[Emily’s Review]: House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstien

House of Beating Wings
by Olivia Wildenstien
Series: The Kingdom of Crows #1
Pages: 490
Published by Amazon
Release Date: September 29 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Author
Format Read: ARC, eBook
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Until an oracle predicted my regal future, I’d never imagined myself rising above the curve of my round ears. After all, I was the magicless halfling loved by beasts but loathed by every pure-blooded faerie at court. Well . . . by all but one.

Dante Regio, prince of Luce, had owned my heart since he gave me my first kiss. If gathering a slew of iron relics could help me overthrow the current monarch and crown his brother to rule at my side, then treasure hunting I’d go.

If only the oracle had warned me what winged demon I was releasing into the world.

And that I’d become this demon’s obsession.

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Fallon is a half blood fae. Her lineage is unclear, but what she does know, is that she is perfectly below average. She has no powers, she has very little means, and she works at a brothel tavern. She grew up with friends who had money and has had a crush on the Prince of her lands since they were in grade school together. He was her first kiss, and she wants him to be her last. An oracle delivers Fallon a message and she is convinced that if she can complete the tasks given to her by said oracle, then her and Prince Dante will be able to be together finally. As Fallon sets off to “free the crows” she realizes that she bit off more than she can chew, and that maybe she didn’t fully understand the meaning behind the oracle’s predictions.
DUN DUN DUN

Save the length, this book was near perfect. Truly.

Olivia Wildenstien is one of my favorite authors, she has a way of building up her characters and the world around them that is just so palatable and easy to keep up with.
That said, the lady gets a bit wordy at times. I think that the length of this novel speaks for itself.
However, The House of Beating Wings is a perfect set up for the rest of this series. The reader gets to know the characters inside and out before anything really happens plot wise. While that means that the book builds somewhat slowly, by the time we get to the exciting parts of the story, we can appreciate them so much more.

The world building was immersive and fantastic.
The magic system made sense right away. I could keep characters straight and the history of the different class systems was easy to navigate.
I loved that there was a glossary and a map, but that I did not actively need them in order to understand this plot.

The heroine (Fallon) was strong but normal.
Which I loved.
She didn’t have any super power, she didn’t have money or much physical strength. But she was smart, and she was kind. Fallon was also witty and her mental fortitude really suited the obstacles that she was up against. Fallon found out what her strengths and her weaknesses were as the book progressed, and the reader got to grow with her character.
Her arc is going to be really exciting to witness as it plays out.

While Fallon is our narrator, and the main character. All of her friends and acquaintances make appearances quite often. Often times, in fact, they are just as instrumental to her success and she is to it. I liked that the people surrounding her were important to the story, but I didn’t have to remember each of their back stories in order to keep up with the on goings of Fallon’s journey.

Since for much of the book The Crow doesn’t speak there isn’t much to say about him. Except that I am very very interested in his backstory and how he will fit in to the next novels and the rest of the journey Fallon has to undertake.
I think Fallon is going to give him hell and I think he has some big groveling to do before she will let him back into her circle of trust.

The culmination of the plot definitely left me wanting more, but there was not a cliffhanger. Which I appreciated. I don’t mind anticipation, but I do mind having to wait a long time after being left a dangling carrot.

This was a really great fantasy novel, that was easy to read, was exciting and I can’t wait for the second installment in this new series!