I thought I had grown accustomed to cliffhangers not leaving me speechless anymore, but I have been thoroughly proven wrong. I picked this book up as my sick day read, fully expecting to read a few chapters and then rest for a while before picking up where I left off on another day. Truthfully? I binged this in less than six hours and need the next book. It has all of the elements I was looking for in a fantasy book with romance, intrigue, and betrayal aplenty with a growing mystery to solve. Fantasy lovers, I highly recommend adding this to your TBR, so you too can feel the way I currently feel.
For starters, I think the summary of this book had me hooked before I had even started. Then I cracked the book open and there’s a pronunciation guide and glossary, which I appreciated since there is a lot going on in the world of Empyrieos. Inspired by Greek mythos, there’s also additional magic that I was very curious about and I think we are being built up to more based on the way the book ended.
This story centers around Princess Aella, who was ousted from the Palace of Sorrows as a child. Stripped of her title and name, she spent her life being raised in The Aviary, a spy network of the kingdom, where she has been honed into a weapon to infiltrate kingdoms within Empyrieos. Her first mission? Reclaim her title and compete in bride trials held by the Prince of Etria. Working alongside her is her former flame and a team of elite assassins and together they must infiltrate the kingdom, but the mission might unravel before their very eyes before they even get started.
Aella is a young woman who has faced hardship because of the circumstances of her birth and how she’s eventually raised at the Aviary. She’s reluctant to trust, yet still has somewhat of a soft heart. The word that came up a few times and I consider apt is tempestuous. Aella loves to throw caution to the wind, if it means it will yield success.
Outside of Aella, this book had quite a few characters to keep track of, which made it difficult to form any attachments, save for characters that Aella interacted with the most. The character that is most fascinating to me is Raven, because there’s significant development between him and Aella that I couldn’t get enough of while I was reading the book. There is something about forbidden lovers that is just…*chef’s kiss*. Toward the end of the book we are introduced to a character that is shrouded in mystery, and that I won’t elaborate on because of spoilers, but I think it’s very safe to say, Braidee Otto has spun a tale that will definitely hook readers.
Pacing wise, I felt like the book was fairly fast paced because I didn’t feel like any of the story lagged behind. There were times that I do wish we could have slowed down to develop a bit more tension maybe, but that’s just me wanting to savour some of the scenes a bit longer. If I had to have a qualm with this book, it’s that it was far too short for my liking! I’m always a fan of political intrigue and this book had it in spades, but we didn’t get the chance to explore it as much as we should have. That being said, it might be because there is far more to come, and this book is only setting up some messier, more world shattering things to come. Something that I absolutely loved (despite the fact that it infuriated me) was the fact that as soon as one mystery/problem was solved, there was a bigger quandary in its place. As I stare at this unsolved puzzle, I have more questions than answers, and I need Otto to finish the next book since there are so many things I want to know,and I can’t wait to find out!
Songbird of the Sorrows is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and Penguin Books Australia.
Will you be picking up Songbird of the Sorrows? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis
In a magical world of gods and mythical races, an outcast princess turned spy infiltrates a rival kingdom—uncovering secrets that force her to choose between obedience and defiance—in the first book of a propulsive romantic fantasy series for fans of Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom series.
Ask no questions. Obey your orders. Respect your masters. But most of all, love no one.
Spy. Thief. Princess. Songbird.
Banished from the Palace of Sorrows as a child, Princess Aella was taken in by the Aviary, a secret intelligence network embedded throughout the Empyrieos that trains orphans as professional spies. Now twenty-three years old, she has finally earned her place as a Songbird on the most elite team of assassins, led by none other than her former flame, Raven. Everything about him calls to her—he’s brave, loyal, and lethal—but their relationship is also the greatest threat to her standing as a Songbird.
Before Aella can untangle her feelings, their team is sent on a dangerous mission to the eastern kingdom, a land that ever since the horrific God War has been the enemy of her homeland. Aella’s role is crucial yet troublesome: she must assume her former title of Princess of the Sorrows to compete in a series of bridal trials. But when the trials turn deadly and the mission is threatened, Aella must decide whether to follow orders or defy them.
Songbird of the Sorrows is the first novel in the sweeping, romantic Myths of the Empyrieos series, following Aella through an epic journey of self-discovery, true love, redemption, and ultimately a great war that promises to upend the lives of everyone in the realm.
