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blairbee95 's review for:
Song of the Dryad
by Natalia Leigh
Read: July 2019
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 286 Pages
Time Read In: 1 Day
Swearing in This Review: Surprisingly, no
Spoilers: Nothing in detail, but spoilers indeed
So, I have an addiction to buying the books of the YouTubers I watch, sue me. Natalia Leigh’s YouTube videos are of a different variety from Jenna Moreci and Alexa Donne’s videos. She reminds me a bit more of Vivien Reis, in the fact that she does less ten tip videos and more life around writing videos and discussion videos on Nanowrimo and Camp Nanowrimo. So, honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect going into Song of the Dryad. I knew Leigh was a self published author but unlike Moreci and Donne, her videos don’t really give me a feel of her writing style or any formal training, so I went into this without any expectations, honestly. Which, really, might be a good thing.
Song of the Dryad has a very simplistic voice that really tells it’s readers about everything. Which, honestly, was one of my biggest issue with this book. The entire prologue was pointless. We could have learned what Charlotte experienced on Halloween night later in the story, it could have been a point of contention that she wouldn’t go into the forest at night and we didn’t know why. The tension could have been there. But, the heavy telling destroyed that possibility. Everything we learn about Charlotte is told to us through the narrative, from how Charlotte got her new violin (and where the old one is, for some reason) to the fact that Charlotte has a lack of experience when it comes to boys.
There is a certain lack of passion in Charlotte’s voice, which is frustrating, particularly when it comes to one of the first scenes, where she’s playing violin. I’m not a musician, but I am passionate about other things and hen I’m doing those things or talking about those things, I feel excited, energized. None of that passion comes through in this narrative.
There was a lot of repetition in this book, but the one that stands out the most (and drove me craziest) was Charlotte’s calloused fingers. Everytime Charlotte’s fingers were so much as mentioned, Leigh reminds us that they’re calloused. Once or twice is fine, but the constant reminder was rather annoying.
So, Charlotte’s mom goes missing and it takes a whole day for anyone to notice. And we’re supposed to just accept it’s because her studio door was closed. But like… she’s in the house? It’s kind of implied that Grandma would have been home all day. She didn’t worry when she heard exactly no movement for like two days? Charlotte’s dad wasn’t worried when she didn’t come to bed? It’s a bit of a stretch of the imagination, isn’t it? Which reminds me… I’m from a small town. Trust me when I say, everyone knew Charlotte’s mom was missing as soon as the police got the call. You don’t hide anything in small towns. Even if Charlotte’s family didn’t say anything, the neighbor saw the cop car. The police officer made calls to Emily’s friends to see if they’d seen or heard from her. Everyone knew Emily was missing by at least the next day.
My biggest problem with this book is honestly that there’s really no sense of urgency. Charlotte’s mom is safe. Anyone taken after her mom, will be safe. The worst that’s happening is that her mom isn’t there to listen to her boy problems. There’s no lingering threat of death. Even Charlotte isn’t in that much of a rush. She doesn’t really do that much to look for the stones. She goes to school and sets up dates for the weekend. If she was in a hurry, she’d be sneaking out every night to look for stones with a flashlight. She’d be sleeping through classes because she was up all night searching for stones. We just need some more in the urgency department.
So, up until now, you’re wondering “Blair, if you have all these complaints, why the 4 star review?”. Well, you see, I did like this overall. Leigh pitched this book as a cozy contemporary fantasy and I think it lives up to that. The writing is very simple, but it makes for a quick and easy read. There was something comforting about reading this. It didn’t require me to overthink things or scavenge for foreshadowing. It relaxed me. Which, is a giant accomplishment because it’s been a while since that happened. This is the kind of book I want when I’m stressed and I need to curl up on my couch and just relax.
The romance was the best I've read in ages. Even though Charlotte’s boy crazy attitude annoyed me, I liked Art. He’s a sweet character and he seemed to want to be Charlotte’s friend. Honestly, it’s been a long time since I genuinely saw chemistry between characters. The fact that these characters actually hung out and did things before they decided they were in love and needed to date is a nice change from the overwhelming instalove I normally read. And Art was a nice boy. Which is huge. Because I’m so used to these disgusting bad boys that it was so wonderful to read about a nice boy with good intentions.
And I loved the overall plot. Even if the pacing and urgency need some work, the idea behind this novel is simply wonderful and enjoyable. The way the magic works, the reason the dryad has no power outside of Lyra, the reason no one else sees the fairies and yet can still see the result of them. It kept me interested. The concept of people meant to protect these stones is new and fun. All of the motivations makes sense. Even the dryad has a solid motivation for what she’s done. And I think the hidden meanings of believing is seeing fits wonderfully in this story. It’s like a modern fairytale.
At the end of the day, I was not disappointed with this book. And, it’s the first the first book I’ve read this summer that I didn’t think “meh” of. I liked Song of the Dryad and I take it for what it is. A simple, whimsical story that is perfect for a younger teenage reader. Or a reader in her twenties who just needs something comforting. With just a little more showing and some more voice from her characters, I think Song of the Dryad could have been the first 5 star book I read this summer. I wish Leigh the best of luck on her further writing ventures and hope that she continues to grow as a writer.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 286 Pages
Time Read In: 1 Day
Swearing in This Review: Surprisingly, no
Spoilers: Nothing in detail, but spoilers indeed
So, I have an addiction to buying the books of the YouTubers I watch, sue me. Natalia Leigh’s YouTube videos are of a different variety from Jenna Moreci and Alexa Donne’s videos. She reminds me a bit more of Vivien Reis, in the fact that she does less ten tip videos and more life around writing videos and discussion videos on Nanowrimo and Camp Nanowrimo. So, honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect going into Song of the Dryad. I knew Leigh was a self published author but unlike Moreci and Donne, her videos don’t really give me a feel of her writing style or any formal training, so I went into this without any expectations, honestly. Which, really, might be a good thing.
Song of the Dryad has a very simplistic voice that really tells it’s readers about everything. Which, honestly, was one of my biggest issue with this book. The entire prologue was pointless. We could have learned what Charlotte experienced on Halloween night later in the story, it could have been a point of contention that she wouldn’t go into the forest at night and we didn’t know why. The tension could have been there. But, the heavy telling destroyed that possibility. Everything we learn about Charlotte is told to us through the narrative, from how Charlotte got her new violin (and where the old one is, for some reason) to the fact that Charlotte has a lack of experience when it comes to boys.
There is a certain lack of passion in Charlotte’s voice, which is frustrating, particularly when it comes to one of the first scenes, where she’s playing violin. I’m not a musician, but I am passionate about other things and hen I’m doing those things or talking about those things, I feel excited, energized. None of that passion comes through in this narrative.
There was a lot of repetition in this book, but the one that stands out the most (and drove me craziest) was Charlotte’s calloused fingers. Everytime Charlotte’s fingers were so much as mentioned, Leigh reminds us that they’re calloused. Once or twice is fine, but the constant reminder was rather annoying.
So, Charlotte’s mom goes missing and it takes a whole day for anyone to notice. And we’re supposed to just accept it’s because her studio door was closed. But like… she’s in the house? It’s kind of implied that Grandma would have been home all day. She didn’t worry when she heard exactly no movement for like two days? Charlotte’s dad wasn’t worried when she didn’t come to bed? It’s a bit of a stretch of the imagination, isn’t it? Which reminds me… I’m from a small town. Trust me when I say, everyone knew Charlotte’s mom was missing as soon as the police got the call. You don’t hide anything in small towns. Even if Charlotte’s family didn’t say anything, the neighbor saw the cop car. The police officer made calls to Emily’s friends to see if they’d seen or heard from her. Everyone knew Emily was missing by at least the next day.
My biggest problem with this book is honestly that there’s really no sense of urgency. Charlotte’s mom is safe. Anyone taken after her mom, will be safe. The worst that’s happening is that her mom isn’t there to listen to her boy problems. There’s no lingering threat of death. Even Charlotte isn’t in that much of a rush. She doesn’t really do that much to look for the stones. She goes to school and sets up dates for the weekend. If she was in a hurry, she’d be sneaking out every night to look for stones with a flashlight. She’d be sleeping through classes because she was up all night searching for stones. We just need some more in the urgency department.
So, up until now, you’re wondering “Blair, if you have all these complaints, why the 4 star review?”. Well, you see, I did like this overall. Leigh pitched this book as a cozy contemporary fantasy and I think it lives up to that. The writing is very simple, but it makes for a quick and easy read. There was something comforting about reading this. It didn’t require me to overthink things or scavenge for foreshadowing. It relaxed me. Which, is a giant accomplishment because it’s been a while since that happened. This is the kind of book I want when I’m stressed and I need to curl up on my couch and just relax.
The romance was the best I've read in ages. Even though Charlotte’s boy crazy attitude annoyed me, I liked Art. He’s a sweet character and he seemed to want to be Charlotte’s friend. Honestly, it’s been a long time since I genuinely saw chemistry between characters. The fact that these characters actually hung out and did things before they decided they were in love and needed to date is a nice change from the overwhelming instalove I normally read. And Art was a nice boy. Which is huge. Because I’m so used to these disgusting bad boys that it was so wonderful to read about a nice boy with good intentions.
And I loved the overall plot. Even if the pacing and urgency need some work, the idea behind this novel is simply wonderful and enjoyable. The way the magic works, the reason the dryad has no power outside of Lyra, the reason no one else sees the fairies and yet can still see the result of them. It kept me interested. The concept of people meant to protect these stones is new and fun. All of the motivations makes sense. Even the dryad has a solid motivation for what she’s done. And I think the hidden meanings of believing is seeing fits wonderfully in this story. It’s like a modern fairytale.
At the end of the day, I was not disappointed with this book. And, it’s the first the first book I’ve read this summer that I didn’t think “meh” of. I liked Song of the Dryad and I take it for what it is. A simple, whimsical story that is perfect for a younger teenage reader. Or a reader in her twenties who just needs something comforting. With just a little more showing and some more voice from her characters, I think Song of the Dryad could have been the first 5 star book I read this summer. I wish Leigh the best of luck on her further writing ventures and hope that she continues to grow as a writer.