I received an audio copy from Netgalley for an honest review

I did enjoy the story, the world building was done well, the magic system was fun and the plot was great. Even though I enjoyed it the pacing was off, it was to descriptive at some points (I don’t really need to know the glass was perfectly cylindrical) and the characters were not developed well enough, I didn’t really find myself caring deeply for even 1 character. But also, it would switch POVs instantly sometimes and be hard to tell. I did like the narrator, but I do think the vibes on them and the story did not go together and I think reading it as opposed to listening would have made the difference.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This was good, and the characters were interesting. I did find it hard to follow though, which is an issue I seem to have with most fantasy books when I listen to them.

The Storm Singers... man, this book captivated me from the onset. As it is a debut book I wasn't sure what to expect and I was not let down. This is a complex and intricate world that is filled with lore and conflict yet doesn't lack in love and good humor.

Content Warnings for the book:
Blood, Gore, Violence, Demons, Gods/Religion, Harm to Animals, Injury/Injury Details, Death

Oren, Jerod, and the band of folx that they pick up along the way find themselves caught up in a conflict between Gods and Demons. Leading us on a journey across the world of Tefia. During this journey we get to see the world through the eyes of both them and those who are working against them.
Note: This book is written with third person narration, so we get to see the thoughts and internal insights of all of the characters at one point or another. For the most part, chapters focus in on one character and maybe have a quick check-in with another. However, there are times when, mid-chapter, we switch to following the perspective of someone else in the scene. If you are not used to multi-perspective books or books written in the third-person, this could be confusing at first.

Because this book is a quest fantasy, it would be easy to get lost if you do not handle travel well in books. I will say, as an audiobook reader, not having a map meant that I was relying on my ability to remember where things were. Personally, I gave up about 2 towns in and just... accepted... that they were traveling and just gave them a random straight line that these places existed in. I would highly suggest that audio readers look up a map for this book so that they can better track where places are as the characters travel.

Oren and Jerod (and the band of folx they find along the way) make up the classic D&D party dynamic. This leant itself well into amazing group dynamics for problem solving and creative solutions. I absolutely loved that everyone had a moment to shine within the confines of their quest.
In contrast to how much I loved the characters and people that we met in the story, I am unsure if this book would have passed the Bechdel test until about 60% of the way through. It took us a while to get more than one female character who was not one-dimensional and I am not wholly convinced that the ones we do get really create and provide the gender diversity that is needed in fantasy books.

Notes on the narration:
I read this book with my ears and loved the experience. It opens beautifully and that drew me in instantly.
The narrator did an amazing job creating a diverse cast of voices and I only ever lost who was talking if my mind wandered and I missed a character perspective shift. This would mean that I was confusing who was thinking until they spoke out loud.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I was upset when I had to stop listening and excited when I had time to pick it back up again.
I am excited to reread it and to wait impatiently for the next one.

***I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion and thoughts about the book.***

“It isn’t the Dawn that’s beautiful, Tis that you have loved to see it.”

The Storm Singers by Michael Boccardi is an immersive, complex, unique fantasy story. With world building that paints an easy picture in the mind, and characters who will have you going through the spectrum of emotions, this first book in the series will really hook you.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were so good! Easy to listen to, captivating voices, and well done.

I can’t wait for the next installment!!

I felt like the build up of this book was on the slower end but it definitely was filled with great world building and nice, vivid imagery. My favourite aspect was the magic - I loved the different types of magic and it was fun to see the diversity of abilities amongst the characters. I enjoy multiple POVs but felt like the switches between characters was sometimes erratic and a bit hard to follow. I also found myself wishing that the characters were more developed. I didn't really form any strong connections with them and sometimes felt like the minimum was given for the reader to be able to distinguish them. I think the narrator did a good job - each character had a slightly different voice and I felt like the narration added personality and life to the characters. Given the number of POVs though, I think it would've been nice to have a couple narrators at least - I did sometimes get confused because the differences in some voices were slight. I think personally, I would've enjoyed this one more if I had read it via ebook or physical copy but I am still glad I requested it.

I rate this one a 3.5 stars out of 5 (rounded to 4)

Thanks to Books Forward Audiobooks and Netgalley for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I listened to this as an arc. I really enjoyed it. I did struggle with side transitions between settings. I feel that with a physical read would have eased it. It was the perfect adventure with a coziness I didn’t expect. I wouldn’t classify it as a must read but I definitely enjoyed it .

I had to DNF this audiobook at 20%.

I couldn't get into the story, the narrator's cadence made it unenjoyable to me.

I'm sadly only giving this one 3.5 stars because it has some perfect elements and I love the fact that it's pretty self-contained, but I never felt any big hurry to see where the story would take me. It's an okay story with likable characters, but it's also the kind of story you enjoy while reading and then forget about almost as soon as you're done with it. Nothing particularly bad with that, but it's also not something that I feel like shouting from the rooftops about.
The characters are interesting and very typical of the fantasy genre, complete with a warrior priest with much more depth than the book's first part would lead you to believe. But again, it's all very middle of the road, with nothing particularly original or outstanding with them. I enjoyed reading their story without ever getting pulled into it.
The narration by Michael Ferraiuolo does a big job of carrying the story with him doing his best to give each character's voice their own personality and bring life to the chapters. I would have maybe liked a bit more difference in each character to avoid having to figure out who was talking at times, but it's a solid narration nonetheless.
Overall, I enjoyed the reading/listening of the story but I'm sad to say it's nothing particularly engaging.
Happy thanks to NetGalley and Books Forward Audiobooks for the interesting listen!

Nope.
Maybe reading it instead of listening would have been better. I could t get into this story at all as an audiobook! Not one bit.
I was bored and frustrated.
Hate myself for it but maybe I'll enjoy it as an ebook once my eyes get better.
Thanks for the chance to review tho.

Set on a fictional land of Tefia this book follows Oren and Jerod who sailed through life by committing thievery and fraud and engaging in material pleasures. One day their fates become twisted when they rob the wrong set of travellers. What they took possession leads them on an epic quest upon which they encounter allies and enemies. How they fight against this unknown evil got me so intrigued and gripped like an ear-worm. Like any good novel the author surprised me with not one but two storylines with equally important characters travelling side by side like sister ships toward same destination. The author had taken his time to write unique plots which led each persona’s individuality shine through. The narrator with his amazing code-switching abilities & audio editing technology gave life to all the characters.

Not only the book was rich with temperament but the author has also constructed unique gifts to each of them which adds a thrilling new dimension to the book. And how they all came together in the end coherently got the better of my imagination!

Overall rating: 4.2✨️ - Hypnotizing

Oren and Jerod have left behind their old careers to be adventurers, seeking money and thirsty for ale and women wherever they go. When a simple job turns out to be much more complicated, they find themselves involved in a conspiracy involving mythic heroes and mages from the past. Realizing they’re in over their heads, they do their best to avoid dying and to enlist allies to help them avert a worldwide disaster.

There was some decent worldbuilding present in this work. The exploration of magic and some of the more high-fantasy themes and ideas that were introduced were interesting and should have made this read quite good. Also, make sure to check out that stunning cover!

Unfortunately, the characters were not well written. They weren’t well developed or relatable and were shallow. It felt like the characters were each given one trait that became their whole personality/character. Similarly, the author provided just a tiny bit of background information on each character before just continuing on with the story; it was never enough to make them feel like real people or to make them interesting or engaging. This was unfortunate because there were MANY main characters (five plus) and the POV shifted constantly between them.

This book also would have been a good deal shorter if the author trimmed out all the repetitive sexual comments that added nothing to the work. There were constant bawdy comments and “humor” throughout any dialogue that was painfully juvenile and didn’t add to the characters or the story. The dialogue that wasn’t full of sexual comments was actually decently written and helped make the characters feel a little more alive. On a related note, this work fell quite short of quality female characters. There were a couple females scattered throughout the work, but the author described them in the most absurd ways (e.g., shapely, smoky eyes, gently doing everything, comments about their lips, etc.) and, no surprise, they lacked meaningful roles or personalities.

I think this work suffered from being too ambitious. There were so many concepts and characters introduced as well as an expansive and sweeping setting that there was no real chance to become immersed or engaged with any of it. I’ve read plenty of well-written male-centric fantasy works that I’ve enjoyed, but this isn’t one of them. I don’t really recommend this read and won’t be continuing the series. My thanks to NetGalley and Books Forward for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"It isn't the Dawn that's beautiful, tis that you have lived to see it"
- Michael Boccardi (The Storm Singers)

About the book:
The Storm Singers is book 1 in The Archivum Tefica series, acting as an introduction to the vast world of Tefia. A complex engagement between Gods, Demons, Men and those Mages, has already wreaked havoc on this beautiful world and yet there might just be hope! Following our 2 protagonists: Oren and Jerod, and a weird group they stumbled upon will prove to be of great value to change the fates of this world.

My thoughts:
The world buildup in the books comes with a map is actually very helpful (else I would be lost 😅). I enjoyed that the character buildup was not just limited to the protagonists but towards the supporting roles too. Leander is my favourite. I have also been a fan of writing style, which for one is quite complex yet top-notch. Do have to give up a 👍 for the vocab used in the book, you certainly don't come by such words every day.

Though I do have an understanding of the world after finishing this one up, I do feel there are many more layers yet to come and hit us in the upcoming books of this series. That being said, I feel this book would be perfect for rereading too, as each time you read, you are to discover new angles to the events of the story and their implications further down the lane.

So happy to have found another world that I really want to unravel and engulf myself into. I couldn't have been more lucky with this book!

Special Mention: The narrator who did the Demon's part in the audiobook was amazing. His voice gives you goosebumps!

Thankyou @booksforwardpr @thestormsingers and @netgalley for the ARC Book

Genre: #fantasy #magic
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

The Storm Singers is an interesting fantasy with a unique magical system and amazing worldbuilding. Although I did struggle to connect to this story and its characters, even though this has a really strong premise I felt like something was missing when I was listening to this. But I do think a lot of people will love this unique new fantasy.

I got a access to this story thanks to NetGalley- Overall a good read. I loved the world building. Each chapter set the tone for the next. I loved the idea behind the story, but I might be biased, as I love the fantasy genre. It was a little tricky to follow at times, as I had to focus more when reading, especially as the author spent alot of time describing the little details, therefore the pacing was a personal issue, hence the 3 stars.

I think what really would have helped this book would have been fewer POVs and a more consistent POV. The changing of POVs really through me off. I felt like I was getting whiplash.

I think by having fewer POVs, the characters could have been fleshed out a little better.

The story was great, but it was simply hard to follow because of how it was laid out.

While at times it felt like an RPG storyline, the main story arc was well thought out, and it has the feel of an epic fantasy novel. There is a little bit of everything in this book. There's action, adventure, suspense, mystery, Gods, Demons, magic, and good characters. There was plenty of magic in both the people and the world itself. I liked that it wasn’t just one magic but several different kinds brought together. Tefia is truly a melting pot of a world.

Jerod and Oren have been fast friends for many years and seem to get in and out of scrapes regularly. Think Robin Hood and Little John. Under the guise of rescuing a man from someone’s evil plan to rob him, they inadvertently end up with a dangerous map and determine to return it. Along the way, they add to their crew of friends, and I really liked the way the group worked together. Leander was awesome (probably my favorite.) I love the idea of him being a spunky, knowledgeable, adventure-loving older person.
Aegan and Merida were great additions. Merida is such a badass. Mihr was pretty awesome too.

I was listening to the audiobook, but at times it was confusing about who’s point of view we are hearing from. I’m not sure if it was the audiobook, the way it was written, or what.
Michael Ferraiuolo did a decent job with the narration. However, when he was speaking as the Demons, at times, I wasn’t sure WHAT was said, and so I rewound, and STILL, it wasn’t clear. That was frustrating.

All said I would like to continue the next book in the series.

Many thanks to author Michael Boccardi, Books Forward Audiobooks, and NetGalley for the free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

At the beginning of this book i was really intrigued and wanted to know more but as the story went on i sort of stopped being all that interested. The plot was a bit muddled for me and it wasnt moving as fast as i would have liked. Overall i think the book had a good premise but at least for my tastes the execution was a bit lacking.

I really tried to get into this book, but I just couldn’t get into the narrator’s telling.

~This was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This novel has a really cool magic system that was complex and super fun to learn. The world building was beautiful. I really enjoyed the narration, and found the audio to be really entertaining. I didn't find myself as connected to the characters as I would have liked to be. I think the biggest contributor to this was the frequency that the POVs changed. There were times that I had a hard time understanding who's pov we were in at any given time. Other than that this was fun book!

I enjoyed this, the magic system was interesting, the plot and story were well thought out, and the narration was 💜💜💜💜💜. I had a bit of a hard time keeping up with who’s POV we we’re getting at times but that could just be me. I’m looking forward to the next book!