The Song Rising - Samantha Shannon

I read this book a few months ago, but am only getting to writing about it now for a variety of reasons. One being: work. I'll discuss the fantastic differences in everything maternity another time.

The Song Rising is the third book in the Bone Season series. Paige Mahoney is now the Underqueen, ruling over Scion London's underworld. She's struggling, due to the way she came into power, her past, and the introduction of the Senshield that means major trouble for the clairvoyants.

I read The Song Rising for two reasons:

I had read the other books in the series and wanted to see what happens next.
Everyone else was reading it.

I'm a follower, I'll admit it. Leading is fun sometimes, but when ostensibly everyone in the world is reading the same book, then why not join in?

To be honest, the first two books were good, but not great, and I liked them enough to keep reading. I'm one of those poor souls who must finish a book once its started, no matter how awful it is (unless it's really awful, there are some books that I just couldn't finish) - but the previous books in the series weren't really ones that I'd want to re-read eventually. This one is different!

Before starting it, I found a blog post from the author in which she summarized the previous books, which helped me get into the book a lot faster. There are a lot of characters in these books and it's difficult to remember at first who fits in where, and if they're good or bad.

The writing felt heavier than I remembered, but it pulls you in and makes you feel for the characters. Still, I really only got into the book about 40% of the way through.

There were some quotes from the book that I liked enough to highlight.

"Never allow yourself to believe you should be silent."

"Every game is a gamble. Certainty is the last thing you want when you begin. If you are guaranteed to win, there is no game at all."

Overall, this book gets a 5/5 rating from me. No matter how slow the start was, the ending was great. Now, when's the next one coming out!?

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