Hi Guys,
Two households, both alike in dignity… Romeo and Juliet meets traveling performers, with a tinge of coming of age and oh, lets not forget a dash of magic. I’d heard that The Weight of Feathers was reminiscent of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, so I had to give it a try. I had an Audible credit ready, so that’s I did.
The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore is a magical realism novel that takes place between two traveling families. The Palomas and the Corbeaus are rival families that have been locked in an increasingly dangerous feud for years. Hatred is passed down from one generation to the next and is ingrained so thoroughly that reason is pushed aside.
On top of their hate, the two families compete on the road as travelling performers. The Palomas with their tails own the water as mysterious water sprites, mermaids. The Corbeaus and their feathers, former tightrope walkers who scale high trees in their colorful wings. Both shows are beautiful and magical and both families have their secrets.
Lace Paloma is kicked out of her families show when an accident brands her with a Corbeau feather. But a Corbeau, Cluck, saves Lace’s life and she realizes she must pay him back so that he will lift the curse that has ripped her from her own. Lace is immersed in her enemies life and she must hide her identity or risk the Corbeaus wrath. Fate pushes Cluck and Lace together and together they stumble upon truths neither were prepared for.
Will The Weight of Feathers end in tragedy, truth or something in-between?
Hmmm… this book just lacked something for me. It had all the elements of some of my favorite reads; feuding families, believable magic, broken lovers and more. But I just didn’t believe the story; I couldn’t get into it and I wasn’t really invested in Lace or Cluck.
One thing I did like about this book was the Paloma and the Corbeaus acts. What little we see of them, was enchanting and put a spin on generic ideas of tightrope walking and mermaids. Their shows were unique and I was actually able to get that feeling magical realism injects you with. I just wish we got more of it. We get only a glimpse and it wasn’t nearly enough.
I am not usually overly critical about the voice performers in my audio books but this audio was probably one of my least favorites and I listen to a lot of audio books. The quality of Cluck’s voice and Lace’s voice was different and there wasn’t as much passion as I would expect for this type of book. Maybe that’s what turned me off.
Wow, I feel like I am being overly critical here but this just wasn’t one of my favorites. I wanted to know what happened but that was about it. Some people are going to love this one and some are going to feel lackluster like me. I give it 2.5 stars. It could have been good but just didn’t get there for me.
That’s all for now!
-M-