Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

This book started off strong and with an interesting premise but I couldn't seem to connect to the characters or the complicated world building- this was a DNF at 52%

This book was good but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy as much as I thought. The world building is interesting but I found it hard to get into the story and connect with the characters. Personally for myself I have decided to give this book another chance some time later.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

unfortunately, i was not a big fan of this. the storyline was slow and i felt like a trudged through most of it. i did enjoy the characters but with how complicated the story was, they didn’t really redeem the book for me. i feel like if it was condensed and flushed out a bit quicker i might have enjoyed it more. interesting concept, just not for me!

i was provided with this arc by the publisher through netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I think this was one of the most accurate descriptions for a book I've ever read. Where the Silence Sings was a great start to The Symphonic Masquerade series. I thought the world building was very strong, and while you do get quite a bit of information up front, I think that works for a book that will be the first in a series. If it were a standalone I would have liked to see it a little more evenly spread out. Overall I thought the pacing was good and it left me looking forward to the rest of the series when it comes out.

This was 4 stars by the end, but it's definitely a confusing read!

What makes it confusing is the intricate magic system and the flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter, as well. The main character doesn't really know what's going on, entirely, either, which also lends to the confusion.

However, the worldbuilding is epic, and the interconnectedness of everything is really interesting. I can't wait to learn more about the different realms.

I also really like the different characters. They're all kind of morally grey, which is a nice change.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of this series. My only advice with starting this book is to stick with it.

I unfortunately decided to DNF this.
I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The world of Where the Silence Sings is beautifully crafted and both the characters and the magic system are interesting. The premise of the plot intrigued me, but unfortunately the story offered up too little information of value to the greater plot for the first half of the book for me to have a great interest in finishing the book. It felt like a lot of subplots that made the world more complex rather than more understandable, which is what I personally had wanted.

The complexity of this story is impressive for a debut. I wish I currently had the patience to finish this, and I want to encourage readers willing to invest the time to pick this up and give a more complete review.

This book was pretty interesting.
Starting it was the hard part for me though. Personally I found it a little confusing. I know it is the normal reaction when starting a book with fantasy because it's expected wen starting a book that's in a different world, but most of the time the reader would still at least have some understanding. With me, I was really lost in the beginning. As far as I am aware, this is the authors first book, so I don't want to be too critical. Overall the characters are interesting, and definitely has potential, but I think some of the book requires more of an explanation, as I have left it with a lot of questions. I think me being confused was the reason why I couldn't get fully immersed into the story. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I can't really give this a score, not property because I DNF'd 30% in - I'd say the idea itself had me feeling 3 stars

I really really loved the idea of this book and everything that was advertised in the description/blub but some things to me just weren't really gelling when I was reading it which made it feel misleading. I actually felt so sad at DNF-ing this, because I really hoped I could get through and finish it. Part of it for me was just the way the narrative was written, it felt like there was quite a bit of info-dumping early on. Let me say that I don't think this is a bad book, I generally just think for me the way the narrative was written and the elements of going back and forth in some chapters made me feel a little lost and like I couldn't enjoy it because I was just trying so hard to follow what was happening.

I have decided that I do want to give this author another go in the future, just because this book wasn't for me doesn't mean that another piece of work this author does won't gain my interest.

Again, thank you Netgalley for the read, sorry I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

In short, I liked this book but it's rough going in the beginning. The payoff feels almost not worth it, but ultimately it was enjoyable, entertaining, & fresh.

The characters don't feel as fleshed out as I'd like (I feel like I don't really know Aeyun beyond surface level and I felt some character, like Davah to be forgettable) and for something tagged as fantasy I felt there wasn't enough worldbuilding in the beginning.

The story and plot did feel fresh & new compared to other fantasy books I've read recently, so I really liked that! I know it's an ARC and the final version might have this but I think a character list (along with pronunciations would be super helpful!

I found this a little hard to get into, but I am SO glad that I persevered. This was an amazing start to a series of books, and I cannot wait to read the rest. Emery’s writing style is beautiful and although I didn’t warm to the characters initially, this changed after the first few chapters.

Where Silence Sings
By Emery Blaine

This one was 4 stars by the end.

The beginning was a bit rough. Mainly because I was just so confused. As a fantasy reader I’m used to a level of confusing when learning a new world/magic system, but this was a step beyond that. By about halfway (?) it all started to really come together for me. The main confusion in the beginning were all the flashback tidbits at the beginnings of each chapter. I feel like now that I understand the characters/world better I need to go back and reread those.

Part of the confusion is because the magic system is complicated and our MC is trying to figure things out about it himself. I liked the magic system, especially some of the musical comparisons, I’m just still a bit confused.

The world building and characters, though, I thought were top notch! We have different Realms (worlds) interconnected by giant, ancient sea gates that transport between them all. Our MC is flawed. Has a very different reputation depending on who you ask, but not in a contradictory way, one that makes sense with his character. His main three companions are all interesting and mysterious in their own rights.

If you decide to pick it up, be prepared to be floating at sea for a bit, but I thought it was worth it in the end.

Thanks to @netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A huge thank you to Wild Door Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC of Where the Silence Sings.

Aeyun’s latest heist is interrupted by the devastating news of Raenaru’s leading family befalling a grim fate at the hands of one of their own.
Aeyun and his crew – including mercenary Sakaeri – have to navigate the fallout of Aeyun’s choices from his time before the ore-smuggling.
With any luck, they’ll figure out what happened to Raeyu, get a hold of seemingly untouchable ore, and decode the mystery behind Seraeyu’s brutal rise to power.

Emery Blaine is a master of words with lyrical prose and painterly depictions. Lush worldscapes come to life throughout Where the Silence Sings, and it’s a joy to be immersed.

The camaraderie between Aeyun and his crew resonates found family. Especially Davah. His entire journey hinges on the support he receives from those who he has placed around him. Blaine has truly succeeded with the relationships the characters have with one another, as well as the characters’ own qualities that make them tangible to the reader.

While I enjoyed the characters, the prose, and the lore peppered throughout the novel, I did find it difficult to be fully engaged with the plot. There was a sense that I had stepped into the second book of a series and had missed the establishing world-building that comes with it.

With such complex political aspects paired with wholly unique magical physics, there needed to be more cushioning for me as the reader entering the narrative. We’re dropped right in the centre of action. It can work, don’t get me wrong. But the entire time I was craving more context.

The abrupt introduction to the narrative also meant that the pacing felt slow the second the perspective left Seraeyu. The insight into his character was perhaps the wrong place to begin the story. I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the information provided until much much later. It gave me the sense that I would need to read the story a second time to really appreciate all the details.

Where the Silence Sings is a whopping big tale in a futuristic and fantastical realm. I think Emery Blaine is an artful writer and has promise: Blaine has the hallmarks of an author who could produce an auspicious classic.

Aeyun’s journey has just begun – it’ll be an epic tale yet, I’m sure.

While Emery Blaine’s writing style is very good, I found it hard to connect with the characters and the story. This was unfortunate as, based on the description, I thought I would love this book. There was very little world building which did not help with the understanding of what was going on and there never seemed to be any resolutions to anything that was going on. Overall, it was a decent book. I just felt like it was lacking depth.

I struggled somewhat with Where the Silence Sings by Emery Blaine. The book caught my attention on NetGalley due to its interesting sounding premise. However, once I got reading I found it all a little too confusing. We were launched straight into the story, which is fine, but for chapters I kept waiting for there to be more world building explaining the world, its peoples, and their powers, yet no such explanation was forthcoming. As such, rather then getting answers as I continued reading, I only ended up with additional questions. This made it hard for me to fully engage with the story. On the plus side, the characters seemed interesting, and I think there was a lot of potential that just wasn't quite realised. I believe this is the author's first book and I can see the ideas are good, so I hope the execution will improve as the author continues writing. I am giving this book three stars as I did like the premise even if the world building and prose needed some work.