I always feel sad when the book I have high (or even moderate) expectations for, ends up being a complete miss. «Songs from the Deep» by Kelly Powell promised a dangerous world where sirens weren’t a myth but a reality that tourists from all over the world came to witness.

Instead of following this fantastical thread, Kelly Powell led the plot differently. It often felt like the author couldn’t decide what genre she wanted to write, and ended up mixing mystery, fantasy, historical fiction (??), romance and a love letter to music. In turn, I found my mind wandering from one plot element to another, not able to focus or care about any of them.

Kelly Powell’s lyrical writing style, combined with the small-town setting, created a very atmospheric story. Even though I DNF’d this book at 86%, it wasn’t all that bad. In fact, I really enjoyed how the author used writing style to set the mood, portray the feelings of the townsfolk, and show us the life on the island.

This was my first “siren” book, and I enjoyed the little facts thrown here and there that described the danger of living in such proximity to sirens, but also the need to protect them from us, humans. Moira’s father was one of the supporters of the siren killing ban. He helped to implement it, and see it followed by everyone on the island.

I wish Kelly Powell would have focused more on sirens, on the fantastical element and left the mystery and the romance in the background.

Despite the beautiful, lyrical writing, the plot and characters lacked purpose, which made it difficult to keep paying attention to the events in the book. «Songs from the Deep» is only 320 pages long, so I didn’t expect it to have so many unnecessary details. Especially the long paragraphs that described Moira’s violin, music, etc.

Halfway through the book I still didn’t see what the book was about. The sirens and the murder mystery seemed to come on and off focus, while we got excessive information about Moira’s whereabouts, Moira’s music, and Moira’s thoughts.

Speaking about Moira, the book is written in the first person, and we read the story from her point of view. I expected to grow more and more attached to her as the story progressed, but somehow it had a different effect on me. In the beginning, I tried to like Moira, to understand what she was going through, but after many rude remarks and rather selfish acts, I gave up.

She was constantly rude to her mother, she was putting other people in danger, and the romance was (1) very convenient and predictable, but also (2) lacked the spark.

The mystery murder wasn’t compelling enough to keep me reading. I should have DNF’d this book way earlier, but I made it to 86% and debated with myself for a couple of minutes if I should just read the final pages, find out the answer to the main question who did it and contentedly set it aside.

I wanted to… But I couldn’t.

Some GoodReads reviews were really positive, so I might go back and finish it at some point, but at the moment I will let it go to avoid driving myself into another reading slump.

"The island would eat you alive, if you let it."

3.5 STARS


CW: loss of a loved one, child death, gore, violence, smoking

If you're looking for a story with a soft love interest, a guarded main character, a good dash of murder, and some music to score it all, then Songs from the Deep is probably going to fit your bill! And if you're looking for a quick read, then double bonus! It's fast and atmospheric at the same time.

Following Moira Alexander as she investigates an unusual death on the island, Songs from the Deep manages to at once trace out multiple characters with emotionally-tangled secrets, a world where the fringes of magic are simply a feature of existence, and an island that drips with a foggy, secluded atmosphere. In some ways, the setting reminds me of The Scorpio Races, just with dangerous sirens instead of flesh-eating horses that the locals race up and down the beach. And with more murder.

In fact, there's multiple murders, as most murder mysteries tend to have, and they're made more eerie by the questions that the bodies raise. On an island where sirens don't often leave remains, evidence of an attack is rare and cause for alarm.

Of course, this is where we run into one of the things that kept me from fully enjoying Songs from the Deep: it doesn't have enough sirens. Granted, that's not really something you can quite quantify, BUT, I found that there were far fewer sirens and far more humans than the summary implied, which was a bit of a bummer. I love mermaid and sirens stories (though you shouldn't get me started on how they're two totally different creatures), and the overwhelmingly human focus at once made sense but disappointed nonetheless. Essentially, Criticism #1 is NEEDS MORE SIRENS. (Criticism #1 is also pretty darn subjective, and I promise that I recognize this.)

On the other hand, I really did love the characters. Moira Alexander is headstrong and opinionated, and while she doesn't always make the best of decisions, she has the steel in her spine to stand by them (plus a hint of flexibility to recognize when she's in the wrong). Jude Osric, on the other hand, is the perfect counter to Moira's steadfast nature. He's flexible and open, one of the town's most beloved figures, and his heart seems to rest on his sleeve in an endearing way. 

Acting as such opposites, I loved the way Moira and Jude played off of one another, tried to be better for one another. Their romantic entanglement was inevitable from page one (childhood friends to lovers, anyone?), but it progressed so sweetly and carefully (with one major bump I appreciated, plus a good sprinkling of hurt/comfort) that I couldn't help but enjoy it. This coming from the world's pickiest blogger when it comes to romance arcs, y'know?

And while the characters lent strength to the story, I think the plot struggled a little to keep up. It's not bad (except for Criticism #1, see above) so much as it is...typical. Nothing about the course of the mystery is terribly surprising, not even the truth of it all. It's formulaic in the way murder mysteries can often find themselves in danger of becoming, and while that can be a comforting constant, it certainly doesn't add anything fresh. 

This familiarity of plot is part of what makes Songs from the Deep such a quick read, too. Not only is it shorter than average to begin with, but there's no pressing need to sit and scratch your brain trying to put it together, no bombshell plot twists to throw the whole thing askew. So, if you want a complex mystery that's going to leave you guessing, this isn't it. But if you want a mystery with a sweet romance and a familiar feeling just to pass the time and make you feel good, this could be just the thing! 

Ultimately, if you don't mind a book that's not mindblowingly original, and if you're not as frustrated as I am with the lack of sirens, you might find that it's worth giving Songs from the Deep a try! It releases on November 5th (yes, that's tomorrow), and if nothing else, it can transport you to a foggy, salt-worn island for a while, where sirens prowl the waters and humans lead their odd little lives on the cliffs above.

[This review and its associated link will go live on The Words Gremlin at approximately 10 am EST on 11/4/19.]

Moira knows the Sirens who inhabit the sea around her island home are dangerous. But she still sneaks near the beach to watch them. She plays her violin from her hiding place, letting her music travel through the salty sea air to the mysterious creatures. She carries iron to protect her from their mesmerizing, magical songs. When a boy's body, bleeding and broken, is discovered on the beach, the villagers are quick to blame the death on a siren attack. But Moira feels something is wrong. Very wrong. Why would sirens leave a dead 12-year old boy on the beach? Wouldn't they have dragged his body to the sea? With the help of a childhood friend, Moira is determined to discover the truth.

This story is so engaging and interesting! Part sea monster tale and part murder mystery, this book kept my attention from start to finish. Moira and Jude work well together. I enjoyed their investigation and the development of their characters throughout the story.

This is a YA book. There are no gory death details or graphic sex. No cursing. The sirens are a bit scary and there are killings...so the story might be a bit much for someone under 13. Parental guidance suggested, as with any monster story.

The front cover art for this book is perfect. It is what first interested me in reading this story.

This is the first book by Kelly Powell that I've read. I will definitely be reading more. I like her writing style. The suspense, action and mystery are well-written, perfectly paced and definitely engrossing.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Simon & Schuster. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell is a young adult fantasy that has entwined itself with a historical mystery. This book is actually the author’s debut novel and just from the description alone you can imagine the creativity behind it was definitely a thumbs up and hard to imagine it being a first.

Moira Alexander is a young woman who lives in a town upon an island the is often surrounded by deadly sirens. Moira has always found the sirens quite fascinating and would often come as close as she can with precaution to study the deadly creatures even boldly serenading them with her own violin.

One night Moira is out with a companion when they come across the body of a young boy. Before sending for help Moira couldn’t help her curiosity as she takes a closer look at the body and determines this was murder and not a siren attack. However, Moira seems to be the only one not willing to blame the sirens so she enlists her friend, Jude Osric, to help her find the real killer.

Songs from the Deep felt very atmospheric in the world building with this one taking a reader not only back in time but to this small island with mythical creatures. It was actually quite a twist to find that the sirens making this a fantasy somewhat take a backseat to a mystery. Certainly and entertaining and impressive debut overall.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Moira Alexander has always been fascinated by the sirens that surround her small island home. While most villagers steer clear of the danger, Moira relishes in it. In fact, she spends most of her time on the sea cliffs, playing her violin to the sirens that gather at the edge of the enchanted sea. When a young boy is found dead on the beach, everyone is quick to blame the sirens, but Moira is unconvinced. She believes the boy was murdered.

Moira enlists the help of Jude Osric, keeper of the lighthouse and her childhood best friend, to help her get to the bottom of this mystery before anyone else, human or siren, gets hurt. But with unhelpful police detectives, townspeople calling for siren blood, and even their own deep-seeded secrets, the pair have many obstacles to overcome. When another body turns up on the beach, and threats start coming their way, it's a race against time to uncover the true killer and bring justice to the island.

I really enjoyed this. I was so engrossed in the story from the very first page, and I flew through this cause I just didn't want to put it down. I loved the whole setting, and especially Moira and Jude's relationship. They two complimented each other so well, and I loved their whole dynamic. The mystery was solid enough to where I was never bored, and despite having my own guesses as to who the killer was, I was still pleasantly surprised at the end. Powell did such a great job of balancing out the fantastical siren element with a really well thought out murder mystery. I'd definitely recommend this if you're a fan of either genre.

Songs from the Deep tries hard to be something it’s not, resulting in a shallow read stripped of fantasy and wonder. A boilerplate romantic mystery.

--

To be honest, I almost DNFed Songs from the Deep in the second chapter.

The writing style really doesn’t work for me. Kelly Powell’s version of a period setting seems to be having everyone speak in incredibly formal sentences. The prose desperately wants to be third person, but Powell crams the story into a first-person perspective that doesn’t fit the voice at all. The book spends so much time being “”poetic“” that we get very little substance.

But I kept going, because Songs from the Deep was setting up a story I hadn’t quite seen before, and I was fascinated to see where this odd fantasy blend would go.



Songs from the Deep sets out to do something very strange.


The gorgeous cover will make you think that this book is about sirens. It’s not… at all. Despite the fact that sirens are mentioned… let’s see… six times in the publisher synopsis, they’re not a primary focus of the book.

The sirens are… set dressing, I suppose. They’re there to provide some creepy atmosphere and be objects in the plot, but nothing more. We only see them a few times, and only once up close. They’re never described in detail, much less given the page space to reveal their behaviors or customs or anything else you might want to know.

Songs in the Deep is a murder mystery romance that just happens to take place on a siren-surrounded island. It’s a really bizarre premise for a book, especially in YA. We’ve got the story, which is completely realistic, but there are also sirens over there… and they’re supposedly the source of conflict, but they’re basically left out of the book.

I can’t quite think of another book that uses fantasy elements this way. The closest I can come up with is Patrick Ness’ The Rest of Us Just Live Here, but that book is pretty up-front about what to expect. The lack of world-saving is, itself, the hook.

But Songs of the Deep seems to want to be a siren book. It just isn’t interested in sirens at all.



That’s a real problem for the book.


To begin with, the mysterious lack of siren content in Songs from the Deep is sure to disappoint anyone who picked up the book because they, you know, like reading about sirens. When everything about the book is marketed on the fantasy creature hook, why would you want to leave your one guaranteed audience disappointed?

But the neglect of the fantasy creatures leads to some bigger structural problems too. Most importantly, Songs from the Deep never quite figures out what it wants to be.

I have no idea, after finishing this book, if the sirens in this universe are people. Are they just animals, which makes Moira’s mission analogous to a contemporary story of a heroic teen saving endangered owls? Or are they, in some sense, persons, which makes this a standing-up-for-the-marginalized narrative?

In the few scenes we see sirens up-close, they’re quite personified. The focus on the emotion seen in their eyes suggests some degree of humanization. And that makes the neglect of those characters even worse. It’s not exactly heroic to campaign for protecting the “voiceless” if you’re not interested in the voice they already have.

And when you’re talking about sirens… claiming voicelessness is a little on-the-nose, isn’t it?

Without a strong fantasy element, period atmosphere, or clear point of view, the book flounders. The romance is pleasing enough but boilerplate. The mystery is shallow and predictable. When sirens are the only thing that make a book different… why would you ignore them?

Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books and Simon and Schuster for providing an advance review copy of this title for review. No money changed hands for this review and all opinions are my own.

I loved the elements of horror in this love story and the strong characterization of the island as a territory of danger and longing and magic. Unusually for me, I felt that the plot was the least interesting part of this story. Although I love a good mystery, the reveal of the murderer was, for some reason, not satisfying. I wanted to know more about the sirens and their culture and their code of ethics. I guess I was hoping that the ending would offer some insight into their behavior. It's such a compelling premise! I will be thinking about this siren island for a long time.

I'm trying to figure out a way to review this book.  It's a mystery and slow paced.  I thought the atmosphere was amazing, but I wish there were more parts that had sirens.



Moira is a young girl (seventeen).  She is a violinist and lives with her mother that she really doesn't get along with.  Moira was very close to her father that passed away and she wants to be like him.  He was obsessed with the sirens and protecting them.  Moira often times plays her violin on the cliffs close to the sirens.  She knows how far away she can be and carries iron on her at all times. 



Jude is two years old than Moira and lives in the lighthouse.  His family has been taking care of it for years.   Jude's father was best friends with Moira's dad.  He was also obsessed with Sirens and that may have caused his death.  Jude's father, mother, and sister were out on a boat when they were killed by sirens.  The bodies washed up on shore days later.  



Moira and Jude used to be close, but she stopped visiting him after her father died.  The schools only teach children until they are 13, but Moira gives private violin lessons to kids.  



This island has a siren killing ban in place.  Tourists come there to see the sirens, and many don't survive.  But it's rare for a local to be killed by one.  A young boy was found dead by the water.  Jude found him and Moira went down to see who it was.  She noticed that his throat was cleanly slit.  The police come and say that it's a siren killing.  But Moira knows that the sirens kill in the water and their bites and slices are jagged.  She is determined to find the murderer and gets Jude to help her.



A lot of the story is Jude and Moira working together and reconnecting.  Both are keeping secrets from each other.  While trying to solve the murder, we get glimpses back into the past with Moira's and Jude's fathers.  There are many on the island that want to hunt sirens again and Moira is afraid that the ban may be lifted because of the twelve year old's death.



As I mentioned above, I really loved the atmosphere in the book.  The setting was great and the sirens were violent, but also not at times.  The pacing was slow, but the mystery and secrets kept me reading.  I was able to read it in two days (slow paced books are usually 4 for me).



I gave this book 4 stars.  Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

Whenever I hear the word siren in a book or a movie or just anything, I’ll definitely pick it up, so needless to say as soon as I knew that this book had sirens in it I added to my TBR. I thought the premise was so intriguing and interesting, and since I’m a huge fan of murder mystery stories (with sirens!) I went with pretty high expectations, thinking I was going to absolutely love Songs From the Deep. Unfortunately, I was so highly disappointed by the execution of the story.

My main issue with this book was that I honestly expected to see more sirens in it. I know it is a pretty stupid reason to dislike a book, but I technically didn’t like it just because of that, but that was an added bonus. I think we barely got any information of the sirens, apart from how they looked and that they took humans from the surface and yada, yada, yada. The most unique element of the story, and the one in my opinion could have made the book stood out was barely addressed throughout the story, and only walked by. I would have loved for the author to explore that magical world and integrate it with the plot, instead of just being a separate element of the story.

Now, my biggest issue with this book was regarding the plot. Even though I for sure am not an expert in mysteries, I’ve read quite a few of them throughout these few years, and I’m quite good at anticipating those big revelations. And I think that this particular book didn’t add a lot to what I have previously read. It was a very generic murder mystery, with a lot of similar elements that other stories have, so I didn’t have that sense of anticipation and wanting to know who the murderer was, or that there was going to be a major plot twist that would blew my mind, and if a mystery doesn’t keep me engaged and thrilled to want to continue reading it, it’s missing something.

The ending and that big revelation was so predictable in my opinion, and the way it was done was a bit weird and strange, and maybe not the best to create that shocking element to the reader, and how everything was solved was a bit too convenient and juvenile.

When it comes to the characters, my main thought is they were okay but weren’t mind blowing. Since it was a very short book and the majority of the story was purely focused on the plot (till the point I felt I was reading the same exact thing over and over again), it didn’t leave a lot of room for the characters to shine. Our protagonist was brave and had so much potential, but honestly she felt quite flat to me. We didn’t know that much about her apart from her relationship with her father and how she was fascinated by mermaids, but she didn’t have pretty much any evolution throughout the story. Her interactions were a bit odd sometimes, and the romance was just so unnecessary because she barely had any chemistry with her love interest, and with everything that was going on regarding those murders, that romance honestly seemed like it came out of nowhere, since those characters were that simple.

Overall, I was sadly pretty disappointed with Songs From the Deep. I had such high expectations, but the plot and characters didn’t hit that mark for me, and though it had a very interesting concept, it was a bit boring. The pacing was so lineal that it didn’t build that anticipation the reader should have while reading a mystery, and I just wish I had seen more sirens in it

Part fantasy, part crime drama, Songs of the Deep is a great read! By the end of the book, you will not only the thoroughly entertained, but you will be craving the smell of the ocean.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

For a book featuring deadly sirens and brutal murders my first thought shouldn’t be about how sweet it was but alas here we are.


“Songs from the Deep” find Moira playing her violin over the cliffs watching the sirens at the shoreline when a body is discovered on the beach below. With questions on her tongue she enlists the help of her childhood friend and keeper of the lighthouse Jude to help her uncover the true killer and save the sirens from a a crowd of angry villagers ready hungry for blood.

Okay I completely understand why the people in this book were so taken with Jude he’s so sweet and soft spoken that I didn’t want anything bad to ever happen to him and it only made it better to have him tailing along behind Moira who was more than happy to the fight anyone who dare cross her. Their dynamic was perfect with them both being completely different but finding common ground when it came to shyness about their new dynamic together now that they were no longer children and it didn’t hurt that they had plenty of time to work it out while they hunted for a killer.

I’m a huge fan of the bloodthirsty, rip your heart out sirens and this book didn’t really have that. It was kind of sad to have just about everything with the creatures happen off screen but I guess it was a good way to show that more often than not the monsters are people. A lot of the dialogue surrounding the sirens and whether or not they should be hunted seemed pulled almost from what’s said concerning sharks and those conservation efforts but maybe that’s just me being weird and seeing what I want to see.

This book plays the mystery well and it was fun trying to see who was responsible but at the end of the day my heart sings only for the two at the lighthouse.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**

Hello, I will be posting my review to my blog, Goodreads, and Instagram on October 14th. I will add the links once they are published. Thank you!

The cover and synopsis really pulled me in with this one when it came to requesting. Who doesn't want to read a book about killer sirens and a murder mystery? Well, I thought I wanted to but this book was a big let down when it came to the sirens.

Moira grew up being taught about sirens by her father. He believed they needed to be treated with respect and not hunted. When a body is found, everyone is quick to blame the sirens except her after seeing the body up close. The one thing about Moira is that she felt emotionless. There wasn't any concern for the body or even being that upset even when she found out who it was. She just seemed cold to everything including the relationship she found herself in. Which in turn made it hard to believe.

When it came to the sirens, I needed more. They were mentioned here and there. A few were even present for a couple scenes and described but that was it. I was really expecting something else when it came to them.

The world building was okay but again, there needed to be more to really grasp me and feel like I was there. I also felt like it could have been the writing style since it just felt bland in a way.

As for the plot, it was a unique concept but it just wasn't executed well enough for me. I had high hopes for it but everything was easy to guess and nothing surprised me. The ending was also anti-climatic for me.

Overall, I would say that the best word to described how I feel is bland. I just needed more from the sirens and the plot twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My reviews are spoiler-free and unaffected by the free copy.

Before I get into the story, I have to warn right off the bat that sirens play more of a background role in this book. There are a few scenes where the reader gets to see encounters from them, but for the most part they simply act as the motivation for what the main characters do. And to be honest, I never fully understood why sirens were protected. They say that tourists come to see the sirens, but that felt really wrong to me-- especially when that comes with the risk of death from said tourists. Maybe I missed it, but I don't feel like it was ever explained if the sirens were beneficial in any other way than as economical gain.

Now let's actually talk about the book. The writing style is interesting. I liked parts of it a lot because when it did focus on atmosphere, it did that very well. But the story was more focusing on the murder mystery, so the atmosphere was sometimes lost. The murder mystery was paced decently. Thinking back, the clues were presented with good timing. The reveal felt a little lackluster, though. There was a sinister edge to what was going on so when it got to the solution I was like "... Oh. Okay." What I did like about it was that while the culprit did do a bit of explaining their motives, they didn't explain everything. They even had a line about not having to explain themselves, which is a nice change from culprits telling the main character exactly why they did the deed.

This is not a typical YA. It can work well as an adult mystery, which I think is cool. The language is formal and there's a colder edge to the main character we don't see often. I thought there might've been a twist with her that didn't happen. I kind of like it, though, since that would've changed her whole character and put her motivation in a different light. I also like that the romance wasn't a huge focus or annoying as it so often is in YA. It was still there, but not bogged down by insta-love or jealousy over another character being the love interest's friend or any of that nonsense.

If you want something a little different from the typical YA fare, I would highly suggest reading this. It has a good mystery, interesting characters, and a nice bit of fantasy.