Solid Asian-inspired fantasy. Not the best book I've ever read, but I certainly didn't regret my time with it. Main quibble would be Kaiya's brattish attitude throughout the story; while I can deal with immature characters, it is much more satisfying to see a character who's calm and confident navigate through unforeseen obstacles.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC of Songs of Insurrection by JC Kang.
Sorry it took so long to read.

I enjoyed this! It have me dungeons and dragons vibes and I loved the Asian inspired fantasy.

I'm going to listen to the rest of the series on audible!

This was an overall fun read, though I found it hard to keep up with the multiple perspectives thrown at the reader. I do love an East Asian inspired fantasy, and I think that is what kept me attached to the story. The main character, Kaiya, is what really made getting through 70% of this book difficult. She was naïve and made childish decisions that didn't seem likely. The last half of the book really picked up and made me glad I finished it.

This novel interested because it was a fantasy set in an Asian world. However, I did not like the multiple perspectives because there were too many characters to keep up with. Thus, it had a good idea but was not executed well.

Songs of Insurrection had the bones of a really great story but unfortunately, the main character Kaiya was a little hard to deal with. She is supposed to be naïve but she naïve to the point of being extremely annoying. This isn't helped by the fact that she never ends up maturing.

The world-building and mythology aspect of the world J.C. Kang created, however, was very enjoyable and is why I did not give the book 2 stars.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.

This was a fun read, but not without its flaws. I liked the characters and the plot, but the writing fell flat for me. I was hesitant to continue, but the last 20% was quite interesting and I want to know what happens next! Overall, a fun read but nothing that blew my mind.

I was unfortunately not a fan of this book. I really wanted to love it and had some high expectations for it based on the blurbs and on the synopsis - which incorporated musical elements into magic!
A couple things I did enjoy: the setting and the magic system/magical races that were explored.
I have to say I was not excited or intrigued while reading the book - our female protagonist was very naive and sheltered and strangely always mesmerized by all the powerful men around her, her personality was non-existent besides this. There were also undertones of misogyny which were really uncomfortable to read - I would strongly discourage younger girls from reading this. The other female character we heard from was a bit stronger and less naive but often would use her “feminine wiles” and nothing else to get her way - which was really uncomfortable. The female characters fell flat and were not realistic. The male characters were a bit better done, but also feel a bit flat for me - there didn’t seem to be enough complexity under the surface. I also did not enjoy the writing style - which I understand is a personal preference.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story has good bones, it takes concepts normally associated with Western stories and meshes them expertly with the East. I can see things being foreshadowed that I am excited to see the pay offs for.

This book captivated me from the start, it's clear that JC Kang has a huge world created and I loved every moment of this book! The only thing I struggled with was the main character, she was quite headstrong and fell in love very very easily but she is 16! I loved the whole concept of the dragon lute but it did have some quite sexual scenes and a bit of gore that I wasn't anticipating!
Will absolutely check out more by JC Kang~

'Songs of Insurrection' by JC Kang was a fun read.
I found Kang's story to be captivating. The beginning was a bit slow as the alternating POVs and settings were a bit confusing but once I got my bearings, the book really sucked me in. The first character we meet is Kaiya, a princess who longs to master the ancient art of song magic and escape her suitors. She's a quietly rebellious character, who is deeply kind, repeatedly risking her life to help those around her. At sixteen, her insecurities are stark in the text, but that only lends authenticity to her character.
Next we meet Tian and Jie, two members of a legendary team of spies. Always operating from the shadows, they set out to uncover the rebellious plot being hatches against the kingdom. Tian is Kaiya's exiled childhood friend, who's distance from the palace weighs on him. While he's excellent with numbers and discerning patterns, his personality isn't expanded much beyond that so I hope that's a feature in the sequel. Jie is a half elf who will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe. Though she gets less chapters than the others, I found her to be a dynamic character that really pushed the story along. I found Kang's background characters to be equally as compelling. My favourite example were Kaiya's guards who appear as little more than strawmen around her but actually have a personality when away from her, the first f which we see in Jie's chapter.

The world was also particularly fascinating. Heavily influenced by DnD, the story is set in an East Asian inspired setting, with particular attention to every ethnicity involved. Particularly, Kang places great emphasis on royal protocol. He describes many aspects in minute detail, as it governs Kaiya's every move. While it was confusing to keep track of everything at first (I'll admit, I'm not used to this much court detail in my fantasy books), I was grateful when it became a pretty big plot point.

As far as the plot, I enjoyed it, though not as much as Kang's characters. The beginning is a big slow, but it picks up quickly with a fast pace that doesn't let up before the end. I enjoyed knowing the whole story through the different POVs, and it made everything easier to follow (especially given how clueless Kaiya's is at first).

All in all, a good book. I will likely be picking up the sequel as the ending left me very curious.

Admittedly, this is the type of fantasy story that you have to love to get into. The world building is broad and heavy, with many different different ethnic groups with different cultures all coming together. It's definitely a steep learning curve at the beginning (and some spaces near the middle). But my favorite part of the worldbuilding was the magic system. It's a very hard system with rules and consequences for overuse that made magic feel, for lack of a better word, real.

The richly detailed, voluptuously visual settings, the supremely relatable characters, the twisting, tangled web of intrigue and the unexpected sharp jabs of humour. I loved every bit of the misunderstanding, questions and mystery. My heart went wary several times with the character's trouble very soon after being introduced to them, I felt their confusion, their anger, pride and resolutions. This was one of the most immersive reading experiences of this year.

3.5*

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great! A rich word, split between 3 perspectives. It was definitely a steep learning curve to understand the politics, but the book has both a glossary and a character reference for reader to make it easier.

A fast paced enticing book, that I think I could appreciate more in a reread, as I was fighting a reading slump while trying to get through it (not the books fault at all!)

I highly recommend this book to fantasy readers, and am excited to pick up the rest of the series!

There is beauty in singing. There is also magic and power when the right songs are sung by the right voice. The realm of Cathay needs this magic to survive, but the art of dragon songs was left unsung forever, until at last a voice of incomparable beauty was born and she dreams of the past and the lost songs. Kaiya dreams of the magic of music and the powers it can hold. If she could unleash the magic, perhaps her heartbreaking existence as a forgetful princess would end forever.
When a rumor of an uprising of powerful enemies arises, young Kaiya is offered as a sacrificial bride, but marriage to the brutal warlord would quench her fire for music and kill her soul, as the Dragon Song would be lost forever.... And she would lose her love interest, Prince Hardeep. Will Kaiya find the magic that calls the dragons? Caught on the cusp of womanhood, this determined but sheltered girl will risk everything to bring magic to life.
Follow the magic, the danger and witness the intricate plight of these characters as they tell their version of the events that unfold.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

An interesting fantasy tale with cultural variety, but just scattered. Although issues of race and gender inequality are brought up, they are only "addressed" on a surface level and result in some unfortunate wording.

First, I tried reading it but I couldn't focus. But since that was happening with pretty much any book, I chalked it up to that and put it aside, for a bit. However, I picked it up again, started from the beginning and this time, I had it text-to-speech because that seemed to have worked with other books.

But not with this one.

I still couldn't focus and found my mind wandering.

I know for sure there are multiple POVs, they kept shifting and maybe that was the problem. I also know there's a princess and she meets with several other characters - possible suitors? - but she takes a liking to a prince.

I reached 43% but that's all I remember, sadly. Pity, since it sounded like a good one but I didn't seem to mesh with the writing style.

I voluntarily agreed to read an early copy via Netgalley. My rating is 2 stars.

J.C. Kang is an author that I’ve been aware of for a while, so I leapt at the chance to pick up this one, and I got to experience it both in writing as an audiobook and I enjoyed the narration, although I found myself making more progress with the book as it was easier for me to lose myself in the world. Songs of Insurrection was an interesting read, and very much fed into my current desire for books that have that Dungeons & Dragons flavour in the mix, even when it’s as subtle as it was here, more like a homage woven into the background, with the way the characters work to hone key skills, and the secondary paths and quests that surround the main storyline.
However, where this book truly shines is the worldbuilding. Kang has built up a fantastic world that has breadth and depth, with so many little details and nuances that it is wonderfully easy to slip into this world while feeling as though you are discovering it with each turn of the page. I particularly liked the pairing of fantastical elements, with a real-world influenced setting, with Asian history and culture forming a rich backdrop, that is enriched by the different cultures around it. This is a beautiful world, and Kang gives us moments to just appreciate the world, while also leaving us with the feeling that there is more to learn and explore. We’re not just given the beauty though, because there are clashes between individuals, between cultures, and the characters and the relationships that they form, and the conflicts, all build further into that world, and there are times when it is messy, or dark, and it just adds that extra dimension to the worldbuilding.
The plot was well-written and relentless, and it is one of those that once it gets going pulls you along like a leaf in a stream, and as with the world, there was a lot of interconnectivity. There were consequences to choices and conflict, that went beyond the immediate impact, which was something I really enjoyed.
Where I did find the book faltered a little was with the characters. Firstly, there are quite a few to keep track of, which in addition to the richness of the worldbuilding can be a little overwhelming. I also found that while the characters for the most part had the same nuance as the world and plot, I never felt a particular connection with them – especially with the female characters - and it was the world and the plot that carried me through, and there were a few places where it was the world keeping me anchored in the story. However, the relationships that develop, and the human conflicts were believable and well-written, and this is the first book in the series so there is time for that to change and develop, and this book has done a fantastic job of establishing the world.

I honestly wanted to like this book so much. I loved the diversity, the world and the tale
But I found the MC way too shallow. I couldn't take anymore descriptions of Hardeep's eyes anynore when he is across the room. And Kaiya's POV is kinda told in a internal monologue and she is not witty as she thinks she is and that is big downer for me. Overall, I believe the book needs a thorough round of editing. But I wish luck to the author and the book and prays that it finds the audience it was meant for.

DNf at 30%. i'm sorry, but this a "it's not you, it's me" situation. i tried, but looks like now it's not a good time.

trigger warning
<spoiler> constant threat of rape, attempted rape, racism </spoiler>

In the last days before the emperor's son's marriage, unrest is afoot, and a group of spies does their best to find the culprits behind the threatening rebellion. Meanwhile, a princess who is in love with music discovers that her passion might serve a practical purpose after all.

We seem to be in a classic high fantasy setting with elves and orcs, only in the eastern regions that feel like a mix of China and Japan to me. We have traditional Chinese medicine, but we have also a group of people who seem to be ninjas, though that term is not used.

I kinda gave up on the task to sort in my head the multiple countries that are mentioned, but I think in a print book it would be easier because you can simply flip open the map and the list of characters which is not an easy task if you ereader is older and takes longer to load.

I liked it very much to read fantasy of epic proportions in an eastern setting and am glad that I have book two as an arc, too. I can't say yet if I will feel the need to read further than that, but I am still waiting for the dragons I was promised.

The arc was provided by the publisher.