Book Review: Songkeeper by Gillian Bronte Adams

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Title: Songkeeper

Author: Gillian Bronte Adams

Series: The Songkeeper Chronicles #2

Genre: Fantasy

Audience: Young Adult - Adult

ABOUT THE BOOK

War ravages Leira and the Song has fallen silent.

Freed from the hold of a slave ship, Birdie, the young Songkeeper, and Ky, a street-wise thief, emerge to a world at war. Hordes of dark soldiers march across Leira, shadowed by whispers of plague and massacres, prompting Ky to return to his besieged home city in hopes of leading his fellow runners to safety.

Desperate to end the fighting, Birdie embarks on a dangerous mission into the heart of the Takhran's fortress. Legend speaks of a mythical spring buried within and the Songkeeper who will one day unleash it to achieve victory. Everyone believes Birdie is the one, but the elusive nature of the Song and rumors of other gifted individuals lead her to doubt her role. Unleashing the spring could defeat the Takhran once and for all, but can she truly be the Songkeeper when the Song no longer answers her call?

~ MY REVIEW ~

**3 stars**

Songkeeper, book two in THE SONGKEEPER CHRONICLES by Gillian Bronte Adams, had some epic scenes to match it's absolutely epic cover. But, overall, I didn't really get into it. I'm giving it a three-star rating because of the amazing parts, and because I loved the first book in the series (Orphan's Song).

Birdie and Ky wake up aboard a pirate's ship - captives. Amos and the griffon desperately search for their kidnapped young friends. And darkness is ever on the move. At loss of how to get the Song back, Birdie struggles with her calling as the Songkeeper. Struggles to have faith. Struggles to be strong. Amidst battles and desert adventures, Birdie searches for answers ... and for the elusive Song.

In short, I was disappointed in this book. And I hate saying that ... especially when I loved Orphan's Song. But that's how it was for me. I never fully got into the story; didn't really connect with the characters; and felt the story was building up and building up, only to have no questions answered - no satisfying or conclusive enough ending. HOWEVER, this is simply my opinion and my taste. If you aren't like me, you may love Songkeeper; in fact, I can picture my younger sister loving everything I didn't like about it. XD

I did have a wonderful time laughing at Amos and the superb griffon (always forget his name ... it's kind of long and fantasy-ish). They are forever grumbling at each other, haha! It was also cool journeying and meeting the desert folk and their lions! I mean, how cool is that, to ride lions?? Utterly epic. And Birdie talking with animals is the best. ^_^ Love when that happens in fantasy books!

     So yes, Songkeeper definitely had it's great parts.

     Despite the ending not being satisfying to me, I did love the very last line, and how that whole scene felt. Very poignant. Powerful. Yet gentle. Humbling. Awesome. I have a feeling Birdie is about to learn a soul-altering lesson and find out what real faith is. Find out who really created the Song. I look forward to reading the third book and exploring more of this Christian allegory.

A caution. Though Orphan's Song (book one) got pretty violent toward the end, it does not compare to the intensity of Songkeeper. This book is dark. There's a lot of violence, and especially gruesomeness, toward the end. So I would be very careful about letting a younger audience read it. Speaking to my fairly sensitive family, I would probably say wait until your late teens to read Songkeeper.

So yes. Griffons and history about songkeepers. Dark villains. Epic rescues and crazy battles. Treacherous journeys. Struggling with faith. Though Songkeeper wasn't a favorite for me, I still recommend this series to fantasy lovers, and am excited to read Book Three! *smiles*

I received a copy of Songkeeper from the author in exchange for my honest review.