THE SOUND OF EMERALDS Review // In Which I Am an Emotionless Brick

Rating: Two stars—Meh

Caution: Mild, mild spoilers ahead

Wow, it’s been quite a while since I last posted a review. Is it bad that it feels like only a week has passed? 

Anyway, onwards and upwards. 

I was given an eARC of THE SOUND OF EMERALDS by Rachelle Rea. Thank you, Rachelle! (THE SOUND OF EMERALDS released last month.) 

I have to say, I was a bit disappointed with this one. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t for me either. Unfortunately, I can’t address the entirety of my opinion because most of my issues are centered around major spoilers, but I will try my best. (Also, if you haven’t read the first two books in this trilogy, maybe don’t read this review, as it will contain spoilers for THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS and THE SOUND OF SILVER. If you want to read my reviews for those two books, you can find them here and here.) 

The Central Plot. Coming into the book, I was expecting the central plot to revolve around clearing Dirk’s name, as had been set up as a necessity in THE SOUND OF SILVER. I was excited to see where that would go. We have tension between Anders, Dirk, and Gwen and, at least at the ending of the previous book, it seems unclear whether Anders will help the two lovebirds or if he will do his best to put Dirk in jail. 

Unfortunately, I was wrong. Dirk’s legal issues take back burner for most of the novel, and the plot that takes its place just wasn’t for me. I’m sure it would appeal to a lot of other people, specifically people who like children. 

Mush Middle. On top of my inability to sympathize with the central issue for this book, I felt that, overall, the middle dragged. A lot of information and feelings get rehashed repeatedly without enough deep exploration of the emotions or broadening of the themes. Dirk and Gwen spend a lot of time at odds with each other, communicating poorly, and operating on assumptions that could be easily dispelled—which was valid and enjoyable for a time, but got old after a while. I can only spend so long watching characters skirt around an easy solution before I get frustrated with them. (I encountered this issue with books like ALLEGIANT and THE ONE.) 

The Plus Side. Despite my complaints, I don’t want to insinuate that Rea said nothing interesting or worthwhile. On the contrary. Rea throws in some profound observations, and her themes are still interesting. I think, with less repetition, I would have given the story three stars instead of two. And to be fair, like I said before, I think my biggest problem with this book might have been more a personality issue than anything. Not to mention, I can be difficult to please when it comes to series conclusions. So, just because I didn’t like it all that much, doesn’t mean you won’t absolutely love it. If this book sounds like your cup of coffee, please don’t let me rain on your parade. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you read any of the books in this trilogy? What have you been reading lately? How easily do you empathize with a character’s struggles?