11 must-read YA book releases to read by the pool this July
By Lacy Baugher
July 2021 release: Wings of Shadow – Nicki Pau Preto
In the highly anticipated finale to the Crown of Feathers trilogy, Veronyka must face her most devastating – and personal – enemy yet.
As war with the Golden Empire looms for the outlawed Phoenix Riders, Veronyka plots to rescue her bondmate Tristan and thwart the conflict before it even begins, even if it means she must reveal her true identity in order to do so. That she’s secretly the daughter of Pheronia Ashfire and the long-lost heir to the throne.
But things get more complicated when she learns that resurrected queen Avalkyra Ashfire has hatched a strix, a legendary bird of darkness that feeds on the life force of others and means she’ll have the power to destroy anyone who stands against her.
And if Veronyka truly wants to bring peace – and save everyone she cares about – she’ll have to face down her own family first.
The official synopsis describes the story in more detail.
"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."
Wings of Shadow is available on July 13.