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Absence of Song #1
Awakening
Though music is forbidden and could get me in big trouble with the Ministry, I nevertheless often find myself singing softly in spite of the danger. Little do I know just how much hot water my strange compulsion to sing will actually land me in.
What is happening in the world around me? How is it happening? How does the stranger Noah fit into things? And most importantly… why me? I’m no more special than the next person.
So many questions and so many dangers. All I can do is trust that whatever is happening, it is good. I can see that it’s good, and I refuse to let anyone convince me otherwise.
What is happening in the world around me? How is it happening? How does the stranger Noah fit into things? And most importantly… why me? I’m no more special than the next person.
So many questions and so many dangers. All I can do is trust that whatever is happening, it is good. I can see that it’s good, and I refuse to let anyone convince me otherwise.
108 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 31, 2015
85 people are currently reading
468 people want to read
About the author
C.B. Stone
28 books164 followersC.B. Stone is sometimes called author, writer, or purveyor of stories. One might even dub her a yarn spinner, if you will. It’s very possible she might be considered just a little left of normal by most, but she’s cool with that. Really, she’s too busy avoiding normal to care.
On any given day, you might find Stone pounding away at a keyboard in sunny Florida, contemplating waves, contemplating life, and dreaming up more exciting stories to share with readers. Except Sunday’s of course. Sunday’s are God’s day, so you’ll often find her making her best “joyful noise” with her local church praise team.
When not pounding poor fingers to bloody nuggets and reinventing the definition of eye strain, C.B. Stone enjoys living it up, doing the family thing, the kid thing, and the friend thing. And in her downtime, reading the minds of fans.
Also being invisible. Being invisible is fun.
On any given day, you might find Stone pounding away at a keyboard in sunny Florida, contemplating waves, contemplating life, and dreaming up more exciting stories to share with readers. Except Sunday’s of course. Sunday’s are God’s day, so you’ll often find her making her best “joyful noise” with her local church praise team.
When not pounding poor fingers to bloody nuggets and reinventing the definition of eye strain, C.B. Stone enjoys living it up, doing the family thing, the kid thing, and the friend thing. And in her downtime, reading the minds of fans.
Also being invisible. Being invisible is fun.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 3, 2015
This is not a review, this is my book, but honest reviews and constructive feedback are welcomed.
May 17, 2017
You know that one saying that says singing to plants helps them grow?
Though people don't know for sure if that saying is true, the experiments that have been done seemed to suggest that singing to plants can help them grow.
(Why wouldn't you want to sing to plants anyways? Come on it will be fun!)
Okay so what does this have anything to do with the book?
Well there is a dystopian government who made it illegal to sing in this book. So no singing. Period. Don't do it! Also the plants aren't doing that great.
By the way, having a dystopian government who says no singing is actually not silly. Think about it. Singing can give you motivation, improve your mood, give you strength, praise, praise to God, etc., etc., etc, (helping your plants grow.) I don't sing very much myself, but no singing would also mean no listening to music!
My Review:
I picked up this book because I thought it was Christian dystopian friction. Unfortunately the Christian elements are not very well seen throughout this book. The little that may have been in it was more like magic to me. I disagreed with one of the places that had it in it.
As the Christian elements went, I did get some on the very, very last page/Kindle-swipe that I did understand. But I wished it was brought out sooner and not in the matter it was brought out.
As the story line goes.... Why would the government not want their people helping others provide food? In the story even the government was having a hard time. In my mind if they feed their people, then they have workers. If they don't, then, well, everyone dies. No one left to rule over.
This part just doesn't make sense to me....
Overall the story was interesting. But when it just started to get real good.....
THE END
Plot:
There is very little food.
Jaelynn dreams about songs.
Jaelynn is the daughter of two Ministry guards.
One day Jaelynn sees a strange guy.
They want to help the world.
THE END
The story is told in first person in Jaelynn's point of view.
Content in Book:
This book was pretty clean, but here is what I remember:
1. A part that seemed to be like magic.
2. Jaelynn sees a guy in his underwear. Nothing was detailed, nothing happens, guy got his clothes back on.
3. Jaelynn is sleeping with a guy once, both with their clothes on, nothing happens.
Who I Would Recommend the Book to:
Dystopian lovers. People who love music??? People who love plants???
Will I continue with the other books?
I don't know. Maybe if I get in a mood. But I don't know.
Though people don't know for sure if that saying is true, the experiments that have been done seemed to suggest that singing to plants can help them grow.
(Why wouldn't you want to sing to plants anyways? Come on it will be fun!)
Okay so what does this have anything to do with the book?
Well there is a dystopian government who made it illegal to sing in this book. So no singing. Period. Don't do it! Also the plants aren't doing that great.
By the way, having a dystopian government who says no singing is actually not silly. Think about it. Singing can give you motivation, improve your mood, give you strength, praise, praise to God, etc., etc., etc, (helping your plants grow.) I don't sing very much myself, but no singing would also mean no listening to music!
My Review:
I picked up this book because I thought it was Christian dystopian friction. Unfortunately the Christian elements are not very well seen throughout this book. The little that may have been in it was more like magic to me. I disagreed with one of the places that had it in it.
As the Christian elements went, I did get some on the very, very last page/Kindle-swipe that I did understand. But I wished it was brought out sooner and not in the matter it was brought out.
As the story line goes.... Why would the government not want their people helping others provide food? In the story even the government was having a hard time. In my mind if they feed their people, then they have workers. If they don't, then, well, everyone dies. No one left to rule over.
This part just doesn't make sense to me....
Overall the story was interesting. But when it just started to get real good.....
THE END
Plot:
There is very little food.
Jaelynn dreams about songs.
Jaelynn is the daughter of two Ministry guards.
One day Jaelynn sees a strange guy.
They want to help the world.
THE END
The story is told in first person in Jaelynn's point of view.
Content in Book:
This book was pretty clean, but here is what I remember:
1. A part that seemed to be like magic.
2. Jaelynn sees a guy in his underwear. Nothing was detailed, nothing happens, guy got his clothes back on.
3. Jaelynn is sleeping with a guy once, both with their clothes on, nothing happens.
Who I Would Recommend the Book to:
Dystopian lovers. People who love music??? People who love plants???
Will I continue with the other books?
I don't know. Maybe if I get in a mood. But I don't know.
May 27, 2019
My first three-star rating and I have to say, I'm giving it reluctantly. I wanted to give this book more stars but it just feels somewhat rushed and unfinished. It could be I wasn't clear on the target audience age range, though. I suppose for younger readers, this might be appropriate. I read some of the other reviews and agree with some that it could've been filled out a little better. When I got to the end, I was quite shocked at the abruptness and the lack of closure.
A couple of the reviews had me wondering whether I should read this book or not. I don't think there was anything wrong with writing about a young girl who wants to do the right thing but lies to her parents. I also think the way the action plays out has potential. I would like to see some consequences for the actions taken by the MC, though. All decisions have consequences, after all.
I think this story would benefit from another revision session or two, possibly being re-released later on down the road. I like the ideas presented and the world the author is building. It definitely shows promise and I hope the author does not give up.
I absolutely love that singing plays a vital role in this story. It is by far my favorite part of this world.
Recommending this book is hard. I think if you are a forgiving person who looks for the beauty in all things, who has the ability to look beyond flaws into the heart of a matter, you could find this book interesting.
A couple of the reviews had me wondering whether I should read this book or not. I don't think there was anything wrong with writing about a young girl who wants to do the right thing but lies to her parents. I also think the way the action plays out has potential. I would like to see some consequences for the actions taken by the MC, though. All decisions have consequences, after all.
I think this story would benefit from another revision session or two, possibly being re-released later on down the road. I like the ideas presented and the world the author is building. It definitely shows promise and I hope the author does not give up.
I absolutely love that singing plays a vital role in this story. It is by far my favorite part of this world.
Recommending this book is hard. I think if you are a forgiving person who looks for the beauty in all things, who has the ability to look beyond flaws into the heart of a matter, you could find this book interesting.
January 17, 2018
Full of mystery and suspense. I had no clue what was going to happen. I love the fact that this author always keeps you on your toes by trying to guess what is going to happen in her books. Not that you could guess in a million years. Her plot twists always throw me off. Fantastic book!
April 25, 2018
Interesting
I received this book free from one of the book sites. I do not remember which one! This is my honest review.
A sad & desolate world controlled by The Government. A place where music is not allowed, but something within Jaelynn must let the music out.
I received this book free from one of the book sites. I do not remember which one! This is my honest review.
A sad & desolate world controlled by The Government. A place where music is not allowed, but something within Jaelynn must let the music out.
November 21, 2021
Awakening book 1
The way the girl in this story is so hopeful and tries to make the best life possible is amazing given the life they have to live. Then enters the young man and the mystery surrounding him pulls you into the story.
The way the girl in this story is so hopeful and tries to make the best life possible is amazing given the life they have to live. Then enters the young man and the mystery surrounding him pulls you into the story.
August 12, 2019
This book pulled me in and left me eager for more!
November 18, 2025
This was a reasonably good short read. I read it for a challenge and I was surprised by how fleshed out it was for a short book.
February 15, 2022
A nice short story, has a few mistakes, but still a nice easy read.
February 11, 2016
***2016 Reading Challenge - A dystopian novel***
I'm not exactly sure how to review this book, as it's one of the first I've read that wasn't published by a major publishing house. The author isn't really self-published, but close to it. As a writer, I thought the author was probably better than most people if they decided to put pen to paper. She had a great vocabulary and the grammatical errors were minimal (that I could tell - I'm no genius!). There were some typos, but I consider that different than a grammatical error.
The premise of her story is a good one - a dystopian world that seems to be in a perpetual state of drought and where music is forbidden. I thought the music element was a unique take on the dystopian genre.
Although this novel is already complete, it felt like a draft version of a story. Much was missing, much needed to be developed. It had an interesting inversion of detail. There was too much detail where it wasn't needed, which slowed the narration down, and it had too little detail in places where the reader needed more context.
The other element that stood out to me was the over-reliance of the main character on intuition. I say over-reliance because if the character is going to make choices based on nothing but how she feels, at least don't bring too much attention to it! It's much better to just state that a character felt like doing something, so she did, instead of trying to explain how unexplainable the situation is (multiple times).
This extremely intuition based decision making also had an (I think) unintended consequence, which is to create a very poor role model for potential readers. Say, for example, a teen girl picks up the book and reads (SPOILERS) about how this main character lies to her parents, sneaks around with a boy, and disregards rules simply because she JUST KNOWS it's the right thing to do (literally no other explanation). What message does that give to said teen? Isn't this already how adolescent minds think? Like, "It doesn't seem right to any authority figures or even my parents, but I'm going to do it anyway because I know better!" This might end up working out for the character, but probably won't in real life. Therefore, not something I would want my daughter to read at that age.
In the end, the premise is good and has a lot of potential if the plot development could be reworked and expanded.
I'm not exactly sure how to review this book, as it's one of the first I've read that wasn't published by a major publishing house. The author isn't really self-published, but close to it. As a writer, I thought the author was probably better than most people if they decided to put pen to paper. She had a great vocabulary and the grammatical errors were minimal (that I could tell - I'm no genius!). There were some typos, but I consider that different than a grammatical error.
The premise of her story is a good one - a dystopian world that seems to be in a perpetual state of drought and where music is forbidden. I thought the music element was a unique take on the dystopian genre.
Although this novel is already complete, it felt like a draft version of a story. Much was missing, much needed to be developed. It had an interesting inversion of detail. There was too much detail where it wasn't needed, which slowed the narration down, and it had too little detail in places where the reader needed more context.
The other element that stood out to me was the over-reliance of the main character on intuition. I say over-reliance because if the character is going to make choices based on nothing but how she feels, at least don't bring too much attention to it! It's much better to just state that a character felt like doing something, so she did, instead of trying to explain how unexplainable the situation is (multiple times).
This extremely intuition based decision making also had an (I think) unintended consequence, which is to create a very poor role model for potential readers. Say, for example, a teen girl picks up the book and reads (SPOILERS) about how this main character lies to her parents, sneaks around with a boy, and disregards rules simply because she JUST KNOWS it's the right thing to do (literally no other explanation). What message does that give to said teen? Isn't this already how adolescent minds think? Like, "It doesn't seem right to any authority figures or even my parents, but I'm going to do it anyway because I know better!" This might end up working out for the character, but probably won't in real life. Therefore, not something I would want my daughter to read at that age.
In the end, the premise is good and has a lot of potential if the plot development could be reworked and expanded.
August 17, 2015
Jaelynn loves to sing. In her dreams she learns songs. But she is not allowed to sing. EVER. I'm not at all sure where she lives or what is really going on, but her parents are pretty much soldiers for their government. Jaelynn stays at home, alone most of the time. Her parents are always working and she sings softly all day hoping not to get caught. Their gardens are not doing well, food rations are getting smaller and everyone is on edge not to get in trouble with the government.
One day Jaelynn is outside tending to her garden when she hears a traveler coming down the road making strange noises. Noah, the traveler, has some strange instrument that Jaelynn has never seen before. But she has heard it. In her dreams.
Jaelynn and Noah strike up a friendship and are shocked, no really.. sparks fly, when they touch. Are they meant to be? I don't know but something is totally going on here. She lets Noah sleep in their shed, as long as her parents don't see him. Now the weird part.. Noah can touch the plants and make them come alive and grow. Jaelynn doesn't know how and it freaks her out at first.
One night she goes out to the shed to see Noah, they end up falling asleep. Jaelynn dreams that they run through the town playing in the rain and making everything come back to life. Even the ponds and other water sources. The next morning when they wake up she realizes it wasn't just a dream, everything is alive and new. When her dad wakes up and sees it he tells her to run and hide somewhere. So apparently the dad knows a little of what is going on, but I'm still lost.
I'm sorry for some of the spoilers but I couldn't just talk about this book with no details... I tried.
I have to admit I was questioning myself for reading this for a while but I'm so glad I kept reading. I just bought the other two books in this series and can't wait to start them.
http://ljonesedition.wordpress.com
One day Jaelynn is outside tending to her garden when she hears a traveler coming down the road making strange noises. Noah, the traveler, has some strange instrument that Jaelynn has never seen before. But she has heard it. In her dreams.
Jaelynn and Noah strike up a friendship and are shocked, no really.. sparks fly, when they touch. Are they meant to be? I don't know but something is totally going on here. She lets Noah sleep in their shed, as long as her parents don't see him. Now the weird part.. Noah can touch the plants and make them come alive and grow. Jaelynn doesn't know how and it freaks her out at first.
One night she goes out to the shed to see Noah, they end up falling asleep. Jaelynn dreams that they run through the town playing in the rain and making everything come back to life. Even the ponds and other water sources. The next morning when they wake up she realizes it wasn't just a dream, everything is alive and new. When her dad wakes up and sees it he tells her to run and hide somewhere. So apparently the dad knows a little of what is going on, but I'm still lost.
I'm sorry for some of the spoilers but I couldn't just talk about this book with no details... I tried.
I have to admit I was questioning myself for reading this for a while but I'm so glad I kept reading. I just bought the other two books in this series and can't wait to start them.
http://ljonesedition.wordpress.com
May 30, 2015
I really enjoyed the Unbelief Trilogy so when C. B. Stone announced this upcoming trilogy, I was really excited. When she mentioned that there was going to be some blends of fantasy in the dystopia world, I was even more excited. I love fantasy. And I was not disappointed.
Jaelynn lives in a world where music is banned and the Ministry controls everything. But she can't stop herself from dreaming about music and singing when no one else is around. And when she meets Noah, a fellow dreamer, Jaelynn's world begins to change.
I think this is where Stone excels. The story starts out like any other dystopia, but we soon learn that music has more power than we realize. And sometimes what happens in the realm of dreams doesn't always stay there. The blend of this dystopian world with elements of fantasy was just brilliant.
The characters were very beautifully developed and Jaelynn was a great character for a first person narrator. Sometimes certain narrators don't work out well, but she is a good one. Noah was interesting and I can't wait to see more about his character as the story unfolds in the next novel.
The novel ends with a cliffhanger (the usual for any novel by Stone) and I am eager to see where this ending will lead our characters. Obviously something more than meets the eye is going on in this world. And the Ministry has more of an idea about things than they will admit to the public.
I honestly don't know what else to say. I don't want to get too involved with the story out of fear I will give something away. This is a great novella if you enjoy fun, quick dystopia/fantasy reads. It has a unique take on many elements of these genres and the blend is just beautiful. Stone gets better with every novel she writes. I cannot wait for the next installment.
You can find this and other reviews on my blog at www.courtneysreads.blogspot.com
Jaelynn lives in a world where music is banned and the Ministry controls everything. But she can't stop herself from dreaming about music and singing when no one else is around. And when she meets Noah, a fellow dreamer, Jaelynn's world begins to change.
I think this is where Stone excels. The story starts out like any other dystopia, but we soon learn that music has more power than we realize. And sometimes what happens in the realm of dreams doesn't always stay there. The blend of this dystopian world with elements of fantasy was just brilliant.
The characters were very beautifully developed and Jaelynn was a great character for a first person narrator. Sometimes certain narrators don't work out well, but she is a good one. Noah was interesting and I can't wait to see more about his character as the story unfolds in the next novel.
The novel ends with a cliffhanger (the usual for any novel by Stone) and I am eager to see where this ending will lead our characters. Obviously something more than meets the eye is going on in this world. And the Ministry has more of an idea about things than they will admit to the public.
I honestly don't know what else to say. I don't want to get too involved with the story out of fear I will give something away. This is a great novella if you enjoy fun, quick dystopia/fantasy reads. It has a unique take on many elements of these genres and the blend is just beautiful. Stone gets better with every novel she writes. I cannot wait for the next installment.
You can find this and other reviews on my blog at www.courtneysreads.blogspot.com
January 23, 2016
This was a weird experience and not in a good way I’m afraid. A world where singing, humming, and music in general is banned is difficult to imagine. It is undoubtedly a horrifying thought. Yet, this is the world that Jaelynn lives in.
I think that maybe Awakening was some sort of a “pre-book,” but there is no excuse for the rather poor quality. It was not engaging, it was not descriptive, it was emotionless, severely under-developed, and drab. Now here’s why.
Jaelynn Rose is the heroine. Why? I have a strong guess, but for now, I don’t know and neither do you. Since neither you nor I know why she’s the heroine, I would assume that Stone would give hints. Maybe try to make it less obscure as to why she decided Jaelynn is the heroine I want to spend some of my limited time on earth reading about. Instead, all I am given is that when she sleeps, she hears songs. Phenomenal. Not to mention, at one point, Jaelynn isn’t sure what her own name is. She introduces herself as Jaelynn and her parents call her Jaelynn, but then she called herself Jaclyn when she was thinking. It happened once, but it was there. I for one would be terrified if I relied on a heroine who forgot what her name was...
Read the rest of this review and more here: https://paigeturnerreads.wordpress.co...
I think that maybe Awakening was some sort of a “pre-book,” but there is no excuse for the rather poor quality. It was not engaging, it was not descriptive, it was emotionless, severely under-developed, and drab. Now here’s why.
Jaelynn Rose is the heroine. Why? I have a strong guess, but for now, I don’t know and neither do you. Since neither you nor I know why she’s the heroine, I would assume that Stone would give hints. Maybe try to make it less obscure as to why she decided Jaelynn is the heroine I want to spend some of my limited time on earth reading about. Instead, all I am given is that when she sleeps, she hears songs. Phenomenal. Not to mention, at one point, Jaelynn isn’t sure what her own name is. She introduces herself as Jaelynn and her parents call her Jaelynn, but then she called herself Jaclyn when she was thinking. It happened once, but it was there. I for one would be terrified if I relied on a heroine who forgot what her name was...
Read the rest of this review and more here: https://paigeturnerreads.wordpress.co...
February 3, 2015
Jaelyn Rose dreams of music, of songs. When she is awake and alone, she can't help singing these songs, softly to herself; the music lifts her spirits from the reality of her world.
A world of hard work, hunger and barely enough water. It rarely rains. Music is forbidden. It's against the law. Be careful what you say or do; the Ministry (government), has eyes and ears everywhere. Jaelyn's parents, Marcus and Sierra, serve as security officers for the Ministry. Her mom tells her to be careful and sing softly, only when all doors and windows are closed.
One day Jaelyn sees a drifer outside her gate. He has a strange, something, he carries. Jaelyn goes out to speak to him. His name is Noah and he does odd jobs. He is friendly so she invites him to spend the night in the shed out back. He relayed that he too dreams of music; he said those who dreamed of music were the Chosen. Chosen? Chosen for what and by whom?
Ms. Stone puts such heart into her characters and storylines!! This is the first of a three part series. I can't wait to find out what happened as she and... Uh oh, almost gave it away!! Read and find out why you'll keep returning for more!!
I received this free for an honest review.
A world of hard work, hunger and barely enough water. It rarely rains. Music is forbidden. It's against the law. Be careful what you say or do; the Ministry (government), has eyes and ears everywhere. Jaelyn's parents, Marcus and Sierra, serve as security officers for the Ministry. Her mom tells her to be careful and sing softly, only when all doors and windows are closed.
One day Jaelyn sees a drifer outside her gate. He has a strange, something, he carries. Jaelyn goes out to speak to him. His name is Noah and he does odd jobs. He is friendly so she invites him to spend the night in the shed out back. He relayed that he too dreams of music; he said those who dreamed of music were the Chosen. Chosen? Chosen for what and by whom?
Ms. Stone puts such heart into her characters and storylines!! This is the first of a three part series. I can't wait to find out what happened as she and... Uh oh, almost gave it away!! Read and find out why you'll keep returning for more!!
I received this free for an honest review.
February 15, 2015
It started alright and I have to admit that I was intrigued by the story in the beginning. However, I found that it was dragging a lot and nothing exciting was happening (apart from some tomatoes that have suddenly appeared in the garden). Also I couldn't engage with any of the characters and I found them a bit naive... I had to push myself to finish the book so that I see if something else might happen that could save this story, but I was really disappointed... I think the ending was really abrupt and didn't give me anything to make me to want to continue with the next book in the series... :(
March 15, 2015
This was an interesting tale. One of a dystopia future. It did end quite suddenly but all in all it was a good read. I must add though that if you’re looking for a gothic read this is NOT it, this tale is actually a tale of a religious manner where the world loses its music and only one belief can bring it back. A Christian belief with Noah being a main character. You have all the points here, the loss of a faith, the loss of something meaningful to everyone’s lives and the belief that another power can bring it back. Do not get me wrong it is still a great read it just was not what I expected when I read that it was a YA science fiction read.
May 25, 2015
It was okay...
I see where someone could enjoy this book but for me it was too slow as if every scene took hours. There are quite a few grammatical errors as well but that can easily be overlooked. If you like slow dystopian novels then you might like this otherwise you probably won't. I read 400 page books in a day, this was to different from my standards that it took me almost two weeks from when I first picked up the book to pick it up again to finish it.
I see where someone could enjoy this book but for me it was too slow as if every scene took hours. There are quite a few grammatical errors as well but that can easily be overlooked. If you like slow dystopian novels then you might like this otherwise you probably won't. I read 400 page books in a day, this was to different from my standards that it took me almost two weeks from when I first picked up the book to pick it up again to finish it.
April 11, 2016
I was really enjoying this book, getting into it after a slow start. And then suddenly, it was over. Nowhere did I read that this was just a sample or short version, so that was really disappointing. The characters were just starting to become interesting and the plot was finally getting somewhere. Good writing but the slow start and short version made the good writing one of the last things I thought about this book. I'd plan to skip this one!
August 10, 2015
This book was a very entertaining read. I read it every spare moment I had and honestly could not put it down. I thought the characters were interesting, but believable, and the heart behind the story is beautiful. I've read C.B. Stone's books so far (save one), and I have enjoyed each one. I would totally recommend reading all her books. :)
November 27, 2015
Amazing
Refreshingly clean. This story kept me engrossed from start to do finish.I. woul'id recommend it to anyone,. Also the story is well-written with correct grammar and an easy l'j
Refreshingly clean. This story kept me engrossed from start to do finish.I. woul'id recommend it to anyone,. Also the story is well-written with correct grammar and an easy l'j
April 22, 2016
I love this book. I'm so intrigued! I love Christian fiction and I love dystopian fiction, but until now I've never seen them blatantly put together. The way she describes dreaming and awakening is exactly how I feel about waking up to my prophetic gifting! I can't wait to start "Becoming".
July 16, 2015
Suspenseful
It is like a fairy tale book. A bit of suspense and also exciting. Couldn't put it down. Will read the song book number 2.
It is like a fairy tale book. A bit of suspense and also exciting. Couldn't put it down. Will read the song book number 2.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews