Book Review: A Strange Hymn by Lauren Thalassa

Title: A Strange Hymn
Author: Lauren Thalassa
Publisher: Bloom Books
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
ISBN: 9781728272931

Synopsis:
Siren Callypso Lillis still wears the physical reminders of her time as Karnon’s captive, even after reuniting with soulmate Desmond Flynn, the King of Night. Not only that, but mounting evidence suggests the Thief of Souls, the being responsible for the disappearance of countless fae warriors, is still out there. Invited to an annual Solstice celebration, Callie and Des journey to the Kingdom of Flora to continue their investigation. But under the bright lights and striking blooms of the realm, new complications arise, ones that no amount of bargaining can undo. Soldiers begin to go missing from the gathering, and some of the fae begin to suspect Des is the man behind it all. To Callie, one thing is certain: no one is who they appear to be. Not even her soulmate.

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This second book in The Bargainer series ramps this story up a notch as siren Callie is emerged in the fae world that her soulmate Des comes from. Trapped there by through the forced physical transformation inflicted on her by the Thief of Souls, she begins to harness the new being she has become. As Callie starts to understand who she is in the aftermath of her captivity, she sets her mind to becoming a weapon. She will let no one else use her for their own gain, or take advantage of her. She refuses to be a victim.

What I loved in this book was that the action really picked up compared to book one. There is more time spent on world building and getting to know characters outside of the FMC and MMC. While they are still the focal point of the story, we learn more of the magic that exists outside of Des’s realm. The expanding world keeps the plot engaging and drives the story forward.

There is also more information dropped about the Thief of Souls, though not nearly enough. It was a bit disappointing to not get any significant detail on who or what he is. While there is some action with him that builds towards the end of the book, I felt unsatisfied not learning more about him, his motivations, and what his actions are building towards. While I expect there is more in the final books in the series, it’s not nearly enough to really round out this second book.

A lot of the issues that existed in book one continue to persist in book two. The dialogue and writing sometimes falls a bit flat, with characters falling into stereotypes, Des making an awful lot of unnecessarily threatening suggestions to take advantage of the power he holds over her (which to a woman who has survived terrible assaults from multiple people seems terribly off-colour), and Callie is focused on no longer being beautiful and not really possessing any true powers. For someone who’s trying to own her badassery, she really struggles to own her own unique strength, even if she doesn’t possess the same magic as the fae around her.

This book was middle of the road for me. It reads like ACOTAR fanfiction (which from what I’m seeing across Goodreads appears to be the case), and I wish it had a bit more of a unique take on the night king/shadow magic trope. It’s an interesting series to listen to, and I’d still like to know what’s going on with the Thief of Souls, but it may be a while before I pick up the next book in this series. Still TBD…

Happy reading!