I really enjoyed this one and felt it wasn't like anything I've read lately. It was a very easy read, fast paced and intriguing. I finished it within a day. I definitely felt that this book was hitting on a lot of different major issues all at once. It hits racism, refugees, interracial couples, f/f couples, sexual assault, political conflict, and moral dilemmas just to name a few. Race/cultural differences between the opposing sides plays a huge role in this book. I really enjoyed reading how there were good and bad on both sides and not singling one side out as good/evil. One could definitely take this book with a political view but I read for entertainment so I leave politics out of it.
I loved the characters. I found myself rooting for both main characters and connected with them each in different ways. I would loved to have read about Jasminda's life with her family before. I loved her connection to them, but some added memories of her twin brothers or her parents would have really brought them to life. I really liked how independent she was, how she was terrified and strong at the same time. I loved Jack. His identity wasn't a complete surprise by the time it is made known but it didn't detract from the story. I really enjoyed Nash and Usher and hope they make more appearances and perhaps some more depth in the future.
I would not classify this as a YA but more NA. It has some pretty descriptive sex scenes for YA, not too detailed, but way more than I would feel comfortable sharing with my teenager. There are also scenes of attempted rape that are pretty descriptive. There wasn't any language and in between these scenes, it was YA suitable.
The fantasy in this one was light and easy. It didn't get too complicated when speaking of magic, which makes it a fast read. Sometimes too much fantasy can weigh a book down and make it work to get through. This was not one of those. I really loved how the magic is connected to each other, to the earth.
This was a great and easy read and I am glad I was given the opportunity to review it. I will definitely follow the author and I'm eager to read what comes next!

I was really excited about this book, especially after Jasminda meets Jack, however once they both arrive to his home, things slow down- not so much that nothing happens, because plenty of drama goes down, but hat it's written with such a passive voice that even though major events transpire, it doesn't read like it does. I was left underwhelmed :(

This book was just not for me. I was looking for a fantasy with a dash of romance, but it felt the other way around. I feel like I need to be in the right mind set to fully connect with the story. I didn't finish reading this, but the writing and themes I ran into were very good. You may like this if you are looking for a fantasy romance with a diverse cast.

It took me a while to get into this story but I ‘m glad I stuck with it. The author’s world building was really well done. I enjoyed the characters- Jasminda was a pleasure to read. The romance was a little predictable but still enjoyable. The plotting was paced well. All in all, a definite recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As someone newly interested in reading fantasy books I was immediately intrigued by Song of Blood and Stone. I will say it took me a little bit to get into this but once I was I found myself sucked into Jasminda and Jack's lives and I couldn't put the book down. I definitely recommend this book.

I'm sorry, but our reviewer did not like this book at all and it was a DNF (we don't post DNF or 1 star reviews on our site).

An interesting tale, different. Nicely written, engaging, with a character set you could invest in. I will look for more by this author.

'Song of Blood & Stone' is a thrilling first installment in a new epic fantasy series that has a bit of something for everyone. I honestly haven't read too many books from this genre and I was kind of skeptical going in. I'm definitely glad I gave it a chance because I ended up liking it so much more than I thought I would. Pretty much every aspect of the book was well done and I enjoyed the majority of everything. There were some things throughout the story that bugged me - mostly how some spots felt like the pace slowed way down and dragged on for awhile. That's just my own personal opinion and not a reflection on the book or the writing. I'm sure that other readers will find everything about the story and pace to their liking.

The world building immediately stood out to me. It was amazing and so intricately detailed that I felt like I was there and only had to close my eyes to be transported to this new place. The author used great attention to detail along with vivid imagery and descriptions to bring the setting to life right from the start. I loved getting to know about each of the lands - their histories, why they were always fighting, what the Mantle was, and so much more. There seemed to be so many different places to discover throughout this world and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it in the following books.

The characters were fantastic and well written. Especially the main characters - Jasminda and Jack. They each had complex personalities and traits that made them realistic and easy to identify with right from the beginning of the book. I loved Jasminda - she was a mixture of so many things. She was proud of her heritage (she had one parent from each warring country), but people in her country were prejudiced against her for so many stupid reasons. She's strong, kind, determined to do the right thing, wants to help people in any way she can, loyal, and loving - just to name a few. She has some negative qualities - she can be insecure about lots of things about herself. That was her biggest flaw, in my opinion. Jack was an interesting character - we get to know him on a personal level and see that he's caring, kind, protective, and brave. But when Jasminda and he arrive back in their homeland, things get complicated fast and we see another side to Jack. I thought it was interesting to see both sides of his personality and how all of his qualities came together to create one person. Of course, there's the romance between our two main characters - which was intense, sweet, heartbreaking, sad, and everything in between. I loved watching Jasminda and Jack get to know each other and watch their relationship blossom.

The plot was fascinating and full of what one would expect - warring countries, politics, secrets, scandals, and the "star crossed lovers." Even though not all of the plot was wholly original, I felt that the author put her own spin on it and gave it a breath of fresh air to set it apart from others in the genre. I'm excited and glad that this is only the first book in a new series. I can't wait to see what will happen next and to learn more about the mysterious Earthsong that the series is named after. Definitely recommended for fans of epic fantasy, fantasy, and romance.

I liked this book. I thought the world building was awesome, although I wanted more. I liked Jasminda,the heroine. I thought she was strong and I loved the diversity. The romance was predictable and I really really wanted it to not be quite so true lovely. I wanted to meet Jasminda's family or feel related to them.

I thought it has lots of potential but I wanted more details and depth.

Excellent book, I highly recommend it. The embodiment of the saying that humans will give up their gods before they give up their prejudices.

There are a lot of books being put out in this genre. Some are so so, others awful and a few leave you hoping they are the start of a series. This is one of those. It contains the usual, but also the unusual. It challenges the validity of preconceptions. Something we could all use more of. Recommended for an entirely enjoyable read. And hopefully more to come.

I'm not sure where to start with this because there were so many elements that I loved.
Overall the writing and themes of the book were the best I've read so far as the writing easily sucked me in and I just kept turning the pages to read the next page and so forth while the themes are very close to real life as a nation is torn into two with both sides hating and mistrusting of each other without knowing the reason behind the hate, behind the story of the nation that used to be one.

Told through a third person narrative, this allows the reader to be able to see the world in which the characters inhabit much better than a a first person point of view could do as there are multiple layers in this story that allow for various characters to have a voice and narrative, some for a short spell, as the story progresses.

To which I bring up because I loved the layers and would have liked for those same layers, especially the romance between the main two characters, to have been explored further. I believe that Penelope was trying to fit as much as possible to tie up ends, which she did do, but it left some scenes wanting as there were so many good points and ideas that could have been explored further and at a slower pace to really let those ideas breathe. I'm not against insta-love, but I felt that at certain moments it became a focus and took away from the scene or the previous chapter which was starting to set up a nice flow into the story itself.

The romance was well written, although not my favorite, as I read this to be more of a fantasy book and the romance felt a bit off in some scenes while other moments felt like Jack had a Florence Nightingale crush and fell for his nurse while with Jasminda, I got a bit more of a realistic route as she questioned her emotions which made the romance a bit more believable to me.

I'm intrigued to see where Penelope takes this world and it's characters if she decides to further proceed as I believe she has a good amount of attributes from this one book that she can use for the next one.

Song Of Blood And Stone revolves around a girl with magic powers (termed as a song) and a skin color that makes her stand out from the crowd of non-majis. The world here can be divided into two groups: one with magic powers strong enough to change wind directions or speed, called the Lagimaris and the second with no songs but powerful people nonetheless, called the Elsirans. Both the cities are separated by a magical wall that prevents a cruel leader from breaching a clause to not take over the Lagimaris.

I really liked this book for quite a few things. One, the main protagonist, Jasminda, is a strong, confident female who does emotionally break at times but stands up again. She’s built to be the loneliest person because her parents and brothers are all dead, leaving her behind to suffer the abuse of people around her, pointing her out as a grol witch because of her Earthsong (magical power). Not only this, she’s not financially stable and struggles to keep her house at the farm because of the unpaid tax debt. While her character arc was resonating a saddened vibe, her personality was quite balanced between a strongly opinionated but sensitive human.

The world set up is interesting, though the world building isn’t the best. Some things might get confusing and it takes time to get completely engrossed in the fictional setting. However, the myths or legends created in this world are intriguing--there’s a saviour waiting to be awoken called the Queen Who Sleeps and is considered almost equal to God; sometimes Lagimaris might receive this Queen’s orders in their dreams and that’s how a war is fought. So, needless to say, hardt work has been put into the story.

There are a few topics that aren’t particularly ‘dealt’ with but they are given a limelight to show the harsh realism in this fictional world and I think that deserves appreciation. Like I already mentioned, there are racism induced actions against Jasminda so that’s a struggle for her in itself. Though, the way her character dealt with it is different and definitely not everyone can relate to her responses so I won’t say much about it.

There are refugee and interracial issues highlighted. At one point, refugees are being shot by the military unless a senior officer steps in, which shows the brutal reality of the hardened stigma surrounding refugees--they aren’t the country’s own so why should they be treated fairly. Similarly, Jasminda belongs to the Lagimaris but lives in the Elsira and this sets up another reason for her to be picked at. A true biracial struggle that leaves her feeling isolated.

The male protagonist, Jack, might not be my book-boyfriend material but he was admiring, no doubt. It’s so difficult to write about him without spoiling anything..ugh. Anyway, he’s a wounded soldier found and treated by Jasminda who soon falls in love with her. His personality is that of a gentleman and he’s intelligent--uses reasoning and logic while keeping up his morals.

Each chapter has these two to three lines of collected folk tales that somehow resonate with the chapter’s content. This impressed me, definitely! The writing is a first person, alternate PoV that’s pretty beautiful at times and a pleasure to read.

However, the story had so many tropes! Some of them were my pet peeves so while they don’t affect an overall reader’s point of view, they do affect mine. For example, insta-love and the evidently chosen one trope. The romance between Jasminda and Jack was fine for me; it didn’t make me cringe but it didn’t make me swoon either. They had respect for each other and hot scenes but I felt like they loved each other too quickly.

The pacing was tiring at the start and it was only halfway through that I felt the most captivated. The disclosures or revelations weren’t that unpredictable and sometimes just made me turn page without any hint of expressions because “yup, totally knew that was gonna happen!”.

Whatever be the case, I do recommend this to those who are looking for a magical realism fantasy with diversity and a good enough plot.

This is a really interesting and compelling read, unlike anything I've read before. It starts off slow, but I really enjoyed it as it went on.

I received this book through Netgalley as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am generally a big fan of the fantasy genre and particularly liked the way that this book started. The creation story was interesting and the writing style was concise but didn't feel lacking at first so I was disappointed when it started to drag about 30% in.  Once Jasminda and Jack started on their journey, events happened rather quickly and abruptly without enough development. This includes their relationship which started to feel like a forced love story. The magic aspect was an integral part of the story but I felt very disconnected from it and as a result, stopped caring much for the characters. The refugee group was off putting and everyone's relationships just didn't feel natural. There was something missing in the crafting of the story, like I was supposed to know more about the world and the magic than was explained so it ultimately fell flat. The whole spell singing thing just happens instead of being developed in a cohesive manner; character development was awkward (especially Jack suddenly being some important military captain) and overall, there was a lack of smooth, well thought out connections between events. I really thought that I would enjoy this book but the fantasy aspect ultimately didn't work for me and I felt like I was forcing myself to finish the book just to finish.

From the very beginning, Song of Blood & Stone sucked me in. There is so much mystery and action that fills the first chapter, and I definitely wanted to know what was going on. Additionally, the book contains such elegant world-building, a unique magic called Earthsong, and, of course, the most intriguing characters. And with so many secrets and intrigue littering every page, I was on the edge of my seat to see how the story unfolded.

In addition to the magic and beautiful world-building in Song of Blood & Stone, I really loved the two main characters, Jasminda and Jack. Jasminda is powerful, independent, caring, and has so much heart. And I found Jack to also be bold, mysterious, and kindhearted. The chemistry between these characters is a slow burn, but near the middle and end of the book, their relationship sizzles in the best possible ways.

If you are fan of fantasy books with great world-building, a dash of swoons, and unique magic, you need to pick up Song of Blood & Stone. This book surprised me in the best possible ways. Every page held my attention, and I strongly wanted to know what was going to happen from beginning to end. I am very much looking forward to continuing this series.

In the days of old, a Lord and Lady arrived from a distant, dying world. Upon their arrival, they used their Earthsong magic to bring life to the withered land. The Lord and Lady and their nine children lived among the native cave dwellers and eventually, the children mated with the original inhabitants. Their offspring were either Earthsingers, or Silents (those without magic). Many centuries later, the two lands are at constant war, with only a magical wall helping keep the peace.

Jasminda lives in Elsira and is the daughter of an Elsiran (Silent) mother and a refugee Lagrmarian father, who was a POW of the Fifth Breach. She shares her father’s dark skin and magical abilities, making her an outcast in her mother’s homeland. On her own after losing her entire family, Jasminda is being forced off her land by her estranged grandfather.

As a member of the Elsiran Army, Jack is on a return trip from his spy mission into Lagrmari when his pursuers wound him. Jasminda saves the stranger with her Earthsong, and the pair works together to escape their rough Lagrmari captors. Jack knows he must make it back to the capital to share the horrible plans of the True Father and his designs to take down the Mantle, starting another Breach War.

Song of Blood and Stone shares with readers a unique and interesting new world. I found myself engrossed in the intricacies of the mythology, which is grounded in a solid, familiar story, yet wholly different from what I’ve read before. Like many first books in a series, Song of Blood and Stone spends much of the book building its world and solidifying the background and lore. The flow is smooth, although the first half of the book is much slower due to the development of the world and characters.

From the start, I found myself fascinated with Jasminda. She’s a stranger of her people (the Lagrmari), having grown up in Elsira. Her father rarely talked about his homeland, and didn’t teach Jasminda about her Earthsong or the customs of the Earthsingers. Unfortunately, at times Jasminda’s naivety and isolation made her seem too young and out of sync with her physical self. While it worked for her as she learned more of her people, I felt it worked against her in the romantic aspect of the story.

Jasminda is also not accepted by the fair-skinned Elsirans who are fearful of her magic and see her as a threat to their safety and way of life. The story is a commentary on racial issues without preaching. The author gives insight into the problems through Jasminda’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Jack is an interesting character, one with hidden truths, but full of optimism and idealism. He carries his values in his heart and doesn’t let politics sway his compassion and desire to fix the world. But he is also in a position that requires political maneuvering, which adds conflict to the romance and plotline. He’s a great fit for Jasminda because he sees past her skin color and magical abilities.

I did feel like Jack and Jasminda’s relationship was rushed, with their declarations of love a bit too much “instalove” for me. Yet some of the best romances are borne from dire situations, and Jasminda and Jack were certainly tossed together and in danger. Additionally, Jasminda came across so young, it seemed like she was just wide-eyed and experiencing her first crush rather than true love. We’ll see how it develops in book two.

In the end, I enjoyed Song of Blood and Stone. I loved the mix of magic/fantasy and the realism of hatred and bigotry. The mythology of the Earthsingers was fascinating. While I felt the beginning half moved a bit slow as the author set the word, the storyline picked up as the action intensified. I look forward to reading the next book as we hopefully see the pair work through the years of mistrust and hatred to help mend the land.

My Rating: B, Liked It

ARC from Netgalley

The cover of this book is far more appealing than the story inside it, alas. Weak world-building, non-existent character construction, and plodding prose combined with the cheesiest elements of romance make for a less than rewarding read.

Biracial Jasminda has lived in Elsira, the land of her mother, all her life. Across the "Mantle," a magical border, is the land of her father, Lagrimari, a country ruled by the "True Father," who steals "Earthsong" magic from his citizens in order to maintain his power. In the past, the "Mantle" has been breached several times leading to war between the two countries.

At the start of the story, Jasminda lives alone, her mother long-dead, her father and twin brothers two years missing. She stumbles upon a wounded stranger on the path from town to her homestead, a man she heals with her limited stores of Earthsong. The stranger, a military man named Jack, is being pursued, though, and the two escape, hoping to shore up the Mantle border and protect Elsira via a magical stone that Jack has been given. But their quest goes woefully astray, weakening rather than strengthening the Mantle. They later encounter a group of refugees from Lagrimari, and Jasminda is given a different magical stone, one that reveals in a slow series of visions another way to save Elsira: by reviving the dormant "Queen Who Sleeps," whom prophecy says will one day awaken and defeat the True Father.

Secret identities, insta-lust romance, evil other women, and plot twists one can see coming from miles away ensue.

I liked this book, it engaged me quickly and thoroughly and I will defiantly look for more to read from this series and writer!

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press for providing me an early copy as a part of the blog tour. My review is 100% honest!

I was definitely interested in this book, especially because of the cover. It was incredibly gorgeous and I loved the fact that, just by the cover alone, the main character was going to be a POC. I want to mention that her skin color is hardly mentioned and I’m glad it wasn’t mentioned because I couldn’t picture any other person than the model on the cover the entire time. Props to Miss Penelope.

So, Jasminda is alone in a cabin as an Earthsinger, someone who is pretty much looked down upon as a witch. She is an outcast among her town until she meets Jack, a soldier that is captured and who sees her as a person.

When Jack and Jasminda escape from the captors and meet refugees, a crazy journey begins that leads them all to the royal castle where secrets unfold and visions are revealed of the past thanks to a tiny stone.

I really enjoyed Jasminda’s character, though I didn’t feel the biggest connection to her that I feel like I should have. She is a strong girl and has a big heart. She has been through so much trauma, but it’s only given her a thicker skin. She does put herself down sometimes, especially when it comes to Jack and their feelings for each other. However, something didn’t click with me. I didn’t feel that 100% connection with her character. I don’t know if it was the fact that I didn’t get enough backstory or character building, but I’d like to see if that connection will build in the second book.

Jack was an interesting character, but like Jasminda, it feels like he is still a stranger to me. His personality matches Jasminda’s and I will go ahead and point out that their relationship is definitely insta-love. It wasn’t really that big of a deal to me because they match with each other, but I do think the ending of the book was kind of rushed and too cheesy for my taste.

Back to Jack’s character. He is definitely not the normal kind of soldier that he appears to be in the beginning of the book. I was honestly surprised and then not surprised when his secret was revealed. It was the kind of moment where I was like “Holy crap, what?!” to “Oh, that totally makes sense.” I think L. Penelope framed his character really well, but she does have the opportunity to be more in depth with his life than she was in this book.

The book itself was interesting. This entire book was just all together interesting, okay? You know how you are reading a book and you can’t put it down and you don’t even know why? That’s how it felt to read this book. It was really good, but I couldn’t figure out what was so good about it. Sometimes, the pacing would be slow or too fast. Not much would happen. Characters would get kind of slow. Yet, I didn’t want to put it down. it just has that certain appeal that is hard to explain, hence my four-star rating. It may be the cover that stuck in my mind the entire time or maybe it was the elements and how intriguing it was. I mean, the setting makes it seem like this is the Middle Ages yet it gets kind of futuristic with having actual motor vehicles and freaking airplanes and cables and all that stuff.

All in all, I did enjoy this book for some mysterious reason that I can’t grasp on to right now. It just has that appeal and I think it has the appeal for fans of high fantasy, especially those who enjoy Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings. I know I’ll definitely be waiting for the second book.