Review: Song of Blood & Stone

 

Synopsis

Enter an alternate 1920’s world of magic and adventure in this gripping, new adult, fantasy romance…

Orphaned and alone, Jasminda is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her magical abilities are feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive – an injured spy who steals her heart.

Jack’s mission behind enemy lines nearly cost him his life but he is saved by the healing power of a mysterious young woman. Together they embark on a perilous journey straight into the heart of a centuries-old conflict.

Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation.

The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.

New Adult. Recommended for readers 17+.

 

The Good

The world and magic system is fascinating. The backstory into how the world came to be what it is interesting too.

Cover

The Bad

I had it reminded to me when watching a Korean drama (Another Oh Hae Young) that I like the chase/ realizing they like each other/ building of the romance more than the actual part when they are in a romantic relationship. Once the couple gets together I lose a bit of interest in the relationship. This book does not build the main couples relationship so it can feel insta-lovey. Not being able to enjoy the part that I like the most in romance made me not enjoy it as much as I could have. There is so much time spent telling you they love each other but not enough spent showing you their love.

I wish there was more world building. Part of me wishing this was  for more fantasy than romance. I wish the characters were more nuanced/dimensional rather than being straight good. There are moments when the characters are stopped from making hard decisions that would make them grey.

The Meh

I can not tell how nuanced it is.

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed the world building more than anything. I wish that there was more work built on the relationship and the fantasy elements. It feels like a bunch but nothing really at all at the end.

288: Best of Possible Worlds

Synopsis

A proud and reserved alien society finds its homeland destroyed in an unprovoked act of aggression, and the survivors have no choice but to reach out to the indigenous humanoids of their adopted world, to whom they are distantly related. They wish to preserve their cherished way of life but come to discover that in order to preserve their culture, they may have to change it forever.

Now a man and a woman from these two clashing societies must work together to save this vanishing race—and end up uncovering ancient mysteries with far-reaching ramifications. As their mission hangs in the balance, this unlikely team—one cool and cerebral, the other fiery and impulsive—just may find in each other their own destinies . . . and a force that transcends all.

The Good

Whenever I come into a sci-fi/fantasy novel I go through an overwhelming sense of disappointment because they are almost always never action-y. The Best of All Possible Worlds first chapter started the book off seeming like this was going to be an action book. I’m so glad that I did not give this book a DNF when I realized it was not going to be what I though it would be. I would have missed out on the quiet subtle quality of this book.

Whenever I read this for a while I got this good feeling. It is actually pretty rare now that I get a good feeling or any feeling from a novel so it is amazing (and kind sad actually) to even look back on this. It all felt like a journey.

One of the main things I liked is the world building – learning about the new worlds and civilizations. The feeling of going on an adventure is one of the parts of fiction I miss.

Black female main character and her families dynamic was interesting.

Romance is built! You do not know how rare this is. A lot of romances in books are insta-lovey or sex=love. The romance even managed to not derail the plot.

The Bad

Could not remember who half the people on the ship or what they did for the ship. This is probably completely my fault for not paying attention but I feel like the other characters were introduced sporadically or something.

Who all the crew mates were was not the only thing that confused me. I was kind of lost a lot of times to what happened. Some people on goodreads brought up that this story is episodic, picking up stories then dropping them. I think the episodicness of the story made it possibly easy to get confused. I agree that this was a slightly annoying aspect of the novel but these mini adventures felt like a journey so I enjoyed them mostly.

Towards the ending the romance went into some tropey gender roles stuff when it could have have been more progressive. I bring this up because it was progressive in other aspects of the story.

The Meh

Best of All Possible Worlds is going to set me up for so many mediocre/terrible sci-fi books I will not end up liking.

[Image and synopsis of Best of All Possible Worlds is from goodreads]