Crown Of Feathers

In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart. Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks. Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And, meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders' return and intends to destroy them once and for all. Crown of Feathers is an epic fantasy about love's incredible power to save or to destroy. Throughout is interspersed the story of Avalkyra Ashfire, the last Rider Queen, who would rather see her empire burn than fall into her sister's hands. PRAISE FOR CROWN OF FEATHERS "Draws you in with the first flaming feather and doesn't let go." - Kendare Blake "A feast of magic, action, and romance." - Elly Blake "A fierce and incendiary tale of warrior women, sisterhood, and the choices that define us." - Lisa Maxwell "A beautifully told story about justice, sisterhood, and warrior women. This richly woven world had me turning pages well into the night. Nicki Pau Preto is one to watch." - Shea Ernshaw "The unique and imaginative world of the Phoenix Riders had my rapt attention from the first sentence. Nicki Pau Preto is a bright new talent, and I can't wait to read more!"- Morgan Rhodes "An action-packed adventure that will leave fans of epic fantasies eager to find out more. The ending is the perfect setup for a sequel." - School Library Journal "This is a new twist on fantasy favorites, and Pau Preto's first novel is as ambitious as it is lyrical." - Booklist "Epic in the truest sense . . . it's the perfect series kickoff." - Quill and Quire "Debut author Pau Preto's series opener steadily gathers steam before closing with a pulse-pounding crescendo. Veronica, Tristan, and conflicted imperial soldier Sev trade chapters, their stories interweaving to heighten tension, deepen character, and illustrate the importance of empathy, equality, community, and knowing one's own truth." - Publisher's Weekly

The world is balanced on the edge of a knife, and war is almost certain between the empire and the Phoenix Riders. Veronyka finally got her wish to join the Riders, but while she's supposed to be in training, all she really wants to do is fly out to defend the villages of Pyra from the advancing empire. Tristan has been promoted to Master Rider, but he has very different ideas about the best way to protect their people than his father, the commander. Sev has been sent to spy on the empire, but maintaining his cover may force him to fight on the wrong side of the war. And Veronyka's sister, Val, is determined to regain the empire she lost--even if it means inciting the war herself. As tensions reach a boiling point, the characters all find themselves drawn together into a fight that will shape the course of the empire--and determine the future of the Phoenix Riders. Each must decide how far they're willing to go--and what they're willing to lose in the process.

In the heart-stopping finale to the Crown of Feathers trilogy, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake calls “absolutely unforgettable,” Veronyka must face her most devastating enemy yet: her own sister. I had a sister, once… ​Veronyka is no longer an orphaned stable boy or a nameless Phoenix Rider apprentice: she is the daughter of Pheronia Ashfire, the last queen of the Golden Empire…and the niece of Avalkyra Ashfire, the resurrected rebel queen who tore the empire apart. We shone brightly, burned fiercely. Now that the secret is out, everyone at the Eyrie treats Veronyka differently, and with Tristan still a hostage of the scheming Lord Rolan—and Sev with him as a spy—Veronyka feels very much alone. Except for her beloved phoenix, Xephyra, of course, and her new friend, Kade, who has his own reasons for wanting to save Tristan. Was it always going to come down to this? Sister against sister? Darkness against light? Veronyka is determined to do whatever it takes to get Tristan back, even if that means revealing her identity to the world and inheriting a throne she’s not sure she wants. But when she discovers that Avalkyra has bonded with a strix—a legendary creature of darkness that feeds off the life force of others—Veronyka realizes she has more to deal with than an encroaching war with the empire. Val is willing to destroy everything to get her revenge on a world that rejected her, and if Veronyka wants to bring peace to the empire and Pyra alike, she must face down her sister once and for all. The world began with Ashfire queens…perhaps they will also be its destruction.

“A beautifully told story about justice, sisterhood, and warrior women.” —Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep The “absolutely unforgettable” (Kendare Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Crown of Feathers fantasy trilogy about a teen girl who disguises herself as a boy to join a group of elite warriors who ride phoenixes is now available in a collectible paperback boxed set. I had a sister, once… In a world ruled by fierce warrior queens, a grand empire was built upon the backs of Phoenix Riders—legendary heroes who soared through the sky on wings of fire—until a war between two sisters ripped it all apart. I promised her the throne would not come between us. Sixteen years later, Veronyka is a war orphan who dreams of becoming a Phoenix Rider from the stories of old. After a shocking betrayal from her controlling sister, Veronyka strikes out alone to find the Riders—even if that means disguising herself as a boy to join their ranks. But it is a fact of life that one must kill or be killed. Rule or be ruled. Just as Veronyka finally feels like she belongs, her sister turns up and reveals a tangled web of lies between them that will change everything. And meanwhile, the new empire has learned of the Riders’ return and intends to destroy them once and for all. Sometimes the title of queen is given. Sometimes it must be taken. This adventurous paperback boxed set includes: Crown of Feathers Heart of Flames Wings of Shadow

A New York Times bestseller. “A wickedly chilling debut.” —School Library Journal “Complex and sweetly satisfying.” —Booklist “Prepare to be bewitched.” —Paula Stokes, author of Girl Against the Universe “A story about the redemptive power of love.” —Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be “Eerie and enchanting.” —Jessica Spotswood, author of The Cahill Witch Chronicles Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials in this haunting story about three sisters on a quest for revenge—and how love may be the only thing powerful enough to stop them. Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow… Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek their revenge, luring boys into the harbor and pulling them under. Like many locals, seventeen-year-old Penny Talbot has accepted the fate of the town. But this year, on the eve of the sisters’ return, a boy named Bo Carter arrives; unaware of the danger he has just stumbled into. Mistrust and lies spread quickly through the salty, rain-soaked streets. The townspeople turn against one another. Penny and Bo suspect each other of hiding secrets. And death comes swiftly to those who cannot resist the call of the sisters. But only Penny sees what others cannot. And she will be forced to choose: save Bo, or save herself.

Here he is, husband and father, scruffy romantic, a shambolic scholar--a man adrift in the wake of his wife's sudden, accidental death. And there are his two sons who like him struggle in their London apartment to face the unbearable sadness that has engulfed them. The father imagines a future of well-meaning visitors and emptiness, while the boys wander, savage and unsupervised. In this moment of violent despair they are visited by Crow--antagonist, trickster, goad, protector, therapist, and babysitter. This self-described "sentimental bird," at once wild and tender, who "finds humans dull except in grief," threatens to stay with the wounded family until they no longer need him. As weeks turn to months and the pain of loss lessens with the balm of memories, Crow's efforts are rewarded and the little unit of three begins to recover: Dad resumes his book about the poet Ted Hughes; the boys get on with it, grow up. Part novella, part polyphonic fable, part essay on grief, Max Porter's extraordinary debut combines compassion and bravura style to dazzling effect. Full of angular wit and profound truths, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers is a startlingly original and haunting debut by a significant new talent.

Much of the ground on which Canada’s largest metropolitan centre now stands was purchased by the British from the Mississauga Indians for a payment that in the end amounted to ten shillings. Sacred Feathers (1802–1856), or Peter Jones, as he became known in English, grew up hearing countless stories of the treachery in those negotiations, early lessons in the need for Indian vigilance in preserving their land and their rights. Donald B. Smith’s biography of this remarkable Ojibwa leader shows how well those early lessons were learned and how Jones used them to advance the welfare of his people. A groundbreaking book, Sacred Feathers was one of the first biographies of a Canadian Aboriginal to be based on his own writings – drawing on Jones’s letters, diaries, sermons, and his history of the Ojibwas – and the first modern account of the Mississauga Indians. As summarized by M.T. Kelly in Saturday Night when the book was first published in 1988, “This biography achieves something remarkable. Peter Jones emerges from its pages alive. We don’t merely understand him by the book’s end: we know him.”