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A review by mspilesofpaper
Song of the Abyss by Emma Hamm
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Song of the Abyss is the second instalment of the Deep Waters series, which started with Whispers in the Deep. The story is about Daios, whom we meet in the first instalment, and Anya. While you can technically read it as a standalone, I would advise you to read the first book as well. It's a paranormal romance and so far, four books will be in the series. The next one will be about Maketes and I'm excited! (And please check out the author's Instagram because she has an image available of the size differences between all undines and humans. It's ... something. :D)
Daios, who hates humans and is plagued by decisions of his past, is tasked with kidnapping the golden daughter of Alpha's General: Anya. Anya was raised as the city's darling and songbird who is more than willing to get kidnapped by an undine as she views him as his ticket out of Alpha and as a way to reach her own goals. Both realise relatively quickly that these two goals align and, more importantly, that they are both not as whole as everyone else.
Not only has Anya to deal with a very abusive and controlling parent but she is also hard of hearing after an accident when she was a teenager, which is 100% the fault of her father as he left her, a curious young child, alone in a room filled with weapons. Ever since Anya relies on a small robot to be able to communicate with others as sign language is - more or less - a dead language in the underwater cities. Meanwhile, Daios is a soldier/warrior who suffers from PTSD and the loss of his arm, and is utterly haunted by the decisions of his past. Those scenes are very creepy. (I cannot say how accurate the PTSD representation is or how accurate Anya's experience is. The author mentioned in the foreword that she had sensitivity readers and I would consider the scenes with Daios' struggles and Anya's experiences as realistic and accurate. But alas, I am not hard of hearing nor do I have PTSD.)
Concerning their relationship: it is a lot faster than Arges and Mira as they don't deal with the language barricade, and because Anya is willing to go with Daios. While she mentions several times to herself that he is a monster, she never truly sees him as a monster. I feel like they are better at communication than Arges and Mira. I liked it a lot that Daios never truly ventured into the "overbearing alpha male who has to protect his mate" territory and trusts Anya to fulfil her role in bringing down Alpha. Yes, he wants to follow her and is utterly anxious but he isn't the typical male character who would be like "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!". He trusts Anya, never underestimates her ability to do something, and never tries to stop her from doing things that she believes are necessary to reach their end goal. Even if it would cost them both everything. It's a nice twist from normal hetero relationships in romance novels and feels very healthy.
If you want to read the book for the spice: similar to the first book, there are only two sex scenes, which I would rate with 🌶️ 🌶️ - 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ as they are graphic but not as intense or extreme as sex scenes in other monster romance novels. Yes, undines have two 🍆, which adds a certain spice factor, but it's still mild.
My only criticism is the ending and the information bomb that Anya's father drops on her. It happened all a bit too quickly. The pacing or the general quickness of everything is really the main issue of the book. Also: why the fuck are Mira and Arges portrayed as near-antagonists in this novel? Yes, I understand that both are wary of Daios and worried that he might hurt Anya but Arges KNOWS that Daios' views her as her mate. I hope they don't continue like it in the 3rd book when it's Maketes turn.
Daios, who hates humans and is plagued by decisions of his past, is tasked with kidnapping the golden daughter of Alpha's General: Anya. Anya was raised as the city's darling and songbird who is more than willing to get kidnapped by an undine as she views him as his ticket out of Alpha and as a way to reach her own goals. Both realise relatively quickly that these two goals align and, more importantly, that they are both not as whole as everyone else.
Not only has Anya to deal with a very abusive and controlling parent but she is also hard of hearing after an accident when she was a teenager, which is 100% the fault of her father as he left her, a curious young child, alone in a room filled with weapons. Ever since Anya relies on a small robot to be able to communicate with others as sign language is - more or less - a dead language in the underwater cities. Meanwhile, Daios is a soldier/warrior who suffers from PTSD and the loss of his arm, and is utterly haunted by the decisions of his past. Those scenes are very creepy. (I cannot say how accurate the PTSD representation is or how accurate Anya's experience is. The author mentioned in the foreword that she had sensitivity readers and I would consider the scenes with Daios' struggles and Anya's experiences as realistic and accurate. But alas, I am not hard of hearing nor do I have PTSD.)
Concerning their relationship: it is a lot faster than Arges and Mira as they don't deal with the language barricade, and because Anya is willing to go with Daios. While she mentions several times to herself that he is a monster, she never truly sees him as a monster. I feel like they are better at communication than Arges and Mira. I liked it a lot that Daios never truly ventured into the "overbearing alpha male who has to protect his mate" territory and trusts Anya to fulfil her role in bringing down Alpha. Yes, he wants to follow her and is utterly anxious but he isn't the typical male character who would be like "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!". He trusts Anya, never underestimates her ability to do something, and never tries to stop her from doing things that she believes are necessary to reach their end goal. Even if it would cost them both everything. It's a nice twist from normal hetero relationships in romance novels and feels very healthy.
If you want to read the book for the spice: similar to the first book, there are only two sex scenes, which I would rate with 🌶️ 🌶️ - 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ as they are graphic but not as intense or extreme as sex scenes in other monster romance novels. Yes, undines have two 🍆, which adds a certain spice factor, but it's still mild.
My only criticism is the ending and the information bomb that Anya's father drops on her. It happened all a bit too quickly. The pacing or the general quickness of everything is really the main issue of the book. Also: why the fuck are Mira and Arges portrayed as near-antagonists in this novel? Yes, I understand that both are wary of Daios and worried that he might hurt Anya but Arges KNOWS that Daios' views her as her mate. I hope they don't continue like it in the 3rd book when it's Maketes turn.