Song of the Forever Rains

The Thief Kingdom is a place hidden within the world of Aadlior. Many whisper of its existence, but few have found this place, where magic and pleasure abound. There, the mysterious Thief King reigns supreme with the help of the Mousai, a trio of revered and feared sorceresses.

Larkyra Bassette may be the youngest of the Mousai, but when she sings her voice has the power to slay monsters. When it’s discovered the Duke of Lachlan is siphoning a poisonous drug from the Thief Kingdom and using it to abuse his tenants, Larkyra is offered her first solo mission to stop the duke. Eager to prove herself, Larkyra accepts by posing as the duke’s potential bride. But her plans grow complicated when she finds herself drawn to Lord Darius Mekenna, Lachlan’s rightful heir. Soon she suspects Darius has his own motivations for ridding Lachlan of the corrupt duke. Larkyra and Darius must learn to trust each other if there is to be any hope of saving the people of Lachlan—and themselves.

Welcome to the world of Aadilor, where lords and ladies can be murderers and thieves, and the most alluring notes are often the deadliest. Dare to listen?

In all honesty, this is not the book I expected to finish next. I’ve had a few in progress and ones on my TBR for years. However I had gotten it on Kindle a while ago (by the way I highly recommend checking out Amazon First Reads if you have Prime because it is a perk you may not be aware of). The other night I could not sleep and scrolling through the app on my phone this is what stuck out. I started reading a little each night until I couldn’t put it down and accidentally stayed up way to late. The irony of Kindle is that I can tell you I read more than 50% in one sitting to finish it, whoops! I think that is a testament in itself though!

The way the family interacts just feels real. The snark kept making me chuckle. Love isn’t always just perfect warm fuzzies and rainbows. This love both family, and friends, and romantic felt so messy and real. The world building feels rich and textured but not in a clean way, there are dark sides to all the aspects of this society. Also the descriptions were just enough to give you a good mental image, but leave some to the imagination. There is a lovely sense of destiny, but without the deus ex machina of the chosen one. Rather it feels more like an obligation. The magic feels like a good balance of detail and mystery same with the Thief Kingdom.

The darkness of this world made the stakes higher but really I think the characters were my favorite part of this book. I’ve always been drawn to damaged characters and especially in my own grief Larkyra was extra relatable. Larkyra herself is young but in her adulthood and learning to find herself. My perception of Darius changed as Larkyra’s did but without her restraint I fell for him faster than her which made the anticipation even better. The romance pacing was everything I needed in my life right now. The way these two pushed and pulled and slowly chipped away at each other. The euphoria reading this was very similar to when I first read Fire by Kristin Cashore. Niya and Arabessa both have distinct personalities with a believability to them. They weren’t caricatures, rather I could almost here them because they made me think of people that I know. Alōs, Zimri, and so many of the characters didn’t just feel like background. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books because this one introduced the rest of the cast well enough that I want to know more but I don’t feel like I already totally know them.