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The Silver Birds
On a cursed island where birds steal hearts and blades of grass cut sharper than knives, two young women driven by revenge take on solving a series of mysterious deaths.
Every winter’s first snow, a flock of silver birds descends upon Namu Island and leaves with a heart. When River’s father is taken, she seeks vengeance. But soon uncanny events islanders die in eerie ways, the woods turn green in the dead of winter, River’s brother disappears, and a strange woman turns up. To save her brother and unravel the island’s mystery, River will be cast into an unexpected alliance that will challenge her beliefs, trust, and love.
THE SILVER BIRDS is a queer enemies-to-lovers dark fantasy novel, which features conflicted characters filled with rage and wants for revenge, yet fiercely protective of the ones they trust enough to love. There is no good and evil, but rather a beautifully dark grey where monsters who aren’t really monsters live.
Every winter’s first snow, a flock of silver birds descends upon Namu Island and leaves with a heart. When River’s father is taken, she seeks vengeance. But soon uncanny events islanders die in eerie ways, the woods turn green in the dead of winter, River’s brother disappears, and a strange woman turns up. To save her brother and unravel the island’s mystery, River will be cast into an unexpected alliance that will challenge her beliefs, trust, and love.
THE SILVER BIRDS is a queer enemies-to-lovers dark fantasy novel, which features conflicted characters filled with rage and wants for revenge, yet fiercely protective of the ones they trust enough to love. There is no good and evil, but rather a beautifully dark grey where monsters who aren’t really monsters live.
406 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2023
18 people are currently reading
1900 people want to read
About the author
Apolline Lucy
4 books109 followersApolline Lucy is an author from France. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading in cafes, haunting bookshops, and running through the woods. She currently resides in Seoul, South Korea.
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February 20, 2025THE SILVER BIRDS is a self-published sapphic woodsy fantasy horror with plenty of gore, witchy magic, terrifying sentient-ish trees, fucked up birds, and enemies-to-lovers romantic tension. Now, reviewing a self-published book is always a very careful balancing act, and I’m going to try very hard to give a fair and balanced review that both emphasizes the absolute love I have for this story with constructive and thoughtful notes on the book’s approach to telling it.
I think, overall, this book has a lot of potential and it has some really strong moments, especially in the very beginning and in the final third of the story. It has some really brilliant and smart world-building and plot structure, but struggles with the journey through the narrative itself. I think it unfortunately doesn’t feel ready for publication and is in need of another couple of rounds of drafts with betas, at least a full round of developmental edits and a full round of line/copy edits. I know indie authors aren’t afforded the same support of editorial teams as traditional publishers, but investing in a round or two of professional edits can really go a long way. I’m not here to nitpick typos or grammar or even the eloquence of individual sentences, but suggesting an editorial eye to aid the guiding hand for the readers. It also really needs a trans sensitivity reader, which I’ll get into. But let’s break my specific thoughts on this book down.
The strongest part of this book from the very beginning is without a doubt the world-building. I have always been taught in history classes that the best way to learn about a culture is through learning about the way they treat their dead. And this book so brilliantly uses this society’s cultural beliefs and practices around the dead as an introduction to this world. It instantly sets up so much context for the audience about where this society places their values and their fears and their hopes. I honestly wish more books would include death culture, and that more books would center their world-building around death culture the way this one does. And frankly, all the elements of the world-building are just cool as hell. The titular silver birds are so mysterious and terrifying and the grandiosity of their stamp on this island's day-to-day life earns them the title of this book. They’re so fucked up and scary. And I loved them from first sight. This is true of a lot of the woodsy and natural elements. From vampire trees to poisonous fog, I adored each magical element that seep into this world. They feel so distinct yet share a common language across the narrative to create a really well-defined and unique environment. And these elements don't just hover in the world but are really well woven into the plot! So often books that are interested in creating lush and complex environments for their stories forget to have those environments hold a relationship to the story itself, but Lucy’s tact is so well done here.
However, in guiding us through these environments, I wish this book felt more comfortable taking up space with its descriptors. This world is so lush and has the potential to be suffocatingly atmospheric (complimentary) but seems timid to luxuriate in its imagery. Unfortunately, Lucy has a consistent habit in her writing of half-showing, half-telling. What I mean by this is that Lucy will toss out a very brief description or a reference to a visual in a matter of fact manner and then immediately follow it with a thought from the protagonist that tells us how she feels (and therefore how we should feel) about that descriptor. But instead of this tactic amplifying the impact of the image by adding the perspective of the protagonist, it sort of halves the impact of both with a one bird, two stones situation. It feels wasteful and redundant, and makes the work read younger than it is, as I felt like I was being handheld through the story. I really wanted Lucy to just take her time describing the images and ideas she created, and allow the protagonist's feelings about them to speak through the descriptive writing. I think the author deserves to trust her story more and trust that we will be suspicious at suspicious behavior or repulsed by grotesque body horror or compelled by new circumstances. With all the work put in to create cool imagery and delicious circumstances, I wanted to get to breathe in it or feel immersed in it.
And just to quickly note, because I can’t find another place to insert this: the MC’s internal dialogue (and the few bits of dialogue spoken to herself) needs to be cut down by 90%. They are incredibly redundant and come across as really juvenile, and unfortunately really eclipse any other attempt at tone or atmosphere or subtle character work.
I think the second strongest element of this book is its plot. The reveals and the action towards the end of the book feel extremely climactic and really shift the tone a lot in a way that almost (just almost!) feels a little too out of nowhere, but the seeds of those plot points are planted so tightly from the beginning. I found myself really honestly hooked by each reveal and element. Nothing is too obvious or too unguessable, but the perfect balance of both.
My note on the plot, however, is that the journey through it is in need of some more streamlining. There are whole scenes that decidedly needed to be cut (I’m actually still spinning over the scene where they randomly discuss their overly modern coffee orders that completely ripped me out of the story! What do you mean a lavender latte with white chocolate and lavender syrup? Why do they have an espresso machine? And espresso? Isn’t this a secluded pre-tech fantasy island world?) but it’s more that the order of events needed to be more organized and deliberate. The first couple chapters of the book start out really strong in this way (though I will say the timeline of the days feel a little confusing and rushed) but then we kind of lose the full plot until a little over half way through. Through the first half of the book, each chapter feels like it meanders away or even leaps away from the one before it, and it was often very hard for me to keep track of the narrative priority or the urgency of the stakes and circumstances at any given time. The characters would set out to accomplish a task, and before that task is accomplished, something new would happen action-wise. And then before they could fully react to that thing, or even complete the task before, something else would happen! Until we have this pile of things that need to be addressed or that the characters need to do or that are impacting the story, but it was hard to keep track of what had been addressed or completed or integrated into the world at that point in the story and which we needed to be thinking about at each moment. And it made it feel like a whole lot was happening (there was constant high-octane action that was really thrilling and helpful to the world-building) but with little to no narrative progress.
I now definitely need to talk about the romance. This element harbors such a roller-coaster of opinions for me, and you might have seen my updates on it (the first being me complaining that this was being marketed as an enemies-to-lovers romance when it isn’t, the second one saying that I was wrong and that it is actually enemies-to-lovers, and then the third saying that I love when lesbians stab each other). It’s going to be kind of hard to talk about this element without spoiling, so I guess spoilers in terms of very broad strokes. I won’t give away any Actual Plot Things, but feel free to skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to read that.
Essentially, the enemy element in this enemies-to-lovers only becomes known to the audience retrospectively later on in the book as we gain more backstory and context after a reveal. And so though they are enemies to lovers, we don’t know that until they’re no longer actively enemies. And frankly, that retrospective view of their relationship is really scrumptious on its own. But it’s clear that Lucy wanted to have her cake and eat it too—to still have the standard arc and dynamics of the enemies-to-lovers trope, even before the enemy part has been made known. And this essentially just results in a hate-to-love dynamic in which the hate feels really unearned and disproportionate, which in turn makes the characters feel unbelievably immature (exacerbated by the redundant and jarring internal dialogue). The main character is incredibly suspicious of the love interest and I think if she perhaps tried to investigate her suspicions about the love interest’s behavior by getting close to her or plotting quietly against her, it would create the tension that Lucy is attempting to build, instead of that tension being sliced through by the main character's immediate and disruptive anger and finger pointing. I think it would keep the payoff (or even make it greater) without cheapening the impact for the sake of sticking to the cookie cutter trends of the trope. Trope elements don’t exist as rules but as tools to serve a story. And they didn't serve this one.
The romance really does have incredible!! chemistry by the end of the book. Though I may have had a few line edits or ideas to make some moments bloom even further, I was absolutely squirming and screaming with some of the climactic plot elements and the way they entangle with the complexities of the romance. The tension not only between the characters but between loyalties and trust and love and self-preservation peak in such a perfect way, exactly the way an ideal and well-structured enemies-to-lovers arc should. My god. I love when lesbians stab each other and I won’t say anymore than that. (🫀!!!!)
Okay. I do think I have to comment on the trans rep though because I do have an issue with it, and it’s going to take a bit of explaining. No spoilers here, I promise. So essentially the main character’s best friend is a man who was born AMAB, but when he was a kid, his parents opened a stolen treasure chest and this treasure chest transformed his body into a traditionally AFAB body, while he still maintained his identity and memories and selfhood. I mean, sure. Upon this first introduction of this backstory, I would consider this more of a trans-aligned experience than a trans character. It reminded me mostly of that random arc of Wizards of Waverly Place where Max gets turned into a little girl, or maybe of the types of people who become forcibly transitioned for one reason or another as children (being intersex, having an accident that impacts their genitals, etc. These things happen, and they have a relationship to trans experiences, but I wouldn’t necessarily label them as trans definitively). This then gets brought up one other time, when another character is accusing this character of murdering his brother (which he didn’t do). This character misgenders him, makes some comments about his genitals, and suggests that the people of the village believe that he is lying about the curse and that he was actually AFAB but the curse made him believe he is a man. (Obviously, I don’t need to say that if someone believes they’re a man, they are one.) And then that is all that’s ever said about this character’s gender. And so. I take qualms. Because the treatment of this character shows that for all intents and purposes in this world, he is framed as a trans man, but also was born as a man. And that extra step of being actually AMAB is then used as a justification to legitimize his identity as a man. When he shouldn’t have to be AMAB to be legitimate in his identity as a man, obviously. So even though I can tell the author is trying to be trans-positive and trans-inclusive, this extra magical background just 1. unnecessarily sensationalizes and mythologizes his transness and 2. pushes the idea that his identity as a man relies on the truth of his biological identification at birth aligning with his gender despite his current biological and genital status. There’s no reason why he couldn’t literally just be a trans man. Trans people can exist in fantasy stories without magical interference.
It is then worth pointing out two other issues with this element: 1. The transphobia in this story only exists to show that the character who wields it is a jerk. So, frankly, unnecessary and therefore inappropriate. 2. The transness of the character is framed as a curse. Enough said on that I think.
I want to be clear in my critique about the trans rep. It’s such a small part of the story that I wouldn’t at all use it as a tool with which to gauge this book’s quality and I’m not trying to say this book is harmful (I wish I didn’t have to give this disclaimer but the internet is the internet and I don’t want people running around calling this whole book transphobic because I think the approach to the trans character is poorly done). To me, it read as though the author was earnestly trying to provide some casual but visible trans representation, but just overthought the way it would need to fit into the fantasy world or tried to overwrite the backstory when trans people can just be trans people. And unfortunately, that caused it to have the opposite effect than likely intended.
All in all, I have a very torn feeling over this book. I think it really holds the heart of something meaty and delicious and so perfect for me, with monstrous nature elements, gloriously grotesque body horror, lush wintery woodsy environments, and a tension-filled sapphic romance. There’s a world in which I’m head over heels for this book. It’s the first one in months and months that has made me want to make a playlist (I was building a soundtrack in my head starting with The Garden by The Crane Wives!!) and tons of fanart. The world and the romance are so unique and full of so much gorgeous and haunting imagery that I can only imagine I’ll be thinking about to a feral degree. But I’m held back from feeling all that obsession and overflowing love for it by the elements that drag it down and render large chunks of it ineffective. As I said, it just didn’t feel ready to be out in the world, and needs a few more drafts (with some eyes, both professional and non-professional) to help shape its impact into the sharp and succulent blade of the tale this could be. I hope it gets reworked someday.
CW: violence, blood & gore, body horror, death, grief, death of father, animal death, dead bodies (including of a stillborn), injury detail, torture, amputation, insects, poison, misgendering, transphobia
I think, overall, this book has a lot of potential and it has some really strong moments, especially in the very beginning and in the final third of the story. It has some really brilliant and smart world-building and plot structure, but struggles with the journey through the narrative itself. I think it unfortunately doesn’t feel ready for publication and is in need of another couple of rounds of drafts with betas, at least a full round of developmental edits and a full round of line/copy edits. I know indie authors aren’t afforded the same support of editorial teams as traditional publishers, but investing in a round or two of professional edits can really go a long way. I’m not here to nitpick typos or grammar or even the eloquence of individual sentences, but suggesting an editorial eye to aid the guiding hand for the readers. It also really needs a trans sensitivity reader, which I’ll get into. But let’s break my specific thoughts on this book down.
The strongest part of this book from the very beginning is without a doubt the world-building. I have always been taught in history classes that the best way to learn about a culture is through learning about the way they treat their dead. And this book so brilliantly uses this society’s cultural beliefs and practices around the dead as an introduction to this world. It instantly sets up so much context for the audience about where this society places their values and their fears and their hopes. I honestly wish more books would include death culture, and that more books would center their world-building around death culture the way this one does. And frankly, all the elements of the world-building are just cool as hell. The titular silver birds are so mysterious and terrifying and the grandiosity of their stamp on this island's day-to-day life earns them the title of this book. They’re so fucked up and scary. And I loved them from first sight. This is true of a lot of the woodsy and natural elements. From vampire trees to poisonous fog, I adored each magical element that seep into this world. They feel so distinct yet share a common language across the narrative to create a really well-defined and unique environment. And these elements don't just hover in the world but are really well woven into the plot! So often books that are interested in creating lush and complex environments for their stories forget to have those environments hold a relationship to the story itself, but Lucy’s tact is so well done here.
However, in guiding us through these environments, I wish this book felt more comfortable taking up space with its descriptors. This world is so lush and has the potential to be suffocatingly atmospheric (complimentary) but seems timid to luxuriate in its imagery. Unfortunately, Lucy has a consistent habit in her writing of half-showing, half-telling. What I mean by this is that Lucy will toss out a very brief description or a reference to a visual in a matter of fact manner and then immediately follow it with a thought from the protagonist that tells us how she feels (and therefore how we should feel) about that descriptor. But instead of this tactic amplifying the impact of the image by adding the perspective of the protagonist, it sort of halves the impact of both with a one bird, two stones situation. It feels wasteful and redundant, and makes the work read younger than it is, as I felt like I was being handheld through the story. I really wanted Lucy to just take her time describing the images and ideas she created, and allow the protagonist's feelings about them to speak through the descriptive writing. I think the author deserves to trust her story more and trust that we will be suspicious at suspicious behavior or repulsed by grotesque body horror or compelled by new circumstances. With all the work put in to create cool imagery and delicious circumstances, I wanted to get to breathe in it or feel immersed in it.
And just to quickly note, because I can’t find another place to insert this: the MC’s internal dialogue (and the few bits of dialogue spoken to herself) needs to be cut down by 90%. They are incredibly redundant and come across as really juvenile, and unfortunately really eclipse any other attempt at tone or atmosphere or subtle character work.
I think the second strongest element of this book is its plot. The reveals and the action towards the end of the book feel extremely climactic and really shift the tone a lot in a way that almost (just almost!) feels a little too out of nowhere, but the seeds of those plot points are planted so tightly from the beginning. I found myself really honestly hooked by each reveal and element. Nothing is too obvious or too unguessable, but the perfect balance of both.
My note on the plot, however, is that the journey through it is in need of some more streamlining. There are whole scenes that decidedly needed to be cut (I’m actually still spinning over the scene where they randomly discuss their overly modern coffee orders that completely ripped me out of the story! What do you mean a lavender latte with white chocolate and lavender syrup? Why do they have an espresso machine? And espresso? Isn’t this a secluded pre-tech fantasy island world?) but it’s more that the order of events needed to be more organized and deliberate. The first couple chapters of the book start out really strong in this way (though I will say the timeline of the days feel a little confusing and rushed) but then we kind of lose the full plot until a little over half way through. Through the first half of the book, each chapter feels like it meanders away or even leaps away from the one before it, and it was often very hard for me to keep track of the narrative priority or the urgency of the stakes and circumstances at any given time. The characters would set out to accomplish a task, and before that task is accomplished, something new would happen action-wise. And then before they could fully react to that thing, or even complete the task before, something else would happen! Until we have this pile of things that need to be addressed or that the characters need to do or that are impacting the story, but it was hard to keep track of what had been addressed or completed or integrated into the world at that point in the story and which we needed to be thinking about at each moment. And it made it feel like a whole lot was happening (there was constant high-octane action that was really thrilling and helpful to the world-building) but with little to no narrative progress.
I now definitely need to talk about the romance. This element harbors such a roller-coaster of opinions for me, and you might have seen my updates on it (the first being me complaining that this was being marketed as an enemies-to-lovers romance when it isn’t, the second one saying that I was wrong and that it is actually enemies-to-lovers, and then the third saying that I love when lesbians stab each other). It’s going to be kind of hard to talk about this element without spoiling, so I guess spoilers in terms of very broad strokes. I won’t give away any Actual Plot Things, but feel free to skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to read that.
Essentially, the enemy element in this enemies-to-lovers only becomes known to the audience retrospectively later on in the book as we gain more backstory and context after a reveal. And so though they are enemies to lovers, we don’t know that until they’re no longer actively enemies. And frankly, that retrospective view of their relationship is really scrumptious on its own. But it’s clear that Lucy wanted to have her cake and eat it too—to still have the standard arc and dynamics of the enemies-to-lovers trope, even before the enemy part has been made known. And this essentially just results in a hate-to-love dynamic in which the hate feels really unearned and disproportionate, which in turn makes the characters feel unbelievably immature (exacerbated by the redundant and jarring internal dialogue). The main character is incredibly suspicious of the love interest and I think if she perhaps tried to investigate her suspicions about the love interest’s behavior by getting close to her or plotting quietly against her, it would create the tension that Lucy is attempting to build, instead of that tension being sliced through by the main character's immediate and disruptive anger and finger pointing. I think it would keep the payoff (or even make it greater) without cheapening the impact for the sake of sticking to the cookie cutter trends of the trope. Trope elements don’t exist as rules but as tools to serve a story. And they didn't serve this one.
The romance really does have incredible!! chemistry by the end of the book. Though I may have had a few line edits or ideas to make some moments bloom even further, I was absolutely squirming and screaming with some of the climactic plot elements and the way they entangle with the complexities of the romance. The tension not only between the characters but between loyalties and trust and love and self-preservation peak in such a perfect way, exactly the way an ideal and well-structured enemies-to-lovers arc should. My god. I love when lesbians stab each other and I won’t say anymore than that. (🫀!!!!)
Okay. I do think I have to comment on the trans rep though because I do have an issue with it, and it’s going to take a bit of explaining. No spoilers here, I promise. So essentially the main character’s best friend is a man who was born AMAB, but when he was a kid, his parents opened a stolen treasure chest and this treasure chest transformed his body into a traditionally AFAB body, while he still maintained his identity and memories and selfhood. I mean, sure. Upon this first introduction of this backstory, I would consider this more of a trans-aligned experience than a trans character. It reminded me mostly of that random arc of Wizards of Waverly Place where Max gets turned into a little girl, or maybe of the types of people who become forcibly transitioned for one reason or another as children (being intersex, having an accident that impacts their genitals, etc. These things happen, and they have a relationship to trans experiences, but I wouldn’t necessarily label them as trans definitively). This then gets brought up one other time, when another character is accusing this character of murdering his brother (which he didn’t do). This character misgenders him, makes some comments about his genitals, and suggests that the people of the village believe that he is lying about the curse and that he was actually AFAB but the curse made him believe he is a man. (Obviously, I don’t need to say that if someone believes they’re a man, they are one.) And then that is all that’s ever said about this character’s gender. And so. I take qualms. Because the treatment of this character shows that for all intents and purposes in this world, he is framed as a trans man, but also was born as a man. And that extra step of being actually AMAB is then used as a justification to legitimize his identity as a man. When he shouldn’t have to be AMAB to be legitimate in his identity as a man, obviously. So even though I can tell the author is trying to be trans-positive and trans-inclusive, this extra magical background just 1. unnecessarily sensationalizes and mythologizes his transness and 2. pushes the idea that his identity as a man relies on the truth of his biological identification at birth aligning with his gender despite his current biological and genital status. There’s no reason why he couldn’t literally just be a trans man. Trans people can exist in fantasy stories without magical interference.
It is then worth pointing out two other issues with this element: 1. The transphobia in this story only exists to show that the character who wields it is a jerk. So, frankly, unnecessary and therefore inappropriate. 2. The transness of the character is framed as a curse. Enough said on that I think.
I want to be clear in my critique about the trans rep. It’s such a small part of the story that I wouldn’t at all use it as a tool with which to gauge this book’s quality and I’m not trying to say this book is harmful (I wish I didn’t have to give this disclaimer but the internet is the internet and I don’t want people running around calling this whole book transphobic because I think the approach to the trans character is poorly done). To me, it read as though the author was earnestly trying to provide some casual but visible trans representation, but just overthought the way it would need to fit into the fantasy world or tried to overwrite the backstory when trans people can just be trans people. And unfortunately, that caused it to have the opposite effect than likely intended.
All in all, I have a very torn feeling over this book. I think it really holds the heart of something meaty and delicious and so perfect for me, with monstrous nature elements, gloriously grotesque body horror, lush wintery woodsy environments, and a tension-filled sapphic romance. There’s a world in which I’m head over heels for this book. It’s the first one in months and months that has made me want to make a playlist (I was building a soundtrack in my head starting with The Garden by The Crane Wives!!) and tons of fanart. The world and the romance are so unique and full of so much gorgeous and haunting imagery that I can only imagine I’ll be thinking about to a feral degree. But I’m held back from feeling all that obsession and overflowing love for it by the elements that drag it down and render large chunks of it ineffective. As I said, it just didn’t feel ready to be out in the world, and needs a few more drafts (with some eyes, both professional and non-professional) to help shape its impact into the sharp and succulent blade of the tale this could be. I hope it gets reworked someday.
CW: violence, blood & gore, body horror, death, grief, death of father, animal death, dead bodies (including of a stillborn), injury detail, torture, amputation, insects, poison, misgendering, transphobia
September 28, 2023
‘On a cursed island where birds steal hearts and blades of grass cut sharper than knives, two young women driven by revenge take on solving a series of mysterious deaths.’
This. Book. Had. Me. At. The. Throat.
Apolline Lucy’s writing was beyond lyrical, to the point I was ensnared in her own words and beautiful worldbuilding of this dismal, small village plagued by the bloodthirsty eyes of terrifying birds and the woods they inhabit.
The main character River was the best part of the story; her hunger, passion and the drive she had as the sister of the family (alexa play Labour by Paris Paloma) really hit me as one myself. And the snarky and passive aggressive relationship she had with the mysterious, Rosen was honestly—at times utterly hilarious—but heart wrenching.
The pace of the book, the story, the sapphic enemies to lovers (WHERE THEY DO ACTUALLY HATE EACH OTHER) was beyond amazing—I couldn’t put it down.
If you love gothic woods, sapphic enemies to lovers, and terrifying birds with an inkling for stealing hearts… You’ll ADORE this book!
This. Book. Had. Me. At. The. Throat.
Apolline Lucy’s writing was beyond lyrical, to the point I was ensnared in her own words and beautiful worldbuilding of this dismal, small village plagued by the bloodthirsty eyes of terrifying birds and the woods they inhabit.
The main character River was the best part of the story; her hunger, passion and the drive she had as the sister of the family (alexa play Labour by Paris Paloma) really hit me as one myself. And the snarky and passive aggressive relationship she had with the mysterious, Rosen was honestly—at times utterly hilarious—but heart wrenching.
The pace of the book, the story, the sapphic enemies to lovers (WHERE THEY DO ACTUALLY HATE EACH OTHER) was beyond amazing—I couldn’t put it down.
If you love gothic woods, sapphic enemies to lovers, and terrifying birds with an inkling for stealing hearts… You’ll ADORE this book!
September 30, 2023
This is THE book to read during a foggy day, a cup of coffee in your hands, soft piano music in the background!
I've had the opportunity to read the 2nd draft of this book, and let me tell you... it's amazing!
The book starts strong, in a gloomy and wintery atmosphere, and keeps us going all the way to the end.
The plot twists are so cool and there is just the right amount of humour (Seti my beloved).
The main character is far from being a perfect human being, but you can't help rooting for her (and laughing because she really needs to chill haha).
And THE COVER?! Perfection.
I've had the opportunity to read the 2nd draft of this book, and let me tell you... it's amazing!
The book starts strong, in a gloomy and wintery atmosphere, and keeps us going all the way to the end.
The plot twists are so cool and there is just the right amount of humour (Seti my beloved).
The main character is far from being a perfect human being, but you can't help rooting for her (and laughing because she really needs to chill haha).
And THE COVER?! Perfection.
November 6, 2023
LETS GO LESBIANS
The silver birds took me by total surprise. I expected cosy enemies to lovers in the woods. Instead I got ENEMIES to maybe allies to perhaps more, in a gruesome setting with weird magic and unsettling characters.
Damn I loved it.
ALSO THERE IS A SAPPHIC ROMANCE.
They even try to kill each other at some point. Loved this. 🥰
Highly recommend this.
The silver birds took me by total surprise. I expected cosy enemies to lovers in the woods. Instead I got ENEMIES to maybe allies to perhaps more, in a gruesome setting with weird magic and unsettling characters.
Damn I loved it.
ALSO THERE IS A SAPPHIC ROMANCE.
They even try to kill each other at some point. Loved this. 🥰
Highly recommend this.
October 18, 2023
does it counts as one of my spooky reads...? anyway
October 19, 2023
Um, where is the recognition that this book deserves?
This is a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance and fantasy
This book was amazing. It kept me glued throughout.
I loved the characters and they were all well developed.
I didn't like Lake the MC's brother, he got on my nerves a little bit, but that's a personal issue.
Plot twist after another. This is a great book.
definitely recommend.
This is a sapphic enemies-to-lovers romance and fantasy
This book was amazing. It kept me glued throughout.
I loved the characters and they were all well developed.
I didn't like Lake the MC's brother, he got on my nerves a little bit, but that's a personal issue.
Plot twist after another. This is a great book.
definitely recommend.
January 26, 2026
Criminally underhyped!!
March 31, 2024
just get a scarecrow or smth pussies
October 10, 2023
Please don’t let my rating deter you from reading this book! It didn’t fully work for me, but I still think the book was enjoyable and I’m interested in reading this author’s future work!
“The Silver Birds” starts off quickly. I really enjoyed the fast pace of the beginning. However, the book kind of lost me at some point, and I can’t fully explain why. 😕 One factor that didn’t really help me stay invested was the fact that River’s brother’s disappearance (that’s mentioned in the synopsis) only happens at 30-something %, meaning it took over a third the book to establish what we already knew was going to happen.
This would’ve been fine if the book had managed to keep my interest throughout the rest of the story, but unfortunately I got a little bored, and I genuinely can’t explain why. I think the story is so interesting!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know why I didn’t love it more! 😭💔 Unfortunately, I was also not super engrossed in the romance (I literally didn’t care at all about it), so that also wasn’t enough to keep my interest… ☹
With that said, I think this book did a lot of things right: I liked the characters, the setting was very atmospheric, the magic was quite unique (), the story itself was quite interesting (even though the way it was told didn’t fully work for me), and I really enjoyed the themes of forgiveness.
Other things:
➼ This book is categorized as “adult” and “dark”, but I don’t think it is anything too crazy, and I feel like it’s quite accessible to most people who read YA.
➼ I did find some typos (more than I usually do, even in self-published books), and some of them made me think the author’s first language isn’t English. Come to find out that, yes, she is actually French, which made sense. I don’t think the grammar mistakes made this book unreadable by any means, though! And I don’t really mind looking past that when a book is self-published. 🙂
➼ Rosen’s hair is described as “blonde” or “strawberry”, but in the cover she’s a full-on redhead. How dare! 😤 (/lh)
➼ I really appreciate the TWs at the start!
“The Silver Birds” starts off quickly. I really enjoyed the fast pace of the beginning. However, the book kind of lost me at some point, and I can’t fully explain why. 😕 One factor that didn’t really help me stay invested was the fact that River’s brother’s disappearance (that’s mentioned in the synopsis) only happens at 30-something %, meaning it took over a third the book to establish what we already knew was going to happen.
This would’ve been fine if the book had managed to keep my interest throughout the rest of the story, but unfortunately I got a little bored, and I genuinely can’t explain why. I think the story is so interesting!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know why I didn’t love it more! 😭💔 Unfortunately, I was also not super engrossed in the romance (I literally didn’t care at all about it), so that also wasn’t enough to keep my interest… ☹
With that said, I think this book did a lot of things right: I liked the characters, the setting was very atmospheric, the magic was quite unique (), the story itself was quite interesting (even though the way it was told didn’t fully work for me), and I really enjoyed the themes of forgiveness.
Other things:
➼ This book is categorized as “adult” and “dark”, but I don’t think it is anything too crazy, and I feel like it’s quite accessible to most people who read YA.
➼ I did find some typos (more than I usually do, even in self-published books), and some of them made me think the author’s first language isn’t English. Come to find out that, yes, she is actually French, which made sense. I don’t think the grammar mistakes made this book unreadable by any means, though! And I don’t really mind looking past that when a book is self-published. 🙂
➼ Rosen’s hair is described as “blonde” or “strawberry”, but in the cover she’s a full-on redhead. How dare! 😤 (/lh)
➼ I really appreciate the TWs at the start!
February 19, 2025
was it casual when you literally gave me your heart to save my life
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
March 21, 2025just imagined this book with a solid editor and a few rounds of edits and sighed
September 29, 2025
Compelling, a nice balance between expected and unexpected, good rhythm, and magic sapphics ✨
September 5, 2023
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. it gripped me early on and I was engaged until the end.
The Characters were extremely well written, i found them well characterized throughout and even though i found some character decisions frustrating they were understandable.
My only negative thoughts were towards the Ending:
Also, some Trigger warnings:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. it gripped me early on and I was engaged until the end.
The Characters were extremely well written, i found them well characterized throughout and even though i found some character decisions frustrating they were understandable.
My only negative thoughts were towards the Ending:
Also, some Trigger warnings:
May 21, 2024
I must say that it took me some time in the beggining to get into it, but by the middle I was elaborating many theories of what could happen next in my head. I have to give this book 4 stars because even if I'm not a fantasy reader, I enjoyed it a lot.
I was a bit surprised by the British writing, as I am used to see words written the American way, but I learned a few things out of it hahaha (Offence, defence, colour, honour). I'm very proud that my friend wrote this debut novel and got to being published!
I was a bit surprised by the British writing, as I am used to see words written the American way, but I learned a few things out of it hahaha (Offence, defence, colour, honour). I'm very proud that my friend wrote this debut novel and got to being published!
December 14, 2023
Dnfed after chapter one, but I suggest you try this one
- The writing was okay. But not enough to charm me
- I am a fan of grave robbing, so bonus points for that. BUT.. what I missed was details that could really immerse me into the story and make me feel
- What I am saying is that I am dnfing for the writing, even though the story would perhaps be up my alley
If you're not specifically looking for high quality writing, like I am, you might like this
- The writing was okay. But not enough to charm me
- I am a fan of grave robbing, so bonus points for that. BUT.. what I missed was details that could really immerse me into the story and make me feel
- What I am saying is that I am dnfing for the writing, even though the story would perhaps be up my alley
If you're not specifically looking for high quality writing, like I am, you might like this
September 16, 2024
I think i'm in love with this book. Like, i'm not a native in english language, but this fact was not a barrier for me. River and Rosen? Chef Kiss baby
September 28, 2023
I read a lot of fantasy so I was curious about this book and requested an advanced reader copy. I have decided to give it three stars because I felt the structure, central relationship, and wordbuilding had some flaws. I think it could be an enjoyable read perhaps for teen readers who are looking for a fun episodic kind of adventure, with some nice plot twists, and not sticklers for the details.
I felt the book started strong, creating a woodsy winter pre-industrial atmosphere akin to The Bear and The Nightingale or Spinning Silver. The protagonist then takes actions that set off a serious of misadventures, and the plot continues in that pattern, one misadventure or near death experience after another until the end of the book, accompanied by a relationship between River and Rosen where River fluctuates between do I love you / do I hate you as many times as she almost dies. Because of this, the tension in the novel did not feel like it compounded and escalated to a climax; rather after the first few of these oscillations I saw the pattern and became emotionally checked out; it doesn’t matter if River is wounded again because she never stays wounded; it doesn’t matter if she says she likes Rosen because she has proven fundamentally inconsistent and often downright cruel. This issue mainly affected the very long middle of the book; the ending did have some character development and mostly satisfied me.
There were wonderfully developed characters and relationships in the book; River and Lake, River and Seti, Rue. In particular the interactions between River and Seti were enjoyable and realistic, and Seti reminded me of Jasper from Six of Crows.
Unfortunately I felt the relationship between River and Rosen was the least authentic. It is hard to articulate why but ties into the confusion I mentioned earlier where the characters oscillate emotionally so much it becomes a bit incomprehensible. It also felt that they were being moved through genre tropes rather than being driven by their own actions and being developed as characters. Thus they also feel less well defined. (There were places where dialogue between Rosen and River was not clearly tagged and I could not tell who was speaking.) Finally I’m not convinced I even support this relationship! River is consistently mean throughout the book, and Rosen is consistently nice. Can’t Rosen do better?
The last thing I’ll mention is world building. This is: if it’s fun it’ll be included, even if it’s a bit cartoonish or anachronistic. The characters drink lattes, the spiders have teeth (and possibly bloodshot eyes?) and the lightning is yellow. I think this would have worked for me if I had more of that flavor in the beginning. Rather I was set up for something dark and by the end it felt like a young adult story.
I felt the book started strong, creating a woodsy winter pre-industrial atmosphere akin to The Bear and The Nightingale or Spinning Silver. The protagonist then takes actions that set off a serious of misadventures, and the plot continues in that pattern, one misadventure or near death experience after another until the end of the book, accompanied by a relationship between River and Rosen where River fluctuates between do I love you / do I hate you as many times as she almost dies. Because of this, the tension in the novel did not feel like it compounded and escalated to a climax; rather after the first few of these oscillations I saw the pattern and became emotionally checked out; it doesn’t matter if River is wounded again because she never stays wounded; it doesn’t matter if she says she likes Rosen because she has proven fundamentally inconsistent and often downright cruel. This issue mainly affected the very long middle of the book; the ending did have some character development and mostly satisfied me.
There were wonderfully developed characters and relationships in the book; River and Lake, River and Seti, Rue. In particular the interactions between River and Seti were enjoyable and realistic, and Seti reminded me of Jasper from Six of Crows.
Unfortunately I felt the relationship between River and Rosen was the least authentic. It is hard to articulate why but ties into the confusion I mentioned earlier where the characters oscillate emotionally so much it becomes a bit incomprehensible. It also felt that they were being moved through genre tropes rather than being driven by their own actions and being developed as characters. Thus they also feel less well defined. (There were places where dialogue between Rosen and River was not clearly tagged and I could not tell who was speaking.) Finally I’m not convinced I even support this relationship! River is consistently mean throughout the book, and Rosen is consistently nice. Can’t Rosen do better?
The last thing I’ll mention is world building. This is: if it’s fun it’ll be included, even if it’s a bit cartoonish or anachronistic. The characters drink lattes, the spiders have teeth (and possibly bloodshot eyes?) and the lightning is yellow. I think this would have worked for me if I had more of that flavor in the beginning. Rather I was set up for something dark and by the end it felt like a young adult story.
January 19, 2025
I got it in hardback to further support a fellow vegan writer!♡
So, I knew that whatever followed The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen night was going to have a hard time, but I think that under normal circumstances this would still have had some issues.
While I think it’s a good autumnal read, the writing is quite simple and straight forward, kinda spoon-fed, there’s spelling mistakes, a double or triple space, a missing quotation mark, and the setting is slightly confusing? I thought this was a sort of medieval fantasy, but they’re drinking lattes and using slang like vibes and wild and it’s just confusing.
To be fair, this is a debut self-published novel, so I don’t think it’s bad at all, it’s just that I love eloquent writing styles, archaic language, and to have to look up words on the dictionary lmao
Now, for the plot and characters: I liked it! There’s room for improvement but I thought it was original and I loved the scenery. A perfect aesthetic-based summary would be: woods, lavender, flowers, coffee, crows…
But certain aspects of the main relationship were… well.
[spoilers ahead!]
River kills Rosen’s sister and she simply forgives her because she falls for her? when they even met in the first place because she’s sent to kill her? I just don’t think it’s believable, if it weren’t so whimsical this would be messed up. and I’m fine with messed up, I’m just traumatised and I felt like this was a bit disrespectful.
So, I knew that whatever followed The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen night was going to have a hard time, but I think that under normal circumstances this would still have had some issues.
While I think it’s a good autumnal read, the writing is quite simple and straight forward, kinda spoon-fed, there’s spelling mistakes, a double or triple space, a missing quotation mark, and the setting is slightly confusing? I thought this was a sort of medieval fantasy, but they’re drinking lattes and using slang like vibes and wild and it’s just confusing.
To be fair, this is a debut self-published novel, so I don’t think it’s bad at all, it’s just that I love eloquent writing styles, archaic language, and to have to look up words on the dictionary lmao
Now, for the plot and characters: I liked it! There’s room for improvement but I thought it was original and I loved the scenery. A perfect aesthetic-based summary would be: woods, lavender, flowers, coffee, crows…
But certain aspects of the main relationship were… well.
[spoilers ahead!]
River kills Rosen’s sister and she simply forgives her because she falls for her? when they even met in the first place because she’s sent to kill her? I just don’t think it’s believable, if it weren’t so whimsical this would be messed up. and I’m fine with messed up, I’m just traumatised and I felt like this was a bit disrespectful.
November 16, 2024
I am so torn between 2.5 and 3 stars. I was excited to read this since the summary was very intriguing. The pacing in the story fell flat. There were times when I felt like this was a horror novel, and other times when it read a little like YA romance. The nauseating atmosphere was on point for a gothic novel. But I just couldn't get into the romance. They went from enemies to insta-love. Rosen is willing to throw away her whole life and family away for a stranger that brutally killed her sister, and the FMC didn't seem bothered that her love interest has spent her life consuming corpses and took a part in murdering her dad. Its also unbelievable to me that the gravedigger and everyone else is quick to forgive that the FMC caused their entire village to be destroyed beyond recognition and the reason many people were killed. There were a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes.
The worst part of this book was that River and Rosen had plot armor that brought them back from death over and over again. Because of this, there was a lack of tension and stakes. The climax of the book was in the middle, and then it just dragged on and on from there. I also felt like there were missed opportunities to explore the trauma the characters face in the story, as well as the reality of the silver coven witches enslaved to the will of Silva.
The worst part of this book was that River and Rosen had plot armor that brought them back from death over and over again. Because of this, there was a lack of tension and stakes. The climax of the book was in the middle, and then it just dragged on and on from there. I also felt like there were missed opportunities to explore the trauma the characters face in the story, as well as the reality of the silver coven witches enslaved to the will of Silva.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2024
The Silver Birds had an almost gothic horror vibe to it due to the atmosphere. Bizarrely, it reminded me of Jane Eye 2011 with a hint of Crimson Peak just based on the gloomy atmosphere. The murky overcast had a sense of despair and really added to the situation. The weather and surroundings developed the tone of the story.
The plot was interesting but I really wish there was more depth to some of the witch elements. The vicious silver birds created mystery and the ruthlessness of our main character, River was compelling. When it came down to get things done, River was a fierce main character and willing to do the gory necessary acts to save others. I was engrossed at some parts more than others - especially the second third of the book was gripping with the plot twists. The further development of the characters made this a fascinating read but I wish it was explored more.
The romance was great, with the longing and slow burn between River and Rosen. I liked that River was in denial pretty much until the last third of the story. It felt real and true to her character along with the situation.
Overall, a riveting story about silver birds, witches and actions that lead to the eventual moments playing out. 3.75 ⭐ potentially 4 stars.
The plot was interesting but I really wish there was more depth to some of the witch elements. The vicious silver birds created mystery and the ruthlessness of our main character, River was compelling. When it came down to get things done, River was a fierce main character and willing to do the gory necessary acts to save others. I was engrossed at some parts more than others - especially the second third of the book was gripping with the plot twists. The further development of the characters made this a fascinating read but I wish it was explored more.
The romance was great, with the longing and slow burn between River and Rosen. I liked that River was in denial pretty much until the last third of the story. It felt real and true to her character along with the situation.
Overall, a riveting story about silver birds, witches and actions that lead to the eventual moments playing out. 3.75 ⭐ potentially 4 stars.
January 9, 2024
this book was compelling in its story, graceful it its atmosphere, and woven together with the knowledge of an author that truly understands craft. for a debut indie fantasy novel, this held my attention much more than others picked up recently—there were just a few elements that didn’t complete their depth enough for me to consider it complete. the atmosphere of the book felt like it shifted throughout, perhaps amorphous on purpose, but often felt slightly out or grasp. the sapphic enemies to lovers at the heart of the novel was enticing and endearing, but the character motivations often felt forced or contrived rather than accurate and complete. had we spent more time in both areas, i think it would have had me fully convinced. a wonderful and lyrical body of work, though—i look forward to this author’s next work!
June 6, 2024
check tw before reading
this book has such a cool world! the world building was good but that’s really all i throughly enjoyed from this, and the main reason it’s a 3 and not a 2. it was dark, it was eerie.. it was sapphic!!! trees came alive, flowers chase you through fields and knock on doors, grass fight against the wind to cut you.. but. there were times that it felt like the author didn’t know exactly where they wanted the book to go, and i felt lost. there are grammatical issues, typos, and it probably needs an editor (or a better one)
i also guessed everything that happened, so if you’ve read a lot of fantasy/fantasy romance like me, don’t expect any plot twist to shake you. i’m on the hunt for some good sapphic fanro so even though it’s only a 3 i’m glad i read it and huge points for the insanely eerie world
this book has such a cool world! the world building was good but that’s really all i throughly enjoyed from this, and the main reason it’s a 3 and not a 2. it was dark, it was eerie.. it was sapphic!!! trees came alive, flowers chase you through fields and knock on doors, grass fight against the wind to cut you.. but. there were times that it felt like the author didn’t know exactly where they wanted the book to go, and i felt lost. there are grammatical issues, typos, and it probably needs an editor (or a better one)
i also guessed everything that happened, so if you’ve read a lot of fantasy/fantasy romance like me, don’t expect any plot twist to shake you. i’m on the hunt for some good sapphic fanro so even though it’s only a 3 i’m glad i read it and huge points for the insanely eerie world
August 11, 2024
I wanted to love this because I loved the cover, and mysterious sapphic fantasy? Sign me up! Unfortunately, this had a lot of issues. First of all, I understand that the author's first language is not English and this is Self-Pub so understandable, a couple grammatical issues slipped through. The bigger issue though was that this is a vaguely historical fantasy setting, but the speech of the characters felt very contemporary and it threw me off. The worldbuilding also felt very thin with some cool concepts, like the idea the village has that the soul resides in the heart which informs their burial practices, but generall it didn't feel like there was much thought or development of what the world is like and how it works. Like at one point they got lattes? The magic similarly didn't feel well developed and some plot twists and devices at the end felt out of nowhere.
Read
January 4, 2024I'm not rating it because it doesn't have many reviews and I don't want to stress the author.
This book was plucked from my brain. Did I you guys know I'm terrified of flowers?
It's a mystery - horror-fantasy-romance book, with lesbians and plants and a LOT of birds.
I had the same feeling as watching Nausicaa, but with murders and blood.
I loved all the characters, and the FMC was messy and relatable.
The whole book felt like a fever dream, and by the end I still couldn't picture the setting. The characters fought with dagger and sabre... But drink latte and wear jeans?
This book was plucked from my brain. Did I you guys know I'm terrified of flowers?
It's a mystery - horror-fantasy-romance book, with lesbians and plants and a LOT of birds.
I had the same feeling as watching Nausicaa, but with murders and blood.
I loved all the characters, and the FMC was messy and relatable.
The whole book felt like a fever dream, and by the end I still couldn't picture the setting. The characters fought with dagger and sabre... But drink latte and wear jeans?
November 16, 2023
damn
Dark, sweet, twisty, fantasy
For any spooky bitches out there, this is for you.
For any fantasy seekers, this is for you.
For anyone looking for enemies to lovers, sworn worthy moments, this for you.
For anyone who loves a plot along with their romance, this is for you.
Glad there isn’t a sequel (no idea btw but it doesn’t look like it) because I’m excited to see what other worlds the author can show us. I’m first in line.
Dark, sweet, twisty, fantasy
For any spooky bitches out there, this is for you.
For any fantasy seekers, this is for you.
For anyone looking for enemies to lovers, sworn worthy moments, this for you.
For anyone who loves a plot along with their romance, this is for you.
Glad there isn’t a sequel (no idea btw but it doesn’t look like it) because I’m excited to see what other worlds the author can show us. I’m first in line.
September 4, 2023
This was a very interesting read ! Its a mix of horror, adventure and mystery, with some very hilarious and touching moment. The very first sentences throw you into the story and you just cant stop reading ! The characters are so unique and touching. And omg, the writing is outstanding for someone who isn’t born an English speaking !!! Loved it.
June 11, 2024
Between a magic system that feels refreshing in the way it interacts with the world and the actually good queer characters there isn't much more I could have asked from this book
Speaks volumes that I was surprised to find out this is a debut novel as well, definitely read like it was from a seasoned author
Speaks volumes that I was surprised to find out this is a debut novel as well, definitely read like it was from a seasoned author
July 17, 2024
3.5 ⭐
I enjoyed this!
Positives: Rosen is super cool; their romance made my heart happy :); I enjoyed the mystery and increasing gore as the story progressed.
Negatives: Magic system definitely has some continuity errors; a bit too many spelling errors; River's ability to forget crucial, life-changing events that happened to her days prior is infuriating.
I enjoyed this!
Positives: Rosen is super cool; their romance made my heart happy :); I enjoyed the mystery and increasing gore as the story progressed.
Negatives: Magic system definitely has some continuity errors; a bit too many spelling errors; River's ability to forget crucial, life-changing events that happened to her days prior is infuriating.
January 19, 2024
THIS WAS SO INCREDIBLE. I CANNOT EVEM DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I ATE UP EACH AND EVERY PAGE. every character (minus svea…) became so dear to me & the plot?? the reveals?? the lore?? DEVOURED. if you’re wondering if you should read this: YES YES YES. DO IT FOR THE SAPPHICS.
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