When I started to read Sing Sweet Nightingale I had no idea that I would like it as much as I did. I had come off of a string of books that didn’t capture my interest and that was after over a year long dry spell of not being able to read, both because of school and because of lack of interest. I liked the description of the book well enough to give it a go, but I was cautious of getting excited. I didn’t want to love this book only to be disappointed. Ultimately I had nothing to worry about because I loved this book and cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.
As the description states the book follows two people, Mariella and Hudson, as they each battle their own demons. Literally.
Each night Mariella goes into a dream world where she’s promised her voice to an angel names Orane. It’s a world she loves enough to give up her life for. When she finds out she has the opportunity to stay with Orane forever she is elated and doesn’t give a second thought to the world she would be leaving behind.
Hudson had an angel too, named Calease who came to him while he was hiding, hurt and alone, in a library. The truth hit him hard when he discovered that Calease was far from the angel he originally thought. She was a demon. When his younger brother was killed because of the demon his entire life changed.
Fast forward to the start of the book and we find out that it is Hudson’s mission to rescue Mariella from Orane before it’s too late. One of the things I loved most about Cameron’s writing is her ability to seamlessly write in two different point of views. We see each of the characters as separate voices and the transitions between the two are not jarring. This sadly isn’t a talent we see from many authors and is normally something that turns me off from books, but just a few chapters in taught me this was different.
The story itself and the development of the characters feels really organic. When bringing fantasy into the real world Cameron gives a natural progression of discovery. Mariella’s journey to discovering the truth about Orane is planned out so well. It doesn’t happen all at once, it happens in pieces as she gains more and more information every day. I loved getting to see a suspicious Mariella gaining her own strength and sparing with Orane’s angel image. She always wanted to beat him at his own game in a world of his own creation, regardless of whether or not the outcome was in her favor the feistiness she showed was great. Her progression towards natural discovery slids backwards and forwards over and over again as Orane keeps wiping her memory when she comes close to realizing the truth.
Cameron kept the momentum up through the entire story with a really organic pace. As I got nearer and nearer to the end I was waiting for the moment to come where I grew to dislike the book. Again, this was something I had become used to over the past year. The smaller the percentage of the book left became the more and more amazed that I was with Cameron’s ability to keep me satisfied with everything that was going on.
I knew about halfway through the book there was a sequel and I realized at the very end she was setting up for it. I don’t think it would have been obvious at all to someone who hadn’t of known who the characters in the sequel were and I definitely have to commend Cameron for her ability to do that. I really enjoyed this book, the story and the characters, and I can’t wait to read more from Cameron soon!