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.

What if you had the power to transform everything around you by tapping into the natural world with the power of song?

That’s the premise of L. Penelope’s latest book, Song of Blood and Stone- and one that sounded so promising that I picked it up (or whatever the Kindle version of that is) with great excitement.

The song itself is Earthsong: a magical ability passed down from generation to generation, right from the people that first created the world. However, Jasminda is the only person she knows that has it, and she lives in Elsira, a country where her magic is looked on with suspicion and hatred. But that’s about to change when Jack, an Elsiran, appears out of the mountains that border Lagrimar- a country whose people have the same magic, and are led by a mysterious tyrant who steals the power of his subjects.

For me, the story took a while to get going- though not because of the central characters. I loved both Jack and Jasminda- though they took a little while to warm up to. They’re warm, relatable and strong-willed, which definitely helps during the first third of the book, which I found dragged- and then sped up massively, as we were shunted through a mountain of exposition within the space of a couple of chapters.

I especially loved Jasminda, though: as a mixed-race heroine who battles injustice and prejudice, her struggles were especially relevant given the current refugee crisis, which the book itself explores in detail as the Elsiran government struggles to decide what to do with the Lagrimari refugees pouring over their border. She’s smart, resourceful and adamantly her own woman, which (for spoilery reasons I won’t divulge) becomes more and more admirable throughout the book. Like Jack, she’s more than capable of kicking a little ass.

For me, though the story really kicked into gear in the second half- and then I was hooked. We got stuck into the nuances of politics, duty, refugees and the struggle of following your heart rather than your head. Though Jack and Jasminda’s love was a little too perfect and ‘insta-lovey’ for my taste, the struggles that they go through, as war descends on Elsira, were great, and gripping, and very finely balanced, and kept me turning the pages as I tried to figure out whether Jack and Jasminda could outsmart the various people arrayed against them, or would be outsmarted.

The worldbuilding was another aspect I really enjoyed. By giving the struggle between Lagrimar and Elsira such a detailed past, we can really appreciate just how long and exhausting the war has been, and- through the help of flashbacks- we see how it started. That- alongside Earthsong- was really interesting, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Penelope does with the world that she’s created, and what she’s going to do moving forward from that explosive ending.

Fresh, interesting and exciting, this is a magical whirlwind of a book that sweeps you along and challenges you to keep up in a world of myth, magic and power struggles. It’s definitely one that you should be adding to your Summer TBR.

In three words: myth. Magic. Fast-paced.

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).

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley*

I have to say I picked this book because of that gorgeous cover (how could i not?) with no expectatives whatsoever.
Thankfully, it turned out to be a great YA, with a great main character (yay Jasminda!.Bonus points for dealing with racism! 
I loved the way the book was structured and how the story keeps evolving until the very end. 
I'm dying to read the next one!

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.

"In the Beginning, there was silence." Song of Blood & Stone is part fairy tale part epic adventure. In the days of yore, the Lord and Lady arrived from a distant world. Upon their arrival to their new home, they used their magic (Earthsong) to heal "the parched earth." For the rays of the scalding sun had burned it. The people took shelter in caves. The Lord and Lady sang "trees into being and streams into rivers." They were called the Firsts. They bore nine children; they were the Seconds. These children married the cave dwellers, and their children became the Thirds. The Thirds either had Earthsong (magical abilities) or were Silent. Centuries have gone by. Wars have been fought. A magical wall has been erected separating Elsira and Lagrimar.  Between the magics and nonmagics. And this is where our story begins. 

Jasminda is an outcast in Elira. Her mother was Elsiran and her father Lagrimar. She takes after her father in both looks and Earthsong. After losing her mother at an early age and her father and brothers a few years later, Jasminda has learned to be strong and independant. But now she's being forced off the land she's lived her entire life by her maternal grandfather. It's on her way home from finding out that she may be evicted when she meets Jack, an injured soldier. 

Jack is a soldier who went undercover with the Lagrimar army. He's been captured and badly injured. Because of a snowstorm, the Lagrimar soldiers, along with  their prisoner, must take refuge in Jasminda's home. She's wary of their presence and of their treatment of Jack. She takes pity on the injured soldier and uses her Earthsong to try to heal him. From the moment these two meet, there is a spark between them. Jasminda and Jack embark on an epic journey together that leads them into danger and uncovers mysteries.

Both Jack and Jasminda are interesting characters. Jasminda has lived an isolated life. Losing her father at an early age, she'd not learned a lot about Earthsong or the customs that go along with it. She's a stranger to both Elsiran and Lagimar. Not really belonging to or accepted by either side. She's shunned for her dark skin and magical abilities. Jack is idealistic and leads with his heart. He's got many secrets that cause complications for the two that will either tear them apart of bring them closer together. 

Song of Blood & Stone is an intricate adventure that deals with current events such as racism,  refugees, and the political climate without getting preachy. The world and characters L. Penolope created are complex as well as fascinating. It didn't take long before I was fully engulfed in the story. Reading it whenever I had a spare minute or two. I highly recommend this book to everyone. 

Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2018/06/review-song-of-blood-stone-by-l-penelope.html#yyP7YhIEh2UKcF0d.99

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.

If you are a fan of epic fantasies like The Bird and the Sword series by Amy Harmon or the Chronicles of the Warlands by Elizabeth Vaughan, you will love Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope, book one in the Earthsinger Chronicles. This story features an unconventional heroine, who is treated almost like a stranger in her own land. Jasminda is alone to survive on the family farm after the death of her mother and the disappearance of the father and brothers. She is a biracial child and is treated with suspicion by the village people because she possesses magical abilities. She rescues a prisoner of war from the clutches of the enemy army – a group of soldiers that are not supposed to be on this side of the border. She is soon embroiled in the long-standing fight between the non-magical Elserians (her homeland) and their mortal enemies, the Lagrimari.

I love how the story unfolds. Each chapter provides context for the modern day conflict told through folklore. It is easy, at first, to think that these are merely fables, but they represent the mindset and history of the war. The plot has plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader highly engaged. However, the real beauty is in the relationship between Jasminda and Jack. On the surface, they are complete opposites. She is shunned for being a dark-skinned like the Lagrimari. He is the golden boy Elserian. Underneath, however, they were like yin and yang. They complement each other and their relationship overcomes social convention. 

This book is a great representation of an #ownvoices book. Created by author Corinne Duyvis, this hashtag is used as a shorthand for books with diverse characters written by those who share that identity. The thought is that readers can get deeper perceptions of the diverse characters. It is especially true for this book. There are themes of biracial alienation, class discrimination, and majority privilege. L. Penelope has a magical way of offering a nuanced presentation that is not heavy-handed but provides keen insight. This story makes a strong case for why we should all be reading more books written by diverse authors with varying perspectives. It is a fantastic ride.

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.

SONG OF BLOOD AND STONE is a novel I wanted to love. The back copy promised extraordinary magic along with an intriguing bond between characters that would be tested by the politics of their world. I was excited to crack open the beautiful cover and get lost in the first book of a fantasy trilogy.

Unfortunately, I found the book’s description a little misleading. While the first chapter provides a light introduction of Jasminda’s magic and the world she inhabits, the novel never digs much deeper. I found myself increasingly confused as the story progressed. I wanted to know more about how her magic worked and why and how technology existed alongside Jasminda’s magic. SONG OF BLOOD AND STONE doesn’t provide much explanation or world building besides telling the reader that cars exist and Jasminda is capable of magic, but the descriptions feel pointedly generic fantasy world. Perhaps greater description and explanation is provided in later books.

The overall flow of the story is also muddled. After the initial chapter, which sets up a fantasy story with clear goals and stakes for Jasminda, the narrative meanders into a love story. Jasminda’s goals then become Jack’s goals. Though there are hints of barriers and some misunderstandings, their romance is never in question.

Readers looking for heavy romance and light fantasy will be pleased with the world in SONG OF BLOOD AND STONE as the strongest parts of the novel are the romantic elements. Jasminda is a remarkable and interesting character with a magical ability I still wish to know more about. With two sequels on the way, there is plenty of room for Penelope to expand the world she’s built in this first novel.

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.

An epic fantasy about an outcast drawing into a war. 

This novel is supposedly a YA fantasy but it deals with some pretty intense concepts like rape and abuse. 

The pace of the book was quick, and kept up throughout but sometimes it did feel like it went by so fast that some aspects of the story were glossed over.  It was very easy to reeed but the setting was a tad confusing. Was it fantasy or historical fiction?

It was an alright book, but it did not grab my attention enough for me to continue the series. I think that it is mostly because of the love story (not a fan of insta love)