Amy Harmon (1)

“‘None of us can help who we are. We are born into the world we are born into. The family. The skin. Nobody gets to choose these things. You can’t be mad at a man for who we is. Only what he is …and the choices he makes’” (341).

This is a story about family and choices and race and the sins of our fathers. It’s about coming to terms with who you are and where you’re from, escaping the mistakes of your fathers, and doing a little bit better than those who came before. It’s about Benny and Esther and their attempts to change their 1960s world through their music and love.

“‘You gotta have dissonance to appreciate the resolution’” (310).… (plus d'informations)

“My mother was careful with her words, so careful that she made them soundless when she died. Now they swarm silently all around me, like quiet watchers waiting for someone to speak them into being” (12).

This is a story about two birds, Lark and Tiras—one bird finding her voice and another bird finding freedom from his cage. Both birds are given gifts—a Teller whose words are power and a Changer whose power is uncontrollable—and both are bound to one another at an intersection of duty and desire. As they struggle to protect their threatened kingdom of Jeru, they learn that their gifts are not the most important thing; it’s the choices they make with those gifts that matter, that determine what kind of persons they are. And in that knowledge, they let go of the past that’s been gripping tightly to them, like the talons of an eagle, because you cannot heal if you harbor hate. In both letting go and holding tightly, Lark and Tiras find freedom from their cages and peace in the home they’ve created with their words.… (plus d'informations)

Genres: historical fiction, romance
Age: adult
Content: Seeing as this is a war book, there were descriptions of battle and death. There are some fade-to-black scenes between a married couple. There might have been one before marriage but it was vague enough that I am not sure.

I have seen rating after rating for this book, all five stars. I hate the be the one that doesn't but this one had a dreadfully slow start. I put it down for a couple weeks before I decided to just finish it. The book really started picking up after the 25% mark; before then was all descriptions of her life as a child and then teen. I do wish there had been a greater focus on the war and less on the romance.

Rating: 3/5 Stars… (plus d'informations)