Thank you to Netgalley & Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

The idea of Fae, Sirens, Magic, found family and an adventure intrigued me, and a friend recommended this author to me, as this is my kind of vibe to read.

It took a bit for me to get into this book, as although many things happened, it felt a little slow to get into regarding all the different characters we were introduced to.
I liked the idea of Lira escaping her mother and finding her own way in life away from the path her mother had set out for her.
I liked how our two main met as well, Lira seeking out someone and it being Sai, even though it didn't turn out how either expected it to. I enjoyed that the magical beings in this world were not supposed to be in the human world, and yet majority of creatures were in fact magical.

It felt a little predictable with Sai instantly welcoming her into his band of misfits/friends, and using her to help them with the heist, although it made me smile that Elisa was so welcoming to her.
I did however enjoy the world-building and the magic system within the story. I'm always a sucker for magic in a book, and the mythology and history the author creates.

I liked the secondary characters in this story too, and the fact that representation was included was wonderful as well.
I enjoyed this story enough to want to see where the next book goes, so I will most likely pick it up when it is released.

Okay, this was a wild ride and I was so here for it! The premise reminded me of To Kill a Kingdom but somehow, this took that story and made it five times better?
If you like fast-paced stories filled with fantastical elements, are a fan of big heists, unexpected plot twists (that make actual sense though) and magical beings like fae and sirens, then this one is perfect for you!

Multiple POV and Fast pace. After the Seelie Prince stole the zevar from the Prasanna’s Prince, a magical stone that allows faes to focus and channel their powers, Sai and his group of fae mercenaries are tasked with infiltrating the Seelie palace and retrieving their Prince’s zevar.

I give this book five stars!

I really loved the characters and the morally grey-ness they all have.

If you like Six of Crows and Throne of Glass this is the book for you! Faeries, magic, good evil, star crossed lovers and amazing LGBTQ representation.

I realized at about 50% read that this was to be a series and not a standalone. I absolutely cannot get enough of this world and the characters. So well written and so amazingly paced.

I can definitely see an audience for this book! Many people were comparing it to Acotar, and I definitely agree despite not being the biggest fan of ACOTAR. I feel like this brings more depth than ACOTAR does, and the characters are much more enjoyable. The whole cast felt more detailed, representative, and honestly enjoyable. Definitely a bit slower than I usually like, but overall I enjoyed the story! I can never pass up a queer fae story and this was a very fun read.

This book just wasn't my personal cup of tea, but I know it would be great for fans of ACOTAR. I thought that this book was pretty slow to get off the ground and I found it to be repetitive in content. I also found it a tad frustrating that there was an a lack of compelling stakes, which didn't provide much motivation to continue reading and find out more about the world's politics. However, I did really enjoy the diversity and the character dynamics.

I went into this with such high expectations, the idea of a Siren working with a con man to pull off a heist had me so excited and maybe that's the problem, I went into it looking for too much.

Let me start with the positives, let's talk about the cover art for just a moment, it is beyond beautiful and gives you insight as to what the feel of the book will be.

The story is original and well-written, and we have a wide range of characters that give an inclusive feel to the world we're reading about.


The magic system, sirens, fae, humans, it all works really seamlessly and makes you feel like you're being pulled into this story, I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next and the plot, ohh the plot, I love a good heist story.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that just didn't work for me, and these may just be a personal preference, I've seen a lot of people absolutely love this book so I'd still say give it a read.

The first thing, there are a lot of characters to keep track of and who has what type of magic, who is in a relationship with who, and who is good or bad.

The second issue is some of the internal dialogue, parts of it are really insightful and helpful with the story but other parts of it were almost repetitive, it got to a point where it felt like nothing much was being said.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing a copy of this ebook, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own. If I could give 3.5 stars I would.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get into this book! The premise was enticing, but I got around 15% through and went into a reading slump as I just didn’t feel as if I connected enough with the storyline to continue and feel fully engaged. I’m hoping that this is a book that I will be able to pick up again in the future and give another go when I’m in the mood for a heist read.

Story leaves something to be desired, but the characters are fascinating.

I spent much of this book devouring it and simultaneously asking myself why. The story moves at a decent clip, despite the revolving POVs and complicated magic system that were frequently distracting. The fact that it kept my attention AND had a host of unique, lovable, and LGBTQ+ characters is exactly the reason why I would recommend it at the end of the day.

Optimistic, romantic, cozy, found family adventure. While the MCs romance felt Disney-esque in nature (rushed and inorganic) it was charming enough to be overlooked. PLUS- the secondary characters more than make up for any irritation caused by Lira and Sia in their host of insecurities.

Sure there was a lot of repetition; arguments that acknowledge circling, time spent lamenting 'self-made tragedies', and being pulled aside to talk in tableau. If anything, that only makes this an easier read. Done in a day, easy.

Like other reviewers I would have to agree that this story left me satisfied enough that I will be picking up the sequel and crossing my fingers that Bailey might have the opportunity to tighten up her narrative in her books to come. A series to watch for sure!

[Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]

3.85

Such a great book, with nice characters, that promises to let craving for more.

In this book, we follow the story of Lira, a siren who's running away from her Mother (and her duties 🙃), Sai, a con man and thief, and his crew: Neia and Elisa, among others. They all meet in desperate circumstances, and start a journey full of adventure, angst, fights, love, and mess 🤭.

Y'all don't understand when I say this book had me wanting more.

That characters are anything but boring. They're all different, and unique, and talented it will so difficult to describe them all.

The romance was developed sorta quickly (?. I wanted more development or evolution when it comes to feelings, because otherwise it felt like they were imposing their love (something they were denying half the book 😅).

I did have a problem, and it was that the last 20% of the book felt rushed. It tried to cover many things and to present new places and characters so that we get prepared for the sequel (or try to end in hold). It would have better if we were introduced to those places/characters little by little through the whole book OR have them presented in the following book.

Overall, it was a really really good book. Of course I'm exited to read the next one, specially after the last two characters.

Songs of Vice has fascinating characters and an intriguing fantasy world, but the repetitive internal monologues slog down the pace and disconnect the reader from the narrative.

The novel starts out exposition heavy, telling not showing. It also began way too in the middle of the action for me to care about what the MC was doing, how she needed to flee from her cruel fellow sirens. That’s just my opinion though.

A lot of the internal monologues at the beginning drag down the action. The pace and the urgency would have been much better without it. A lot of readers will hate the info dumps, yet it is hard to organically pepper in details about an entirely different world, culture, and history. This book does not succeed in that, even though the world is intriguing.

Not quite instalove, but instantly a strong connection, really wanting to protect each other, way too strong a romantic connection

Narrative picks up better in chapter 7, but there is still a lot of inner dialogue that feels repetitive. Like it’s a recap, going over the same events, reactions, and feelings again and again. There is a lot of potential for a fun book with some depth and an intriguing world, but the writing takes away from that.

I think when a character worries about a lot of things and doesn’t think well of themselves it’s better to show it or use descriptive metaphors because hearing Lira go over the same worries, same self-hate, same lack of confidence, same ignorance about the world feels kind of grating, even though it makes some sense for the character. I think trimming a lot of that down will still leave the right impression in the reader’s mind without them disconnecting from Lira or thinking her whiny. Whininess is a criticism that I think way too often gets leveled at female characters, but it feels honestly accurate in this case. It’s kind of like painting a stylized portrait, where because it’s a facsimile, a simulacrum, if all of the wrinkles and lines in the face are part of the line drawing, even if it’s accurate, it gives the wrong impression on the viewer. They could end up thinking the subject is much older or has very different features because of how suggestion plays into art. So those face lines might be better served as shading not a distinct line. Even having it be flat color could still give the right impression on the viewer.

The Prasanna are Indian-coded, the women dress in saris, they eat Indian food, they call their children “beta”, they believe in the goddess Kali, they call their queen the Maharani, etc. The Naga from Indian mythology is among the magical creatures here. Prasanna is the name the Unseelie Court has for itself, which is an Indian male given name. This is a kinda odd choices for naming, but maybe there are other uses that I’m unfamiliar with. It’s kinda giving Shadow & Bone vibes, reminding me of the whole Grisha/Greg thing tbh.

The Seelie call the Prasanna the Unseelie and invent rumors about their cruelty. With the Indian inspiration for the Prasanna, I can’t help but think of colonialism / imperialism. Especially given the royal names: Prince Lennox, King Carrington. I am interested in where this could go in a sequel and what the other fairy court’s cultures would be once they are revived. I’m assuming with Luz and Alegre court that they would be Spanish or Latin America-based.

One thing the book does really well is telling the narrative through switching perspectives. It allows the reader to get attached to the whole ensemble of characters. Each voice added to the story and kept the pace and urgency of the tale going.

I’ll be watching for how the series develops, if the writing style improves this could be a great book series to get lost.

This was pretty interesting! I really enjoyed the representation included in this, and it was written in a way that was just very natural which I like. I will say the first part of the book was a little slow, but it sped up a bit when it got to the actual like,, plot point. I also really liked Lennox as a character, I wish there was more of him. Overall this was decent!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. There are 3 main POVs, with the occasional 4th. Lira, a siren, gets pulled into a dangerous heist. The group includes Sai, a handsome mysterious man, Neia and Elisa, two fierce and intelligent queer women, and Luz, another mysterious and intriguing person (they're non binary). As with all heists, especially those that involve fae, things aren't quite what they seem and everyone has secrets to keep.

This book takes the traditional Seelie vs Unseelie lore and gives it a twist. The magic is fascinated, the world is beautiful and the queer representation makes it even better. I had a lot of fun reading this book and I can't wait for the sequel (fingers crossed for an ARC)

Songs of Vice by Nicole Bailey - 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Tropes:
• reluctant hero
• enemies to lovers to ??allies??
• fated mates
• found family dynamics

Highlights:
• inclusive range of characters, including but not limited to: non-binary character, lesbian characters, gay characters
• the found family group dynamics were well-written and made me feel safe as a reader
• multiple POVs kept the story moving
• realistic representation of anxiety and low self-worth perception
• the author had a sensitivity reader and a dedicated content warning page

You’ll like Songs of Vice if you enjoy:
• fae/court politics
• impossible heists
• kingdoms on the brink of war
• fighting destiny to choose your own fate
• being emotionally torn to shreds by the FMC & MMC

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free e-book ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

rep: sapphic mc, nonbinary side
romance: m/f + f/f

Sai my precious boy, let's lose this "prince of darkness" nickname. You aren't scary!

Okay, for real now. I had so much fun with this book. One of the few times I kept reading a story because of the plot and not the characters. So fast-paced and I always am down for a good heist novel. Especially one with such a great cast of characters. Strong The Gilded Wolves vibes.

Never in my life have I preferred to read from a man's point of view, but now I have. Sai's character is fantastic. Lira was... Lira. This girl is afraid of EVERYTHING and I understand that it was a point of development for her, but it drove me insane. Not to mention how dramatic she was! There was a point of conflict between her and Sai about 70% through that I didn't really understand. She kept mentioning how Sai "used" and "betrayed" her but I didn't get it. I think the author was going for a lovers-to-enemies kind of situation but it definitely didn't play that way. Not to mention the instant lust/love they had. TWO there were only one-bed scenes before 40% (one at 20%) and both resulted in cuddles. Well, the second one did a little more than that but that one was understandable.

There's another mc, Neia that is lightly touched on. She has an established wlw! relationship and that's kind of the extent of her story. I did appreciate her friendship with Sai though! So nice to see platonic m/f relationships, especially in fantasy.

I am still reeling over that ending,, I don't know how I am going to be able to wait for the next one.

So so so good. I very much recommend.

thank you to booksirens and the author for allowing me to read this early and for free! all thoughts are my own <3

*Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

I really loved this book. I love sirens overall and this book did not disappoint. The plot sometimes felt flat but other than that it was a really good book. I highly suggest it.
I can't wait for the next one.

Songs of Vice (eARC) — 5 ⭐️

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: Oh my! I knew I would enjoy this book, but I was not prepared for how much I would like it!

If you like books with fae courts and heist adventures along with diverse characters and romantasy vibes, this one is for you. I felt deeply immersed into this layered story, and what was nice was there weren’t any chapters or parts that felt strictly “world building.” I felt captivated from the very start.

What made this book unique is the author provided a link to the zoom-able map, a name pronunciation guide, and a free copy of the sequel chapters (found at the end of the book)!

I cannot wait for the second book which will be published on May 17th! Also, if you’re tied down by your TBR right now, have no fear - Song of Vice will arrive on Kindle Unlimited on March 16th! 🎉 Plus, the author’s other fantasy books are also on Kindle Unlimited, so be sure to check them out!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 —
🤩 Addicting Read
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQIA+ Rep
👀 Multiple POVs
🔓 Open Door Romance
😨 Twists and Turns
⬜️ Morally Grey Characters
🫶 Found Family
🛏 One Bed Trope

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐟 —
🪩 You enjoy dancing at balls
👛 You’re good at pickpocketing
🎤 You have a beautiful singing voice
🍰 You can be persuaded with sweets
🔥 You enjoy sitting by the fire at night

𝐓𝐖: sexual content, homophobia, emotional abuse

Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op, for providing me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"The plan was a simple one. Get pregnant. Hand my only child over to Mother so she could raise her to be the heiress she always wanted. And then I had to end the life of the man I chose tonight."

I love a good heist story, and this one was great! Like Six of Crows meets The Prison Healer with fae.

Lira is the daughter of the leader of a troupe of sirens who feed off humans. Her mother's power is waning, and it needs to be passed on to Lira to ensure it remains potent. Except Lira doesn't want her mother's power. She wants to live a simple life where she doesn't have to harm anyone. If she has a child, the powers can be passed to it instead, leaving Lira to live her life.
Enter Sai, her unwitting victim/potential baby daddy who has his own secrets.

The characters were so interesting and diverse, with great LGBTQ+ rep. I always love a good motley bunch with found family vibes, and this is what I got. My only real issue was Neia's chapters, where she constantly repeated her attachment to Elisa. I felt it didn't need to be reiterated quite so much, I got it. But I did love seeing them together.
There were some unexpected turns in the story, which I found really fun, and I'm super keen for the next book already!

Thank you to Netgalley for this review copy.

Fantasy romance with a heist! Fans of ACOTAR and Six of Crows will love this first book of a new series. Sai and Lira must contend with their own internal struggles and expectations while also navigating their growing attraction. The side characters have varied backgrounds that make the story much more interesting. I’m hoping we get more of their POVs in the next book. After that ending, I can’t wait for the next book! Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for the arc.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story but I have to admit it was good. I liked the writing as well as the characters. I’m always up for a heist in a story and this one was cool. I wasn’t familiar with this author but now will keep an eye out for more. The book definitely kept me engaged and was a fun ride. This story is a must read that I hope other people will give a chance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.