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A review by selina_airey
Of Song and Scepter by Liesl West
5.0
*I received an ARC of this book, but my review is honest and voluntary.* **Spoiler-free.**
I have been super hyped about this book for a while now after seeing Liesl's posts and reels on Instagram, and let me tell you, this book did not disappoint! I was surprised how easily I fell into the story since it usually takes me a few chapters to get the gist of the worldbuilding and plot with fantasy books. However, even though this book has amazing worldbuilding, I adapted to it quickly and was hooked from the first chapter.
I absolutely adored Enna as an FMC. She's feisty, ruthless, and somewhat morally grey, and yet she tugs on your heartstrings with her naivety and her emotional vulnerability. I especially loved how she was portrayed in learning about the world above water for the first time. Simple things like not knowing the colour of the sun or being able to walk on hot sand are so imaginative. And it's so immersive that it makes you feel excited to be experiencing it with her.
I also loved Soren as a MMC. It was so refreshing to read a book with a genuinely good guy as the love interest rather than the stereotypical douchbag with a pretty face and shadow magic (not that those are bad qualities, it's just nice to have a change every now and then) (who am I kidding, give me all the cinnamon roll MMCs!).
Now let's get to my favourite character—Odissa. Was she the villain in this story? Yes. Did I end up hating her by the end? Yes. Did I love to hate her? Absolutely. She's up there with my top 5 villains right now (okay, maybe top 3). I'm not going to share anything else because I want people to experience her for themselves without knowing what to expect. Just know that I love her!
Overall this was a really fun, enjoyable read. It had its hilarious, sad, joyful, emotional, tense, action-packed, and, yes, steamy scenes without a single dull moment. This is a standalone book, and that's something I was happy about because I think the pacing was perfect, and the ending wrapped up nicely without the plot points being unnecessarily dragged out. This was an amazing 5-star read from Leisl West (and her debut novel, nonetheless), and I honestly can't wait to read her future books. She's now on my list of insta-buy authors.
I have been super hyped about this book for a while now after seeing Liesl's posts and reels on Instagram, and let me tell you, this book did not disappoint! I was surprised how easily I fell into the story since it usually takes me a few chapters to get the gist of the worldbuilding and plot with fantasy books. However, even though this book has amazing worldbuilding, I adapted to it quickly and was hooked from the first chapter.
I absolutely adored Enna as an FMC. She's feisty, ruthless, and somewhat morally grey, and yet she tugs on your heartstrings with her naivety and her emotional vulnerability. I especially loved how she was portrayed in learning about the world above water for the first time. Simple things like not knowing the colour of the sun or being able to walk on hot sand are so imaginative. And it's so immersive that it makes you feel excited to be experiencing it with her.
I also loved Soren as a MMC. It was so refreshing to read a book with a genuinely good guy as the love interest rather than the stereotypical douchbag with a pretty face and shadow magic (not that those are bad qualities, it's just nice to have a change every now and then) (who am I kidding, give me all the cinnamon roll MMCs!).
Now let's get to my favourite character—Odissa. Was she the villain in this story? Yes. Did I end up hating her by the end? Yes. Did I love to hate her? Absolutely. She's up there with my top 5 villains right now (okay, maybe top 3). I'm not going to share anything else because I want people to experience her for themselves without knowing what to expect. Just know that I love her!
Overall this was a really fun, enjoyable read. It had its hilarious, sad, joyful, emotional, tense, action-packed, and, yes, steamy scenes without a single dull moment. This is a standalone book, and that's something I was happy about because I think the pacing was perfect, and the ending wrapped up nicely without the plot points being unnecessarily dragged out. This was an amazing 5-star read from Leisl West (and her debut novel, nonetheless), and I honestly can't wait to read her future books. She's now on my list of insta-buy authors.