Song of Healing (R.L.S Hoff) REVIEW

I received a copy of this book with thanks from The Pencil Princess Workshop via Netgalley in return for an honest review." Okay, well...hmmm. This book was okay. " You don't trust me," he said. "You don't trust me," I answered. There was silence on the line for a long moment. Then he said, "But I want to." And that guys, is the extent of the excitement in this book. I know this seems harsh but a book with a war and peace faction, with a prince and princess fighting to discover themselves, with a world of magic, fairies, enchanters, and dragons! This book was entirely lackluster and I got bored REAL quick. let's get into the iteration of the plot: "There was a princess of peace and a prince of war. They shouldn't like each other but they do. And they fight and fight and well, fight. But the fights are petty. They like each other though they don't actually spend time together... Oh, and there is magic stuff that causes havoc in their realm... ...OK, okay! sorry! let's try that again. Trial #2: Dicrandia a world divided by War and Peace. Two monarchies fighting for control. Two enthralled hearts are bound by duty. A war approaches with figures arisen from fairytales. Dragons, song makers, and faeries, who is the true foe? a faction who seeks power or a new power which may eradicate the world as they know it? Okayyyyyy let's dig into this. Writing: Good! but lackluster. Worldbuilding: Really interesting but I wish there was MORE of that. Characters: ugh. Romance: kill me. Overall: It was ok. Trust me when I say I take no pleasure in writing these things. The characters were so naive with this idea that they were badasses when they're petty and well, NAIVE. Our main protagonist Sarah, ughh... i don't even know what to write, to be honest, she was sooooo lackluster. That word is my catchline right now, there was no depth to her and she fell in love with a idiot. horrible tastes in men. seriously. Let's talk about this idi- I mean prince. YIKES! was I supposed to like him? really? Maybe it's because I'm a social worker but my perspective was that he is toxic as all heck. AS ALL HECK. He doesn't respect her. He uses her. He NEVER truly tells her how he feels (while she spills her heart) HE'S PLAYING HER. He doesn't tell his friends about his feeling for her and tells his mates that it's nothing. He's in short a douche bag. He gets jealous when she is presented to other guys. He makes everything he does for her sound like a chore. He gets angry at her at any time. THERE WAS EVEN A TIME WHERE SHE THOUGHT HE'D HITHER! and she was like, "oh i hope he won't hit me, if we fight, it wouldn't go well for me." I BEG YOUR PARDON!? and you LIKE a guy who you believe could HIT you and that's supposed to be OK? Author, please know that your audience is a young crowd, what are you presenting to young kids with this kind of dysfunctional story/ romance? Are you TRYING to normalize a toxic relationship? Sarah and Princey barely spend anytime together because this novel is 98% politics and working on passing Bills than actual adventure. You've been warned. Be prepared to know all about the legislative processes of Dicrandia. So how the heck can she think she loves him? No Sarah, even you don't deserve that, don't let that blond hair and baby blues kid ya, he's a dud. The only time I felt genuinely interested in this book was when the bad guy showed up. He's the only character that was interesting and I low key thought that if he was somehow misportrayed he could've made a fantastic love interest that was actually INTERESTING. But alas....it was not meant to be. And let's talk powers. BRUH! You had such an amazing door of opportunity to make these songs and chant phenomenal and to describe them in vivid details but it was only like, "chant...faint." and repeat for an entire book. UGH! Also, let's talk about the cover. Do the figures on this novel's cover page look 15 and 17 to you!? I was like wot? how old are they supposed to be?! shocked. This book gets a solid 2/5 for me. I can't even say whether I'll read the next one in all honesty but we'll see. Stay awesome everyone and stay safe! Emmeline (The Book Herald) Please follow me for more in depth reviews