Content warning: Attempted rape, violence, racism, sex scenes

Kicking off with a disclaimer (because disclaimers are important), I’m a white lady, this is a book written by a woman of colour with a protagonist who is also a woman of colour. Race and racism play an important role in this book and I will almost certainly have missed some nuances because of my own privilege.

The setting of this book initially confused me, I read epic fantasy and my brain automatically heads to the medieval. But this book is set in a far more modern world with various kinds of technology including cars and buses. That was on me for not getting into the right zone, it’s a refreshing fantasy setting, not feeling ‘urban’ but not limited by the technological developments (or lack of) in other epic fantasy novels.

This book largely consists of the romance between Jasminda (the protagonist) and Jack (the soldier she rescues). Set against the urgency of a land about to fall once more into war, this is a sweet love story with some steamy moments, I thought it was well-written and not as clichéd as I thought it would be.

The magic system is not explained in a huge amount of detail, because the protagonist doesn’t understand it completely, so the reader learns as Jasminda learns. I am a sucker for any magic system that uses the idea of song, it warms my musical heart, so I thought this was well-done. I would like to see the system and the different ways Earthsong can be used expanded on in later books, I’m not sure if that is the case as I know they do involve totally different characters. I’m going to have to read them to find out!

I had a great time reading this book, it has just the right kind of pacing to keep you engaged and to keep the scope of the adventure ever changing. This is a romance, but it is also so much more than that. There are powerful and timely political messages in this story, and messages that are timeless. It’s not the most unique YA fantasy book I’ve read, but I’ve read so many that it’s hard for any of them to feel truly unique anymore. However this was a very unique way of setting this story and I think anyone, romance lover or no, could enjoy this book.

Should you read this? If you’re interested in reading YA fantasy and supporting diverse authors then I think this will be a book for you!

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchanged for an honest review!

Song of Blood & Stone was an emotional roller coaster. It was so freaking good though! I shipped the heck out of Jasminda and Jake. Jasminda is basically an outcast while Jake is a rebel soldier. They are basically made for each other and two peas in a freaking pod. Again, I shipped the heck out of these two!

I could probably talk all day and every day about this couple but I wont. I just really admire them though because of how they treated each other throughout the whole thing. Jack treated Jasminda with the utmost respect. She did the same to him. They didn't look down upon each other or act petty either. I honestly loved and cherished their unique romance. IT's basically goals guys.

Then there was that sort of cliffhanger kind of ending. Which yes, I hate those so freaking much. They hook me so easily and then I have to wait like 500 years for the next book. It's agonizing and beyond painful. Tears are definitely shed and I'm basically wishing, hoping, and wanting for the next book. It never happens and then I'm basically spiraling into a depression because of this news.

Overall, I need the next book. No, not need. WANT. Please give it to me soon?

First in the Earthsinger Chronicles, Jasminda and Jack’s story plays out in a land divided by those who have the magic of Earthsong and those who do not. Jasminda lives in the land of the nonmagical folks, but as essentially an outcast because her father was from the enemy Lagimari territory. She has the magic that the Elsiran’s fear as well as then dark skinned looks of her father’s people. Much prejudice between the groups exists coupled with the Lagimari being ruled by a vicious dictator who is constantly trying to breach the barriers between the two kingdoms. Jasminda’s magical talent allows her to access visions of the past showing how the current situation came to be.

Jasminda and Jack spend quite a bit of time either in peril or fighting the political establishment in Elsira as he has a high position with many responsibilities. She has fought all of her life against prejudice and circumscribed treatment, but it has not injured her spirit or compassion for those in need. After Jasminda risks much to save Jack’s life, they begin a romance that has many heavy odds stacked against it. Jasminda is a strong young woman who has not let life beat her down. She has the courage and the will to become the heroine of her own life as well as that of her people.

The world building in this book tends to get a bit confusing in the mix of magic and technology. I had some trouble keeping it all straight. Jasminda and Jack’s romance plays a strong part in the second half of the book. Their very highly charged emotions juxtaposed with the battles going on around them make for an intense read. The style and quality of writing is commendable as Ms. Penelope has a fine talent for storytelling.

Link will go live 05/02/18

For one, look at that gorgeous cover? I'm not usually a fan of covers with models, but I'll make an exception for this one. Beyond that, I was intrigued by the premise and am always stoked when I can find fantasy fiction featuring a diverse cast of characters. And while there were some slower moments, overall, I really enjoyed this read!

The world is literally split in two by an impenetrable magic force field that has kept two warring civilizations separate for as long as anyone can remember, with only brief breaks of warfare every few centuries when the field falters. On one side, Elsira, a technologically advanced civilization has risen, longing for the day when their sleeping Queen will again awaken. On the other side, Lagamiri, a nation full of magic wielders who can control the elements, but who are ruled by a tyrannical and vicious God King. The prejudices are strong on each side. Jasminda, a daughter of both races, has grown up in a country where her skin marks her as the enemy, as an Earthsinger. She's kept to herself these long years, finding isolation to be her best bet for a quiet life. That is until she meets Jack, an Elsiran soldier with his own secrets, but who also shows her that there are those out there who see her as more than just an "other."

I loved the world-building in this story. The idea of magic users vs. technology isn't anything new, but what really added to this take on it was combining it with other prejudices, on both sides, and the fear and ignorance that can come from these sorts of long-standing built up generalizations about people. Throughout the story, we are also given glimpses into the ancient history of this world, and this is really what solidified the concept for me. Through these, we see that the world wasn't always this way, and in fact many things had been turned on their heads. The origin story was compelling and each chapter was intro'd with little parables from this almost forgotten time. I particularly enjoyed how each parable loosely connected to the happenings of each chapter.

Through this history and the current situation, Jasminda and Jack both portray different roles and experiences of segregation and prejudice. Jasminda has lived a life of not belonging. She's grown up in a country that judges her for her skin color and her power, but it is her home. I enjoyed how much this fact was hit home. Just because she looked like those on the other side of the wall, didn't mean she would be any more welcome there or that that should in any way be her place, based on only one part of her being. Jack, as an advocate and an example of a more tolerant and enlightened individual, still must learn to understand the true battles that those like Jasminda face. His idealism is often based in naivety. But through him, Jasminda, too, learns that not everyone is as they seem, and that there may be a way forward for both peoples together.

The story also had a strong through line on the experiences of refugees, and the terrible choices they face. Here, many Lagamiri secretly cross the border, hoping to escape the terror that is their homeland. This choice isn't only leaving behind all they have known, but is to willing walk into a country knowing they will face a different kind of persecution there. They live in camps and face many injustices at the hands of a struggling nation looking for someone to blame. And yet, this is still a better choice than the horrors that wait back home.

For all of these positives, I did struggle with a few things. While the story took on some big concepts, giving detailed focus and attention to these challenges, I never quite felt connected to the story. Jasminda and Jack, while interesting protagonists, were each a little too perfect to feel real. They were just kind of...fine. I wasn't hugely invested in their individual struggles, but happy to go along for the ride.

The story also isn't helped out by a few strange choices with pacing and explanations for the magic system. The plot would zip through a few key moments, with very little clarity on what was actually taking place, and then suddenly move very slowly through other, more character-driven scenes. I think this is likely a show of where the author's true interests and talents as a writer lie, but it makes for a rather bumpy reading experience.

Also, at different times, it felt like distances on the map changed drastically, or didn't match with the expanse of the world that we're told exists. It seemed, at times, that the entire country could be traveled in only a few hours, which doesn't make sense given the references to geographical elements and the population that is hinted at. Further, while the magic system was interesting, I struggled to understand how it actually worked. For example, it was referenced several times that Earthsingers couldn't kill with their magic, but could use the elements in every other way. But what does that actually look like? If they sent fire at someone, wouldn't that still be killing with their magic? Or does it do nothing, and if that's the case, then what power does that actually give them? I found it confusing, especially given the fact that this restriction was referenced more than once.

The romance, kind of like the two main characters, was also a bit too perfect. For all of theirs struggles, Jasminda and Jack's love is never really the complicated or tragic "Romeo and Juliet" story that we're promised. I enjoyed the romance, don't get me wrong, but I think the misleading description played against it, in the end.

All in all, I very much enjoyed "Song of Blood and Stone." It's a great example of fantasy fiction tackling bigger topics like diversity, prejudice, and the challenges faced by refugees. However, there is a large focus on romance, so readers who don't enjoy those elements might want to avoid this one, and the characters are also a bit flat.

Rating 7: Even with some missteps, would still recommend it based on the strengths of the challenges it addresses, especially set against an interesting fantasy backdrop.

Rating: 3.5 / 5.

Song of Blood and Stone is a romantic fantasy, with the love story being front and centre in the book. However, I wouldn't describe the love story as being the most central element of the plot (i.e. the same major plot events could have happened even if the MCs hadn't fallen in love).

The plot revolves around Jack (a soilder) and Jasminda (a poor, orphaned homesteader) attempting to rebuild / shore up "the mantle", a magical boundary between Lagrimari & Elsira. Along the way, we're introduced to mysteries our MCs need to solve, secrets they need to unearth, different political and cultural viewpoints, gods, and adventures.

Of the two MCs, Jasminda was the more interesting character. She's strong, but she has the kind of strength that comes not from physical (or magical) prowess, but from a strong will. I love the way Penelope shows us Jasminda's need for independence - Jasminda always quietly, without making a huge fuss of it, looks to take care of herself and her problems, even when it would be easy, or even understandable, if she looked to Jack to take care of her and her problems. Jasminda was definitely the highlight for me in the book, and I'd like to see what happens with her character in the future.

My biggest issues with this book was that the worldbuidling suffered due to the focus on romance. Not that the romance was terrible... It's just that the world, the magic system and the culture are all really interesting, and I wish there was more focus on that. As it stands, the worldbuilding felt a little rushed. I would have loved to read more about the history of the world, the consequences of the mantle between the two countries, and other stuff like that. However, the ending of the book is rather compelling, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Penelope's world, especially since it will focus on different MCs.

Ehh I was just bored while reading this. There is a reason why I went screaming off to read books by Rosamunde Pilcher. I kept hoping that the story would improve, but it did not. I read elsewhere this was originally a self-published book (back in 2015) that was re-published again this year. I don't know why that was, maybe the publishers were hoping to hop on some of the Young Adult fantasy with characters who are POC. But unlike with two books this year that I really enjoyed (The Belles and Children of Blood and Bone) this needed edited. I was initially intrigued by the main character (Jasminda) but I didn't get her or her powers after a while. We have her love interest Jack who just felt underdeveloped. There are two other books in this universe that I have no interest in trying to read.

"Song of Blood and Stone" starts off with Jasminda going to town and finding out that her maternal grandfather is going to offer her a lot of money to not claim her mother or use her name. I remember going huh when reading that whole thing. We start off with a quick exposition dump about this world we are in with Jasminda wondering what she's going to do (she doesn't want to give up her mother, but needs the money to save her family farm) when she comes across a young man who is being hunted by soldiers. Jasminda ignores him at first and heals him with her gift (Earthsong) then runs and hides when the soldiers find him again. Jasminda realizes that the soldiers are going to have to stop at her farm and she does what she can to intervene to help Jack. This eventually leads Jack to realizing that he needs Jasminda's help to use her Earthsong to fight off someone called the True Father (yeah I rolled my eyes too).

I can honestly say that though this book is tagged as Young Adult, it is really New Adult. I thought the age for this novel should definitely be in the late teens and older range. You have sex scenes in this one. There's also a scene where you have to worry that Jack is about to raped by soldiers. Also Jasminda is also almost raped. Reading about her potential rapist's penis made me gag. Jasminda goes through standard romance land trope of being a virgin, but the sex is so powerful and there is no pain. I maybe laughed at that whole thing.

The writing was okay, I just thought the chapters were really short. I didn't get Jasminda's song at all. I just went with it. Also no fault of the author, but every time I read "Earthsong" I started to think of Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series.

I thought the flow could be improved since it felt like each chapter ended on something important happening.

The world-building could be improved. I really didn't understand what was happening or why Jasminda's powers were called Earthsong. I seriously thought there be singing (sorry) or something happening. I mentioned this in one of my updates, I started to compare this book to the "Witch Song" books by Amber Argyle. I mean at least in those books the main character was actually singing.

I also think that Penelope did not go far enough in her book with showing the differences between the Lagrimari and Elsirans. We know that Jasminda is a young WOC. Jack is a young white male. Jasminda even mentions that Elsirans have reddish hair and pale skin so I was all oh okay, we have a predominately white race and one that is not. I hoped that we would get some discussions about race or something in this book, but everything is glossed over. I assume that the author wanted us to think about race though with the Lagrimari having abilities and the Elsirans not, but honestly, I started to think about "magical negroes" and what that means and cringed inside.

Having a biracial romance in this world seems like a very big deal (and it definitely is in our world) so I wish there had been some discussions about it.

The ending just sets things up for the second book in the series called "Whispers of Shadow & Flame."I really didn't even understand what had happened or why and was pretty dumbfounded on how things end up for Jasminda and Jack.

The cover is gorgous!!! It's what initially drew me into the book. I wasn't incredibly impressed by the story but it was still an enjoyable fantasy read.

There are a couple of reasons I really wanted to read this series, one of which (if I’m being totally honest here) was the absolutely striking cover. It’s beautiful and evocative, and bonus, it’s got a lot of purple hues in it (something I’m particularly fond of). The other reason this novel was brought to my attention was the fact that it was highly reviewed by an author I love and respect. Seriously, if you’re ever looking for good book recommendations, check out what your favorite authors have been reading.
Song of Blood & Stone is the first novel in a new series titled the Earthsinger Chronicles. It’s described as an epic fantasy, but honestly it’s more of a romance with a fantasy setting and subplot (which is totally fine, I just know I prefer to have a better idea of what I’m about to dive into).
This novel had so much potential; I don’t even know where to begin. The cover is stunning (I mentioned that already, woops) the description is captivating, and the characters engaging. Even the intro and first decent chunk of this book was absolutely enchanting, as was the world building itself.
While the core of the novel, as well as the start of the book are wonderful, it somehow loses something the further you read. I can’t quite place my finger on it – perhaps it lost its mystique edge, and that was enough? Though I suspect it’s because the romance took the focus, forcing us away from the plot and further development towards it – which is a shame, because the plot itself actually had so much potential.
If it sounds like I didn’t enjoy this novel, please don’t take it that way. It was actually a really enjoyable read, and I can promise you I’ll read the rest of the series. It just had a few flaws that are preventing me from rating it any higher than I have already done so.
There was actually quite a lot I loved about this novel, and I hope the books following will continue to focus on these elements. The world building has been outstanding – you could actually feel the tension between the different cultures (at times it even felt a little too real and close to real world problems we’re seeing today, but I think that was the point).
The magic system was fascinating to me. I sincerely hope that we can learn even more about the songs in the next novel or two, because I have so many questions about it. It’ll also be interesting to see how the two different cultures (magic versus no magic) integrate, now that they’re more or less being forced to deal with each other again. Their early interactions did not go well, so I’ll admit I’m curious.
I loved Jasminda’s character in particular. She had pretty much everything set up against her; she was a child of two worlds, but didn’t really belong in either. She’d lost her mother, father, and siblings, and her extended family are worse than vile. The town and laws are against her, and so much more. And yet, Jasminda keeps pushing forward, never really giving up hope. It’s hard not to be impressed by her character. The fact that she was able to open herself up to love after all of that speaks volumes about her.
Overall I really enjoyed the world that L. Penelope has written for us. I’m more than a little curious about what is going to happen next, so hopefully the next novel will be out sooner rather than later (sorry, I’m so greedy when it comes to books!).

Song of Blood and Stone was at times difficult to read because of the themes it explores. I'm not going to lie some of those themes set my blood to boiling, not because of the execution mind you but because I've experienced varying degrees of it.

Despite getting my hackles up I found it to be quite an enjoyable read. I loved the romance and that it was thought provoking.

I also loved the world it's set in which is different yet very much reminiscent of this world we live as it highlights issues currently plaguing us.

I liked this author's voice and I'm definitely looking forward to not only reading the next book in the series but also more of her work.

I recommend this book to lovers of Fantasy.

The cover is gorgeous and I guess I'm shallow because that's why I jumped at the chance to review this book. The blurb was compelling too. But, yeah, that cover. As far as the story goes, there were things I loved, and things I was less crazy about.

I loved Jasminda's character. And I loved Jack's character, but I wasn't so excited about their POVs. Which probably doesn't make sense, but... but... but... Okay, so most of this story is told in close 3rd person from Jasminda and Jack's POVs, but I felt like I was still too far away from the narrative. There's another POV here (no spoilers) told in 1st person, and those were my favorite parts of this book. Personally, I think the entire story could have been told better in 1st person. But that's just one opinion.

The pacing had some issues too. The beginning was action-packed and then the story slowed down. A lot. It seemed like the "action" in the middle of the book was just for the sake of something happening as it didn't really move the plot forward. And Jasminda is the "chosen one." She's the only person who can do all these important things, and, sure, that's a common trope and I'm usually on-board with it, but then it was never explained.

The action picked up a lot toward the end, which I liked, but the scenes didn't feel very developed to me. Instead of being immersed in the story, I felt like I was being told what happened.

My favorite parts of this book were the chapter openings, the parts told in 1st person, and the developing romance. I LOVED how the relationship was allowed to build slowly. No insta-love. Yay. I really liked the steamier scenes too. Not sure if this is a stand-alone, but I'd read more to see where this story goes.

I had high expectations for Song of Blood and Stone because I enjoy fantasy and the concept sounded really interesting. Unfortunately the book was a big disappointment. It was very slow paced, confusing, and boring. In the beginning, I couldn't keep straight who was Elsirian and who was Lagrimari (two nations at war), and for the whole time I was reading, I found the politics boring. I didn’t really care about any of the characters or really anything that happened in the book. I tried hard to finish Song of Blood and Stone but, in the end, decided not to torture myself. I DNF'ed it at about 75%.

An interesting read about. Girl in the middle of two lands warring. The book deals with race issues, and has a plot filled with, magic or (earthsong), romance, and adventure!

How many reviews have I started with “I really wanted to like this story, but…” over the last few years? And here I am again, adding another one to the category. To make matters worse, I started out by liking this book. I tried signing up for the upcoming blog tour, but missed the deadline by mere hours. Nevertheless, I emailed the PR person ensuring them I would post a review on various sites. I was so enthusiastic and optimistic about this story. I will try not to get too caught up in my review, but please bear with me.
The characters were inconsistent at best. The protagonist, a young woman, started out as a strong female lead, with a good head on her shoulders until a pair of pants comes along and turns her into an emotional mess. Every other character only seemed to serve the purpose of throwing tangents and red herrings into the story. Flat, predictable and two dimensional, they lacked any depth that would encourage the reader to make connections with them.
The plot, or rather plots were all over the place. The night before I finished the book I sat up in bed, getting increasingly frustrated with it all and counted how many plot tangents I had encountered…I stopped at 10. What was going on? Why so many attempts to confuse the reader? And why, oh why were there no explanations of anything important happening in the story? All the good parts were glossed over. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The writing and narration were the cherry on top of this confusing mess. I assume the author wanted to maintain a sense of mystery by keeping the reader at arm’s length, instead all that was achieved was glorious confusion sprinkled with a great amount of frustration. I wondered why the reader had to read two full sex scenes, in detail, spanning most of two chapters, when other parts of the story that actually mattered were completely skipped over.
Overall, this story felt like it was meant for a reader who has some inside knowledge or who was privileged enough to receive all the details. It wasn’t for me and I can’t recommend it.

Song of Blood and Stone is a New Adult fantasy romance seeped in politics and religion, and bound together with magic, of countries at war, oppression and prejudice. It will push your boundaries even as you fall into the storytelling.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. When I decided to read it, it was because I wanted to challenge myself and read something out of my comfort zone. I did not expect it to blow me away (it didn't) but in the end, I think I mostly enjoyed it. The thing with reading something outside of one's comfort zone is feeling uncomfortable. The feeling never entirely goes away. But I think doing something like this helps us grow as a people. Challenging ourselves is a good thing. At the end, we can say we learned from it and determine if it's a path we wish to continue to follow.
For the most part, the writing was decent. It did not inspire me in anyway and I found the tone and pacing of the story a bit bland and sedate. Even when there's action, there isn't a sense of urgency and a build of emotion. That changed a little towards the end and that is what led to my final rating for this book. The climax of the story was truly climactic. And the story itself did keep me intrigued enough to keep going to the end.
This is a highly political book and the politics in it jumped out at me. Perhaps, in-keeping with today's climate this may be fitting but personally, I prefer politics to be left out of my reading choices for entertainment. It's probably inevitable that politics leaks into some stories but subtly done, it's not terrible. This book however touches on many issues. Prejudice and racial discrimination based on the color of a person's skin. The handling of refugees seeking a better life in neighboring country. The attitude towards same sex relationships and how the people in those relationships are treated. And even a little touch on the Dreamers and how they are being deported. I'm not a particularly political person even though I have a basic understanding of today's political environment. I understand having a voice and having a platform. I understand using it, but this book was too much. I spent a good part of the story trying to leap over the political messages and attempting to simply enjoy the story. It was challenging.
At its core, this is also a romance. A story of an interracial couple trying to find their place and happiness amidst prejudice and disapproval. Perhaps that's also another political message Ms Penelope is trying to send. That said, I liked Jack and Jasminda. They struggled for their people, their country and their love.
I loved Jack. He's strong, honorable and noble. Even when faced with terrible odds against him, he doesn't give up. He fight for his country and his people with grit and determination. He's strong enough to own his feelings for Jasminda and hold her close to his heart even as he is being torn apart by responsibility and obligation, even when those whose supposedly loyalty is a lie and betrayal is around the corner. I loved that he fought every step of the way to protect and cherish Jasminda in the face of great opposition. That he respected her and loved her.
Jasminda was all innocence, strength and determination. Even as she endured prejudice and ill-treatment most her life because of the color of her skin, she remained kind and compassionate, and perhaps it was the strength from enduring a lifetime of prejudice is what gives her the wherewithal to accomplish the things she did. She didn't have to help the battered soldier by the road but she does. And what she does changes her life forever. She didn't have to take on the responsibility to help a lost and displaced people but she does. It is her strength and kindness that leads her to do great things. That makes her an equal to Jack despite her humble beginnings.
I think this story ended strong. I'm glad I persevered through Jack and Jasminda's journey but I'm not sure if I'd dip my toe further into Ms Penelope's work. I think I'd recommend this to a certain kind of reader who may enjoy it but I'm not sure who that would be. That would take some quiet conversation, and knowing the person's reading tastes and political leanings.

The publisher gave me an ARC of this story via Netgalley.com but it has no influence on my honest review

4 “I needed some time to fall into it” stars

Star summary:
Hero: ***/2 stars (he made pretty dumb decisions sometimes)
Heroine: ***** stars (had nearly no power but dignity and morale strength in spades)
Plot: ***/2 (not overtly complicated but sometimes jumbled)
Heat: *** (this is NOT a YA as you have sex but it’s not overtly spicy either)
Writing: ****
World building: **/2 (I wanted more. It wasn’t detailed and yet we had legends explaining the past)
Enjoyment: **** (once I was in I didn’t want to stop)
Ending: *** (I had what I wanted but it seemed a little rushed by the end)

Now in depth:

Honestly it took some time to fall into the story. I thought it would be another 3 stars or worse a DNF. The main reason I think was the lack of world building and I was somewhat puzzled, not really feeling Jasminda her past or her problems.
But
Progressively the story and the world became solid, real. What I really, really, really loved above all else was the author’s gift to make us feel what being a Lagamiri in a world of Elsiran meant.
Jasminda had a skin with a different color than her neighbors.
She could not hide her heritage. People knew right from the start that she had magic. Or rather that she could Sing. Sing in this world meant you had a Song creating magic. Some were healers or grew plants and could move earth. Others mastered winds and storms. Others….
For centuries a war is raging between the Silent (without song or power) Elsiran and the Songbearers Lagamiri. Their countries are separated by a magic wall preventing the True Father, sovereign of the Lagamiri, to invade Elsira.

Jasmine was born from an Elsiran mother working in the Sisterhood *women sworn to The Queen Who Sleeps and helping refugees among the Lagamiri * and a Lagamiri father a soldier trapped in Elsira when the wall was restored the last time.
She grew up in a loving family with her brothers and parents but they all disappeared years before leaving Jasminda alone on her little isolated farm.

I really admire how the author made me feel the contempt other people had for Jasminda. She is going through what many people from mixed origins go through every day if they leave among closed minded people. The mistrust, the fear as she could master some magic, the contempt as she was a grol witch… she was constantly shunned and rejected. Isolated.
Jasminda could have been bitter and resentful yet she was everything but.
“When you said you’d find lodging for me, I didn’t think . . . Jack, I can’t sleep in the palace.” “Why ever not?” He crossed his arms and leaned against the truck. “Because I’m a goat farmer. Palaces are for royalty. The Prince Regent cannot possibly allow someone like me here.”
She walked chin high even if she trembled inside.
That’s true courage. Doing things you are afraid of doing but giving it a go nevertheless.

When she meets Jack he is nearly dying. He is part of the Elsiran army and he’s been hunted by Lagamiri soldiers. She will try to heal him even if her power is weak. She will heal him endangering herself and soon she’ll be in a very precarious condition.

Jack will convince Jasminda to help him save Elsiran from the True Father’s clutches. From that moment on they’ll embark on a journey filled with ordeals, magic, defeats, doubts and fights.

If I really loved Jasminda, Jacq had me climbing the walls sometimes! He had secrets and he should have told them to Jasminda way sooner. This was his first mistake. His second mistake was being hush hush about their connection. For someone who’s been seen less than Elsiran all her life, who had to face rejection and insults Jasminda was really hurt by Jack’s choice.
I wanted to shake some sense in him! He had many admirable qualities as he was kind, generous, courageous but could he make bad decisions sometimes! It infuriated me.

I also loved the author’s choice to have a nearly powerless heroine. Jasminda had very little power compared with other Lagamiri and she often doubted her actions. She was desperate not to be able to do more. Yet she was always ready to endanger herself to help others. It was a refreshing choice from all the perfect heroines I usually read about and adore.

I also appreciated the contemporary topics the author chose to broach aside racism. The refugees come into Elsira hoping for a better fate just to be contained into camps …. Despised by mistrusting Elsiran, seen as less, why should the citizens share their food and riches with these savages? Does it ring a bell? It was really accurate and reminded me of our current problems with refugees coming from Syria in Europe just to sleep in the parks or some camps. Dividing the people between those wanting to help them and those asking for them to go back into their country.

If the beginning was slow for me once I found my bearing I did not want to stop reading. The story is not faultless as I’ve mentioned that I would have loved more world building and the ending felt somewhat rushed but it still gripped my attention. I rooted for Jasminda and Jack hoping they would be able to save their world.

Recommend it? Yes.

I really tried to like this book, honest I did. The cover is nice but initially this book had points against it from the get go - the blurb didn't appeal to me and neither did the first chapter and I almost DNF'd it right there but I'd been sent a Netgalley widget from the publisher so I forced myself to give it a chance (I did not request this book, someone from the publisher sent me the widget because I've read/reviewed other books published by them).

I may be completely oblivious but until I read other reviews I didn't really get that one of the themes in this book was supposed to be racial issues. I mean I see a colored girl on the cover, so I assumed Jasminda was supposed to colored but hey - the last time I heard that name was in Bend It Like Beckham and she was of Indian descent! When the author went into the hatred between Elsira and Lagramiri people I thought it was a distinction of magic-people and non-magic-people, but okay - I guess it was supposed to be a black-vs-white thing. And Jack is apparently white so it's an interracial couple so again, I guess great for diversity, but I don't really care about that stuff. In my opinion if two people love each other then who cares what their skin colors are. It's 2018 people, we shouldn't have to have books saying its okay to have interracial relationships, it should just be accepted at this point, but I digress. My point all along was saying that I didn't know Jasminda was supposed to be black and Jack was supposed to be white because I thought they were kind of one-dimentionally described. Even now I have no idea what Jack was supposed to look like, I can't picture him at all and all I got out of Jasminda was she had dark hair, dark eyes, and was darker than her mother and brothers. Darker could have meant tanned for all the reader knows.

As for the world-building and plot, I was able to get into the first 11-12 chapters before the story lost me again. Girl helps guy who thinks he's still in a different country, guy is recaptured by enemy forces, girl somehow races back to her cabin to beat the enemy forces there, reluctantly lets them stay there so she can help the guy who she's finding herself attracted to... some other stuff happens and then when they got to the cornerstone or counterpoint or whatever the story lost me again. I didn't understand what Earthsong was because it really wasn't well described (like most things in this book it's kind of vague). I assume it was magic, but what kind of magic? Jasminda healed Jack so was it a healing magic or did she have like a fix all, do all kind of magic? Either way, from what I read she wasn't very powerful but she kept having "bad feelings" when she came in contact with other magic.

Then there's the "True King" and the "Queen who Sleeps" which was almost laughable to me. Since I didn't finish this book I can only assume they were some sort of magical beings and not truly rulers or Elsira and Lagramiri. Just the names were enough to get me.

Overall throughout what I read (and I even skimmed to the end, which was what pushed me to finally DNF) it seemed like the author was trying to create a unique world, characters, story idea - the whole bit, but it was just your typical fantasy novel and not a very interesting one at that. Everything was just a little... underdeveloped for my taste. You have a female character who is your special snowflake - she has "powers", she's in debt, she's trying to save her home and then she meets the guy. The male character is protective of the heroine whom he barely knows but he's immediately attracted to her and together they go on a journey to save their world. Yawn. I feel like I've read this all before and I just could not positively connect with this story.

I am all about world-ending curses and song magic with some good political intrigue and romance. This book hit so many of those notes for me. It follows the story of Jasminda as she navigates a loss in her family in a country at war with the end of world . Then Jack falls out of the sky and thus begins an epic quest to save her world with magic and mythology.

Penelope does a great job balancing believable politics with the way opposing forces view magic. The Lagrimari love it while the Elsirans hate it. It's a simple enough concept that carries through the rest of the book. It had a very Final Fantasy feel to it, where magic co-exists with modern weaponry and vehicles. There's even gods who are a very real force in the world. The romance in this one, however, was swoony, with both our heroes having tangible chemistry.

While the characters we spent the most time with were fully developed, many figures of the past suffered from extraordinary "tell don't show." It would have been nice to spend some time with Jasminda's family in a flashback sequence where they could have gotten more screen time. Better yet, their roles could have been delegated to more immediate characters.

But even with that, the main characters held their own and, without the epilogue, this book does well as a stand alone epic fantasy romance.

"Song of Blood and Stone" has such a strong premise, is an own voices novel, and has a stunning cover. It was originally self-published, but has now been picked up by St. Martins Press.

One of my favourite aspects of this novel is how Penelope incorporated racism and discrimination based on skin colour and magical ability. Our protagonist and those from her country have a darker complexion. They also have Earthsong, magic that connects them to the earth. These differences mean they face racism and discrimination. They are enslaved, beaten, threatened, and hated. Written by an own voices author, this topic is obviously handled very well. It also makes this book very important.

The romance in this novel is mixed race - and Jasminda is mixed race herself - which I think is important. Jack wants to protect Jasminda and other Earthsingers. He doesn’t discriminate against them like many of his people do. Their romance is, for the most part, sweet and steamy. Yes, this book features some sex scenes, and they were well done. What doesn’t sit well with me, however, is that his first instinct is to hide his relationship with Jasminda because people won’t understand it. I also don’t like something that he does towards the end of the book ‘for her own good’. It’s wrong. It’s horrible. I wish that had not happened or had been better addressed.

Something that I didn’t enjoy was the girl hate. I find it’s a common theme in most books regardless of genre, and I wish that wasn’t the case. Women should be supporting each other, not sabotaging other women because they’re jealous.

But my biggest issue with this book is the world building. I enjoy the plot and the romance (for the most part). But the world building is a little weak. It seems like a period piece at first. However, as the novel progresses there’s mention of modern technology like automatic rifles, buses, airplanes, and army tanks. I found this very disorienting since the values of the world are very much medieval: women only wear long dresses and society is concerned with their reputations (i.e. their sex lives). If Penelope had fleshed out the world better, than I feel the story would’ve been that much stronger. As it is, being unsure of the time period made the world confusing.

"Song of Blood and Stone" is an important novel about love, discrimination, and magic. The romance is, for the most part, sweet and sexy. The plot is engaging. But the weak world building and girl hate detracted from my enjoyment of it.

Song of Blood & Stone is calm, charming, and sweet, all very much so.

Main problem: I'm laughing at myself because I just zoomed through a series with nothing but drama and betrayal and prickly characters, and as questionable as the reading process was as it was in progress, I feel like it kind of stayed with me.

Subsequently, reading this book became almost chore-like. I've read enough of St. Martin's Press books to know not to underestimate anything from them, but as much as I tried, Song of Blood & Stone took a bit of a toll on me.

The author's writing style was simple, but to the point that it got a little too much. There's a difference between elegantly simple and blankly simple, and this book showcased more of the latter. Because of this, I don't think I really connected with any of the characters as much as I could've, despite being mildly interested by the musical magic of the world and somewhat confused by the different politics of it.

I can't say I'm particularly opinionated when it comes to all that happened in Song of Blood & Stone, but many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC experience!

~review to be posted on goodreads 4/1/18

I’m gonna start by giving a shoutout to this book for being a ‘technical’ standalone, by technical I mean that while I see there are other books after this one, I noticed they’re from different character’s povs, so this one could count as a stand-alone and I will take it because I need more fantasy standalone books (even if I love series, sometimes I just don’t have the attention span to read it all, especially if it’s a long series). Anyway, now back to the review. I will say that I went into this book being intrigued by the summary, but that was it and oh boy was in for a surprise, maybe it started a little slow but when I got more or less half way through it I just couldn’t put it down and I don’t even know where to start because I simply loved it so much.

Maybe I’ll do lists because lists are always excellent.

World
I was actually a little surprised by this one because I was expecting your traditional Middle Ages type of setting, but apparently it’s a sort of WWI/II setting and honestly that was different and while different doesn’t always work, but considering I love this time period, it was love at first sight. I really enjoyed how this world was built and how their religion, beliefs and customs were done I just felt myself wanting to know more about it and whenever I did, I just loved it even more.

Plot
This was actually a bit trope-y, but you know what? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, as long as it’s done well, I quite like tropes, I mean just because it’s a trope, it doesn’t mean it’s automatically bad and I honestly loved how somethings were handled and it also has one of my favourite tropes in it. Another thing this book has is lots of twists and turns that kept me flying through this book just wanting to know what would happen and how some things would go down! My only, I guess we can call it issue, would be that I think a lot of things were left to the end and I think I got to like the last 15% of the book to be resolved and it was just I don’t know, a little rushed and it just sort of ended a bit abruptly in my opinion.

Characters
Honestly, I don’t even know where to start, the two main characters characters were my favourite thing about this book! (No that’s not quite true, but I loved them, that’s all that matters). They were just so well built, I loved them and their relationship had me swooning from beginning to the very last page. I do wish there was a little more attention to side characters, because I just didn’t find myself really getting to know the others so well.

Overall, I think this was an absolutely fantastic book that kept me up at night reading, that allowed me to feel so much for the main ship and it was definitely a very nice surprise.