Book Review: THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS by Rachelle Rea

Warning: As always, I try to stay relatively spoiler free. But it doesn’t hurt to proceed with caution.
 

Rating: Three and a half stars—Enjoyable

Before I say anything, I’d just like to point out that Rachelle Rea is very nice and personable, and she gave me e-ARCS of THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS and THE SOUND OF SILVER (I’ll review that one next week, if all goes well) in exchange for reviews. Thanks, Rachelle! Let’s all just take a moment to applaud her three-book deal with her dream publisher. *claps loudly*

I debated long and hard about whether to give this book three stars or four, because I honestly didn’t hate it. In fact, THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS is super sweet and thoughtful, and I look forward to the sequels. So let’s talk about the story. (Here's a link to the Goodreads page if you'd like to read a summary of the book.)

Gwyn. Gwyn makes for an interesting character. On the one hand, she’s out-going, spirited, and fiery, and on the other hand she’s timid, fearful, and rather weak (both physically and emotionally). I felt I could relate to her inner struggle as she wrestles with her growing knowledge of God and her desire to treat him as holy. Her fear of desecrating the divine by reaching for a personal relationship with God makes her human, and I like that—the way she tries to find how her religion fits in with what others tell her about God. I also like the symbolism of Gwyn’s diamond rosary. Every time she clings to it (usually in moments of distress) I remember her spiritual struggle and her tendency to latch on to her beliefs as a safety blanket against religious disagreement.

However, I wasn’t always happy with Gwyn. She may be able to speak her mind and hold on to a grudge, but she also seems rather too breakable. Quite often she is unable to walk and therefore needs to be carried, or she ends up in some sort of mortal danger and needs to be saved. While I’m not saying these instances are boring/unbelievable/whatever, I do think she fails to stand on her own a little too often (both literally and metaphorically). And while I have no issue with her being helpless from time to time, I would have liked to see her rescue herself at least once. After all, it’s nice to have a man around to save you, but you also need to cultivate your own survival skills. I don’t know—she just seems a little too soft.

Dirk. I like Dirk’s struggle between his desire to clear his name and his desire to make sure Gwyn stays safe and happy. I appreciate that he doesn’t force himself on Gwyn in any way or pressure her to be at a place where she just isn’t emotionally. He’s a super sweet guy, and he’s always there for Gwyn when she needs him. But I also feel like he ends up being her crutch most of the time, and I would have liked to have seen him as less of a savior and more of a person. I liked the glimpses I got of his shameful past and his desire to avoid backsliding. Often that got pushed to the back burner, though, in favor of him thinking about Gwyn and how to meet her needs. I get that that happens in relationships, but I felt that he didn’t shine so much as an individual as I would have liked—instead he seemed to be only half of a package deal.

However, I do understand that what I’ve seen of their relationship takes place in that rose-tinted-glasses period where you’ve just formed a bond and your significant other can’t do any wrong and they’re all you think about, and so on and so forth. I also know that I generally process love as more of an action than an emotion, so I’m not going to relate as well to the butterflies-in-stomach, heady feeling that accompanies falling for someone. It all depends, I guess, on what you like to read in a romance.

The Factual Bits. Rea does an excellent job of filling us in on the historical setting without dumping an enormous pile of information on our laps. Her descriptions of the era feel natural, rather than forced. In much of the historical fiction I’ve read, the author’s awareness of the setting becomes too obvious, like we’re getting the view from an outsider who feels the need to describe every little detail so we know what we’re dealing with. But Rea places us right down in the fifteen hundreds and frees us to wander through the story without tripping on any awkward, scene-building material. Fortunately, she steps in from time to time and leads us around with the air of an experienced tour guide, just so we don’t get too lost.

Also, while I am familiar with many of the differences between Protestantism and Catholicism, I’ve always been a little vague on some of the more general Catholic doctrinal points. So I appreciated Rea’s easy, laid-back way of explaining Gwyn’s religion.

Other Tidbits. I spent a good portion of the book snickering to myself because Gwyn and Dirk are rather bad at communicating their feelings to each other. So that made for some interesting misunderstandings. I also liked how the second half of the book picks up and broadens the scope of the book from just romance to an interesting little dysfunctional family element thingy (I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to ruin it for you). Both these aspects of the story serve to broaden the plot and the characters, because they touch on humanity itself rather than just idealism.

Repeated Information. I do think that Gwyn’s backstory gets repeated a tad too often. I like that she’s been through some super tough experiences and has had to deal with some trauma, but I think the effect of what she’s experienced can be dimmed a little when it’s referenced too many times.

Secondary Characters. I enjoyed the tension between Margried and Sister Agnes in the latter half of the book, because, again, it deepens the humanity of the story and offers a bit of a break from the romance. Gwyn has a neat little relationship with these two, and I like the dynamics between these characters and all the rest. I do think I would have enjoyed more depth in the male secondary characters, but this is only the first book and maybe Rea will broaden her scope more in the two sequels.

 

All in all, THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS is not a debut novel to be ashamed of, and I think it will really resonate with the romance-loving crowd, specifically the inspirational-romance-loving niche. Even though I’m more Vulcan than dreamer, I did still enjoy this story. I just happen to be super nitpicky and annoying and you should probably slap me (or give me chocolate and whisper nice things to me). Despite my persnicketyness, I did enjoy this book, as I’m sure I’ll enjoy the next two.

 

I don't normally promote authors (you now, beyond a positive review or a shout-out or whatnot), but since Rachelle was kind enough to give me the two e-ARCs, I will share these links so you can buy her books.

 

Website

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Amazon Paperback

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