*I was sent an ARC of Songlight in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Moira Buffini and HarperCollins for my copy of the book*
Synopsis:
We’re two songs joined. And there’s a word for that. A harmony.
Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself—her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.
Elsa’s world begins to fall apart one desperate, heart-wrenching day and she doesn’t know where to turn until a girl appears before her. But the girl isn’t really there—her songlight has been drawn to Elsa’s frantic grief.
Elsa lives in a remote seaside village; Nightingale, her new friend, lives in a city hundreds of miles away with her father, a government official responsible for rooting out Unhumans. The two never expected to connect via songlight. But when they do, and when they realise the extent of their power, they’ll be thrust in the middle of a war that threatens their very existence.
Review:
Songlight was a pretty great debut. I didn’t have any preconceived notions before going into this book, but I did enjoy it more than expected. I’ve been in a pretty bad slump lately, so I was worried that would affect my reading experience. Thankfully for the most part, this was a pretty quick read. I got through the first half very fast and the pace of the rest of the book was ok, but I did expect it to pick up more.
Personally, I think there were too many perspectives. I really didn’t care about Piper or what he was up to. There is a reason why you get his point of view every so often, but he’s the worst. I also didn’t like the tone of his narration. It was quite choppy and blunt, which I’m assuming is a stylistic choice for his character, but I personally didn’t like how it read.
Swan was also a terrible person. I really don’t like her at all. Usually I love a conniving woman, but the fact that she physically abuses her ‘servants’ is too much. I’m fine with her plotting against the people with power, but hurting defenceless servants who have already had their free will taken away is pure evil.
Elsa and Kaira on the other hand were great characters. They both go through a massive amount of development and for the better. By learning to take what they want and stand up for themselves, they become strong characters that I want to see thrive.
I don’t want to give any spoilers but there’s a particular character you don’t learn the fate of at the end and I would love to know what was happening. They only had around three chapters in the entire book and I think most of them happened before the midway point. I’m not sure if they were forgotten about or if this was done on purpose to create mystery, but either way I’m unsatisfied.
Songlight is such a cool concept but I still don’t fully understand how it works. I’m sure we will learn more in future instalments, but I love what I know so far. I thought this would have more to do with music, but there are some musical references. Elsa and Kaira have created a ‘harmony’ together, which again, I don’t fully understand what that means, but I like the sound of it.
The world of Songlight and its characters have been crafted so well. They’re complex, flawed and interesting. I’m definitely going to continue this series when the next instalment is published.
Check out Young Creative Press on all socials
You can also check out my StoryGraph here
Like this post? Why not read this one too: The Best Of: Books I Wish I Could Read For The First Time Again #2
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: ARC Review: Songlight by Moira Buffini […]