This book was even better than the first. I loved all the new characters introduced, and the depth added to characters introduced in the first book. Heroes that are not always heroic, how various types of trauma can affect the decisions made, on top of being a really cool fantasy novel...loved it.

A Psalm of Storms and Silence was truly a worthy sequel to A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, which I read and loved last year. I was delighted to have received an e-arc, and couldn’t help but dive right in. From the start, I was hooked. The writing style that I already very much enjoyed in the first book allowed me to quickly be sucked back in to the world, and also provided many memorable, impactful, and beautiful quotes. Very frequently, these quotes contained powerful messages reflecting current issues relating to our society as well, which I highly appreciated.

The plot was so much more than I could have imagined based on the ending of the first book. I kept being surprised by all the twists and turns and the new directions the story was developing in, and especially the second half of the book was wild. As a result, I read that in about a day; I simply sped through it, because all I wanted to do was keep reading.

I already loved Karina and Malik in ASOWAR, as well as how well-developed they were, and I loved seeing both their growth arcs in this book. I couldn’t help but root for both of them. APOSAS introduced even more amazing characters that I could fall in love with. I even found myself finding unexpected new appreciation for a certain character. Furthermore, in general, I found the characters to be developed nicely, also the villain. Apart from the characters on their own, I enjoyed seeing the dynamics between them: the friendships, the love. There were so many sweet and fluffy scenes that I absolutely adored.

There were a couple of tiny things I would have liked to have a bit more elaboration on, and I did find one specific element related to the ending to be quite rushed. However, apart from that aspect, I felt like the ending was handled so well, and in my opinion the epilogue was absolutely perfect. This series has certainly become one of my all time favourite duologies.

"Abraa, Abraa, come gather, one and all, a story is about to begin."

So yeah Roseanne Brown outdid* herself with this, I was sent a free uncorrected E-proof copy of this book by Netgalley and Harper Collins, In exchange for honest review, I honestly want to thank the author and the publisher for this opportunity.

And Yes this my first review on Goodreads as a Book Reviewers, so I am sorry if my review sucks.

The story picks up from five days after the Solstasia, and to be truthful, it was a great start with a few recaps on the event in the first book. Roseanne Brown weaved the story with amazing plot twist, unending but realistic suspense, with every sentence designed to keep you on the edge to discovering something new, the story is truly a page turner.

Also the characters are so well built that I feel in love with almost everyone, and those I didn't like, I understand them, especially the villian of the story, especially The Older Ulraji, never would I have thought that he would become the antagonist, infact he was one of my favorite from the first book, like me I am sure many people were expecting the Faceless King would be the villian or at least an antagonist but as it end up, he was just a pain in the ass and I think his roles were actually suppressed cause to me he had An Ember in the Ashes's Merhaya tendencies.

Honestly I feel like this book should have been a trilogy cause there was more that could still happen but with the way I am looking at it, Roseanne Brown is planning to write more story set in Sonande, but I think after the battle on the mount, I feel like The Faceless King could have stepped into his role of Villian, since the spirit world was now together with the Human world.

Now let talk about my babies, Malik and Karina, a lot of people talked about how their romance was unrealistic and fast-paced in the first book, such is not the case of the second book, infact there are explanation for their book one romance.

Overall I think this is an amazing book and I am glad it didn't fall under the sequel syndrome popular among YA Fantasy novels, a brilliant conclusion to a story set in fantastic world inspired by West and North Africa mythologies.

Just in case you are adding fan review to your blurb, I want you to know I called this book.

EPIC, TWISTED AND LOVEABLE.

I loved this book so much my heart hurts. It's so sad whenever your favorite series ends, but this book did by right by Malik and Karina.

It doesn't shy away from topics like mental health, grooming, abuse, hate, refugees, self-harm and I really appreciated it. It builds up appropriately on earlier established elements, the romance and the plot itself.

While the first book focused on the rite of resurrection, this focusses on the rite of renewal. There were a lot of betrayals and backstabbings, which kept making me go on an emotional rollercoasters. Malik deals with a lot mentally in this book and we're really in his headspace. He's really struggling and his mental health takes a sharp dive. On that note, Roseanne really did a great job of making me connect emotionally with him, and I praise her for being able to create characters that are deeply flawed and struggling without making them a total dick. Karina's in for her fair share of wild shit too and I'd be lying if I said she didn't go through character development too, but I felt Malik went through so much more meaningful (at least to me) character development.

I loved everything in the book, but if there was a complaint, it would probably be the ending (epilogue?). I felt it was a tad too rushed and maybe it could have been slowed down more. Nevertheless, I loved the book as a whole and it really, really lives up to (dare I say, is better than) the first installment.

Simply exquisite, "A Psalm of Storms and Silence" is the breathtaking follow-up to "A Song of Wraiths and Ruin" in which Brown once again captures the magic of Malik and Karina's complicated personal history while intricately intertwining their tales with West African folklore and mythology. Gripping, emotional, and fulfilling, Brown doesn't shy away from exploring the darkest corners of her characters' souls while allowing us the space to love and root for them. A must-read for any fantasy fan.

Having enjoyed A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, I was looking forward to reading #APsalmOfStormsAndSilence by Roseanne A. Brown. The sequel did not disappoint and, in fact, may be even better if that's possible! The story picks up where it left off: Karina left without a throne, in exile; her sister brought back from the dead, led to rule by Farid, and Malik his apprentice. Having thrown off the balance between the real world and spirit world, a queen must be sacrificed to stop the violence on the people and the land. This story, while truly an epic in its own right, also deals with topics such as long-standing historical hatred between groups, religion, culture, political violence, refugees, and more. There are trigger warnings for self harm and verbal/physical abuse. But on the whole, the story is beautiful and complex. Many thanks to #NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy.

I cried so much I don't know if the queens garden was flooded with rain water or my tears.

If anything were to happen to Ife I would turn into the lich beast and rip apart the world.

Ok, i think I can talk about this book now. Nope, more tears BRB. 😢

Such a good fuckin ending. It wasn't exactly wrapped up in a pretty little bow but it was still perfect! Chefs kiss.
I can't really talk much about what happened without spoiling the first book but holy solstasia this was goooood.

Also, I took a shower and used my solstasia soap from owlcrate past box so get on my level.

Read this book!!! But, read the first one first!!!

Overall a strong sequel. This book balances the two viewpoints well, and expands significantly on the worldbuilding introduced in the first. At times, the plethora of terms and the intensity of internal monologues from both the main characters bogged the narrative down a bit and slowed the overall pace. While I enjoyed the book, I think it would have been a stronger offering if it was tightened up lengthwise.

With strong characters who have to fight not only physical but mental fights (that are realistic) Roseanne A. Brown has created a sequel that far passes the first book in the series. The first lines in this series was a call for a story and in this book was the closing of one - and I can not imagine a more suit ending to this beautiful, tear-jerking story. Karina's and Malik's story is won't leave me soon!

This is an incredible duology. The mental health struggles Malik experiences throughout this book are so relatable and important. I love the way they were handled and discussed.

The betrayals in this story hurt my heart. I felt so emotionally connected to these characters. There is also a lot of growth and self-discovery within Karina and Malik that really added to the connection I felt to them.

I loved the introduction of Ife. Ife is a non-binary character which you truly rarely see in fantasy. With they/them pronouns being used, I felt they are such an important character. Brown is paving the way for future fantasy authors to expand their diversity in characters.

The ending was so unique and showed the importance of putting your needs first. This was truly a satisfying sequel and ending to this series. This is an amazing debut series for Roseanne A Brown. I look forward to her future work.

I really enjoyed this series and the author is one I will be keeping an eye on. I really enjoyed how he told the story and made the main characters unique and interesting. Great read.