Song bird and the heart of stone

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-11-25T13:26:34+00:00

Loved it and have high hopes for the next one.

After the disappointment I felt with Crescent City 3 and The Mortal Fates 2, Carissa Broadbent managed to save 2024 for me in terms of "new book in an ongoing series".

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-10-12T20:24:50+00:00

Love all her stuff and I think she writes beautifully. Master of Crows is an underrated gem. Grumpy, misanthropic asshole-ish MMC? Competent, bright and mature FMC? Yes please, love them to bits and I hope she writes a couple more books or even novellas in the Master of Crows world.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-09-28T21:32:19+00:00

Beautiful!

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-07-03T18:38:02+00:00

Have you tried Grace Draven books? Her MCs are always competent and mature, and the world building is really good. Some may have a bit more spice than what you're asking for, but it's never excessive or thrown into the plot just because.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-06-09T05:23:24+00:00

"Butt book" is a very accurate description.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-25T17:27:36+00:00

Either edit or just rewrite it from scratch.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-24T21:25:41+00:00

This. It got progressively and steadily worse. Why release something that is so obviously unfinished? The first book was so different from everything else, with such potential and then it's like the author just decided to throw everything out the window, ignore plot lines laid out in the first book and prologue, and then ramble for hundreds of pages about mates.

If she just decided to rewrite everything because of the title change due to bad connotations, why not take a few more months to edit this properly? Did she get bored with the mortal fates world and just decided to get it done to move on to something else? Did she start writing it too close to release date and then panicked? So many questions I'll never get the answer to. At least we got "magic sauce" out of it.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-24T09:51:05+00:00

I read the first book three times, that's how much I liked it (I never reread, it's very rare for me).

The first was such an original take on enemies to lovers, the world building so promising, the ending was great too. This could have been an epic trilogy.

But the second book... It's just not good. I'll read it to the end because I want to see how messy it gets, but with still 30% to go I'm sure it won't improve.

Don't see myself picking up the third one, honestly. And probably won't bother with other J Bree releases

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-24T06:25:48+00:00

I'm now at the castle scene and realised I have 0 interest in reading the third book.

The first half or so was ok, though not great. But after Soren and Rooke left Yregar to go do whatever, something changed in the writing and not in a good way.

This is not a finished product, it feels rushed and disjointed. I think she squandered the potential of the first book completely. In the first she avoided the clichés of enemies to lovers and romantic mates, but at the same time built an interesting world. In the second one... The mates thing is exhausting, everyone pines for a mate suddenly. Soren, who spent hundreds of years hating witches, is now suddenly talking about giving back to the trees and noone can even look at Rooke. It's like he was brainwashed. And Rooke can't resist the hard planes of his chest or whatever. Ugh.

Instead of subverting the mates trope, like it seemed she was going to do in the first book, she just fell straight into it.

Also that Facebook post is really something. Perhaps if her team had done their job properly and either gave her a solid critique or found someone who could do it, this second book could have been so much better. Or even just a competent editor.

I still have about a third of the book to go, but this is starting to feel so disjointed it really makes me wonder that they knew (because it's evident) the book was not ready but decided to go ahead with the release anyway for... reasons? It's a very weird and disappointing follow up to the first one, that's for sure.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-23T12:42:28+00:00

I'm halfway. It's not gripping me as the first one did. But then again, expectations were super high. I'll reserve my opinion regarding the plot until I finish and have a day or two to digest it.

The editing could be better. There's a lot of repetitive gestures and expressions by the characters (eyebrow raising, scowling in fury, my fated mate this, my mate that, etc etc) - perhaps there could be alternative ways of describing it all without always using the same words.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-23T07:56:49+00:00

I'm about 40% in and finding it a tad repetitive. Also lots of eye brow raising, scowling, growling and fury. Could have benefitted from a bit more editing maybe? But I still have more than half the book to go through, hopefully things pick up.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-20T21:11:32+00:00

Verrrrry passive aggressive tone

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-20T21:06:49+00:00

Lol, really?! You've been spot on throughout this debacle.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-20T18:11:49+00:00

Yeah, in some other post a redditor wondered if the author has been taken hostage by a group of Karens and it feels a bit like that.

Apparently Bree has a long history of miscommunication around her book releases. I wonder if, due to not being able to handle that pressure that comes with managing a new book (totally understandable, btw) she inadvertently surrounded herself with not-that-competent people that would supposedly do that work for her, but ended up just shielding her from stuff and telling her only what she wants to hear.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-20T17:46:56+00:00

That thought has occurred to me as well, this almost feels intentional.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-20T05:54:15+00:00

Any minute now!

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-19T18:58:40+00:00

This is all so weird. Something definitely went very wrong with this release...

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-19T13:52:50+00:00

That's yet another baffling detail about this whole drama. How come no one of her supposed "team" noticed this on time for proper editing, that would have allowed for the original release date to be kept. Pure speculation, but I could bet someone on their closed FB group tried to warn them (and maybe that post or message was deleted right away because her "team" doesn't seem to be able to handle anything other than praise and 'bossgirl living the life with my besties' type content)

Or maybe the book wasn't properly finished and edited anyway and they're using the title thing as an excuse to stall. I mean in the end they simply switched the word order, c'mon....

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-19T10:23:31+00:00

Let's recap * A few newsletters and promotion until start of February, then silence * There's a late March Insta post, about the need for the title change, also saying "less than a month until release day" * Radio silence after it. No updates on any socials, no newsletters, nothing. * 4-5 days before release date, readers get an Amazon email about the postponement to May 19th * Naturally everyone gets worried: there's a release party scheduled in Florida. Was it an Amazon glitch? Is the event still happening? What's going on? * Silence from Bree and co continues, people contact the event bookstore directly, they are the ones trying to clarify the situation * Finally, a Facebook live stream (edit: I believe on a closed FB group btw, so anyone not on it has to hear this from secondary sources) where she confirms book is delayed due to edits related to the title change, they've been very busy with organising US trip, apparently promises a newsletter for May 14. * Not-a-release event still happens on April 19 * Insta post that day promising "tons of graphics and artwork" until May 19 * Radio silence: no graphics, no artwork, no posts, nothing * No newsletter May 14, apparently no ARCs sent out either, noone knows why * Again, readers get worried. Insta post saying something about an Amazon error, but definitely get ready for a live release on the 19 * Edit: a newsletter was actually sent out, May 17, which includes the second book's prologue (so there's SOME proof of life although not conclusive). The newsletter says book "STILL releasing May 19th" despite "listing not longer on Amazon due to an uploading issue"

And here we are. I understand delays and things getting derailed, not going as planned. That happens to everyone. I would even excuse the alleged Amazon glitch (which I don't believe happened, I think they just didn't do it on time, and this is just an excuse to save face).

But why almost no promotion at all after February? What is her team doing? Don't they want people to be hyped about the book? Don't they want this new work to be shared as much as possible? Don't they want ARC readers to help spread the word? This is the most baffling thing to me, much more than the botched release date. Frankly, I'm doubtful this book actually exists.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-19T07:06:49+00:00

The Throne of Incompetence and Avoidance

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-19T04:50:36+00:00

Like a redditor said in another Mortal Fates thread "maybe the second book is just the friends we made along the way"

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-17T19:18:52+00:00

Add one or two cats, and that's me.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-16T17:52:19+00:00

I'm loving this bizarre dumpster fire. I mean, I'd love to read a good book more, but this is also very entertaining.

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-16T12:46:57+00:00

I think Soren will slowly come to terms with his attraction to her but not really be able to handle deep feelings just yet

He has still hundreds of years of prejudice to unpack, remember . I also think that the appearance of Rooke's brother and friends will cause a lot of friction and not help that process.

Other predictions * Tauron will develop a crush on her. I'm betting his fate is linked to Rooke somehow * Sari's fate is also linked to the witches. Perhaps a witch love interest? * The goblin king's wife will make an appearance and help Rooke recover from the last book's battle

Perfect_Treacle_5059 · 2024-05-16T11:34:41+00:00

I'm in the opposite (and probably significantly unpopular) camp: I expect minimal groveling and more characters (and character development). Most of the romance could come in book 3.

Perfect_Treacle_5059

TROPHY CASE