Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. JensenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Beautifully written and gloriously evocative. This is an engrossing and epic read, that once started you will never want to put down. Alas, now it is completed I am left feeling bereft and longing for the sequel.
From the beginning you are instantly plunged straight into the world - at over 400 pages long, I thought it would move at a slow pace but within the first few pages the action happens and our heroine is swept away to a life she never asked for.
Whilst as other reviewers noted, it does avoid some of the teen-fantasy tropes: "Mary Sue" protagonist, love triangle, "white knight", loe-at-first-sight and all those cliches, it does have one that I have seen frequently in books: the two main protagonists that hate one another. However, that is no flaw and it just beautifully enhances the characterisation, with the verbal clashes between the two being both amusing and insulting. The little hints at the origins of the "trolls" is quite entertaining too.
I loved the fact that the troll people were (for the most part) broken but beautiful - especially in the case of Marcus whom I hope finds some happiness - or just pure malevolence. Also, that once she heard her arguments for helping them, Cecile then set out to find evidence of her own, to find proof before coming to a conclusion, instead of just allowing herself to become a blind tool.
Overall, it is a brilliantly crafted and rather epic read, but every word is worth it and I savoured it slowly, deliciously. The writing style is wonderful - Jensen has mastered the immersive prose that enlivens all the senses and truly sweeps you away into the beautiful, dark underworld of Trollus.
Allegedly for young adults, it does contain a few darker moments, some quite complicated politics and, is of course, got a strong basis in romance, and I would probably recommend it for the more "mature" teen (in reading level if not in age).
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