In Lagrimar, where the True Father rules and Earthsingers are required to pay tribute with their gifts, the Mantle is about to fall. Plans for the takeover of Elsira are already underway, and no one can be allowed to interfere. Forced by blood magic into the role of assassin, Kyara is sent to find Darvyn, the most powerful Earthsinger in generations, and bring him back alive to add his power to that of the True Father. This assignment is like any other, until she learns who he really is.

Darvyn hides among the rebels, who struggle to bring down the True Father, and help those Earthsingers who’ve managed to escape tribute. He doesn’t trust Kyara, who appears suddenly at one of their operations, but something about her makes him hesitate. When he realizes that she holds the key to secrets from his past, he must save her at any cost.

Whispers of Shadow & Flame is the second volume in the Earthsinger Chronicles. Where Song of Blood and Stone took place solely in Elsira, Whispers puts us in Lagrimar. This story starts in Song’s past, and unfolds at the same time. The True Father still seeks a way through the Mantle, and Lagrimar is still rattling its sabers. That set me back a bit. I’d expected it to continue from where book one left off, so was caught off-guard when introduced to all-new characters. I’m not sure whether it would have been possible, though, to mingle both threads of the timeline and see the stories unfolding side-by-side. Such a book would have been enormous, for one thing. For another, it would have divided my attention too much to allow me to truly invest in the stakes for either story. So I see why it’s separated in this way.

The worldbuilding is well done in Whispers, with descriptions that made Lagrimar come alive in my mind. After seeing the abundance of Elsira in book one, it was quite an interesting contrast to see the stark reality of life in Lagrimar. Here, the landscape is dreary, unsettling, wasted. I liked that in both these books, there is a mixture of seemingly familiar technology with more primitive works—cart horses and automobiles, oil lanterns and electricity. I’ve not read much steampunk, but I imagine this setting would appeal to fans of that genre.

Even though they were totally new, the strong characters in Whispers didn’t take long to win me over. Continuing the fantasy romance theme, Kyara and Darvyn are natural enemies who get caught in each other’s orbit and find themselves drawn together by curiosity, physical attraction, and unexpected connections from the past. She is disgusted by what she is forced to do, and would welcome death if it would free her from the blood magic that enslaves her. He is powerful, yet guilt-ridden over those lives he could not save through the years. There’s a fair share of angsting here, as in book one, which didn’t thrill me but it’s part of the genre. I figured out early on where the story was going, yet author L. Penelope managed to surprise me a couple of times with twists I didn’t see coming. Other characters play equally essential roles, with their storylines all weaving together as the tale unfolds. The further I got into the story, the more it held my interest.

Penelope brings politics into this volume, too, even in places I didn’t expect to find it—but probably should have. But instead of the racism and anti-immigrant sentiment displayed by the Elsirans in book one, book two focused on the struggle of characters stuck in life-time roles they never asked for and would change if they could, and how they react when thrust from those roles into even less favorable circumstances. Loyalty and betrayal is not always easily recognizable. What you see is not always what you think it is, a lesson the characters have to learn under fire.

Romance and steampunk aren’t genres I would usually read. However, while Whispers isn’t really the kind of story that takes me out of my own skin and really makes me think, it was an entertaining read. If you like angsty romance set in a dark fantasy world, this series was written for you. ( )

Ok, I'd like to start of with 1) an observation and 2) a confession.

1) The small passage quotes at the start of each chapter irked me... irked me something fierce. Deal-breaker? No, but it was evident right out of the gate.

2) You should know that I was unaware that this was the second book in a series before I requested it. This might not have been a problem seeing as how it was following different characters this time around BUT the whole backstory... the whole history of the Magic and the history of the World in general was explored more deeply in the first book... so I've heard. That being said I did still like the background building but it did not feel seamless nor complete... the Plot skipped around like a truffle pig with ADD rooting around erratically, searching for some fertile Plot but alas, there was none to be found here. Harsh? Yes, but this book took a loooong time for me to get around to reading (and to get into) and the premise was SO promising... I'm sorely disappointed though... in fact, I'd like to ask for a Time refund but hey... C’est la vie

Now, characters. Firstly, I DO NOT appreciate nascent romantic relationships that feel forced... it makes me cringe and look to skim... ugh! Secondly, I (usually) loathe insta-love, it has an extremely low success rate with me... UGH!! BUT with both of those strikes I must admit that the biggest problem I had with the characters were that I found it extremely difficult to muster feelings for ANY of the cast (and the POV list was large... larger than it needed to be)... that's a travesty in my eyes... a severe, literary faux pas. Without relateable/loveable/loathable/gripping/interesting (take your pick) characters to commiserate with and feel for, what kind of cohesion can the best of plots have?? I'll answer that obviously rhetorical question... it's NONE!

Soooo it's obvious, I'm one of THOSE readers. I like my stories to be heavily character driven or at least have nailed 2 out of the 3 of the Trifecta of Awesomeness categories.

The Trifecta of Awesomeness:
writing quality + character development + world building

This is the rubric I use to judge a book... it's consistent and fair so when I say that Whispers of Shadow and Flame did not slay any of those three (in fact it barely handled one of them well... the second was a fail and the third was just MEH... so basically it's a wash) categories then you know exactly why I am saying that this book is not for me.

Overall:

Writing: decent- succinct but sloooow paced ✔️
Characters: woefully underdeveloped and flat ✖️
World: erratic but decent 🚫 🤷‍♀️

That adds up to a failed Trifecta SO I won't be on the lookout for any more of this series... we have officially split up citing irreconcilable differences... don't worry, it was mutual.

~ Sorry

*** I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. *** ( )