Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

               Jasminda was all alone and had been for two years, but the memories made at her home with her parents and siblings gave her comfort. She had been concerned about her land and the prospect of losing everything that her family had worked for until she found the young man, badly beaten outside her home. Jack was wearing a Lagrimari uniform but he was an Elsiran, his skin color and ginger hair proved as much. He was running from Lagrimari soldiers and believed he was still in Lagrimari, unaware that Jasminda lived as an Elsiran citizen, being part Elsiran herself. Her dark brown complexion was that of her father who was a Lagrimari refugee. No one was aware that the mantle that separating the two lands was broken in spots, allowing Jack and those chasing him to cross through. Jasminda tried to heal the young soldier using her Earthsong, but unexperienced as she was she could do little to heal him before the soldiers arrived. Trapped in her own home the two must work together to survive and to prepare for the war that will surely come if the mantle collapses.

                Don’t let that introduction fool you, this story becomes very complicated very quickly, as the history of the mantle and what lead to its creation begins to unfold. When this story begins all readers are aware of is the bias and prejudice that exists towards those who have magic known as Earthsong, who also happen to have brown sing. Jasminda’s appearance doesn’t reveal that she is in fact an Elsiran citizen leaving her to be ridiculed and ostracized by her community. The biases are so clear cut and well defined that it’s impossible to deny its presence. With that we have Jack who doesn’t judge Jasminda, ends up working with her and falling for her but has to deal with his own prejudice and the prejudice of people around him as he is given new roles. 

                What I ended up really enjoying about this story was the attention to world building and how well it is wrapped up in the storytelling. It’s essential in this story to build a world where a wall divides people that once lived in unison together and now through the centuries have been separated by fear and prejudice. I loved that the third person narrative was used throughout the story, because it distanced the readers in a way from being too sympathetic to any character’s struggle. The only time this isn’t true is when the story of the mantle was being unveiled and then readers were able to experience through first person narrative how that came to be.

                I really enjoyed this novel. I loved this pacing and I absolutely loved how the true history was described. I thought that for a first in a series it did a really good job of establishing the magic of the Earthsong but I hope other novels in this series delve deeper into it. My interest in it is piqued to say the least. I’m also curious to see how life continues for society after the way this first novel ended. How difficulty will it be to dismantle the pre-existing prejudice? Throughout the novel we are shown time and time again how imbedded this prejudice is and I’m curious to see what direction Penelope will take the story.

                Overall, I really enjoyed this. It’s a strong introduction to what I’m sure will be an intense series. There is a social commentary littered throughout that readers will have no choice but to be drawn into and I’m hoping it will resonate outside of the book. I’m looking forward to more from Penelope. The world building had me hooked, and the story kept me reading.

Thanks Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review. 
Check out my Blog Tour post with a Q&A with the author as well! 

Blog Tour Q & A Song of Blood and Stone