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A review by aggie24
The Skylark's Song by J. M. Frey
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First off, I really like this one. It has a wonderful blend of action, emotion, and worldbuilding. I don’t normally make lists in my reviews, but I think that’s the easiest way to explain how I felt about this book, so here you go.
Things I really liked:
1. Robin Arianhod. I know she’s the main character and I’m supposed to like her, but she was very well done. She showed a depth of emotion that I feel like I haven’t seen in a while. Her grief, confusion, and love were all clear to see, and well-written.
2. The way religion was portrayed. There are three major religions portrayed in this book, and I think Frey did a great job with them. The way people from each religion interacted with each other was painful but felt realistic. The different customs people had was fun to see, and I liked how it didn’t feel like the author was trying to convince me which one was right, but simply showed the way they are. They are not at all related to any religion I know of, which was refreshing.
3. Flying. The characters love the sky. Does anything else need to be said?
4. The way Robin puts herself first. Robin isn’t constantly trying to be a heroine. She is trying to survive, and that means she is looking out for herself first. She cares about her family and her friends, but she doesn’t sacrifice herself for no reason, which was a nice change from most YA these days.
5. The author’s style. I really enjoyed Frey’s writing. This book is written in third-person, but it still feels immediate and exciting without becoming rushed. I think that can be a difficult balance to find, but Frey did a good job of it.
But there are three major problems I had with this book:
1. The lack of explanations. I think the best way to explain this is to bring in the idea of hard and soft magic. Hard magic is where the magic is understandable; there are rules and limitations, and the reader knows what they are (for example Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson). Soft magic is when the reader doesn’t understand how the magic works or what the limitations are (for example Gandalf’s magic in the Lord of the Rings). Strictly speaking, there isn’t magic in The Skylark’s Song, but I think some of the same concepts apply. The entire plot is based on two countries being at war, but we don’t know anything about why the war started, who is winning, major strategy. All we know is that there are some skirmishes in the air, and the war is somehow about cultural domination. That’s it. This is a soft-magic kind of book. Suspension of disbelief is very necessary. There are a lot of holes, both in the worldbuilding and the plot. Which brings me to my next problem.
2. The romance. J.M. Frey says in the acknowledgements that her agent “demanded that there be” a love interest, so she had to include one, but it didn’t go very well. The romance feels more like Stockholm syndrome than anything else. We are told they fall in love, but all of the incremental steps showing how they got there -- conversations and jokes and the interactions that let us get to know a character -- are glossed over. I wasn’t shown why the love interest was a person that deserved Robin, why I should root for him to woo her. It made it feel like Robin was being manipulated into loving him, rather than mutual attraction. I didn’t like it.
3. The way Robin enjoyed it when boys made coarse jokes about her to her face. I understand that when you have a girl spending a lot of time with some of those boys every day, there might be jokes. I get that some of this needed to be included for the book to feel authentic. But I do not understand why Robin laughs when her best friend sticks his hand down her shirt or makes fun of her behind with no warning. Her opinion that “boys were stupid… a fact of nature and the will of the gods” just doesn’t cut it. With the way this is about a woman pilot and mechanic, I thought that the author would show some respect for women’s boundaries, but that doesn’t happen.
So, to conclude, if you like steampunk about independent heroines and don’t mind some worldbuilding holes and plot holes, this is for you. That sounds really negative, but this was still enjoyable. I finished it in less than 24 hours, and I’m pretty eager to get my hands on the next one. It’s unique and exciting, with action, romance, and some real-world issues thrown in for good measure.
3.5 / 5 stars
First off, I really like this one. It has a wonderful blend of action, emotion, and worldbuilding. I don’t normally make lists in my reviews, but I think that’s the easiest way to explain how I felt about this book, so here you go.
Things I really liked:
1. Robin Arianhod. I know she’s the main character and I’m supposed to like her, but she was very well done. She showed a depth of emotion that I feel like I haven’t seen in a while. Her grief, confusion, and love were all clear to see, and well-written.
2. The way religion was portrayed. There are three major religions portrayed in this book, and I think Frey did a great job with them. The way people from each religion interacted with each other was painful but felt realistic. The different customs people had was fun to see, and I liked how it didn’t feel like the author was trying to convince me which one was right, but simply showed the way they are. They are not at all related to any religion I know of, which was refreshing.
3. Flying. The characters love the sky. Does anything else need to be said?
4. The way Robin puts herself first. Robin isn’t constantly trying to be a heroine. She is trying to survive, and that means she is looking out for herself first. She cares about her family and her friends, but she doesn’t sacrifice herself for no reason, which was a nice change from most YA these days.
5. The author’s style. I really enjoyed Frey’s writing. This book is written in third-person, but it still feels immediate and exciting without becoming rushed. I think that can be a difficult balance to find, but Frey did a good job of it.
But there are three major problems I had with this book:
1. The lack of explanations. I think the best way to explain this is to bring in the idea of hard and soft magic. Hard magic is where the magic is understandable; there are rules and limitations, and the reader knows what they are (for example Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson). Soft magic is when the reader doesn’t understand how the magic works or what the limitations are (for example Gandalf’s magic in the Lord of the Rings). Strictly speaking, there isn’t magic in The Skylark’s Song, but I think some of the same concepts apply. The entire plot is based on two countries being at war, but we don’t know anything about why the war started, who is winning, major strategy. All we know is that there are some skirmishes in the air, and the war is somehow about cultural domination. That’s it. This is a soft-magic kind of book. Suspension of disbelief is very necessary. There are a lot of holes, both in the worldbuilding and the plot. Which brings me to my next problem.
2. The romance. J.M. Frey says in the acknowledgements that her agent “demanded that there be” a love interest, so she had to include one, but it didn’t go very well. The romance feels more like Stockholm syndrome than anything else. We are told they fall in love, but all of the incremental steps showing how they got there -- conversations and jokes and the interactions that let us get to know a character -- are glossed over. I wasn’t shown why the love interest was a person that deserved Robin, why I should root for him to woo her. It made it feel like Robin was being manipulated into loving him, rather than mutual attraction. I didn’t like it.
3. The way Robin enjoyed it when boys made coarse jokes about her to her face. I understand that when you have a girl spending a lot of time with some of those boys every day, there might be jokes. I get that some of this needed to be included for the book to feel authentic. But I do not understand why Robin laughs when her best friend sticks his hand down her shirt or makes fun of her behind with no warning. Her opinion that “boys were stupid… a fact of nature and the will of the gods” just doesn’t cut it. With the way this is about a woman pilot and mechanic, I thought that the author would show some respect for women’s boundaries, but that doesn’t happen.
So, to conclude, if you like steampunk about independent heroines and don’t mind some worldbuilding holes and plot holes, this is for you. That sounds really negative, but this was still enjoyable. I finished it in less than 24 hours, and I’m pretty eager to get my hands on the next one. It’s unique and exciting, with action, romance, and some real-world issues thrown in for good measure.
3.5 / 5 stars