Review - Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

by Danielle L. Jensen
publisher: Strange Chemistry
date of publication: April 1, 2014
format: eGalley
pages: 469
source: Netgalley
series: The Malediction Trilogy #1
buy it: Stolen Songbird: Malediction Trilogy Book One

From Goodreads:

For those who have loved Seraphina and Graceling comes another truly fabulous fantasy...

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.

The premise for Stolen Songbird intrigued me from the very beginning.  After all, how often do you see a book where trolls play a large part and make up about 95% of the cast of characters?  Not often is the answer.  The story of Cécile and Tristan is one full of danger, subterfuge, and heartbreak.  I couldn't help but get lost in the underground world of Trollus and all of its dangers, politics, and strange beauty.  Each chapter was a new adventure and I couldn't put my reader down.  

Cécile was a well-imagined character.  She is impulsive, rash, and stubborn, along with caring and well-meaning.  She does much of what one would expect a character who has been kidnapped to do.  She tries at every opportunity to escape, though some of those attempts are ill-advised and make you question her from time to time.  There are moments where she isn't altogether realistic, however, especially some of her reactions to her captors.  You wouldn't expect someone who has been kidnapped to spend quite so much time considering how handsome this one or that one is, at least as much as Cécile seems to.  From time to time I sincerely wanted to shake her, but fortunately those moments came in small increments.  For the most part, Cécile and Tristan were well-written, easy to relate to characters with great background stories and vivid personalities.

Trollus is a harsh yet intriguing city that kept me captivated from start to finish.  Descriptions of its curse, while somewhat vague, really add an even more mysterious air to the story and its cold yet glittering glass gardens add an ethereal yet lonely backdrop for some amazing scenes.  The citizens of Trollus make it even more amazing, whether they are good, bad, or somewhere in between.  Such an array of horror and beauty is simply fantastic in every way possible.  It really made the story what it is with its rich and imaginative offerings.

Set in an imaginative underground world, Stolen Songbird is a lush story of intrigue, danger, and romance.  Fantasy fans won't be disappointed with this wonderful new offering and will be left wanting more by the time to last page is turned.  I couldn't get enough of this beautifully frightening world and all its denizens.  If you're looking for a story filled with romance and magic, then Stolen Songbird just may be what you're looking for.