The Last Feather is a stunning and captivating debut novel written by South African author Shameez Patel Papathanasiou.
I highly recommend this not only to my fellow fantasy lovers but especially to those new to the fantasy genre. SPP has an ease of writing that makes you want to devour the book in one sitting. This is the first book in the Selene Trilogy and it sets the foundation for what I'm sure is going to be a phenomenal series.

We've all probably wondered what it would be like to get transported into a magical fantasy world - well, Cassia is living that dream. Cassia is your average medical student but she just happens to get thrown into a new world or rather, a new realm where there's magic, her missing best friend and a possible cure for her dying sister. With each new character that we are introduced to, SPP ensures that the world and magic system is built on and explored. We learn about the Selene Realm as Cassia learns about it; we get answers as Cassia gets answers and just like us, she has a lot of questions. There are other twists and turns - some of which you may see coming and others not so much. SPP finds a way to keep us on the edge of our seat by making it fun and exciting and a literal world filled with possibilities.

The story captivated me and I'm completely invested in Cassia's story. I went into this with high expectations and it met all of them and then some. I enjoyed the dual POV and it allowed us to look at the Realm from a different perspective of someone who has been there for a few years. I can't wait to see what happens next for this group of characters and I'm eagerly waiting for the announcement of book two (and three).

Highs:
- POC main character,
- Unbreakable friendship that knows no bounds (or in this case realms),
- Found family,
- Morally grey character,
- Unique magic system,
- Vanilla will never smell the same again.

Characters:
- Cassia is smart and strong willed (sometimes to her own detriment) and I hope the next two books builds up her character and I get to know /her/ a bit more rather than just the world around her
- Lucas is a cinnamon roll but I have a lot of questions that need answering
- Lochlan is.. I have nothing to say other than I'm calling dibs so hands off. I have my pen ready and I will fight you off. I need more.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
All opinions are my own.

Described as a portal fantasy with touches of Suzanne Collins, my expectations for this book were sky-high. The premise is good but didn't feel quite as high stakes. Ultimately, it wasn't my cup of tea but might be more for YA fans delving into fantasy.

The world-building was certainly intriguing, a creative take on powers and dimensions. The plights of the people in the Selene Realm were heartbreaking. I can’t help but feel a deeper exploration on the ground might’ve instilled a stronger emotional connection to the Reborn communities or helped me picture them better. My main takeaway was that the Firsts have blue eyes.

Early chapters laid the foundation while framing Cassia as smart, hot, and sough-after, which I don’t really mind, except that the hospital hunk scene felt forced. As admirable as her devotion to her lil sis was, Cassia’s personality didn’t work for me and I was thankful for the dual POV. Xo and Brie stood out to me. I can see Min Jun and Lochlan becoming fan favourites—in fact, Lochlan’s indiscernible motives sustained my curiosity. Because of the short time frame, I can’t consider the group's dynamics as realistic found family, but I like that it’s headed in that direction. Lucas makes for a fitting head of household, over-protectiveness and all, and I feel that his storyline upped the intrigue.

The romantic subplot was charged with tension, teasing, and occasionally cheesy lines that others might enjoy more than I did. Admittedly, romance is a hit-or-miss for me and I could’ve gone without learning about anyone's “firsts”. I struggled to connect to the dialogue overall. Once the pacing picked up, and a particularly layered character appeared, there were some surprising reveals along with the prospect of royal drama (yay!). The story didn’t end on a strong enough note for me, but with hints of more to come and a potentially new POV, there's promise of further development of the heroes, villains, and those in-between.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Last Feather follows Cassia, whose sister is dying and whose best friend has been missing for over four years. To say that she is overwhelmed would be an understatement, and this only gets worse when she ends up in a new realm and is faced with said best friend.

The book was a bit too fast-paced for my liking, but that’s entirely personal preference. There are loads of twists and turns, and it was a very accessible and easy-to-read fantasy. I think it would be a great way for readers to dip their toes into the fantasy genre. At times, I felt like things happened a bit too conveniently, but it was still a solid start to a new fantasy series.

I wish we’d gotten to know a few of the side characters a bit better. However, Cassia was a great main character. I loved that she was so fierce – or rather, fiery ;) – and that she was so driven and kept focusing on her main mission, no matter what else was happening in her life.

As mentioned, this was quite easy to get through given that fantasies can be a bit hard for me to read at times. The dialogue was interesting, and I loved the way the characters interacted with each other. Witty banter is the way to my heart.

I really enjoyed the world, especially because there are wolves. I. Love. Wolves. I think the magic system itself could have been better explained, but given that it’s book one in a series, I get why the author decided to withhold some information. The descriptions of the various settings were expertly done, and I could imagine them very clearly in my head.

I had no idea where the story was going to go in terms of Cassia’s potential love interests, but I am pleased with how it went. I think it could have been cliché and predictable, and I like that the author decided to go in a different direction. I also like that, while there were hints of a romance, it didn’t overpower the book.

Overall, this was a great debut and a good foundation for a fantasy series. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a fantasy that won’t break their brain while they try to understand what’s happening, and also to people who find fantasy a bit boring – this will certainly not bore you.

The Last Feather is packed with action and overflowing with characters that feel so undeniably real and honest. While reading, I found myself drawn in by the immense charm that accompanied every aspect of this story. The character relationships feel genuine, the maturity feels earned, and the world-building feels light but encompassing all at once. This is a delightful read for anyone who is looking to explore a whole new world but not jump into the depths of purposefully dense worldbuilding that sometimes feels like it comprises too much of the fantasy genre.

Quick Summary: Cassia’s sister is dying and no one knows why. Doctors can’t seem to figure it out and her family is forced to sit and watch her slowly die. But Cassia will do anything to save her, so when Cassia wakes up in another realm, not only does she find her best friend, Lucas, but he knows how to save her sister.

The Last Feather is an immensely charming light fantasy debut. The characters are rich and human and their relationships with each other are unique and real. Most strikingly, they are delightfully mature in a refreshing way. Often maturity in fantasy novels feels as if the characters were meant to be older but were written to be young to fit into a demographic of readers. I have never seen such a perfect description of characters who are mature simply because they had to grow up too young. The Last Feather nails this balance right on the head and it is absolutely refreshing.

Papathanasiou also manages to perfectly capture the grief and anticipation of running out of time. And it is woven into so many aspects of this book it adds so much to the action while maintaining the soft fantasy energy. These countdowns serve not only for action but also for grief. Cassia’s position between two worlds, counting down to so many tragedies, knowing that there will not be time or space for everything pulls on our emotions in a subtle but profound way. The Last Feather cannot be missed.

Omg this book just blew me away. I loved the cassia character and I loved the way the magic worked as well as the whole storyline

The fact to be transported to another world is one of my favourite ideas ever just made the book that much more sweet.

More to come on blogtour.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely debut! The author skillfully weaves together a rich and totally unique fantasy world that I look forward to spending more time in. The characters are memorable, and the plot twists keep the reader invested in the story.

One of my favourite aspects is the skillful way the author incorporates romance into the dialogue and narrative, and I found myself chuckling or giggling several times while reading.

I loved the hints of an enemies to lovers romance and would have loved to see more of it, but I will have to content myself with a slow burn. Cassia and Lucas’ friendship is also so well-written, complete with a lot of history, inside jokes and soft moments. I loved the fact that the story didn’t fall into certain clichés with them … Cold food (iykyk).

The ‘side characters’ stole my heart, and I would die for the wolves.

It took a while for me to get fully engrossed in the story, but that is true for me with most books and after I reached the halfway point I could not stop reading. The plot twists toward the end were full of impact, and the continuous falling of the feathers aided in creating a strong sense of suspense and tension, which kept me turning the pages.

The reason I ended up giving 3.5 and not a full 4 stars, is because I did notice a tendency to tell rather than show, which unfortunately resulted in some important moments and action scenes lacking in impact. I also felt that the * emotional damage * could have been turned up a notch, and there were a few small continuity errors and repetitive or contrasting phrases that a good editor should have spotted.

However, I enjoyed the story a lot and believe it to be a very well written debut. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and am convinced the author will only grow in skill after this great start.

3.5 upped to 4*
I'm on the fence as I liked the world building and found the ideal very original but I found it very slow at the beginning and couldn't stand Cassie.
The world building is very original and the plot, after the starting very slow part, flows and it's gripping.
Cassie is a bit too repetitive and full of herself for my taste.
There's a lot of twists and it's quite entertaining.
An interesting fantasy story.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I'm not a huge fantasy but when I love a fantasy novel, I love it hard. I really enjoyed this one and was hooked from the beginning. The premise of the story is unlike the books I usually read and that's why I found it so interesting. I didn't really like the main character as much as I liked everyone else. I just found Cassia a tad irritating. But please can we talk about Lochlan? Who doesn't love some moral greyness to spice things up. I recommend this for any fantasy lovers and even those looking to get into the genre.

3.5 stars. I’d comp this to the first book of the Pendragon series combined with your choice of YA ensemble cast.

What I liked:
• I wasn’t overly excited about the premise, but it ended up as a pleasant surprise. It was fun and interesting - enough intrigue that I finished in one sitting.
• The secondary characters were really fun! Min-Jun was my favorite, what an adorable man. Brie was also a ray of sunshine.
• Lochlan grew on me like a barnacle, although he’s a super common archetype. I wanted to despise him because he’s not a nice person, but that didn’t work out for me.
• I picture Lucas as the guy from Girl Meets World.


What I didn’t like:
• Cassia was so annoying. I did not like her at all - they keep saying she’s so smart, but he doesn’t have a personality other than loving her sister and being Special. Lucas as her counterpart was not much better, but since he’s so clearly seen through Cassia’s eyes, who loves him so much, his perfectness didn’t annoy me as much.
• The Selene realm was pretty standard European-flavored oppressive kingdom that didn’t really do anything interesting.

Although I'm lucky enough to be friends with the author, this review is completely objective. I've read a few of her works now, and I'm not lying when I say that I'd read her grocery list and I'd still love it.

I'm not much of a fantasy reader, so loving this book this much took me by surprise. Cassia and Lucas are such loveable characters in their own right, and seeing their journeys was something magical. The story unfolded in such a lovely way and it kept me guessing, and wanting more. I completely devoured this book, so much so that I didn't put it down while reading it. To me, the true mark of a good book is its ability to keep you enthralled and this one did exactly that.

In addition to living Cassia and Lucas' friendship, I loved the found family they had there, the unexpected allies and the pure love we could see between multiple different characters. The twists and turns captivated me, especially when we get to the last few chapters of the book.

I'd recommend this to anyone who lives a good, interesting fantasy. You won't regret reading this!

A captivating plot that's intriguing and humorous. The story moves quickly and has you sucked into a realm of super powers, rahlogs and deep woven friendships. Well written with an excellent ratio of seriousness and playfulness keeping the reader constantly entertained.
Unpredictable but maintaining a balance between action and peace, love and hate and romance and kinship. The characters and their powers are relatable on many levels and even in a world of fantasy their emotions are realistic. Not a moment of boredom as it progresses quickly and the story adjusts accordingly while still being easy to follow and a pleasure to read.

I am blown away by this book!
Shameez describes this book as a soft fantasy, and I honestly love that. Because that is what this is! It's fantasy and magic all wrapped up in such a wonderful, heart-warming easy read that ties in with every day life.
The world building was done so well, it never once left me confused or wondering where we were or what on earth something is.

The MC, Cassia, is so genuine and her relationships with the other characters are very well written. Her love for her sister is unmistakable and from the very beginning you know she would go to the ends of the earth for her.

Found family, young love, friendship, magic, and a twist I didn't see coming.

Very well thought out and good pacing. I never once felt like it was an overwhelming fantasy novel. The magic system is quite interesting and I'm really looking forward to what's next!

Book 2 now please.

I absolutely loved this read, and am so very much here for it. We have the usual fantasy tropes - person thinks they're just average, life throws stuff at them, and then they have to find out and deal with having important magic powers. Here though the life stuff is losing your important people, a sick sister that they just can't find out why and the dealing with important magic powers is to save a realm...no big deal. Only it is and Cassia shows that it is, and reacts in ways most folks would get...like getting stuck on random small details - anything to have some sense of control when you very clearly don't.

There are some other characters I'm eyeing up suspiciously - Xo and the horror show of a parent.

Be warned you need to make sure you have a solid block of time to dive right in.

🧪 Oh my goodness what did I just read? I literally have no clue from where to start. As you all must be knowing by now that I am a sucker for thrillers and sometimes I read romance too. But fantasy? A big NO. So when I was given an opportunity to review the first book of the Selene trilogy, I wasn’t sure if I would end up liking it or not. Because trust me fantasy is not my cup of tea. But oh man this book was simply BRILLIANT.

🧪 Cassia, a doctor by profession, has lost her best friend Lucas. It’s been four years since Lucas disappearance and now her younger sister Calla is dying too and no doctor is able to find cure for her illness. Soon she finds herself in another world, Selene realm where Lucas is alive and he also knows how to save Calla. Lucas is part of a community called Reborns who have their own magical abilities. Their realm is rule by the Firsts, kind Idlis who has thrown a curse over the reborns. Cassia must find her healing power to undue this curse and save Calla before it’s too late.

🧪 The start of the book was a bit slow but there were shocking twists throughout the book which managed to keep me hooked till the end. Thanks God the last few chapters were fast paced which made me finish the book in one go. I loved the characters of Cassia, Lucas and Lochlan. The bond of friendship has been portrayed so beautifully in this book.

🧪 And that slow burning romance ( if I guessed it correctly) between Cassia and Lochlan was like cherry on the top. Their cute little banter and light hearted discussions literally gave me butterflies in the stomach. And trust me it happens rarely that a book has ever given me this feeling. And yes I am dying to know if there will be anything between them in the upcoming books.

🧪 And I can’t believe it’s author’s debut book. Because here I am lying in bed after finishing this book still under the spell of it. It was definitely a solid 5 ⭐️ read for me. Thankyou Shameez Patel and NetGalley for the eARC.

I was part of the first round of betas on this book and I fell in love with it immediately. It's only become better with each revision and this version is nothing short of perfect.

The found family trope is absolute drugs to me and all the relationships feel so organic and I very much want to be part of the Thistle family.
Cassia and Lucas's friendship is beautifully portrayed. It's so rare that you see girl/boy best friends portrayed this way. And I love it DEEPLY. Oh Lucas, my bb!

But Lochlan is HANDS DOWN my favourite and please just read it so I can gush about him. The mouth on that man!

The story is exciting and so fun with a fresh take on portal realms. I quite enjoyed the slow build up and introduction because it establishes the world and the characters so well. The author's voice is easy to follow, which makes The Last Feather a quick read for that burst of magic we all need.

I am in no way suddenly into fantasy and I'll probably never be swayed that way, but this was a situation where just the one book, just this one fantasy book.

I really enjoyed this book. No one is more shocked than I am that I got as into it as I did. It was action-packed and gripping and I was highly entertained. It was one of those books where you couldn't read fast enough because you couldn't wait to see what happened next. The fantastic elements were original, the drama was peak and the fight scenes were on point. Lest I forget how I was absolutely living for the moments between Cassia and Lochlan. I realise how messed up it is to be routing for the obvious bad guy but I find myself uttering the words 'maybe, he's just misunderstood' and I wanna slap myself because something must be wrong with me. But I've chosen my favourite and there's no going back. It's not often that a book has me in an emotional tailspin, but I found myself squealing and yelling. Suffice it to say, it was an experience reading this book.

I still view fantasy as too bizarre for me to get on board with and I much prefer stories rooted in reality, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this book and am quite excited about the next book because apparently I'm invested now.

A job well done to the author. I would definitely recommend this book.

A thank you to Netgalley for gifting this arc in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, full disclosure: I did not finish this book. I could not finish this book. The reason that I could not finish this book was that it was so mediocre at every level: The individual sentence-level writing was clumsy and pedestrian; the characterization was, I *think* going for #relatablecontent, but instead slipped into something that felt like a cliche of itself. The progression of events through scenes either repeated material that did not need to be repeated, or else introduced elements out of nowhere and never explained them. People make utterly bizarre remarks that are clearly an attempt to introduce exposition, but fail dismally at being believable in the context of the book. I can't comment on whether the broad plot structure worked, because I did not finish the book, but there's nothing about the set-up that is at all surprising or novel, so I have no doubt that I can guess how it ends, and care so little about it that I can't make myself slog through to see if I'm right.

Let us consider each one of these problems in turn.

First: The sentence-level writing. It wasn't bad or anything, but it was awkward. For example: "Cassia held on to the reins and Lucas reached around her. "Hold on, they go pretty fast."' Leaving aside the fact that reins are not grab-handles--no, not even when you're riding a wolf instead of a horse!--she's *already* holding on. We were told that she held on in the immediately preceding sentence--with the very same phrasal verb, no less. Sure, it's not outside the realms of possibility that someone might tell you to do something that you're already doing, but it's irritating and frustrating in real life, because it indicates that the speaker is either unobservant or else some kind of condescending mansplaining asshole. But Lucas isn't either of those things--or isn't supposed to be, which makes it all the more exasperating when he fails to read the previous sentence before he speaks.

Next: Characterization. Our heroine, Cassia, is a med student, and her beloved little sister is sick with some strange disease. Cassia is very studious and very fond of her sister. We learn this because her sister complains about her math homework, and Cassia offers to help her with it. And we get this:

"Stop showing off that you're good at math," Calla joked and groaned loudly. "I hate this. I'm never going to use it."
"Math is extremely useful," Cassia said as she picked up the thin notebooks and shoved them into the superhero-themed backpack."

Ok--so Cassia is good at math. But do we need to learn about it in this conversation? It doesn't feel real; it feels like a placeholder conversation that is intended to represent 'I am eleven and struggle with eleven-year-old frustrations' and 'I care about your education and I am a smart person'. Except the placeholder is never replaced with actual characterization, and we're left with details--such as they are--that are so generic that they don't add any depth.

Likewise, another time Cassia is studying from a textbook, using a highlighter to highlight important bits, except 'at the rate she was going, the entire textbook would be highlighted in shades of yellow and green and it would be easier to identify the sentences that weren't highlighted.' Leaving aside the fact that this is not a terribly good study skill, we learned in the previous chapter that she has an eidetic/videographic memory. Why is she still highlighting textbooks? If her memory is that good, she shouldn't need it. It's as if the plot-relevant characterization (eidetic memory) is ignored because the author wants to cram some #relatablecontent into the book, because who hasn't overhighlighted a textbook, amirite? Is it every going to come back or turn out to be important that Cassia is good at math? Somehow, I doubt it.

All of the characterizations feel like this: I can tell exactly when details are supposed to be #relatablecontent, because they add nothing to the book and feel generic and pointless, and don't fit with the details are going to be plot relevant (eidetic memory).

Next: organization of information in events: Cassia is kidnapped into an alternative world through a portal and meets her long-lost childhood best friend Lucas there. And what is the first thing he tells her when she asks what's going on? 'We're in another realm. It runs on the same timeline as your world, so we're still the same age, kind of. Physically, I'd start aging slower at some point.'

WTF? Where do aging and timelines matter? If I were Cassia, I'd want to know, oh, let's say, how I got there, how I can get back, who is this asshole who kidnapped me, why did he kidnap me, how did you get here, why have you never come home, and that's just off the top of my head. Nowhere in that list of things I want to know does 'do we age at the same rate here as we do at home?' Similarly, from Lucas's perspective, the list of things I'd imagine Cassia needs to know badly include facts like, 'By the way, you can do magic, and so can your sister, and that's why she's sick, but I can teach you how to help her; there's a lot of political strife here in this realm and you're not entirely safe; we've got monsters in the basement so don't go wandering around too far; here's how travel to and from the realm works; also my dead mom's here.' I know that he wants to say these things, which are all extremely plot relevant, because he does eventually tell Cassia all about them. But first he finds it necessary to talk about timelines and relative aging, which is wildly bizarre.

This weird approach to sharing information is in the narrative, too, not just the dialogue. At one point we have a time jump: Cassia has lunch, and then we jump to bedtime. This is fine if a character has a normal routine and we can imagine they proceed as usual until the next plot-relevant even. But this is Cassia's first day in the new realm. She doesn't have a routine. It's all new to her. So what did she do during the afternoon? It clearly didn't involve asking anyone any questions, because that evening she's still asking extremely basic questions, and the next morning she's wild with frustration at having all these other questions that she hasn't had a chance to ask anyone. So she didn't spend the afternon talking to people and asking question. Maybe she spent it learning how to use her magic? Because the next morning Lucas asks her if she's ready to try using it, and I presume that the only reason she'd be more ready tomorrow than the day she arrives is if she started working on developing the skill. But if she did, we didn't see it, because the next scene is Doing Magic 101. So, again, what did she do that afternoon? It's as if the development of her understanding got stalled when the book decided to skip over the afternoon. If the author wanted her to go to bed immediately after arrival, then why didn't she arrive at 6pm or something? What's the point of this blank afternoon? It's baffling.

But, in addition to missing information, we also have repeated information. Remember the wolf-riding? We learn all about the wolf-riding when Lucas goes on a wolfback ride before she arrives in his realm, but when she arrives we get to be in her head when she learns about it. But we already know about it! It's not cool and nifty to us the way it is to her, so that's boring and waiting for her to deal with her disbelief just slows things down.

I recognize, reading back through this list of flaws, that each one is incredibly trivial. Each one is small and niggling and would not even make me blink in a better book. But the book is not a better book, and these trivial niggling irritants are not the only trivia niggling irritants. They are a sample, a subset of the full set that I highlighted as I read. Every trivial niggling irritant sits cheek by jowl with every other trivial nigglign irritant. I could not turn a page without running into some weird conversation, some oddly dumb decision, some random appearance of two dudes who wander up, say hi, and then are forgotten because monsters attack and the plot moves on. I couldn't take it. I gave it up. DNF.

An unique plot, a fast pace story, it grabs you and holds you until the end.

4 stars

~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

An unexpected adventure that had me turning the page late into the night for “just one more chapter”. I adored each and every character, from the found family in the Manor, to Cassia and Lochlan’s banter, to the lush magic system. What a thrilling ride!

The way I love this book!

I absolutely ploughed through it because I could not stop reading. It has everything you could want : loveable characters, magic, pet wolves, found family and even zombies.

The blend of fantasy and magical realism was seamless and really well done. The pace was fairly fast, so I found that if I had a question the answer usually came within the next few pages.

This may be the first time I have ever gotten secondhand embarrassment from a scene in a book. It was hilarious, and I was dying. It was brilliant.

I’m counting the days until book 2.

Everyone should read this.