KJ Altair’s debut ‘Feathers of Ash and Hope’ is a strong, lyrical, and extremely compelling start to the Flameborn series! I have seen many reviews comparing this book to Fourth Wing, however I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot more. Most notably, Altair’s decision to focus on birds amongst the plethora of fantasy creatures available at a writer’s disposal is refreshing and was an imaginative shift that gave the world within this book a more ethereal yet somehow grounded quality. In an era where dragons dominate much of the fantasy/romantasy genre, the avian focus distinguished this book as something new and exciting!

Ara, our female protagonist, is resilient and determined! However, our fmc is emotionally layered in a way that feels real and adds to the tension surrounding her bid to curb her curse and become a rider. Ara’s vulnerability (facing her curse) is never shown as a weakness but only complicates the relationships she develops within this story, making the budding friendships, taught familial bonds, and brooding romance all the more compelling. Having mentioned relationships, the bond that grows between our fmc and mmc, Tate, adds depth to the story, as our characters’ memories and backstories are slowly revealed to each other as their trust grows authentically. This was an aspect that I particularly enjoyed, as the characters became more fleshed out throughout the story!

My only reservation about this book lies in the lack of information about Ara’s curse and the history of cursed beings throughout this world. While it's central to the plot, readers are given little explanation of the curse’s origin or why the cursed are so ruthlessly hunted. However, that being said, I understand this is the first installment in the Flameborn series, and it’s clear Altair is laying groundwork for deeper revelations in future books, and after that ending I cannot wait to read the next book!!

Run, don’t walk. Feathers of Ash and Hope is a New adult Romantasy book, first of the series and If you are a fourth wing fan then this is for you. I do not say this lightly when I say I personally love this more than fourth wing. This was a 5 star read for myself and I can not wait for the next book. I think this is my favourite read of the year and will be my new obsession. @kjaltair i love you for this book ! It was just what I have been hoping for 🥰🙌🏻🫶🏻

Fourth Wing Dupe. Some say that imitation is the highest form of flattery and that may be true, but I feel this is far too close to the FW storyline. I feel as though I cannot treat this as if it were an original work because to me it doesn't stand far enough apart from the inspiration to be original. Some of the similarities to FW in the first ~100 pages:

Academy/Military College type setting
Assessments/Trials
Skyriders (birds instead of dragons that you bind with and ride)
Brother's best friend is Squadron Leader
The gifted have magic marks aka tattoos on their skin
Broody/sexy/dark haired MMC love interest
Lightning type magic

And while some of these could be seen as taking inspiration from the original work, the storyline also follows very closely to FW. I suppose if you have never read FW this will be new and exciting and I can see why this one is getting good reviews but I'm going to have to DNF this one at 50%.

Thank you NetGalley and Edwyn Publishing for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this as an eARC and Oh. My. Goodness. I absolutely LOVED this book! I need the next book NOW! I am fully invested in Ara and Tate’s story and can’t wait to jump back in once the next book comes out. If you’re looking for a slow burn with excellent banter and sassiness then I would start reading this IMMEDIATELY ❤️ I absolutely love how quick witted Ara is and how she is so unapologetically a rule breaker and fights against being told what to do. And Tate. 🥵 Holy Mists is right… add him to the list of book boyfriends! And the side characters also deserve some mention too! I love how they all have their own parts to play and you get a peek into their personalities as well. All around just a great read!! I can’t wait to have some of my questions answered in the next book (hopefully books - because one more is not going to be enough for me!)

Star Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️

This story started incredibly strong, and pulled me in straight away! Altair created an amazing story and background for the military academy.

Duel POV. We learn that Ara leaves her family to visit a cousin, but secretly enlists as a man in hopes of becoming a sky rider. Her curse makes it difficult to hide who she is. Tate, her division leader, has secrets of his own hidden behind his grumpy and serious demeanor. He discovers parts of Ara’s identity, and his role of helping her and falling for her makes the story compelling.

It was a fast-paced story that kept me on my toes. A lot happened, and I feel like I was itching for more. I can’t wait for the 2nd book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(3.5 rounded up)
I really loved how well- written Feathers of Ash and Hope was.
The slow burn between Ara and Tate was amazing and really kept me wanting to keep reading. I also loved Ara’s personality and how she held onto her secrets so tightly for the sake of everyone around her.
I did, however, feel that this book related quite closely to fourth wing and found myself comparing the two books and their similarities at times. I feel the book had enough original ideas to have been presented quite nicely without the comparable characteristics, but, nonetheless, it was still a really good read.
Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book, all opinions are my own.

This book has definitely become one of my favorites, thank you to K.J. Altair and Net Galley for allowing me to review this book.

First of all, yes this book in the beginning has many similarities with Fourth Wing, but as you read, it becomes its own story.
Key Tropes were as follows;
Slow burn romance
Animals who could talk telepathically
Trials
Military collage
Forbidden love
Family angst

This book really shines through its characters. Our MMC and FMC were both well written, thought out and bounced off each other well. Ara, our FMC is at the military college against her family's wishes. We learn that she has been brought up around a military family with four brothers who serve, so it's understandable she’d want to join instead of becoming a wife like she is expected. Ara also has a secret that she was born cursed, which is not something that is good in Ara’s world. This is explored through the book however, I think there is more to this as its mention multiple times and other characters have given hints to what being cursed means.
Tate, our MMC, is a secretive character only trusting Jared, his best friend, who has known him for years. We begin to know him as a badass instructor that you don't mess with, but are also given little drops of information about his past without fully knowing until a final bombshell at the end of the book. Jared ends up being one of my favorite characters as he knows how to rile up his best friend but stay loyal too.

The book is written with two POV’s but we are still kept in suspense and don't learn about how they both ended up at the college. They butt heads multiple times, heightening the romance between the two, trying to fight the attraction as it's against the rules for them to be involved. The loose ends of the book makes me want to read the second book as soon as possible.

My favourite quote is about cake..“What is your favorite cake?”......“Chocolate cake.".....“Good one. Fits you."....“Dark, tempting, delicious, and much sweeter than anticipated.”

Book: Feathers of Ash and Hope
Series: Flameborn (#1)
Genre: Fantasy Romance, General Adult Fiction
Rating: 5 ⭐ (x ∞)

5/5 Relationships
5/5 Characters
5/5 Plot
2🌶🌶

*:✿˚⋆ SPOILER FREE REVIEW *:✿˚⋆

Oh-ma-gawd. This was so good. So so so good. I went into this story blind, not having read the blurb or looked at the reviews, so I didn’t have many expectations, but it completely knocked my socks off. I swear, I drank this book like water in a drought. I loved everything about it and I don’t understand how it is not talked about more, because this is one for the shelves.

I absolutely love the characters, all of them. I think the personalities and their dynamics were masterfully constructed. You have the comic relief, the deep & meaningful, the sunshine and the bullies; there are great friendships and found families, the rivals and the angsty lovers, and even some potential future couples to keep you addicted. There were no irritating characters (unless that was their role, of course) and I truly enjoyed every single scene no matter who it concerned, which is an absolute feat on its own.

The romance was frankly exquisite. In my opinion, it had the perfect amount of slow burn, angst, smut and depth. It is for sure one of my favourite book relationships and I really really cannot wait to get more of Ara and ****. Also, the romance-to-plot ratio was spot-on for a fantasy romance.

This was complemented by an utterly captivating plot. As this is only the first installment, you only get a sneak-peak at the bigger picture plot-wise and honestly, with just that, you can tell that this will be an amazing story. It gives you just enough to be addicted but never enough to be satiated. It’s mysterious and thrilling while being profound, meaningful and emotional. It’s so easy to relate to Ara and her struggles, and I really just cannot wait to see how her story will unfold.

Another tidbit I want to mention is the dual POV. I love multiple POVs, I think they really make the experience better and thorough, but I'm always disappointed when the scene changes as the POV does because I want to see someone else's take on the previous scene. In this book, the POVs often starts by covering a part of the previous POV's scene before moving on to new information and I don't think I've ever seen a better execution.

Overall, as you can probably tell by my review, I think this book was a definite chef's kiss. I know I will be fangirling over it for some time and forcing it on everyone around me. I am thoroughly consumed by it and I don’t mind one bit. Another sure way to know if I truly loved an ARC is whether or not I buy a physical copy, and I can confirm that mine was already on its way before I finished the book. If it wasn’t for other ARC obligations I currently have, I would have started my re-read the moment I finished this one. K.J, you are brilliant and as you already know, I will be eagerly waiting for the next installment, and I recommend everyone hop on the bandwagon and start reading FoAaH without delay.

Couldn’t put it down! I read this entire book in one sitting (minus a few snack and bathroom breaks). I love the characters, the storyline, the banter and the twists and turns. I cannot WAIT for book two!!

Thank you NetGalley and Edwyn publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own!

This book is similar to fourth wing! I really loved the writing style. The slow burn was perfect and the amount of spice worked nicely. I liked the story line and how we get different POV from the main characters. Definitely worth the read! I will be reading the next book. The magic system is interesting. I wasn’t entirely expecting the ending. TBR worthy

I absolutely loved this book! The beginning felt pretty familiar as the setting is a lot like Fourth Wing but with mystical birds. Even though we're told attending the Skyrider Academy is risky, it didn’t feel quite as high stakes as Fourth Wing, because runners (new recruits) weren’t dropping like flies. What intrigued me right away though and kept me engaged were the mysteries surrounding the FMC, Ara, and MMC, Tate.

Ara kicks ass! She disguises herself as a boy to attend the academy because she can’t have her family finding out she is there. Her and her family are also hiding the fact that she is cursed, which is forbidden, but you’ll have to read more to learn more. She must do some digging herself. She has a fiery personality and sometimes speaks before she thinks. She loves hard and enjoys life. My favorite quote from the book is her describing herself: “The point is you all stamped me as irresponsible and reckless and can’t see that I would hang the fucking moon for the people I love, even if it cuts me apart.”

She isn’t the only one holding on tight to secrets, because Tate also is hiding plenty. Very early in the book, he is sneaking away to meet with someone for information. He is broody, has rumors and a bad reputation swirling around him, and he has a past with a lot of heartache. He wants to follow the rules but somehow keeps finding himself bending or breaking them for the girl he can’t stop thinking about.

The banter and flirting was so good. Ara is hilarious, and the friends she makes are as well. I laughed out loud a few times. The side characters were incredibly likeable, and I’m worried there will be a hard loss before the series is done.

This is a slow burn romance. There is plenty of tension, and of course, Ara and Tate aren’t allowed to be together. I’d personally rate the spice as a single pepper.

I won’t give spoilers. I just want to say the last few chapters were awesome and had a pretty epic moment! I’m ready to see characters reach new heights, get to know the birds better, and learn more about Tate’s past and Ara’s curse. I will be watching for the next book!

- Dual POV
- Forbidden romance
- Hidden Identity
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Mystical Birds
- Elemental Magic
- Slow Burn
- Military Academy
- Banter!

Thank you NetGalley and Edwyn Publishing for letting me an ARC reader for this amazing book!

5/5 I’m surprisingly into this and a fan. Will be purchasing when this one comes out!!
Thank for the ARC NetGalley and publisher!!

Okay so this felt like Fourth Wing but with giant birds, way more likable characters, better writing, better plot, gender bender, and not cringe!

There were a lot of predictable moments but they were the satisfying kind of predictable!

The characters are so lovable - Ara is sunshine (though the pet name gets a teensie cringe when oversaid), Tate is the right amount of broody but not insufferable, Calix and Jared are comic relief teddy bears, Marial is the gal pal we all need - would love to see more of her, Joel doesn’t suck which I was glad about.

The romance is not toxic and not cringy, imo - the spice was there, but not overwhelming, which I personally appreciated - I’m cool with some spice but don’t like when it’s overdone, I’m reading for the characters and story and feelings!

A few things I would like to see more of in this series - more history behind the world, the war, the birds, the magic system, Ara’s curse, the character backstories. More of the bond with the birds, at times, I forgot about the birds - if they’re in each others’ minds, probably just a bit more reminder of that. I like that it’s not overdone like in Fourth Wing but just a tad more so we don’t forget about the bond would be good. I know this is the first in series, so I’m glad it wasn’t overstuffed with alllllll of this but I am looking forward to more!!

Feathers of Ash and Hope
Rating: 5 stars
Ebook

Thank you Netgalley and K.J. Altair for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Feathers of Ash and Hope is a masterfully written debut novel that had me hooked from the first chapter.

Ara’s journey was both heartbreaking and healing, as she navigated a world filled with challenges and betrayals. The world-building was immersive and created a setting that felt both expansive and intimate. Themes of hope, resilience and the quest for redemption resonated deeply, making this a standout fantasy novel for me.

The supporting characters added depth and emotion to the story, each playing pivotal roles that enhanced the FMC’s journey. The relationships were complex and evolved in ways that felt both authentic and earned.

The pacing was well-balanced, with moments of tension and introspection that kept me fully engaged.

Feathers of Ash and Hope is a standout in the fantasy genre, offering a narrative that is both enchanting and thought-provoking. K.J. Altair has crafted a story that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Thank you to K.J Altair and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.
I finished reading and this book is great. This is a debut novel that is written very well. It kept me interested throughout the whole story. I loved the bonding to animals that are specifically connected to them. This is a slow burn romance with a broody MMC and a FMC who can definitely defend herself with magic.
Can’t wait for book 2 ❤️

"Alexa, send me a book similar to Fourth Wing, but make it birds instead of dragons"

It was good. Very FW-esque. Is it up to par with FW? No, but I think it has potential. I love the dual POV.

This gave me Fourth Wing / TOG vibes a bit, but with Ravens, and it absolutely hit for me!!

Tate and Ara's chemistry and tension is so good. Like, sooo good. And my jaw as literally on the floor about 80% of the way through! Like.. whattttt?!?! I will absolutely be reading Book 2, and most likely anything else ever offered by this author.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Edwyn Publishing for the honor of reading this ARC!

Publication Date : 6.6.2025

4.25 Stars!

I received a copy of Feathers of Ash and Hope from Netgalley and Edwyn Publishing. This review and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! It was similar to other war college books....ahem Fourth Wing, but instead of dragons, they ride birds. As the book went on, it became its own story. There were a couple of things that bothered me, there was a lot of repetition when comes to when Ara complains about her brothers being overprotective. I also felt like the love betwen Ara and Tate was borderline instalove. There were some unanswered questions that I hope will be answered in the next book and I hope the pace will pick up. The middle was a little slow.

I loved the personalities of the birds in this book, it definitely helps me miss the dragons from Fourth Wing a little less. Overall I feel like this book was a really good start to a new series and I'm excited to see what will happen next.

I loved this book from beginning to end... . It had everything you could ask for in a romantasy. I couldn't put it down. This was a new to me author as I received a gifted chippy from Netgalley but I will decibel be waiting for the next book and will be following this author.

If you loved Fourth Wing and Dire Bound, you cannot skip Feathers of Ash and Hope! This book blew me away. We follow Ara, the hilariously sassy, fun, reckless FMC as she enrolls in the sky rider academy in hopes of bonding a magical bird. While there she meets Tate the oh so broody MMC who just happens to be one of her leaders. As sparks fly between them, the banter is hot and the burn so deliciously slow. A heart pounding ending will leave you begging for more. I can't wait for the next book!
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc!

I enjoyed this book - it definitely gives a Fourth Wing, war college vibe. I love a bonded with magical creatures moment! I think I like the relationships between the main characters and like that there’s a focus on friendship and family and not just romantic relationships within the book. I feel we could have done with a bit more tension and yearning between the two main characters but I liked that it was more of a slow burn and the author makes us wait for it a bit! Not sure I fully understand the magic system yet and feel that there could have been a bit more world building in that regard. Loved a strong FMC. Excited to read the next book hopefully!