Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - A Psalm of Storms and Silence

How is this book going to be this good, then go and have that ending. <Not even ending up together?! Hypothetically ending up together, over a decade later, in the epilogue, is not what we (me or Malik/Karina) deserve after EVERYTHING.> But yeah the rest was amazing and I loved it.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A PSALM OF STORMS AND SILENCE is the fantastic conclusion to an excellent duology. One of many places where this shines is in its portrayal of trauma and aftermath, but especially in its portrayal of a kind of lingering pain from ongoing emotional abuse. The characters have room to make bad decisions in ways that are completely understandable. I was never frustrated by the choices they make in a narrative sense because the narrative itself made sure I knew whose manipulations, lies, and control of information were driving those bad decisions. It deftly uses a thousand years of self-interest and old grief, showing how they shape the characters' present, even if ways they hadn't realized were connected. It's about how accepting present power with a legacy of past power means both acting responsibly with the power in the present and accepting responsibility for the legacy of harm caused by that power in the past. How a chain of people accepting enormous power but eschewing responsibility for the harm caused by the power lead to even more harm. These layers of trauma, aftermath, resolution, acceptance, and restitution play out within their own lifetimes and on the scale of kingdoms as they try to stop the world from breaking with the grief of a goddess and the fruitless scheming of a dead king.

Karina and Malik's relationship is complicated, with lies and misunderstandings from A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN meddling in what ought to be a simple case of one hunting the other to try and stop the fall of the kingdom. Farid is a well-written manipulator, wrapped up in his own plans and unable to see the difference between someone agreeing with him and one who's just placating him to avert his anger and disappointment from falling on them. His frustrations make sense with his character and circumstances, his increasingly complicated plans hum along in the background of everything Malik and Karina try to accomplish.

This wraps up more than one major thing left hanging from the first book. The main storyline starts here and was only lightly present previously. There are several major things that are both introduced and resolved, and as part two of a duology it’s an immensely satisfying ending. The main characters are the same and they’re consistent with their portrayals in the first book. This might make sense if someone tried to start here and hadn’t read the previous book, it does a good job of referencing prior events without devolving into a full recap. It was definitely enough to pull me fully into the story even though it’s been a while since I read A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN and my recall was initially fuzzy. I'd basically forgotten what happened before and it gently reminded me at gradual intervals as various previous events became relevant. The current stakes and past drama are clearly communicated, and the emotional context is vibrant.

The ending is excellent. There's still a lot of work to do and a lot of life for the survivors to live, and it's okay that this story stops here since it had to stop somewhere. I love the framing device, it satisfied my need to know what happens next.

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vaniavela's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

"The dead are the dead are the dead,"

A Psalm of Storms and Silence
is the sequel to the book "A Song of Wraiths & Ruin" written by Roseanne A. Brown.

I was quite excited about the publication of this book and today after a long time I was able to read it and have come to tell my experience.

Let's start with the cover. It is simply beautiful. The colors, the typography, everything is divine.

This is not a gentle book, there are several topics that may be heavy for some and I appreciate that they have included a page with possible trigger warnings. Throughout the book, there was a deeper dive into the characters' traumas, abuses and mental illnesses. I thought the way it was written, at least in the part about anxiety and how it affects day to day life, was appropriate and respectful.

New characters were introduced and made the book more enjoyable. No names will be mentioned, to avoid spoilers, but I loved the way they were introduced into the plot and their sarcastic and funny contribution to the story.

As for the relationship between our main characters, honestly the tension could be felt through the words. Likewise there was a certain character, whose name I won't mention because he doesn't deserve the honor, had me completely annoyed and furious. How could anyone be so hateful?

The ending left a lot to be desired for me. What was that ending Roseanne? My heart was left half beating and I didn't know whether to cry or laugh for believing there would be another one.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, and although I would have liked another ending, I loved having the opportunity to read it. 4.75⭐️

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yvonne_cl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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