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A review by porshea
A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content warning: physical and emotional abuse, mass violence, suicidal ideation
World building takes vision, strong world building is apparent when the next book in a series reveals fresh nuance to the world’s lore. In A Psalm of Storms and Silence, Roseanne A. Brown has carefully crafted Sonande, a land full of historical injustice whose weight challenges the budding love between her spiritually-crossed protagonists.
As the second and final installment of the A Song of Wraiths and Ruin series, readers should be well acquainted with anxious griot illusionist Malik and curious wind witch Princess Karina—especially because we pick up with each character not long after we left them in ASOWAR. Princess Karina has found herself in one of the most unlikely of alliances with a former suitor in the competition to win her hand in the Solstasia (the focal point of book one). They are joined by the young magic—or nkra—sensitive mage that befriended Karina when she most questioned her abilities and how they had bearing in the loss of her family. In a case of the lost leading the lost, they navigate their way to finding Karina an armed force that will help Karina retake the kingdom she lost through betrayal in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin. But as Karina runs toward a hopeful shelter, we also find that she is running away from two people whose very existence leaves her with more questions than she has the courage to bear. Unfortunately for her, one of those people, Malik, appears to her in her dreams regardless of how far she ventures. With her former guards searching for her posted throughout the country and Sonande citizens in states of unrest everywhere she travels, Karina is forced to brave her emotional consternation surrounding her family, magical abilities, royal responsibility, and love life sooner rather than later.
Malik, on the other hand, has gained everything he was ever supposed to want in the wake of Karina’s departure from the seat of the kingdom, Ziran. Read more here: https://blackgirlscreate.org/2021/11/the-plot-thickens-a-psalm-of-storms-and-silence/
World building takes vision, strong world building is apparent when the next book in a series reveals fresh nuance to the world’s lore. In A Psalm of Storms and Silence, Roseanne A. Brown has carefully crafted Sonande, a land full of historical injustice whose weight challenges the budding love between her spiritually-crossed protagonists.
As the second and final installment of the A Song of Wraiths and Ruin series, readers should be well acquainted with anxious griot illusionist Malik and curious wind witch Princess Karina—especially because we pick up with each character not long after we left them in ASOWAR. Princess Karina has found herself in one of the most unlikely of alliances with a former suitor in the competition to win her hand in the Solstasia (the focal point of book one). They are joined by the young magic—or nkra—sensitive mage that befriended Karina when she most questioned her abilities and how they had bearing in the loss of her family. In a case of the lost leading the lost, they navigate their way to finding Karina an armed force that will help Karina retake the kingdom she lost through betrayal in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin. But as Karina runs toward a hopeful shelter, we also find that she is running away from two people whose very existence leaves her with more questions than she has the courage to bear. Unfortunately for her, one of those people, Malik, appears to her in her dreams regardless of how far she ventures. With her former guards searching for her posted throughout the country and Sonande citizens in states of unrest everywhere she travels, Karina is forced to brave her emotional consternation surrounding her family, magical abilities, royal responsibility, and love life sooner rather than later.
Malik, on the other hand, has gained everything he was ever supposed to want in the wake of Karina’s departure from the seat of the kingdom, Ziran. Read more here: https://blackgirlscreate.org/2021/11/the-plot-thickens-a-psalm-of-storms-and-silence/
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War