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racheldoesthing's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Love love loved can’t wait to read the next book in the meantime I will continue look for more mermaid and sirens books
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, and Death of parent
gaynidoking's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The plot and the world are very interesting, but I did struggle in the middle and final act. This is partially on me for not realizing it was YA until the protagonist revealed she was only 17. The synopsis and the way Saoirse conducts her assassinations gave me the impression of a character at least in her twenties. I think this book would have benefitted a lot from the character being even a few years older.
The protag does consistently make decisions that remind me (not in a good way) that she is supposed to be 17. She pulls some real bonehead moves, especially as the story goes on. There is also that unfortunate YA staple where she decides to hate the only other female character around her age for literally no reason as soon as she meets her.
I also think that the character's development in the final act was completely undermined by the actual events of the book, and felt very contrived. A great deal of personal anguish is due to the character's belief thatshe is literally unable to resist the urge to kill as a siren. There is a VERY good conversation with her father towards the end where he calls her out for using this as an excuse to avoid responsibility for her actions. And then, randomly, she is told the only reason the urge to kill overwhelms her (and sometimes literally causes her to blackout and kill) is because she is afraid of her power and refuses to embrace it. But it is ALSO revealed that the reason she is afraif of her power is when she was a child (before she even knew that was an option), she did embrace her power, and it made her black out and kill people. It was a very confusing stance to take, because she was literally just told "just embrace your power!" and then she just decides to do that, and suddenly everything is fine and she can control herself perfectly fine.
The protag does consistently make decisions that remind me (not in a good way) that she is supposed to be 17. She pulls some real bonehead moves, especially as the story goes on. There is also that unfortunate YA staple where she decides to hate the only other female character around her age for literally no reason as soon as she meets her.
I also think that the character's development in the final act was completely undermined by the actual events of the book, and felt very contrived. A great deal of personal anguish is due to the character's belief that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Genocide, Slavery, Vomit, and Trafficking
ankonyx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Mild spoilers ahead for the synopsis, though it only really covers the first 100 pages of the book.
Sing Me To Sleep follows Saoirse, a lone siren in a world of a ruling fae class and subservient humans and witches. As a siren, she has the deepest urge to kill, particularly when near large bodies of water. This urge has brought her to her secondary career, as an assassin. This second job helps pay the bills to protect her little sister Rain, whom she affectionately nicknames Beansprout.
Her main day job, now that she has graduated her training job, is as a bodyguard for prince Hayes, having taking this job against her will and better judgement due to someone blackmailing her. The book follows Saoirse as she tries to uncover who is blackmailing her while also trying to remain undercover as a string of murders all tied to a beautiful woman become revealed.
Saoirse is a deeply grey character and is a fascinating perspective to follow.
Personal feelings:
Positives:
* I really enjoyed seeing the world through Saoirse’s eyes. The world was really interesting and well built, and most of the worldbuilding was done through the eyes of our principal character, which I found really well done. I also liked the synesthesia-esque descriptions of other’s emotions, and how it wasn’t constant (for example, none of the witches had these descriptions). It also really developed Saoirse as a character.
* The characters were really interesting and I enjoyed reading about them. They were all quite flawed but in ways that were consistent and engaging.
* The book had good pacing, keeping my gripped the whole way through without feeling repetitive.
Negatives:
* I would have like to get more of Hayes post-reveal, and in general see why he trusted her so much even when she was being really cagey. Obviously a personal thing, but the ending felt weird because of this to me.
This was absolutely excellent and I cannot wait for the next instalment.
4.5/5 stars
Sing Me To Sleep follows Saoirse, a lone siren in a world of a ruling fae class and subservient humans and witches. As a siren, she has the deepest urge to kill, particularly when near large bodies of water. This urge has brought her to her secondary career, as an assassin. This second job helps pay the bills to protect her little sister Rain, whom she affectionately nicknames Beansprout.
Her main day job, now that she has graduated her training job, is as a bodyguard for prince Hayes, having taking this job against her will and better judgement due to someone blackmailing her. The book follows Saoirse as she tries to uncover who is blackmailing her while also trying to remain undercover as a string of murders all tied to a beautiful woman become revealed.
Saoirse is a deeply grey character and is a fascinating perspective to follow.
Personal feelings:
Positives:
* I really enjoyed seeing the world through Saoirse’s eyes. The world was really interesting and well built, and most of the worldbuilding was done through the eyes of our principal character, which I found really well done. I also liked the synesthesia-esque descriptions of other’s emotions, and how it wasn’t constant (for example, none of the witches had these descriptions). It also really developed Saoirse as a character.
* The characters were really interesting and I enjoyed reading about them. They were all quite flawed but in ways that were consistent and engaging.
* The book had good pacing, keeping my gripped the whole way through without feeling repetitive.
Negatives:
* I would have like to get more of Hayes post-reveal, and in general see why he trusted her so much even when she was being really cagey. Obviously a personal thing, but the ending felt weird because of this to me.
This was absolutely excellent and I cannot wait for the next instalment.
4.5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual harassment
thebibutterfly's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall, I enjoyed it. Pretty good world-building and pacing. For a debut author, I was impressed with attention to detail given to the different magical groups and their powers. She fell into a common new author trap with a little too much focus on describing minor characters’ physical characteristics and every single outfit they wore, as well as repeatedly mentioning the main characters’ eye and hair color.
My main issue was with the overload of subplots happening at once with very little resolution by the end. Loved the morally gray FMC, but she was a little one dimensional and often seemed to be dragged along by the plot rather than leading it.
I was supremely disappointed by the ending. The romantic subplot is yet one more unresolved thread left hanging. I hate when authors drag out a romance over multiple books. It would be one thing if the romantic connection developed slowly over a series, but by the end of this book, they are obsessed with each other already.
My main issue was with the overload of subplots happening at once with very little resolution by the end. Loved the morally gray FMC, but she was a little one dimensional and often seemed to be dragged along by the plot rather than leading it.
I was supremely disappointed by the ending. The romantic subplot is yet one more unresolved thread left hanging. I hate when authors drag out a romance over multiple books. It would be one thing if the romantic connection developed slowly over a series, but by the end of this book, they are obsessed with each other already.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, and Classism
natraf_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, and Murder
honeycupreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book is wonderful! From the very beginning I was hooked and I found myself having to force myself to put it down. Gabi Burton has blessed us with such amazing characters, flawed and complex, yet you root for them fully. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this series has in store!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Genocide
victoriousbookworm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
This book exceeded all of my expectations for it. The pacing was perfect, the characters were complex and twisted in a way that felt real, and the story kept me hooked. Saoirse’s love for her sister was so powerful and relatable. From start to finish, this book had me anxiously needing to know what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Slavery, Blood, and Classism
Minor: Genocide
lizzie_b99's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
nyree42's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide
linnea1801's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism