 Hi everyone, my name is Steph, this is Little Bookish Teacher, and today I am here with a review of Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong. This is a new release, Young Adult Political Fantasy Story, set in a world where magic is real, but magic is also feared and outlawed. I was sent this book for review by Alan and Unwin, so thank you very much to them, and I thought I would start off by reading you guys the synopsis. Magic may be illegal in simter, but you can find it if you know which girl to kiss. In a world full of whispers and clandestine trades, the Nightbirds are simters best kept secret. These high society girls can gift their magic with a kiss, something the church would have them killed for. But protected by the great houses, their identity is safe behind masks, the Nightbirds are well guarded treasures. Matilda will show her place in this glittering world, but not of her Nightbird sisters, say her from the wrong side of the canal with the score to settle, and either are afraid of everything and everyone, including herself. Soon the girls find themselves at the heart of a political scheme that shakes the world as they know it. When they discover their magic is far greater than they were taught, they see the Nightbird system for what it is, a gilded cage. They must make a choice to remain kept birds or take control, remaking the city that dared to clip their wings. So this is a really interesting concept, and I have to say this reminded me of a book that I read many years ago when I was reading A Lot of YA, The Bells by Daniel Clayton. We open up with an intro and a look into the world of the Nightbirds as one of their clients comes to visit the house, and we see that in exchange for a session with a Nightbird, and there are three of them. The client has to share some kind of secret that would be damaging to them, and that's sort of the currency. So in order to access the best kept secret, they need to give a secret of their own. And we spend probably more time with Matilda I think than any of the other characters, and she is very sure of her place. She comes from a place and a family of privilege. She is used to being sort of the center of attention, and she is also used to the power that she wields as a Nightbird. Not that she really understands what that means, but she's used to knowing that she has an absolute choice. But of course all of this comes crashing down when the political powers in town decide that they want to try and access the Nightbirds for themselves. The church wants them taken out, political powers want to use them to their benefit, and they really don't know who they can trust, not even the people who have worked with them as they became Nightbirds. So some of the things that I really enjoyed in this story, I liked that there seemed to be sort of this dynasty effect. Matilde comes from a family of Nightbirds, and I like that contrast with Sayo, who is someone who didn't grow up with privilege, and in fact her background is quite fraught, and the contrast between her and Matilde is very evident even in the way that they interact. And Issa, who is the third Nightbird, is just very unsure of herself, and again in great contrast to Matilde and Sayo. And of course they also learned that, you know, maybe what they first thought about the Nightbirds is not true, and maybe there is more to the world than they had been told. And that's where that sort of gilded cage comes in, because they really only know what they've, what they've been told. And they believed that, and then suddenly maybe that truth is shattered. And they have to come to groups with that. Being a political fantasy, there's a lot of machinations. So it's not a super fast read, there is a lot to take in with the world. It is set up as the first book in a series. So there are things left at the end of the book that while not being a huge cliffhanger, obviously there are things that haven't been answered. So if you're picking it up, you need to know that going into it that you're going to be waiting for another book. But overall, I enjoyed it. I have not read a YA political fantasy in a long time, so it was nice to dip my toes back into this one. I will leave a link to where you can read more about the Nightbirds down below in the comments. I'd love to know if you have read this book, or if you have plans to pick it up. Alternatively, feel free to leave your favorite bird in the comments to let me know that you're here. I hope the world of you're on the world is staying safe and healthy, and I will see you in my next video. Thanks so much for watching. Bye everyone.