A Song Below Water (#1 A Song Below Water) by Bethany Morrow - Restarting May 25th 2021

[Saar The Book owl]

Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Never mind she's also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls’ favorite Internet fashion icon reveals she's also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore—soon Portland won’t be either.

[Arifah]

Hi Ellen, it's 13th, yeay! Let's read together, I'm probably a bit slow since I use audiobook, I hope you don't mind

[ellen]

Arifah wrote: "Hi Ellen, it's 13th, yeay! Let's read together, I'm probably a bit slow since I use audiobook, I hope you don't mind"

Hi Arifah,

Not a problem. Looking forward to reading!

[ellen]

This is giving me the movie Bright vibes, The mixing of modern-day with fantasy. I'm really digging it.

[Arifah]

Wow, can't wait to listen again, I have listened the first chapter and the narrator voice is quite nice

[Arifah]

End of chapter 3

(view spoiler)[I just realized that there are lot of mythical creatures in this book, awesome but yeah still feel bad to Tavia tho, by the way, I still don't get it the relationship between Tavia and Effie, I know they are not blood related, but are their parents married or what? (hide spoiler)]

[ellen]

Heya! I will be caught up to at least chapter 4 by tomorrow.

[Saar The Book owl]

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Date changed. Restarting May 25th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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[Janine]

Going to start reading this one tonight.

[Janine]

Chapter 7: (view spoiler)[I'm liking the fantasy elements and creatures in this book! Mermaids, Sirens, Gargoyles, Sprites, and more! I can feel with both Octavia and Efienia and love their characters. My biggest problem so far is that it seems like things jump around a bit too much for my taste and the prose could have been touched up a tad. Side note, I like the audiobook has two narrators for both girls and enjoyed their voices. (hide spoiler)]

[Janine]

Chapter 12: (view spoiler)[So Effie is a sylph. Very interesting. Plus, the fact that the YouTube woman is a siren came up once and hasn't come back since really. I do think the pacing's picked up, but I fear this alternating PoV bit every chapter might be hindering it a bit. I like the fantasy elements, but I feel somewhat confused and wish it was fleshed out and contextualized more than it is.

Side note: I think the blurb is a bit misleading, as I was expecting a different plotline than what I'm getting. I'm still enjoying it for the most part, though I have my issues. Overall, I'm getting a slice of life vibe from this story more than anything, which is a type of story I'm starting to like. (hide spoiler)]

[Janine]

Finished: (view spoiler)[This was mostly a fun read, but it had a lot of glaring issues to make it great. I love the idea of magical creatures integrated into our modern day world. I did enjoy Octavia and Effie's journey through their own story arcs, but the world building lacked some context, and the pacing was off. Will I read A Chorus Rises? Not sure. (hide spoiler)]