Ballad for Jasmine Town is the second book in Ringle’s Eidolonia series. I didn’t read the first one but this book wasn’t very hard to fallow and I never got lost.
I found the romance in this very sweet & the story some what familiar? I liked that they had to work through challenges in order to build something together.

This book was really good and had a good LGBT story too it!
But it wasn’t the book for me, maybe it was because I didn’t start with the first book maybe but it fell a little flat just over half the way through.

Ballad for Jasmine Town is the second in Ringle's Eidolonia series, I haven't read the first one but I wasn't lost while reading this one. Ringle does a good job of setting up the story and giving you all the details you need. It also appears to be mostly tangentially connected to Lava Red Feather Blue as opposed to a direct sequel.
There was a lot of this that I really liked. I found the building political tensions of the world interesting (and familiar) and I found the romance between Rafi and Roxana to be really sweet. I liked that neither of them were willing to immediately give up their lives in an insta-love sort of way and they had to work their way through challenges in order to build something together.
The thing that fell flat for me that influenced how i felt about the book as a whole was Rafi being trans and how that was written. I was so excited to see how Ringle approached this with a witch who could change their body at will. Unfortunately she just sort of didn't. There's brief passing comments about it once or twice so that you know Rafi is trans, but it isn't fleshed out or real in any way. I feel like it should have been an intrinsic part of who Rafi was and how he moved through the world but it sort of ended up feeling like it was a throw away characteristic for the sake of having a trans character to say exists. With so much time spent in Rafi's internal life in the book I felt like we should have seen more of it. I'd love to hear from trans readers about their experience reading this.
I'll be recommending this to people, but with a big asterisk about trans representation

As a lover of all things fae, I just knew I was going to enjoy this book! Ballad for Jasmine Town is a wonderful and creative fantasy, the second installment of the Eidolonia series, with Lava Red Feather Blue being the first. I did not get a chance to read the first book yet, however I wasn't completely clueless as to what was going on in this second book. The author added enough backstory and detail to fill the reader in, which I appreciated. The story just seemed to just flow, making this fantasy easy to read. I also love the creativity in this book. Not only is the magical land appreciated, but the characters are all unique in their own way, with unique abilities. Although this is a fantasy, the author did include very realistic issues and conflict, which gave the story a very relatable feel. I loved it!
Thank you NetGalley, Central Avenue Publishing, and Molly Ringle for this read!

I honestly couldn't get into it, it started kind of strange, not sure if it's just me, I'll try to give it another chance but I'll wait a bit until I do that again

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of "Ballad for Jasmine Town". I had a lot of fun with that one! I liked the characters and their relationships. The story itself was also very entertaining.

Ballad of Jasmine Town by @writermollyringle

Thoughts (What’s above and extended) :
I actually LOVED this book. I really like the take on normal people’s life during a fantasy novel. Being able to see Roxanna and Rafi’s lives and them getting through the events of the book while not being the ‘protagonist’ in a sense was refreshing and I’d like to see more books with this take. I found the writing enjoyable and the book really plucks up in the later half, so I’m glad I stuck it out. I also love Kepelo’s character growth! This was a good comfy read in my opinion and I definitely recommend the book! I look forward to reading Merrick and Larkin’s story in Lava Red Feather Blue which is part of this story universe!!!

Quotes Extended :
“I will grieve with you, I will rage with you, I will stay quietly with you, I will do whatever you need. I will be with you.”

I commit to you, if you’re in.” He pulled her close until their foreheads touched. “I grant you this deal.”

“Well, if you think I should be forgiven because I didn’t mean to do what I did, then shouldn’t you be forgiven too?”

“You two glow around each other. Like, literally, in his case.”

“You know, you’re about five thousand times better a father than mine ever was.” “If you need a surrogate, I’m here.” Timo sniffled.

“Gods know I am not fond of how it turned out, my attempt to become a parent.” Kepelo slipped her wing around Rafi. “I agree the encounter between us was disappointing, but I will gladly take all the treasure that issued from it, if you aren’t wise enough to see its value.”

‘You told me once to remember all the things you love that you can’t lose. It really helped me when you said that. I know the town’s gone and we lost people, but there’s still going to be music and festivals and cool things humans make, and we want you there enjoying it.’ I was gathering the strength to answer, which took me a while. Then I heard the liuqin.”

#balladforjasminetown #eidolonia #transprotagonist #biprotagonist #queerfantasy #bookstagram #urbanfantasy #fae #witches

This was a great contemporary fantasy. I found the first half of the story very cozy because of the idyllic setting of Miryoku with its ocean views, leafy parks, and twining jasmine vines. The town felt like its own character wrapping the main characters in its warmth while they found each other and felt their way through the landscape of new love. I enjoyed that magic supported each character in becoming the most authentic versions of themselves including changing ones outward appearance. All of it wasn’t done in a beautifully normalized way that was really refreshing. It was lovely to see indigenous rights represented as well.

Plot 8/10
Characters 5/10
Enjoyment 8/10
Overall Flow 9/10
Diction 7/10

What a fun read about a new fae territory for me! I didn’t have any issues jumping into this book 2 without reading the first. The points were easy to follow and concepts were easy to grasp, which I find crucial in a fantasy book.

The characters didn’t jive with me, and I feel this could have been a higher rating read if I could have connected a bit more on that front. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Rafi and Roxana, given THEY were so unsure of their relationship themselves. I also felt the fae were super naive technology and socially for living in the 21st century.

Overall it was a fun read, and a nice take on modern fantasy. I loved that I could imagine this island occurring real time with my time table. The LGBTQ was tastefully represented. I look forward to seeing the author extend this series further - I think they have a wonderful world built up. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

This was fantastic. The world building….the tension. The struggle…the emotions! Everything about this story was perfect!!

I've been on the edge of my seat waiting for this book since I finished Lava Red, Feather Blue, and it did not disappoint.
It was impossible to put this book down, I started reading and next thing I knew I was 300+ pages in!
I really loved that we got more of the magic in this companion novel, both from a sciency explanation and from mystical and personal interpretations of it. Some of it was hard, not from a writing standpoint, just from the allegories and the real life similarities that we all went through this past couple of years, *but* that made it even more of an emotional payoff to work through those scenes and then finishing the book,
Rafi and Roxana were amazing together once they *finally* let themselves be together (stubborn, self depreciating, adorable, FOOLS, I love them). I really loved seeing a transmasc character being romanced. If I could I would absolutely live in this world, with these wonderful, weird, and strange people and their equally amazing fae counterparts,.

A metalworking witch and a form-shifting half-fae musician embark on a secret romance, but soon become caught in escalating tensions between fae and humans that threaten their hometown. This town has ocean views, a thriving art scene and shares a border with fae territory. The human realm sits beside one of enchantment and danger.

A human born to a fae mother, aches to join the human world but prejudices stand in his way. His connection to the human world withers away with the death of his beloved grandmother at the carless hands of fae. A metal working witch specialising in healing charms meets the half-fae musician when she repairs an instrument string for him. They strike up a friendship that soon kindles in to love.

These two embark on a journey of love and attempt to formulate a plan to tame the most dangerous of the fae, which may accelerate the doom of their hometown. His beloved grandmother was not the first, or the last, to fall pray to fae hands. Perhaps a chance meeting may change the fate of their hometown or may be the spark that causes it all to burn. A story about finding friendship in the loneliest of places, nurturing a connection that transcends boundaries and a love that will conquer all.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘑𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC**

I didn’t read the first book in the series however the author does a great job recapping and explaining the storyline and characters so I didn’t feel lost at all.

The author writes with such description that the characters and world were easy to imagine and dive into. The story was great and has me interested in reading more from the author.

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! This is so good. The plot, the characters, the story line. I recommend everyone to read this.

this had everything that I was hoping for in the Eidolonia series, it had everything that I enjoyed from the first book and continued the story perfectly. It had the elements that I was hoping for and glad it had that charm to it, the characters felt like they belonged in this world and I was glad I was able to read this. Molly Ringle has a great writing style and made characters that I wanted to get back to.

The author creates a lush, vivid world filled with music and fantasy in Ballad for Jasmine Town. The description of the setting, the characters, and the story will draw you in from the first paragraph to the conclusion. I absolutely loved it and will definitely recommend it.

This cosy fantasy tells the tale of two lovers, a nineties band, a magical island, a gang of malevolent fae and a town completely overtaken by plants.

It's full of the soft, vulnerable yet extremely powerful characters Molly Ringle writes so well, and brims with the strength of family and community in the face of divisive politics and discrimination.

I love the central couple. They're adorable from the moment they meet. Their chemistry is undeniable, they support each other through trauma and they manage to stay kind even when they disagree or fail to understand each other. The side characters pull on your heartstrings in relatable ways too, from perfectionist water fae Tash to brave mayor Amaris, to the ever-helpful rock giant Mukut, who is definitely the MVP.

The magic is brilliantly varied, with each character having skills, traits and abilities as unique as they are. Watching groups of them solve problems is always interesting and it's clear how much creative thought has been put in by the author. The magic system is also a great way of weaving in a lot of great representation, and sensitively acknowledging the challenges faced by marginalised groups.

You don't have to have read Molly Ringle's other book, Lava Red Feather Blue, in order to pick this up, but I fully recommend it because the overlap is awesome. Check out my review of that one on goodreads if you're interested! The world building is done so well that no matter the order you read them in you'll be glad to find mentions of your favourite characters, magic systems and locations in both books.

This is a special fantasy novel about finding your other half when the world around you is crumbling.You will feel all the feels with the LGBTQ+ fantasy!

I loved this so much! The world was fascinating, the characters were so lovable and complex, and I was rooting for the relationships the whole time. The Wikipedia entries at the beginning were a super interesting start because in some ways it tells you how the book will end, but really it just leaves you slightly tense the whole book waiting for what you (kind of) know is coming.

I'd highly recommend this book, especially to fantasy and romance fans. I hadn't read Lava Red Feather Blue before this and now I'm excited to!

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC.

I loved the first one and I loved this one as well! One thing I appreciated were the parallels with some real world politics, social issues, etc which in my opinion, is using the full potential of one's fantasy world to create some sort of parallel/commentary. Great story. 5 stars

I found this book a little slower paced - which is in no way a bad thing! The writing was wonderfully descriptive and I enjoyed the world building. The characters were enjoyable and at times, relatable, as well.

I hadn't read the first book in the series, but didn't feel like I was missing anything because of this. There's enough upfront explanation that you can follow along with no issues.

*Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review*