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?

Book Review: THE SOUND OF SILVER 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

 

If any of you were wondering, THE SOUND OF SILVER (by Rachelle Rea) is the sequel to THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS, which I reviewed last week. As I mentioned before, Rea was kind enough to give me e-ARCs of both these books, for which I am extremely grateful. Thank you, Rachelle! So let’s talk about this one.

The Romance. I know that I don’t tend to be much of a romance person (since I’m Vulcan and all), but you’d be surprised by what I might actually enjoy when it comes to love stories. Without giving too much away (hopefully), I will say that the romance in THE SOUND OF SILVER was more satisfying to me than it was in its predecessor. This might result from the heightened tension between the two lovebirds, but it might also come from the impossible odds stacked against them and the difficult decisions they must make. I like that Rea involves risk in the equation, rather than just emotion.

Love Triangle? Okay, there isn’t really a love triangle in here. Or is there? I won’t say too much, but I will say that I love what Rea does with this trope, and I love the way it propels the story along while also providing a bit of a break from the romance between Gwyn and Dirk. (Because, while romance is all well and good, breathers are nice as well.)

Jealousy and Anger. Oh yeah, I’m a fan of the darker emotions (in books though—just to clarify—not so much in real life). Some of the characters in Rea’s cast aren’t huge supporters of Gwyn and Dirk and their decisions. I feel that this adds more depth and honesty, since love is never a bed of roses and life often comes with an angry bee still stuck in its honeycomb (yeah, I should probably stop talking). Anyway, when it comes to fiction, I like my sweet with a little sour, and THE SOUND OF SILVER offers a more balanced mixture than THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS.

Other Tidbits. Again we have the entertaining (and, in this case, suspenseful) issues that accompany some of Gwyn and Dirk’s poor communication. Also, as with the previous installment, the plot picks up the pace around the middle, ensuring that readers will want to pay more attention as they near the end. Rea does do a bit more with Ian and Cade, as well as Margried and Sister Agnes, which I appreciated. I’m always a big fan of getting to know the secondary characters, sometimes even more than the main ones (I’m weird like that), so I was hoping this would be the case.

Repeated Information. As with before, the story does seem to contain more repeated information than is necessary. I’m a little lazy when it comes to Kindle, and I appreciate being reminded of some tidbits from time to time so I don’t have to flip back and check for myself (#somuchwork). But I also have a decent memory for bookish details, which means the author usually only has to tell me something once. After that, I’d rather move on to newer and more interesting stuff.

The People. As for our main characters, I share the same feelings about them now as I did in my review of THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS. Again, I liked seeing them struggle with their beliefs—how to live them, how to reconcile them with other stuff, etc… On a deeper level, I love that a good half of the cast has to struggle with maintaining/surrendering some of the happy feelings from the previous book in order to face reality head on. Rose-tinted glasses are lovely and all, but life isn’t all bubble gum and bottomless coffee cups.

Anders. This guy is great. I think I can really sympathize with his weaknesses and his shortcomings. Yet he might also be the most complex and hard-to-understand guy in the book, because his actions tend toward unpredictability (for reasons I can’t give without spoiling it for you). All in all, I lived for the chapters featuring Anders Revelin.

The Ending. I like cliffhangers. I love cliffhangers. So I was really excited to find that Rea is comfortable with leaving her characters in a lurch for a few months until the final book comes out. (On the other hand, though, I have a bit of a Steadfast Love series hangover, since I got to gobble up the first two books without needing to pause for air. And now I’m stuck waiting for THE SOUND OF EMERALDS. Boo. *pouts*)

In my review of THE SOUND OF DIAMONDS, I neglected to mention that, while I have an advanced reading copy, the actual book itself was released a while ago and is available to the general public. THE SOUND OF SILVER, however, will not hit the shelves until October 15^th (at which point, I suggest you buy it).

All in all, while romance isn’t generally my cup of coffee (see what I did there?), I did still enjoy these two books in my own way, and I don’t regret the time I spent in Rea’s story world. Like I said before, if you are a fan of romance, especially Christian inspirational romance, I think this would probably be right up your ally. And I’m going out on a limb here, because I’m not Rachelle so I can’t know for sure, but I do think that if you’ve read these books and enjoyed them, she would love it if you let her know.

 Here are some links:

Website

Blog

Amazon Paperback

Kindle

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

Blog

Barnes & Noble

Amazon Paperback

Kindle

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