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IN THE FINCH'S HEART
A race of shapeshifting bird people, a kingdom scarred by war, and a heart that must choose between resentment and hope.
As the next in line of a noble warrior family, Florence Finch longs to serve her queen as a royal guard. Florence’s mother however plans to send her away to study as a fine arts noble in another kingdom. Florence must convince her mother to let her stay while also secretly practicing for the guard academy’s archery contest in order to earn a spot as a cadet, a task seemingly impossible until she meets a strangely cheerful boy determined to help her.
As a lower-class citizen, Peck Woodpecker knows better than to befriend a girl from the kingdom that conquered his people during the Swan Queen’s war. She’ll despise him once she learns the truth, but helping her is his only comfort from watching his siblings crumble after their parents’ execution. If Peck can’t make his family smile again, perhaps he can keep Florence from following them down the path of anger.
Lies never heal however and soon Florence and Peck will need to confront the pain they’re running away from or risk becoming another casualty of their kingdom’s tragic history.
Book one of A Tale of Two Birds, a noblebright YA fantasy trilogy
Reader This story was written for ages 13-17.
Trigger for depictions of physical and emotional abuse by a family member and graphic violence
As the next in line of a noble warrior family, Florence Finch longs to serve her queen as a royal guard. Florence’s mother however plans to send her away to study as a fine arts noble in another kingdom. Florence must convince her mother to let her stay while also secretly practicing for the guard academy’s archery contest in order to earn a spot as a cadet, a task seemingly impossible until she meets a strangely cheerful boy determined to help her.
As a lower-class citizen, Peck Woodpecker knows better than to befriend a girl from the kingdom that conquered his people during the Swan Queen’s war. She’ll despise him once she learns the truth, but helping her is his only comfort from watching his siblings crumble after their parents’ execution. If Peck can’t make his family smile again, perhaps he can keep Florence from following them down the path of anger.
Lies never heal however and soon Florence and Peck will need to confront the pain they’re running away from or risk becoming another casualty of their kingdom’s tragic history.
Book one of A Tale of Two Birds, a noblebright YA fantasy trilogy
Reader This story was written for ages 13-17.
Trigger for depictions of physical and emotional abuse by a family member and graphic violence
251 pages, Paperback
Published August 5, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 23, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Such a sweet debut novel! I did find the middle of the story a bit slow and wasn’t sure of the characters age until almost the end, but I love the characters and world building and a shape shifting bird race is such a fun concept! I look forward to reading the sequel and seeing how the story develops.
Such a sweet debut novel! I did find the middle of the story a bit slow and wasn’t sure of the characters age until almost the end, but I love the characters and world building and a shape shifting bird race is such a fun concept! I look forward to reading the sequel and seeing how the story develops.
May 9, 2026
Such a unique book! A bit outside of what I usually read, but it was definitely nonetheless enchanting.
I’ve been a bit busy with multiple little projects in life, so it was such a nice and sweet book to return to when life got busy.
I look forward to reading the next in the series! 🌸
I’ve been a bit busy with multiple little projects in life, so it was such a nice and sweet book to return to when life got busy.
I look forward to reading the next in the series! 🌸
May 11, 2026
This is a difficult review to write, given my history with this story, but I will preface it with what I know to be entirely true: THIS SERIES IS SO GOOD, AND I BINGED THIS BOOK SO FAST.
Rating this book is very hard for me. I read it back when it was on Wattpad in 2020 (as a teenager), and back then I gave it an honest five stars. I read it again as a beta reader a little over a year ago, and gave it an honest four stars. Reading this final draft, it was very difficult for me to discern my honest rating—which is what I want to give, because sugarcoating and overhyping never did any author’s book any good.
This is what I know to be true: This story delves deeply into themes of politics, division, prejudice, slander, war, bullying, familial struggles, losing parents, domestic abuse, and so much more—some of these topics very personally spoke to my heart, and really made the story come alive, causing it to become better than many of its 2025-release peers. It had an honest feeling to its narrative, with plenty of whimsy, hope, and love poured in. Unironically, if you want a GREAT cozy fantasy read, this is it.
The characters were very well-done. When a character in a book feels like a real person, the story has officially won me over, and cast its spell on me. There was so much diversity in personalities, and the depth of these fictional people’s lives and hearts was exquisite.
To be perfectly frank, this is the best novel I have read since *Yumi and the Nightmare Painter* by Brandon Sanderson (which I gave five stars a couple months ago). The quality is truly professional and immersive.
There were typos. There were slow bits here and there. Some of the bird lingo (i.e. calling a child a “chick”) was kinda cringey. The first fifteen pages or so were hard to get through.
Truthfully, though, I believe that this novel deserves to be traditionally published in several countries. And it deserves a cover that lives up to the hype.
That is my honest review—now please go read this stunning first installment of A Tale of Two Birds.
Rating this book is very hard for me. I read it back when it was on Wattpad in 2020 (as a teenager), and back then I gave it an honest five stars. I read it again as a beta reader a little over a year ago, and gave it an honest four stars. Reading this final draft, it was very difficult for me to discern my honest rating—which is what I want to give, because sugarcoating and overhyping never did any author’s book any good.
This is what I know to be true: This story delves deeply into themes of politics, division, prejudice, slander, war, bullying, familial struggles, losing parents, domestic abuse, and so much more—some of these topics very personally spoke to my heart, and really made the story come alive, causing it to become better than many of its 2025-release peers. It had an honest feeling to its narrative, with plenty of whimsy, hope, and love poured in. Unironically, if you want a GREAT cozy fantasy read, this is it.
The characters were very well-done. When a character in a book feels like a real person, the story has officially won me over, and cast its spell on me. There was so much diversity in personalities, and the depth of these fictional people’s lives and hearts was exquisite.
To be perfectly frank, this is the best novel I have read since *Yumi and the Nightmare Painter* by Brandon Sanderson (which I gave five stars a couple months ago). The quality is truly professional and immersive.
There were typos. There were slow bits here and there. Some of the bird lingo (i.e. calling a child a “chick”) was kinda cringey. The first fifteen pages or so were hard to get through.
Truthfully, though, I believe that this novel deserves to be traditionally published in several countries. And it deserves a cover that lives up to the hype.
That is my honest review—now please go read this stunning first installment of A Tale of Two Birds.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews