The Bird King is a book that I struggled to get through. I love historical fiction and especially in a time period or region that I know very little about. This book promised both those things so I was excited and intrigued to dig in. As I dug in I was immediately taken with the author's ability to provide vivid descriptions of the places in the book. The author also has a knack with describing and developing characters that made me almost immediately invested in them. But the story itself is where I was left disappointed. It felt like the plot had a bit of an identity crisis. What started out as historical fiction then had a little magical realism added in, which was ok with me. I like a bit of magic thrown in. But then it seemed it started to delve almost into fantasy and that's where it started to lose me. Maybe it was me. Maybe I just wanted it to stay more grounded in historical fiction. But hey - that cover! It was a complete joy to look at every time I picked it up.