Siren's Song Blog Tour: Review

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for SIREN'S SONG! I have my review of the book to share with you today - and don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour!

Siren's Song (The Storm Siren Trilogy #3)
Author: Mary Weber
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Thomas Nelson / HarperCollins

Rating: 5 Stars!

Synopsis:

Nym and Draewulf prepare to face off in a battle destined to destroy more lives than it saves.

With the loss of Tulla still fresh in mind, Rasha’s fate unknown, and Lord Myles taken over by the dark ability, Nym and the few Bron soldiers rush to warn Cashlin’s queen. Only to discover it may already be too late for the monarch and her eerie kingdom. As the Luminescents are sifting through Nym’s past memories and the queen is reading into her future, Nym is given a choice of how to defeat Draewulf, but the cost may be more than she can bear. And even then there are no guarantees.

With that reality burrowing into her bones—along with the guilt of the lives she will sacrifice—Nym returns to her homeland of Faelen to raise an army of peasants through promises of freedom. But when the few friends she has left, along with the world and citizens she loves, are staring down the face of a monster and his undead army, will Nym summon every element her blood is capable of controlling . . . or surrender to a different strength—one of sacrifice?

Because in the end, death may be more merciful for them all.

Siren's Song is the third and final book in the amazing young adult fantasy Storm Siren Trilogy. I've read and loved the first two books in the series, so I was both excited and wary of this final installment. I couldn't wait to see the final battle and to find out what else would happen. The first two novels were fantastic, which made me have pretty high hopes and expectations for this book. Luckily, the author finished the series just as thrilling as she began it. It definitely lived up to my hopes for it - and even went above and beyond some of my expectations. It was a fantastic finale to a truly captivating trilogy - which made it all the more bittersweet for me, because in part I wanted to see what happens and also because I was really bummed that this was the final book, and I wouldn't be diving into Nym's world any more.

Nym continued to be an awesome and strong female lead up to the very end. Even though she's matured and grown into herself and her abilities by now, I still loved watching her character change and evolve throughout the book. She's a seriously kick-ass heroine with awesome magic and tons of fantastic traits - like fighting for the people and their freedom. Honestly, I think she ranks up there with some of the other strongest leading ladies we've come across. The plot was as I expected - the epic final battle between Nym and Draewulf - but there were some twists and turns in the story line that I wasn't expecting, some of which were real curveballs. The entire story was rich with detailed descriptions and vivid imagery - which made it incredibly easy for me to slip right back into Nym's world, almost like I never left. The world building is amazing and really brought the story to life in front of my eyes - to the point where I felt as if I was right beside Nym, experiencing everything as she did. The writing was solid and very well done, with complex characters and a vibrant setting that sucked me in from the very beginning of the first book. Overall, this was a great ending to a truly captivating trilogy - one that I know I'll be re-reading for a long time to come. Very highly recommended for fans of YA fantasy, paranormal, action, adventure, and magic!

Follow the Siren's Song by Mary Weber Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Mary Weber is a ridiculously uncoordinated girl plotting to take over make-believe worlds through books, handstands, and imaginary throwing knives. In her spare time, she feeds unicorns, sings 80’s hairband songs to her three muggle children, and ogles her husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. They live in California, which is perfect for stalking L.A. bands, Joss Whedon, and the ocean. Her debut YA fantasy novel, STORM SIREN and SIREN'S FURY are available now in bookstores and online, and SIREN'S SONG will be out March 2016 from TN HarperCollins.

Siren's Song Blog Tour: Review

 Welcome to my stop on the Siren's Song blog tour being hosted by Spencer Hill Press! I'm excited to start off the tour with my review of the book for you today!

Siren's Song
Author: Heather McCollum
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: March 25, 2014
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Description:

Jule Welsh can sing. She enthralls people with her bel canto voice. But it takes more than practice to reach her level of exquisite song; it takes siren's blood running through her veins. Jule is starting her senior year at Cougar Creek High when her relatively normal world begins to resemble a roller coaster flying through a carnival scare house. Her mother is diagnosed as insane and committed, a psycho-stalker is snapping pictures of her to put into his homemade Jule-shrine, her voice is suddenly putting people into comatose trances, oh and the gorgeous new guy in town, Luke Whitmore, is interested in her . . . but also wants to kill her. 

Siren's Song is a totally enthralling young adult fantasy/paranormal novel that had me in it's grip from the very first words. It follows our heroine, Jule, who just happens to be a siren. Everything is going normal - as normal as it can get for someone like her who's a senior in high school - until everything turns upside down. Her mom is taken away because it's determined that she's insane, there's a creeper taking pictures of Jule for his stalkerish shrine to her, and now her voice is having a huge effect on people in town - like putting them in trances. On top of all this mayhem, there's a hot guy who just moved into town, Luke, and he likes Jule - but he wants to kill her too. What is Jule going to have to do for her life to go back to normal? Why does Luke want her dead? Will she be able to figure it out before everything breaks into complete chaos?

I found this to be an awesome mix of paranormal and thriller - two of my favorite genres. The story is full of crazy things going on that keep the reader guessing at what's truly happening until the end. I loved Jule as the heroine of the book. She's smart, down to earth, and determined - and also a siren. I enjoyed the mythology aspect of the story and all the details that the author included about sirens and their lore - I thought it was really fascinating and brought a new layer to the book that wouldn't have been there otherwise. Jule is faced with tons of obstacles throughout the book, some of which are scary and nerve-wracking, but she plunges head on without question in order to do what's right and set things back to how they should be. The author intertwined several genres in the book - namely paranormal, fantasy, and thriller - along with mystery, action, mythology, romance, and adventure, so it really has something to offer everyone and can't really be defined by strict genre labels. The plot was well thought out with a natural flow and vivid details and descriptions - all of which kept me burrowed in the pages until the very end. Overall, this is a great YA book that blends several genres - especially thriller and fantasy/paranormal - and I very highly recommend it to all readers. It's original and exciting with a bit of something for everyone.

Heather McCollum is an award winning, historical paranormal romance writer. She earned her B.A. in Biology from the University of Maine, much to her English professor’s dismay. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers and the Ruby Slipper Sisterhood of 2009 Golden Heart Finalists.

The ancient magic and lush beauty of Great Britain entranced Ms. McCollum’s heart and imagination when she visited there years ago. The country’s history and landscape have been a backdrop for her writing ever since. She currently resides with her very own Highland hero and three spirited children in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast. (Taken from Goodreads)

Author Links:
http://www.heathermccollum.com/
http://www.twitter.com/HMcCollumAuthor 
https://www.facebook.com/HeatherMcCollumAuthor