A review by znvisser
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb

mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Sometimes I read a premise that I am so intrigued by, I am fairly certain I am going to love the book - so once the writing doesn’t disappoint my tastes in early chapters, I know I’m in for a great ride. Symphony of Secrets definitely delivered for me, but eesh this book stressed me out and raised my heart rate at times. Fred Delaney is a completely terrible character and despite my annoyance I couldn’t stop reading. Every time he says “swell” I was reminded of Mad Men’s Pete Campbell so well, that’s the vibe, but then more successfully evil. In this story Delaney is introduced to this brilliant woman, Josephine, and exploits her labour in any way he can while claiming it is actually she who benefits from their arrangement. This goes from very bad to even worse. Delaney himself is however so utterly unworthy of any praise or fame for his musicality, that he is not even able to hear the differences between his composed and stolen work, remaining completely stunned every time he disappoints just any mediocre critic or musician around him. And unfortunately as time goes on he grows unsurprisingly more obnoxious. 

For all the things I loved about this book - the premise and plot, the two timelines and of course Josephine and her mind and experiencing music with her - there were two smaller things I didn’t love: the pacing (Bern and Eboni take so much time to unravel small bits of history, then they are on the run and there is no one they can EVER ask for help, and then suddenly
they got all details right and are lawyered up?!
) and the romantic angle (the tension was understandable but the writing once it happens  was cringe and it didn’t really add much to it all). However, luckily neither really affected my love for this book.
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