There was great beauty in this book, but I did not find it a comfortable or smooth read, despite my affinity for birds and belief in fantasy.

I loved this book. It is a beautifully written fantasy novel that combines the selkie legend and an alternate fantasy world of talking birds. It will definitely be a slow-burn kind of book as the concept may seem too "babyish" for older tweens and teens, talking animals and all, but conceptually it will require a more mature reader. It is a darker read, taking on tween/teen things like sibling rivalry but also much harsher things like the stealing of souls and a mother's choice between the family she was forced to remain with but still loves and her true form and kingdom. It is slow, but the beautiful writing and relationship between Summer and Bird make this book totally worth it. ( )

I usually love a Children's fantasy novel, but I found this one darker and more melancholy than most. When Summer and Bird's parents go missing, they follow them into Down to try and find them. Summer and Bird are separated early and must go throw their own adventures. Summer is helped by an old man named Ben, while Bird makes her way to the Swan's castle, where she is taken captive (though willingly) by the Puppeteer who promises her that she can be Queen of the Birds. By the end, I was glad I read it, but it took me a long time to get through, and I probably would have given it up, if I hadn't received it as an Early Reviewer book. I think this is a case of Ranganathan's "Every book it's reader" law. I was not this book's reader. I saw it described elsewhere as being similar to Neil Gaiman's work, and that makes sense to me. If you like that sort of darker fantasy, this book will likely appeal to you. ( )

I felt this novel had so much promise and an amazing story to tell, but the pace was too slow and the characters were not interesting. I found my attention waning as I read. It didn't keep me reading much to my disappointment. I wanted to love it, but found it wasn't a fit for me. ( )

 
I spent ages looking for this book and I finally got it for my birthday, I was so happy! Well...
 
This is a very difficult book to rate. First of all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the writing itself - it's beautiful and it manages to be both whimsical and serious, which is a feat unto itself. Those 2 stars? That's all the writing.
 
The thing is, the pretty writing was all that kept me reading. I couldn't connect with the characters at all, there was little to differentiate the way the sisters were written - oh, there were details, one looked like this, the other like that, one was ambitious and more bird-like, the other more human and worried about the family, but their voices? There wasn't much to tell one from the other. And what characterization there was ended up too odd, too alien to allow me to connect with them - granted, it serves the plot, but it does not serve the reader.
 
The plot had so much potential! An evil puppeteer who wastes herself away to become more bird-like and feasts on birds for the same purpose. An exiled bird queen. Two little girls with a mysterious heritage. But it was SO slow!! The pacing was terrible, it seemed like it was just writing for the sake of writing - very pretty writing, but the story went nowhere for ages. It took me 3 months to read this book. 3 months!!!
 
I hate the ending. I'm not one of those who has to have a HEA, though there's that expectation, especially in a children's book, but it was just unsatisfying and empty.
 
I don't know, maybe it was just me, maybe I personally couldn't connect with this book. So go ahead, give it a chance, the writing is worth it, I didn't care for the rest, but maybe others will. ( )