Reviews with content warning for Confinement - The Song Rising

As you can see, I started reading The Song Rising immediately after finishing The Mime Order. However, it did take me quite a while to read it, as I have been preoccupied elsewhere. I finally finished reading it this morning over a cup of tea and....

That ending.

Well, not really an ending. So many things happened all at once at the very end of this book and I felt like I was holding my breath throughout my entire reading experience as the stakes seemed to climb exponentially higher with each passing chapter.

I feel like I had to wrestle with my own understanding of and, at times, disdain for the human race and human nature as a whole. Paige herself comes to this realization towards the end, realizing that she "had been naïve. I had thought of Nashira Sargas as purely evil, purely sadistic--but she knew more about us than we did. We had given her the tools to bring us to our knees" (p. 312).

Nashira had seen the hatred present in all humans and had decided to wield it as a weapon, to make humanity fall upon their own sword.

However, Paige counters this when she tells Nashira, "That's what humans do. We make. We remake. We build, and we rebuild. And yes, sometimes we paint with blood, and we tear down our own civilations, and it might never stop. but if we're ever to unlearn our darker instincts, we have to be free to learn better ones. Take away the chance for us to change, and I promise you, we never will" (p. 312-313).

As the good Samwise Gamgee once said, "There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for." So it is with Paige Mahoney and the Mime Order. She sees the filth of the world, the true, horrible, disgusting underbelly of humanity, and she still sees something worth saving. I think that this is the difference between Paige and Jaxon (who I still hate so, so, so much). Jaxon views the rest of humanity from a pedestal, looking down on the rest of his species and choosing to side with another in order to keep humanity in line. Paige, however, is the voice of free will. She places more faith in the human race and, in so doing, becomes an emblem and a rallying cry. She becomes everything Jaxon could have been, had he not been overcome by his selfish need to constantly save his own skin.

One could look at Paige Mahoney and see many different things. A fearless queen. A leader of a ragtag group of nobodies. A menace. A savior. A human. A battle cry. Turns out, she is all of the above.

I can't wait to see what happens in the fourth installment of this series!

Content Warnings

distilledreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was shorter than the last, and while I enjoyed it, it’s also left me genuinely unsure of where this series is going to go next. Paige’s role in the revolution has definitely changed as our gaze shifts from SciLo – the alternate-universe Scion London – to a more global view.

The conclusion still packed a punch though. Shannon’s characters are all shades of morally grey and the way they handle decisions feels realistic as they attempt to confront corruption amidst confusion. While this book remains dark, there is just enough hope and perseverance left in Paige’s bleeding heart for the future that kept me captivated and my emotions on tenterhooks.

The Song Rising continues the precedent set by the previous books as a fast-paced, page-turner as Paige leads the syndicate and their brittle alliance with a subsect of the Rephaim. It remains primarily plot-focused, but I hold on to the hope that there will be more character exploration as our setting shifts to go alongside Paige’s (slight) character growth in this book.

Content Warnings

vendottie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

mikatui's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

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