Stolen Songbird

Stolen Songbird was an absolute delight to read. With an elegant writing style and captivating world as well as storyline, my eyes were locked to the pages until the very last.

The Lost City of…
Trollus! You know you could even compare this city to Atlantis. I wonder if there was any inspiration there perhaps? A city buried not under the sea but under a mountain of rock. The concept was fantastic. This city governed by trolls has been buried for hundreds of years, locked away from humanity, but humanity can still come within its bounds. The race of trolls possess a type of magic so strong and yet cannot release them from their prison. When reading the descriptions of the city I could feel the weight of the rock pressing down on me and show more see the beautiful palace yet all things were locked in an eternal night. Sounds like my kind of place considering I rarely like to leave my own cave.

They Own You
Trolls are a proud race and if you believe history as well as the current state of things in Trollus, they are also a very cruel one. Now combine that with nobility and that is one hell of a nasty pit of vipers for our heroine Cecile. Lucky for her not everyone is as bad as they seem. Many unspeakable horrors have taken place in all the time they have been trapped under the mountain. With all of that I found it very refreshing that instead one of the main focuses in Stolen Songbird is the issue of slavery and discrimination. Let’s start a revolution, I’m all for freedom fighting.

The Two Faces of my Lover
As to be expected with anything involving royalty, there are schemes within schemes within schemes. If you fancy court intrigue and all of the trickery and deceit that goes along with it then this is a smogasboard for you. Cecile and Tristan have some serious trust issues – but how could they not? Considering Cecile was abducted and brought to Trollus against her will – I’m amazed she trusted anyone as much as she did. And Tristan!? He grew up in one twisted family let me assure you I mean that both literally and figuratively. Still these two somehow manage to fall into a painful yet exquisite love. I ached for these two, I really did.

Sing Sweet Nightingale
There was a lovely focus in the early portion of Stolen Songbird on Cecile’s singing talent. Hence the title. Cecile’s singing was going to be the the skill that would take her away from her small village and give her a life in the big city. It appears this talent also plays a role in why she was chosen for the prince’s bride, but I’m not quite sure on that point, and of course it also aids in drawing the prince to her. I really did love the musical focus and hope we get to see it more in the forthcoming books. I have an inkling that we will be meeting Cecile’s famous mother.

How could you leave me like that!?
Oh, Stolen Songbird, oh how I loved you but you torment me just a wee smidge with your ending. Because obviously it wasn’t an ending. This was but the opening and closing of the first part of the trilogy. As we often see in young adult trilogies there is no way you can only read the first book because you are just left with too many questions and such anticipation for what will transpire next. *wails* How in the world will these lovers overcome such insurmountable obstacles? Curse you witches! Where is the next book already!? show less

This book was unexpected. There is nothing romantic about trolls, and yet, here we are. This was a high fantasy romp with sort of a Beauty and the Beast vibe, but less Stockholm Syndrome-esque. Cecile is rather average, which we need more of in YA, and not at all thrilled with her kidnapping and subsequent forced marriage to the bitter, rude troll prince. Cecile is meant to fulfill a prophecy that will break the curse which keeps the trolls in bondage, and yet, it fails. Trapped in Trollus, Cecile becomes a reluctant ally to the unexpectedly compassionate prince and finds herself ever more absorbed by the plight of the troll people. A slow burner romance, a premise that felt fresh, and an underground troll world that is grotesquely show more magical and fascinating. show less

Stolen Songbird was my top anticipated young adult novel coming out from Strange Chemistry this year, and I have to say all the lusting and the pining has been worth it. Author Danielle L. Jensen opens up a whole new world for readers who love magic, romance, and enchanted lands.

Buried deep within the Forsaken Mountain lies Trollus, a city forgotten by time. It is said that monstrous trolls live there, bound by a witch's curse. However, on the night before Cécile de Troyes is about to embark on her journey to become a famous singer, she is kidnapped and taken to Trollus, where she discovers there is far more to what she thinks she knows about the trolls and their city. For one thing, they're not all hideous monsters. The troll prince show more she is supposed to marry is actually pretty good looking, that is if she can get over hating his guts to appreciate it. But one thing the legends got right is that trolls are talented magic users -- the more pure their blood is, the stronger their ability. But even all the magic in Trollus cannot break the curse and set the trolls free, and so Cécile and Prince Tristan's union was supposed to be the key. The plan ends up failing though, leaving Cécile a prisoner in Trollus, biding her time and waiting for the perfect moment to escape.

But over the weeks, Cécile inevitably falls for Tristan. This was clearly a novel with romance, after all. But wow, how I love the way their relationship developed. Instead of the usual formula of treating each other horribly but then then falling in love anyway (a trope which is a big pet peeve of mine), Cécile finds out that the prince really isn't such a bad troll after all. In fact, he's secretly championing the rights of the half-bloods, who are part troll and part human, treated as nothing more than slaves and property by the pure-bloods. Cécile and Tristan actually treat each other like crap in public, but it's all a part of a brilliant plan they've come up with to throw off suspicion. What a delightful little twist to the usual YA romance.

There are similar instances all over this book. One thing that is sort of a "twist" but not really -- and I'm sorry if I'm being vague, but I think it would be best if it comes as a surprise to others the same way it did for me -- is the nature of the trolls.

It did occur to me as I was making my way through the story to wonder the creatures are called trolls in the first place. They are smart, quick, have super strength and magic powers, but apart from a few exceptions in the royal family, they appear mostly human. And that's when the author began to drop certain clues and I had one of those "AHA!" moments where I realized where she's going with all this. Well played, Ms. Jensen! Like I said, I don't think it's meant to be some big twist because once you start catching the hints it becomes pretty obvious what she has in mind, but in that moment of clarity I started to get really excited about the future of this series. Oh, there is going to be so much history in the troll origins story, I just know it!

The story also has just enough of that "Forbidden Love" vibe to it so that I just can't help myself. I like romances a lot more when they are hindered by outside forces rather than internal ones like misunderstandings between the lovers (Tristan and Cécile aren't completely innocent of this, but at least it was kept to a minimum) and the relationships usually emerge stronger and more compelling to me.

The author ends things here mercilessly making you wonder what will become of the hero and heroine, but she has also succeeded in building a lot of interest in these two characters. In fact, there's some fantastic set-up all around, promising even bigger things to come. show less

Stolen Songbird is a compelling new entry into the YA genre. A young woman, Cécile, is kidnapped and taken to the Foresaken Mountain to be bonded to a starkly handsome Troll prince, Tristan, in order to break a centuries-long curse.

Cécile is a strong young woman, not perfect but with relatable flaws that make her character more realistic and likable. Tristan is was distant and aloof at first, but that makes him more intriguing because when the two of them are bonded, we get to see more and more of his thoughts and personality. The author also does a few chapters in Tristan's POV, which I found refreshing because all too often YA novels make the male hero "unreadable" and "inscrutable" for the whole novel and you don't understand show more their motivations or why they heroine falls in love with them and the romance that develops.

I also really liked the world-building... the author really provides amazing description and detail about the otherness of the Trolls and their city. Trolls are powerful, stark and magical . Their culture, politics and their way of life are unique to this book and not a re-tread of any historical human culture.

An impressive debut novel! show less

I'd been anticipating this book and wanting to read it for a while, and I finally got to it. Hooray! Besides the occasional stilted dialogue, gore (not terribly much, but there's some), and witchcraft, there was a lot here that I really liked.

I like that the setting was French-inspired with authentic French names. I appreciate that kind of internal consistency in world-building. And the setting was very richly imagined and described. The beginning gets you hooked fairly quickly--it took me a bit to get into Cécile's head, but the beginning is paced well enough that you adjust quickly. I also grew to like her a lot, and there were several turns where I was pleasantly surprised that Jensen didn't take the cliche route (for example, with show more Anaïs).

I thought Jensen did a great job with showing the complexity of the politics and, therefore, the characters. The romance, though I found it difficult at first (how often is Tristan going to walk away and slam a door?), really won me over by the end. No insta-love here; I really believed it as it was unfolding in its various stages, and, though I sometimes felt frustrated, I also really believed the ways in which it was thwarted.

And even though it's a first person POV that switches between the main couple, it's done sparingly enough (and wisely enough) that it adds to the book, rather than detracting from it.

All in all, I'm definitely eager for the next book. show less

Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen starts with a kidnapping, adds in a pinch of French-based fantasy, and proceeds to sweep you off your feet with a painfully beautiful romance. There is a reason everyone is loving Stolen Songbird so much and it really comes down to how gosh-darn readable it is! I wasn’t planning on finishing it and then all of a sudden it was 1 AM and I was done with the book; how did that happen??
Note: I received an ARC of Stolen Songbird from the publisher for an honest review. Some things may have changed in the final version.



Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen (The Malediction Trilogy #1)
Published by Strange Chemistry on April 1st, 2014
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Length: 436 pages
How I got my copy: Publisher
Amazon - show more IndieBound - Book Depository - Goodreads
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For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

Strengths:
Stolen Songbird starts with action and doesn’t slow down. Right from the beginning our MC Cecile is kidnapped and taken into Trollus and from then on out she is constantly on her toes trying to figure out what is going on. In addition to the plot itself being fast-paced, the writing of Stolen Songbird just pushes you along quickly. There aren’t any sentences to spare so you don’t have to worry about ever feeling bogged down.
The romance in Stolen Songbird has a Beauty and the Beast feel, except that the prince isn’t keen on being married to a kidnapped princess either so you don’t have to hate him ;-). This equals completely swoon-worthy conflicted love with two characters who you can’t help but adore :D. I’m not generally a huge romance person, but I could not help the feels!
The magic in Stolen Songbird has two varieties and both captivated my imagination. There is a tree of magic that is holding up the ceiling of Trollus and it sounds so pretty! I always love exploring new magic systems with the MC and Stolen Songbird delivers.
Often YA books fall prey to MC’s making slightly foolish decisions because it is convenient for the plot, but not Stolen Songbird! At every critical moment I was right there with Cecile, seeing that she was making the best decision she could given the choices even though the choices sometimes sucked. Actually logical characters??? What is this beautiful madness?????
Stolen Songbird is filled with secondary characters to get attached to. There are the troll twins who are constantly competing (good-naturedly) to see who will win the next ridiculous challenge, half-blood miners just trying to survive, adorable librarians and ladies’-maids, etc. I just loved them all!
About halfway through Stolen Songbird, things started hinting at a much deeper plot than I had previously realized. There are a lot of questions that remain to be answered in the rest of the series and a whole other world to explore; I’m so excited!

Weaknesses:
Stolen Songbird is mostly told from Cecile’s perspective, but occasionally chapters switch to Tristan’s POV without any sort of marker as a warning. Since it’s still first person, that makes it kind of hard to figure out what is going on until you realize that the POV switched. I’m hoping this gets fixed in the final version, but it seems unlikely at this point D: . (UPDATE: It is fixed in final version!)
While the writing of Stolen Songbird is great in it’s fast-paced nature, there were times that I wanted that extra sentence of description so that I could get my bearings and see what was going on. Stolen Songbird occasionally had a rather jumpy feeling because the writing was so fast paced.
On a similar note, I at times thought that I had actually completely missed something small being mentioned previously, but once it happened the third time I determined it couldn’t be me. There are a number of small things that Cecile talks about like they’ve been introduced previously, but they haven’t. This lack of context was distracting because at first I wanted to go back and find where the item or whatever was first discussed and then couldn’t find it.
I was really excited about there being trolls in Stolen Songbird, but without getting too spoilery, they aren’t exactly trolls and I felt rather misled once it was clear what they really are. You know right away that they aren’t trolls as we traditionally define them, but they do call themselves that, but…. Yeah.

Summary:
Stolen Songbird is a whirlwind fantasy that is going to be an instant favorite with many readers. I was a bit disappointed that the fantasy didn’t end up being as original as I had hoped, but the characters still completely stole my heart. If you love fast pacing and completely swoon-worthy romance with a strong fantasy plot, definitely check out Stolen Songbird. I can’t wait for book two! show less

Review from TenaciousReader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2015/05/25/audiobook-review-stolen-songbird-by-da...

In Stolen Songbird, there is a race of individuals, trolls, that have been cursed to remain confined to their city, Trollus, below the Forsaken Mounts. A witch cast this curse 5 centuries ago, so the humans above rely on rumors and folklore for knowledge of trolls. And lets just say, there is nothing very favorable known or mentioned about either trolls or Trollus. I mean, they are trolls, they live underground, and have been cursed to stay there for 500+ years. The witch likely did the human race a favor.

So, imagine the horror when Cécile is abducted, ripped from her current life, to be sold to the trolls. It would be show more frightening enough to be taken from your current life by force, but then to be taken to a strange underground city, lacking all of the natural beauty and sun and stars of your world, to be sold to these fearsome creatures would be an even worse nightmare. And to top it off, they expect her to marry one, their prince. When little girls dream of growing up to become a princess, it is usually not via marring an underground troll prince.

I really enjoyed this one. It is a a sweet story of a girl growing up via necessity as well as discovering the secrets of the fabled trolls of Trollus. Cécile was a farmer’s daughter in her life above ground. It was simple, but not a bad life. Initially, she focuses on getting free of this nightmare, but as she spends more time amongst the trolls, she starts to see more to them. She starts to get involved, starts to care about more than just her own escape. And she also starts to fall in love.

I love stories, particularly YA books that are aimed at younger audiences, that present the reader with a prejudiced view of a population, and then turns it on its head, shows the characters and the reader that you really shouldn’t judge a race or group of people based on nothing but essentially rumors. That there is more depth to people and that who they are can’t be boiled down to match biased views of them. I think this is too often a problem in the real world, racism and prejudices are a problem and fictional examples that defy it, show you that you that people are people everywhere are good. Most people in this world are good people, we shouldn’t let the visible bad examples define what we think of entire populations. While I don’t know that this was a message that was strongly intended by the author or not, it is one that can certainly be taken away as Cécile starts to see the trolls as the individuals they are, some good, some bad, instead of just lumping them all together as “evil trolls”.

For the audiobook narration, overall I enjoyed it and thought it was well done. Most all of the character voices were very good. I did however find the narrator’s pronunciation of the names someone what jarring. They were all heavily accented, but since nothing else in the story was the contrast just didn’t seem to work as well for me. This is rather minor and did not deter my listening or enjoyment of the story. I think narrators typically check character pronunciations with the author, so they were probably intended to be pronounced this way, I just think I might have liked it better if they were pronounced only slightly accented. It almost felt exaggerated since nothing else was accented. Overall though, this is a book that lends itself well to audiobook and the narration was good. show less