In a civilization filled with division, hate, prejudice, war, and innumerable crimes, Jasminda possesses a powerful magic called Earthsong. When she is about to lose her home, she meets and assists Jack, who is critically wounded. When evil soldiers show up and take him as prisoner and she decides to save him, Jasminda is thrust into a war against an ancient evil that she definitely didn't expect or bargain for. Jasminda and Jack join forces with refugees to take down the evil ruler causing the war once and for all.
This book was full of adventure, peril, and suspense as the main characters battled against evil. I enjoyed the unique world the author created and I thought the characters were so realistic. It took me awhile to get into the story, but once I did, I couldn't stop reading. I didn't agree with some of the views presented or the profanity, but the sexual content was the most objectionable to me because I prefer the bedroom door to stay closed. In my opinion, this book should have been classified as new adult fiction instead of young adult because of the sexual content. Other than that, I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to reading the second book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Jasminda has lost her whole family; mother and father, and twin brothers. She was about to lose her home as well if she didn’t sort out taxes that her family owed. She was given an option to have the taxes settled for her by her grandfather, of course, at a price that is to deny all ties with her mother because the family on her mother’s side disapproves the marriage. However, before she has any chance to decide, she stumbles upon Jack and gets sucked into Jack’s mission.

The beginning of plot revolves around Jack being captured and Jasminda scheming to free him. I understand this is essential in establishing a strong relationship between these two main characters but it feels a bit dragged out for me. Similarly, later in the book a lot of pages are invested in developing the relationship that doesn’t really have much to do with the resolution of conflict, but I guess it’s just setting readers up for the next books in the Earthsinger Chronicles. With all that said, the romance in here doesn’t quite get me giddy.

I can’t help but chuckle at the use of ‘the speaking stone’. It vibrates when there’s a ‘call’ (ha!) and to answer it you have to put some blood on it (instead of touchscreen or buttons). That’s a touch of reality that I can appreciate.

Keep in mind that the genre is both Young Adult and New Adult. So um..it’s a regular YA fantasy but with explicit language and references to sexual content and violence, hence the label New Adult. When I first looked up this book on Goodreads to decide whether to click that ‘Request’ button, I saw these labellings and went ‘meh, OK sure 👌🏻’. That was in February and now I have forgotten all about it. So come certain scenes I was a bit surprised because in my head it was just a regular YA fantasy.

Such a great story!!! At first, i thought the action was a bit too slow but it picked up pace just at the right moment. Great world building, and great characters. I git what had went down with the True Father and cie quite early when the dream started, but it didn't deter from enjoying the read. The only weak point I could think of are the secondary characters : Jack and especially Jasminda could have used some little friend/help on that side. Still I am looking forward to read more abput this series.

This was a very hard book to get into. It had an interesting premise. However, there were mature themes in this book that was tough for me to read. Jasminda is a strong character, but the other characters were stereotypical. The novel moved at a slow pace. I would recommend this novel to those who like reading dark fantasy, but I think this is suitable for those who can handle mature content.

I tried very hard with this, but just could not get into it at all. After a somewhat promising opening chapter, the rest devolves into an overblown romance novel with half-baked, confusing characters and worldbuilding and a magic system that I don't understand.

I'm adding a star because the female lead was somewhat interesting, the writing isn't entirely bad, and your mileage may vary if you're more into romance than fantasy. But I was definitely expecting more from the latter, and I finally just gave up about halfway through.

Content Warning: Background DV Survivor, Rape threats & attempts, Takes place in a country full of racism, xenophobia, homophobia, classism, sexism, with micro and macro aggressions.

I started Song of Blood and Stone and finished in one night. I HAD to. It was just that good.

Includes but is not limited to:
Endearing, clever characters
A genuine push-pull kind of relationship that quickly won me over. There are some explicit passages about hooking up and sex, but it's hardly erotic and I'm sure teens can handle it. Army battles and court drama.
The nebulous court of public opinion and journalism and protests.
Magic and technology.
I legit cried at one point.
Thorough world building, two hero arcs, a romance, and a quest are completed in this one book instead of being dragged out to two or three. And it's all wildly talented and impressive and done SO fucking well, it's ridiculous.
Especially that fucking ending!!
I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE.


Quotes:
Perhaps he was a warrior jester--fierce one moment, jovial the next.

Her mama had been too good for this world and was needed in the World After to spread her love there.

Once upon a time, we were close as heartbeats.

"I was found, Captain."

He stood on a tightrope with doom on one side and failure on the other, but in only a handful of days Jasminda had become the bar he gripped to balance him.

He'd thought the war was against a foreign enemy, when really he just may have to save his land from itself.

The clerk pronounced the words as if speaking around marbles in her cheeks.

"It must be hard living in a land with so much sameness that any deviation at all stands out."

Sympathy and sentimentality are like quicksand. I cannot allow them to pull him under as they did me.

I enjoyed the story and wanted to know more about the world and the main characters.

I thought it was hard to put down, but I never did get the world building I wanted, unfortunately. I will also admit the story was heavily focused on the connection and romance instead of anything else.

The plot was fast paced and interesting, so I couldn’t knock any stars off, even it wasn’t perfect. (I think it’s probably 3.5 that I just rounded up to 4 stars.)

Thank you to NetGalley and L. Penelope for allowing me to read and review Song of Blood & Stone. I really enjoyed this book.

I have to say, I wanted to rate this one a lot higher than I'm about to. The cover is lovely, I like the diverse cast, the issues the story addressed, and the fact that the tension was well-built. However, I kept putting off reading it because I just couldn't get invested. I wasn't fully sure where or when the story was supposed to take place - the setting seemed high fantasy but also somewhat modern? - and Jasminda was relatively bland to me. I was also immediately turned off by the hardcore insta-love aspect. I don't buy that they would immediately be willing to save one another's lives when they're supposed to be enemies. I wanted to care about what was happening, but I just...didn't. It's too bad, because I really liked the premise of this novel, but for me the execution fell flat.

This novel took me a while to get into but after the 30% mark I couldn't put it down! The world is incredibly engaging and complex and once the characters start to hook you in, you're in it for the long run. I loved spending time with the characters as they discovered more about themselves and worked to figure out how to solve their problems. It's overall a really wonderful story!

Oooooh this was so much fun! Totally hit the perfect spot re: fantasy romance, which let me tell you, is NOT an easy thing to do. I think the romance was a leeeeettle too insta-lust for me, but honestly, this was just such a great, well-done read.

To be honest, when I first started to read this book a couple of months ago it didn't grip me. In fact, I have just finished reading it this week. But when I picked it up again on Friday - it had me hooked.

I think if months ago I have just read one more page that would have been it, I would have been in love. The reason I put it down to start with was that I really didn't like Jasminda, she was independent but not. Always hurting and isolated and that kind of dragged down my mood whenever I read it.

I think a few pages after I picked it up was the moment I realized she has a real fire in her soul and was going to fight for her life, not let some other person fight for her. This book is definitely a grower but once it has its hooks in you, you won't be able to put it down!

Song Of Blood & Stone wasn’t quite the book for me. It was very much a New Adult romance book set in a fantasy world, as compared to the YA fantasy adventure/political intrigue story I expected.

I’m not sure if it was the writing, the characters, or the haphazard world-building but something never clicked for me. I was confused for around the first 30% about which country each character came from. The world itself was also puzzling. At the beginning, I thought it was more of a historical setting. Then planes, trucks, and other modern things appeared. It felt very incongruous to me, like the world didn’t fit together quite right.

The romance was love at first sight, a trope that I’m not usually a fan of. Additionally, I never really felt the connection between Jasminda and Jack. Since the book was centered around their romance, not being able to connect with their relationship made it difficult to become invested in the book. Also, there was a graphic attempted rape scene that turned me off the book, particularly because an attempted murder would have worked just as well in that instance.

While Song of Blood & Stone wasn’t the book for me, I do think that many readers will enjoy this one. The plot was interesting but it was too focused on the romance for my taste.

I found this book really hard to get into. I think that the idea of it is great but I just wasn't able to enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. At the moment I can't put my finger on the exact reasoning as to why I didn't enjoy it so much, but that doesn't mean others won't.

4.5 Stars
For the month of June, I’m ranking A Song of Blood & Stone as my favourite. The ARC was provided to me by Netgalley and I’m so thrilled I chose it. We follow the story of Jasminda who is an outcast for being half Elsiraian , lighter skinned people with no magical powers and live in peace, and and half Lagamiri, dark skinned people with magic who live under a violent dictatorship. She doesn’t fit in either country because she has the dark skin and magical powers of the Lagarimi but has spent her whole life in Elsira.

On top of that, her maternal grandfather is plotting against her because she won’t renounced her birthright. She falls for a solider,Jack, with a weighty and privileged secret, and it is up to her to save both Elsira and Lagarimi from destruction at the hands of True Father in Lagarimi ,who is nothing more than a ruthless dictator.

Aside from the romance parts, I loved seeing Jack use his privilege for a greater good and the parallels between the Lagarimi refugees and what is happening here in America in terms of xenophobic and racist narratives to deny people in need. If you like strong women leads, a little romance, and don’t mind themes of war check it out.

This is really rare for me but I was unable to finish this book. I just found the world building and characterization to be lacking. I'm stuck at about 50%. The book never hits true rising action. It feels aimless and is lacking the spark for me. I am truly sorry because I did have really high hopes. Every time I went to read I would painfully endure one chapter and pick up 5 - 10 books to read in-between.

Jasminda is an outcast, an Earthsinger, who has lived alone since the death of her mother. Soldiers come to her demanding refuge, they have a captive spy with them who is injured, who is captivated by Jasminda.

Jack is a spy who barely survived the breaching of the mantle. He is on a mission and needs Jasminda's help to rebel against the True Father and save Elsira.

I tried to read this book, and held on for about 6 chapters, but this just wasn't a good fit of a book for me. It was confusing for me to understand the history of the Elsirians and the Lagamiri, as well as the characteristics of this fantasy world. The rape scene was more graphic than I typically read, which for me was pretty much the last straw. I kept reading a little further, but I just wasn't invested, and was still confused by some of the plot.

I'm pretty sure the reason I didn't like this book is my fault. It's not my typical read. I found it difficult to orientate myself, which is often my problem with fantasy. Also I typically stick to clean reads, so this just wasn't my comfort level.

I was given access to this book galley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

Incredible! I will be telling all my friends about this book -- L. Penelope is a real talent and I can't wait to read more from her.

After a chapter or two to really get into it, I began to enjoy this book. Jasminda was an interesting character who had to survive much hardship. When Jack almost fell into her lap, the book really picked up steam, and I enjoyed the journey the two of them had to go on, from war captives to magical caves, etc. Then, however, they made it back to "civilization" and Jack's military comrades. And at that point the book became just not as good, in my opinion. A lot of the "magic" was lost once they got to the big city, and the romance between Jack and Jasminda overwhelmed the story. To go back to my earlier analogy, the book lost steam at that point. I wasn't sure where the author was going and it seemed like some depth to the characters and story was missing. When the book reached the climax, the author's descriptions seemed almost matter-of-fact and therefore everything was a bit anti-climactic. While overall this was a good book, that was almost the problem with it--it was just "good" when it could have been great.

I requested this book because of the gorgeous cover and OMG it was amazing! An epic adventure and magical world with romance and political intrigue. The worldbuilding is fantastic. The characters are complex. And the themes of racism, alienation and class discrimination are handled in a realistic and nuanced way. I really loved reading this book and the author's voice. I hope there are more in this series in the future.