Song of Siren and Blood" is a novel by Thomas K. Carpenter. It is the first book in the "Siren Song" series. The story is set in a world where sirens, creatures with the power to control people with their voices, are hunted and feared. The protagonist, Sully, is a siren hunter who becomes entangled with a siren named Kiera, who has a secret that could change everything. As Sully and Kiera navigate their dangerous world, they must confront their own beliefs and desires while facing threats from both humans and sirens alike. With its blend of fantasy, adventure, and romance, "Song of Siren and Blood" is a thrilling read that will captivate fans of the genre.

I'm tired of the trite storyline where a "young person is kidnapped or leaves home for a new adventure fighting dragons & demons" and finds some more mature individual to teach and train them, etc."

This series is about a modern era, super wealthy family with family intrigue and infighting. Add a dose of fantasy and unique personal powers and you have an entertaining and different kind of fantasy. I am looking forward to the final volume of this series.

What happens when you drop an older woman into a teenager's body and mix in a little magic? You get this book. I love that although she now inhabits a much younger body, Minerva doesn't just seamlessly slip into being a teen. Best part? The body she's now inhabiting belongs to Moriganne, who isn't exactly well liked, and wants control of her body back. I absolutely loved this storyline, and appreciated the glossary in the back. The contrast and struggle between Minerva and Moriganne within, and the world they jointly inhabit without, made for a captivating storyline with enough twists that it's hard to put it down once you start reading. A great way to kick off a new fantasy series!

Wish I would have read the other books in this universe before starting this. I was a bit confused at times and the pacing was a little slow. It took me some time to get into the plot. I think the potential is there, but not sure if I'd continue the series.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

New Adult- Check
Fantasy- Check

This book had a little bit of everything that I love. Thomas had beautiful writing throughout. He painted a perfect picture and made it feel like I was there.

I haven't finished the book yet... It was very difficult for me to get into, feeling like I was missing a lot. I'm currently going back and reading the previous series and will update my review once I get through them and back to finish Song of Siren and Blood

I did really enjoy this book. The charactes, the world, the magic - everything was good to follow. I had a little problem getting in to the world cause I haven't read the previous books set in the same world. But when I got the hang of it it went through smoothly.

I started reading this book thinking it was the first book in a series. And it is. Sorta. But it’s not the first series in a…… Saga? Megaseries? Lol. I jumped in and didn’t understand half of what I was reading so I stopped and did some research and realized there were a few series written prior to this one. I went back and started at the first series “Trials of Magic” and fell in love. Read my way through each series leading up to this one and I’m hooked. The Saga/Megaseries as a whole is amazing. This book does take a little longer to get into than the others just because it starts off a lot differently. But once I got passed the initial concept, I was yet again hooked! He is an amazing author and I can’t wait to finish the whole set!

I enjoyed this story, but found myself quite confused about the world and how the magic worked at times. However once I learned of the previous Hundred Halls series, I am ascribing that to not having read the earlier series and not at all because of the writing. I would've loved to get a little more background on Moriganne before she got "locked away" so to speak, because even with all the stories about how horrible she was, I had a hard time not sympathizing a little bit with having her body stolen from her. I hope there is more of her back story in the next books of this series. I got a little tired of the "its been so long since I have done school" whining from Minnie, but at the same time sort of enjoyed that an older woman sort of had a chance to start over. All in all this story kept me entertained and I think if I were to continue reading this series I would want to go back and read the Hundred Halls series first.

Body snatching fantasy turned magic academy new adult novel. A solid, well-written book in the genre, if you like the magic school theme with family power intrigue. If you also have a penchant for music then this is absolutely for you.
I really liked the main character, I loved the idea of an elderly woman with her experience, poise, view of the world, learning to navigate something new... and getting a new chance in a way. I wasn't super engaged, though, not sure why. The pace was good, the stakes are high and there were lots of things happening. I really liked the opening, you really feel for Minni. But I guess the primary threat became too diffuse when she was in the school, and despite it making sense, it felt a little like a lull in the story.
I recommend to people who enjoyed the Signs of the Zodiac series.

Minerva is an aging musician who is on her way out. She has an ex-husband who has black listed her and she was just screwed out of money by club owner. After calling her agent and begging for a gig, she begrudgingly accepts becoming a music tutor for a wealthy teenager. This is where Minerva's life changes unexpectedly.

This is the first book I've read by Thomas K. Carpenter, and it was a pretty good introduction to the Stone Singers series. The beginning started off a bit slow, and I was confused as to how Minerva fit into the whole thing and where the story was going to go. However, once the story got going, it was faster paced and made a bit more sense to me.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that the protagonist was older and trying to navigate the world as a teenager. Though, I wasn't a huge fan of the soul snatching idea, I get that it fits into a bigger idea and plotline that will hopefully unravel with books to come. I liked the feel of the book and how it showed the struggles that one can face, regardless of their income, resources, and familial influence. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick read with a magical academic aspect to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own.

A 70 year old washed up but still talented singer whose backstory was a should have been made it superstar status with her voice after being discovered & making a big hit but was set back by dropping out of the game to have a baby then her vindictive manager/husband after a tragedy that is barely holding onto the rails. Ripped off by a club owner that cheated her & her band after a sold out show she tries to get some kind of gig but can't as ex has poisoned the waters hard for her. Her current agent only had one lead which was as a voice tutor for a mega rich family. This is a land of magic & tech dilled with the mega rich & enhanced & magically adept & the rest of society. She breaks down after trying to steal from the club & getting caught & calls to potential position to check on the payout to at least get her band paid. Going to the interview she got a little cocky due to the level of wealth & demanded more money which was then agreed on then she met her wildest nightmares. Never trust a faux Irish other creature that is actually a more ancient harvest Diety that has been brought in to help a mega rich businessman give his favorite perfect daughter who is just moral less trash what she needs to win the game. Good fast read with alot of intrigue & twists & dysfunctional family at the top dynamics. First of the series of this particular 100 halls magic house. There are more houses & have a set of another house will now start as soon as I can

Excellent! My first book by this author and I was so impressed I went back to check his other books. Read this one and am anxiously waiting for the next one in this series. Highly recommended.

Having gone into this book without knowing that it was part of a larger series, I really loved how it felt like it could stand mostly alone. The world is so fleshed out that I never felt like I was missing anything until I realized that there was a much larger story going on.

The fact that main character is an older woman I adored. Sure she was put in a younger body, but it didn't stop feeling like how the character started in her own body. There was a good bit of intrigue and drama that was paced very well right alongside the trials of going through school and what comes with that.

I am interested to see where this goes and I know I will pick up the next books that come out.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Song of Siren and Blood by Thomas K. Carpenter is an original fantasy novel that will appeal to fans of academy books. The story revolves around Minerva, a club singer who is down on her luck after being screwed out of a contract. She goes for a gig that offers her an insane amount of money, only find out that she is being killed so that they can harvest her voice. Instead of going easily, she fights the process. Now she's an old woman stuck in the body of a high school student. Will she be able to fool everyone at the singing school?

Here is a magical excerpt from Chapter 2, when Minerva meets a fan:

"Minerva beamed. "I'm glad you enj0yed it."
The young woman placed a hand over her heart. "Why haven't I heard about you before? We got discount tickets, came on a whim, but I was looking you up at set break. You were about to be a big star. You are a big star. Your singing made me cry, it was so beautiful. I thought for sure there was magic involved, but that was straight genius.
The gushing praise made Minerva feel as young as the women before her. When she'd caught her big break, they'd called her the Siren of Savannah. More than one music review had tried to claim she had a supernatural background or had paid for enhancements, but she didn't have a speck of magic."

Overall, Song of Siren and Blood is an interesting and unique fantasy novel that is like nothing I have read before. One highlight of this book is that it features a much older protagonist than I'm used to reading about in fantasy books. Although she's in the body of a teenager now, she still has the mind of an old woman and struggles to understand teenage slang and acronyms when texting. I did take off 1 star, because I wasn't a fan of the body-snatching plotline. I still enjoyed reading this book though. It was fun to see how an old woman adjusts to being in high school again. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in March!

Carpenter's first book in a new series belong in a larger universe he has already created. As a result, there is not a lot of "instruction" in the way the magic and/or politics of this world work and it is so refreshing! It truly felt like I was discovering the world along with Minerva. Carpenter's writing style is fluid and fun, with natural interactions that truly gel.

In this first book, the story focuses on fewer characters in specifics and details, although it does feel like there is much more scope for future development in the characters and plots being established for future books.

As my first venture into Thomas K. Carpenter's world, Song of Siren and Blood ket me captivated - I now have the other books from the world added to my 'to read' list! If you are looking for a new world to explore from the beginning, think about going back to The Hundred Halls series to start from the start (as I will now), but if you are picking up this book - do not hesitate - even without any background, you will enjoy the story and adventure of Minerva!

3.75

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Moon Books for providing me with an ARC!!

This is my first read of any Thomas K. Carpenter book, and Song of Siren and Blood turned out to be the first in a series belonging to a much wider universe. It follows 70-year-old Minerva, a pop star, as her soul is placed into the body of Moriganne, a rich, 20-something socialite. The book follows her as she tries to balance surviving in Moriganne’s very complex, twisted family, as well as the Hundred Halls, a university for mages.

It was incredibly easy to read this book. I have a little experience with series that belong to a larger universe - this felt as though you could start with any of these little series of books and go on to reading the rest of the stories without feeling confused at any point. I found it almost refreshing to be thrust into a new world with very little explanation about the magic system. The book has a glossary of terms at the end, which I skimmed through a few chapters in, but it really wasn’t necessary. The writing was enjoyable; this book came to me at the start of a very hectic week, and I found myself reading chunks of it at a time, which rarely happens with new fantasy stories. It was nice to explore and learn about the magic system along with Minerva, and I liked the infusion of music into the story.

The characters were interesting. It was fun seeing Minerva’s perspective of Moriganne’s life and her family - I’ve never read a book with a character who’s naturally older (as opposed to older due to magical reasons), and I enjoyed it more than I expected. There were a lot of women in this story, which I also really enjoyed and didn't really expect at all - Moriganne, her sisters, Minerva's new schoolfriend, her teachers. I love stories with large family dynamics, so I loved every scene we got with Moriganne's siblings and her father.

The reason I didn’t rate this higher was because of pacing and plot. While this was a short book, it started off pretty slow and ended quite slow, and both the beginning and ending felt very dragged on, though not unpleasantly slow. In contrast to that, there was a very short chunk in the middle that had a lot of action and drama, which felt so far removed from the rest of the book, especially because of how the events barely seemed to have much consequence later. The plot also felt a little strangely divided: there was what felt like an even amount of time spent at Moriganne’s home and at the Hundred Halls, but because Moriganne’s home has so much more intrigue and mystery, I kept wanting more about her family and her siblings, and to learn about all the secrets they kept hinting at, as opposed to spending so much looking at Minerva trying to catch up with schoolwork. There was also very little character development, aside from Minerva. We get a little exploration of Andromeda and some development of Moriganne, but apart from that, everyone else remained distant and shallow, even Audrey, whose parts I really enjoyed. However, I assume these are all things that will improve further along into the series - I have little experience reading a series with five (?) books, so it could be my expectations are more suited for shorter series.

3.5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley & Black Moon Books for giving me this ARC.
An enjoyable and easy read, the first ever Thomas K. Carpenter I've read, which was a pretty good introduction to the Stone Singers series.
The pacing is pretty good, though in the middle, middle-end the pace did slow down quite a lot, I was expecting a lot more magical aspects outside of the classroom in an every day setting, but the whole magical school idea was a cool idea, with the different areas of magic.
I understand that this book is part of a larger world, with the 'main' series being The Hundred Halls, there were times when I was a little bit confused on the world building and magical powers, as someone who never read that original main series. Though I found there was a glossary at the back of the book that explained some aspects, it maybe would have been better to have that at the front of the book as an intro. I would have loved to know more about the magic, how people gained magic, was it inherited? learned? a mixture of both? And about each individuals power, as it all seemed like it depended on the person, on their type of magic and their level of power. However, I could just have missed this explanation, since I did not read The Hundred Halls series.
Overall a very fun magical school adventure with a twist that had me pretty interested throughout.

The book started off at a great pace, however I felt the world development and character development wasn't deep. I'm still a bit confused about the world, and hope to learn more about it's history and how/who/what has magic in future books. I have not read any of Thomas Carpenter's other books, and I'm thinking that I may be missing some information because I am starting at this point. I was still able to enjoy the book however, and am definitely interested to know if I should have started at a different point in his Hall Series books.