Thanks to the author, NetGalley, and Little Brown Book Group for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

I have to say in the beginning I was a bit overwhelmed by all the POVs, characters, and the vast world building, but the magic system was interesting so I gave it a chance.
In my opinion I think that this book could be cut down a little bit, the use of some descriptive words were just too much. The multi POVs were actually done very well I just think there were too many.
It was very good for a debut novel as the writing was amazing, but I personally just felt like it was a bit much for me.

Not what i was expecting! As an ARC reader I feel compelled to give books a 100% shot and don't think I should ever dnf a book unless it's problematic for some super serious reasons. I will say the first....50% of this was a bit of drag for me, and if I'd been reading this off the shelf i might have slipped it right back. This large world and large cast of characters took a lot of set up and it was supper challenging for me to want to pick this up every day. But I continued on, and I was glad I did.

Once the momentum finally hit at around the halfway mark I was properly invested in each characters story. (Jinao, Temi, and Runt being my favorite POVs. Boleo was interesting, though I disliked him much more. I did find Elari's portion...boring.) The last 20% was nail biting good. I gasped, cringed, and said " ooooooooohhh that makes sense."

The writing is well structured and the author does a great job of interconnecting some sprawling lines of the story in a way that was both easy to follow but with an air of mystery.

I loved the use of invoking in the story and thought that was a fresh take on magic. (So cool that this had some inspiration from Final fantasy!) Some of my favorite parts were seeing the familial bonds (or lack of...) that were present during some of the invocations.

I will say 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 for an exciting conclusion. It's a slow start and I can see how that may be a detterent for some people (it's a pretty long book!) If you're into in a deeply thought out world with an interesting set of characters, this may be for you! This is the first in a triology and I'll be continuing!

Thanks to netgalley and Saga Press for the Arc!

Now this is the kind of epic fantasy I can get behind!

- a great cast of complex, nuanced characters
- multiple POVs told in the third person
- fantastic and detailed world-building
- a very cool magic system
- solid, solid writing

The scope of this book - especially for a debut! - is massive, with so much plot, world, history, and characters jammed into its many pages. It hits a lot of buttons of epic fantasy, but also has a bit of a sci-fi side, with the magic system and techwork. Captivating and original, I'm very excited to see the whole story come together across the series.

Thank you to the publisher, S&S/Saga Press, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

A Song of Legends Lost takes place in what is called the Nine Lands.

A land ruled by a king and noble families that appear to have special "blood" that allows them to invoke their ancestors. Invoke them to fight "monsters". We are introduced to an intricate magic system, with distinct characters and their POV's. Each POV giving us readers a different view of the magic, the society and makes us question fundamental aspects of the world we get to know.

One of the main things that immediately struck me and was one of my favorite things throughout - the animal companion! I even love the name.

This is a true epic fantasy, with battle, court schemes and coming of age of sorts. An amazing debut and if you're like me and love epic or high fantasy - this is the read for you!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC and allowing me to embark on this adventure!

Review: A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

M.H. Ayinde crafts an ambitious and intricate fantasy debut with A Song of Legends Lost, weaving together a world rich in mythology, power struggles, and compelling characters. The multi-layered storytelling introduces a vast cast, each with a distinct voice, bringing depth to the narrative.

The novel’s world-building is particularly striking, blending magic and history into an immersive setting that feels both fresh and deeply considered. The prose is well-crafted, and the different perspectives add complexity to the story, making it an engaging read for fans of epic fantasy.

this debut blew me away, the writing is truly superb

will absolutely recommend to all my epic fantasy readers.
with multiple POVs and very expensive world building there is a LOT packed into this first installment for a series a very much looking forward to reading!

I struggled a bit with how vast the cast is however Ayinde writes their relationships and personalities SO WELL I became invested in each and everyone of them.

A slow to start but after the first chapter or so this book pulls you in with its mix of interesting characters, each with their unique voice and perspective. Every character adds something special to the story, from the brave warrior to the clever creator. One of the coolest things about this novel is how well the author builds the world; you can feel the magic and technology working together bringing the plot alive. The story moves quickly and uses different viewpoints, which makes it hard to put down. The author's choice to switch between characters raises the tension and suspense, giving readers new insights in every chapter. If you enjoy detailed world-building and unique character journeys, this book is worth a read. You’ll be guessing until the very last page!

For readers looking for the next Green Bone Saga (by Fonda Lee) or Dandelion Dynasty (Ken Liu) then they have found it with this book and series. It reminds of these two series with its depth of the characters, the strong prose and the inspiration from non-western sources for its setting.

This is a sprawling tale with many characters (it rotates between I think five different ones with a few new ones in the epilogue). But the good news is that there is a very handy character list in the beginning and it’s a gentle introduction with the first part only alternating between two p.o.v.’s so I found it to be never overwhelming.

This is a world of many secrets where much you thought was true in the beginning will be upended by the end. I really liked how, while this is a fantasy series, there are a lot of science fiction elements that I think many readers will enjoy. The novel ends in a good place; a natural stopping place with no cliffhangers but still plenty more of a story to be told. Looking forward to more!

I had a hard time becoming invested in A Song of Legends Lost, although I think many of the reasons for that are personal preferences.

This is definitely a dense epic fantasy, and it's super impressive that this is a debut book. I think that the worldbuilding in this book is extremely well done and thorough, as well as being quite original. I enjoyed the POV switches, even though there were a lot of POVs, each one felt like it contributed important aspects to the storyline. The characters themselves were interesting and very diverse.

Personally though, I struggle with books that have extensive character lists and differing alliances and all of that. This one had many pages at the start to explain who was who, what their relationships were, and more. But this meant that it was hard for me to keep track of names and places without constantly going back to the list, which I don't love having to do. Again, I'm sure some people don't have issues with that, so I'm sure this book could be 5-stars for someone with a better memory than me!

I personally won't be continuing the series, but I'd recommend for people to give this debut book a try if you're a fan of epic fantasies!

A fantastical, epic start to a fantasy.

Though juggling five POVs, the book never seems crowded or bloated with extra people who are easy to be confused, and makes it seem effortless. Each protagonist has a distinct POV and voice that allows even an multitasking reader to be able to tell them apart. Love, loss, abuse, pain, and promise-- all of them weave together so deftly to give a wide-ranging first book of a series.

Can't wait to get a certain SE!

Amazing! I wasn't expecting to love this so much. Great world building and even better characters. Should be top on anyone's tbr

This book was a pleasant surprise. At first I really wasn’t 100% sure I would enjoy it that much since Temi really annoyed me as a character. I felt like her chapters were awkward and things were just shoved in to move the plot. However, when it changed to Jinao’s chapters I was like okay I am invested now. Each subsequent character you encounter feels very well fleshed out and you end up invested in their plots quite a bit.

Then the book begins to delve deeper into the magic and world building and you just become sucked in. Everything felt unique and fresh.

The only thing that threw me for a loop was how the different parts completely changed what characters they focused on. It was confusing at first because I was left wondering why we suddenly stopped following certain characters. I was starting to question if it was too many character POVs and too many subplots. That was quickly fixed when I realized how everything was coming together and made sense. It ended up being so perfectly woven together and just seeing all the connections.

The ending bits of this book were so fun. I can honestly say I was surprised and left wanting answers. So much was teased and left me begging for more. I am looking forward to the rest of this trilogy.

I like what the author was trying to do with this story. I was pretty hooked during the first act of the story and then when it transitioned to act 2 and changed out characters it lost a lot of momentum for me. I thought the idea of pulling on ancestral energy to fight was a unique concept but ultimately the book became fairly convoluted which brought down the experience for me. I do think this is still a fine book but trying to do too much may have hurt the experience for me.

Absolutely loved this book, I couldn't put it down because it was so well written that it pulled me in. The characters were fantastic and the world building was amazing. I loved the magic system this author created and the plot!!! Definitely recommend this book.

The first book in the series, A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST, will be published in spring 2025 and launches a gripping tale of revenge and rebellion in a vividly drawn world inspired by multiple pre-colonial cultures.

In the Nine Lands, only those of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors to fight in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war. But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor. And some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.

Picked this up due to the cool cover and was not dissapointed. A fast paced, action filled thriller with really cool magic systems and mechanics. One heck of a debut and this is now an aithor to watch!

I'm very appreciative of the opportunity to review this book.

I enjoyed the magic tech & the story. The story moves quickly, and we see action almost immediately as we are introduced to those who call summon their ancestors in battle.

Unfortunately because of so many clans, and such magnitude of the world and its complexity, I often found myself lost & under water.

Readings some of the appendix helped me to come up for air, but it was still alot.

Interesting characters, some really relatable, others that needed more fleshing out to grasp their personality, but overall a good start.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit UK for the arc! This was a unique and complex read that I mostly enjoyed! Here are some scattered and expanded thoughts I had during and after reading:

For like a single paragraph or so at the beginning, the narrative voice switched incongruously to a fable-like, forshadowing voice during one of Temi’s chapters. Essentially a “little did she know…” type of voice. Luckily this can be easily fixed, and it should be. Otherwise, you fortunately get strong visuals and decent prose throughout the rest of the book.

Let’s talk world building. There is A LOT here, and most of it is absolutely incredible. The techwork, the scathed, the greybloods, the ancestral realm -these all had me sitting up and locked in. In addition, I was fascinated by the little details and aspects in the world, which are always my favorite (The killing of the Second Singer). I need more of the monks and nuns as well!
I do have problems with the magic system however. Like the other world building components, it is fascinating, but it’s also foggy. Particularly with invoking, I found things muddled and unexplained. That being said, I was awed with how far this magic system went, and often I did enjoy when this book broke its own rules, even if I was scratching my head afterwards. Also, what even is spirit wood? Where does it come from?
I will say, there are obviously many moving parts, and arguably too much for the author’s current skills. That being said, I would love to see how this world is expanded in future installments. I would also love to see how this author grows as a writer.

The characters here and their relationships were extremely compelling. Even if I often wanted to punt these people, these characters were realistic and easy to root for. They also are all vastly unique from one another, thank god. Elari is a woman haunted, Temi has strong morals, Boleo is a blast, Jinao is insecure and sheltered, Runt is hungry. The side characters were also just as compelling. The fallen family women, Sutesh, the cat, and Yeshe are my favorite. Trust, there are MANY more characters and there’s lots of variety here.
Their relationships with one another were intriguing as well. The relationship between Temi and the chained man had me rubbing my hands manically in particular, though I also loved the relationship with Julon and Jinao, the fallen women and Jinao, and Temi and her family. As for character arcs, this is only the first book, all though you did see some slight change towards the end, and some lovely foreshadowing. Overall, what wonderful characters and character work!

The plot to me was both predictable and unpredictable to me at different points. No spoilers though! I will say that this book was a page turner to me. I was 10 toes down at almost all times. It did drag slightly in the middle for me, particularly in Elari’s chapters, but recovered quickly. There’s just so much here, and I fuck with it.

The themes here are nothing new, and most aren’t handled in an innovative way, but it’s still very much decently done. You have themes of propaganda and control at the center, as well as your typical and abhorrent classism, but you also have more intimate and powerful themes too. This is a book about connections, and you do have that theme here, and in multiple forms. Obviously, you see the ancestral connections here, but also of community, of sisterhood, of connections with other cultures. The community takes care of their own, family takes care of their own, and different cultures don’t have to clash. The chapters with the fallen family women in particular illustrate these themes beautifully. There’s also this quote, which I heavily fuck with

“”I also pity you. The killing of the Second Singer, who is always played by a child, symbolises the loss of innocence that forced invocation results in. I thought that you, coming so late to
invocation, might understand."”
"”Why do you care if I understand?"”
"”Because, if you survive our encounter with [REDACTED], I want you to take what you have learned back to your clan. I want you to think about how different things could be if a handful of families did not spend their lives and the lives of their children in combat while others exist who could help them end their war. I want you to refuse the king's draft. And I want you to think about who your true enemy is."“

In conclusion: purr. While not a masterpiece, this book is an intriguing and special read that’s slated to come out later this year. If you’re looking for something different, a unique epic fantasy that isn’t based in medieval Europe, this is a fantastic option. -4 black glass shards