A review by booksnsocks
The Phantom Nightingale by Shauna E. Black
4.0
I received this e-book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I've never read a steampunk novel before and this was a great introduction to the genre! The world of Tyria is a really unique one where ships fly through the skies and some people, the Andul, can move from one place to another by using their special power called 'slipping'. I could've done with a bit more world building and a short passage explaining how exactly slipping works in the beginning, but I think I'd figured it all out quite well along the way.
There were a few things I hadn't figured out, though...because they ended up being plot twists! And wow, I did not see those plot twists coming! They left me wanting to read more and before I knew it, I had finished another few chapters.
I especially liked the chapters that followed Avilene and Lorelei, as I found the whole idea of 'slipping' really interesting and was trying to figure out how exactly this type of magic works. As became clear from their chapters, which were focused a lot on the use of this magic, the Andul can not just jump through space, but also through time. 'Slipping' takes a lot of energy and can be done by singing a special song and it causes the user to go temporarily blind, or permanently blind in the case of Xanthe. The only thing that can keep the Andul from using their power is a green crystal called Moldavite. Sometimes a book contains all kinds of magic, which makes it feel messy, but the magic in this book was complex, but well thought out.
When it comes to the characters, I adored Cupcake (I, too, would like to just eat every sweet thing in sight), but I found Xanthe a really interesting character and would love to read his perspective! He is a really powerful character known as The Phantom Nightingale and he saves Andul children from being enslaved and used as weapons in a looming war undertaken by humans. He gives them a place on his ship (a flying one! I'm still not over how cool that is!) and seeks a safe place with a kind family for them to live.
This was a great set up, but it actually wasn't the most important part of the story. The story is about Xanthe who is searching for his lost sister who he believes is entrapped in the Yugend Academy where Avilene is an ensign. Avilene, who is Andul but has lost her powers, feels trapped and wants to escape the academy and break free from her cruel superintendent, Proteus. The stories of Avilene and Xanthe and Brayde (Xanthe's first mate) intertwine when Brayde and Sicarah (one of the people from the ship) infiltrate the academy to save Xanthe's sister. After that, the story is jam-packed with action and plot twists, and pirates and magic!
Of course there was a romantic element to this story, and while it was a small part and I normally loooove romance, I found that it was enough. It didn't take over the story, but it was a nice addition to it.
Overall, this was a really unique story and I'm curious to see where the story'll go!
I've never read a steampunk novel before and this was a great introduction to the genre! The world of Tyria is a really unique one where ships fly through the skies and some people, the Andul, can move from one place to another by using their special power called 'slipping'. I could've done with a bit more world building and a short passage explaining how exactly slipping works in the beginning, but I think I'd figured it all out quite well along the way.
There were a few things I hadn't figured out, though...because they ended up being plot twists! And wow, I did not see those plot twists coming! They left me wanting to read more and before I knew it, I had finished another few chapters.
I especially liked the chapters that followed Avilene and Lorelei, as I found the whole idea of 'slipping' really interesting and was trying to figure out how exactly this type of magic works. As became clear from their chapters, which were focused a lot on the use of this magic, the Andul can not just jump through space, but also through time. 'Slipping' takes a lot of energy and can be done by singing a special song and it causes the user to go temporarily blind, or permanently blind in the case of Xanthe. The only thing that can keep the Andul from using their power is a green crystal called Moldavite. Sometimes a book contains all kinds of magic, which makes it feel messy, but the magic in this book was complex, but well thought out.
When it comes to the characters, I adored Cupcake (I, too, would like to just eat every sweet thing in sight), but I found Xanthe a really interesting character and would love to read his perspective! He is a really powerful character known as The Phantom Nightingale and he saves Andul children from being enslaved and used as weapons in a looming war undertaken by humans. He gives them a place on his ship (a flying one! I'm still not over how cool that is!) and seeks a safe place with a kind family for them to live.
This was a great set up, but it actually wasn't the most important part of the story. The story is about Xanthe who is searching for his lost sister who he believes is entrapped in the Yugend Academy where Avilene is an ensign. Avilene, who is Andul but has lost her powers, feels trapped and wants to escape the academy and break free from her cruel superintendent, Proteus. The stories of Avilene and Xanthe and Brayde (Xanthe's first mate) intertwine when Brayde and Sicarah (one of the people from the ship) infiltrate the academy to save Xanthe's sister. After that, the story is jam-packed with action and plot twists, and pirates and magic!
Of course there was a romantic element to this story, and while it was a small part and I normally loooove romance, I found that it was enough. It didn't take over the story, but it was a nice addition to it.
Overall, this was a really unique story and I'm curious to see where the story'll go!