I wanted to enjoy this book, but it ended up being a frustrating experience. The writing was confusing, and I felt lost most of the time. The use of Irish phrases and terms without clear context or translations made it even harder to stay engaged. I understand the importance of authenticity, but without a glossary or some explanation, it alienated me as a reader.

The pacing was slow, and the characters didn’t feel developed enough for me to connect with them. I kept waiting for the story to pick up or for something to draw me in, but it never happened. Despite restarting the book several times to try and make sense of it, I just couldn’t get into it.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. It might work better for readers already familiar with the cultural and linguistic elements, but I couldn’t find my footing. That's whyI'm giving it 1 aka 0 ⭐.

Randee Dawn wrote a strong story and had that element that I was looking for from the description. The world was everything that I was wanting and thought the characters had that feel that I was looking for. I enjoyed the plot of the book and wanted more in this world and from Randee Dawn.

This book was incredibly hard to follow, unfortunately I couldn’t understand some of what was being said because I don’t know Irish and I didn’t want to stop throughout the book to try and google what certain things meant because it would just take me out of the flow of the story.

It really needs a companion page to go with it that has the translations on it that someone can easily refer to.

I restarted this book about five times at different stages of the book just trying to get a better grasp and understanding of what was going on and to try and get more into it but I really think this book just isn’t for me.

The story moves very slow and it’s hard to connect to the characters, I feel like I don’t even know what’s going on half the time because it either lacks explanation or is written in a way that confuses me further.

Thank you Netgalley and Arc Manor | CAEZIK SF & Fantasy for the arc

Received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll give this book a 3.5 (and darn that Goodreads for not having a better rating system).

I was reminded of the Bedlam's Bard series by Mercedes Lackey, which come to think of it was written around the same time frame as this book is set.

I see this is listed as Stories from the Green Place #1, and that makes sense - I could see from the ending a possible sequel, at least for some of the characters.

I just finished my ARC of The Only Song Worth Singing by Randee Dawn, provided to me by NetGalley, and I loved it! There were some rough patches where I came across terms I didn’t know (apparently, Wikipedia doesn’t know Irish either!), which meant pausing my reading to look things up. There were also moments where the pacing felt a bit drawn out, but those didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the story overall.

I adore books with the fey, and this one was a top contender of the ones I have read thus far. It’s always exciting to learn more about another culture’s magical stories and see how deeply beliefs can shape not just individuals but entire communities. Music plays such a huge role in this book—it’s a powerful force that bridges relationships and builds stories, and it felt so integral to the foundation of the world. The way the author wove music into the magic and the relationships was amazing.

The characters were beautifully flawed, each with their own struggles, mistakes, and moments of hope as they fought against their personal darkness. If you’re into stories that mix magic, redemption, music, and cultural lore, I’d absolutely recommend this book!