this will be a 5⭐️ read for everyone, probably not. But I whole heartedly recommend everyone give it a try.

Wow-just-wow.