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A review by gabalodon
A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown
3.0
This was okay. Everything that was good about the first book was still good here. It has incredible bones and there were times when it was a five-star read. I was LIVING for the dynamic between Idir and Malik - that could have been developed so much more. If you loved the first one I think you'll love the second one.
Unfortunately everything I disliked about the first book was still true in this one, and in some ways amplified. Instead of sticking with the bazillion moving parts that were already present at the end of the first one, a lot of those pieces were neglected (e.g. Idir) and even MORE complications were added. The magic and gods system was very hand-wavey and seemed to contort itself to achieve plot points. The narrative often relied on a character magically knowing what to do or "feeling in their heart" that a certain path was closed to them, which drives me nuts. Karina couldn't decide whether she wanted to sacrifice herself for the kingdom or not and changed her mind on that front several times. And at one point she makes a blood oath which was just...never followed through on? Unless in this world blood oaths are extremely flexible but it sure didn't sound like it when it was made.
What really wore me down though was how much Karina and Malik continued to constantly (and I mean CONSTANTLY) hate on themselves and every decision they made. I'm no stranger to self-flagellation but that doesn't mean I want to spend over a thousand pages inside the heads of two people who can't stop blaming themselves for everything horrible that goes wrong. There was no emotional relief as a reader, which made it a very unbalanced book to struggle through.
Ultimately, there were some very interesting things about the duology and I'd like to see how this author grows but I don't think I'll ever reread these two.
Unfortunately everything I disliked about the first book was still true in this one, and in some ways amplified. Instead of sticking with the bazillion moving parts that were already present at the end of the first one, a lot of those pieces were neglected (e.g. Idir) and even MORE complications were added. The magic and gods system was very hand-wavey and seemed to contort itself to achieve plot points. The narrative often relied on a character magically knowing what to do or "feeling in their heart" that a certain path was closed to them, which drives me nuts. Karina couldn't decide whether she wanted to sacrifice herself for the kingdom or not and changed her mind on that front several times. And at one point she makes a blood oath which was just...never followed through on? Unless in this world blood oaths are extremely flexible but it sure didn't sound like it when it was made.
What really wore me down though was how much Karina and Malik continued to constantly (and I mean CONSTANTLY) hate on themselves and every decision they made. I'm no stranger to self-flagellation but that doesn't mean I want to spend over a thousand pages inside the heads of two people who can't stop blaming themselves for everything horrible that goes wrong. There was no emotional relief as a reader, which made it a very unbalanced book to struggle through.
Ultimately, there were some very interesting things about the duology and I'd like to see how this author grows but I don't think I'll ever reread these two.