Siren's Song by Cynthia DiamondMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Intriguing New World
I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.
Once Upon a Time there were three sisters, adopted by an ex-nun who wanted to keep the humans safe from the Wyrd world. So she adopted three half-blood girls and set about training them for when their powers manifested. The eldest daughter was named Valerie and was half-valkyrie, the second daughter, named Adelle was a half-siren, and the youngest, Phoebe, who had not yet manifested her powers was a half-dryad. Then their adopted mother was killed and they had to do it alone.
Adelle is terrified of her powers because she doesn’t know how to control them except to remain utterly calm. When she’s emotional all she knows to do is suppress every sound because when she doesn’t she can level buildings. When she’s kidnapped and held for 5 days by an ex-boyfriend and his fellow vampires because siren blood is addictive she doesn’t use her powers to free herself. When Val finds her she sends her away because she won’t protect herself because she’s scared of hurting innocents.
Adelle goes to a small town in Washington State where her mind-mage cousin lives. Within a short period of time the cousin she's staying with has fobbed her off onto her ex-boyfriend, Jack the old and grumpy dragon and Jack and Adelle try to make the most of it.
One of the things I liked about this book was that things were spread out. Time passed and things didn’t happen right on top of each other. Adelle needs that time to transform herself and for her relationship with Jack to develop slowly. Both those things take a good deal of time because both Adelle and Jack are stubborn.
I also like how it’s not just meeting Jack that makes Adelle want to change, it’s how she’s been sent away for her own safety and having to rely on her sister all the time to get her out of trouble. She knows what she is doing isn’t working and that it certainly isn’t healthy to suppress her feelings for so long, but she just can’t see another way, until Jack tries something different.
Jack is a great character. He’s 900 years old and very set in his ways. He’s supportive, funny and grumpy all rolled into one. He’s also apparently big and gorgeous. I like how their relationship started out being pretty annoyed at being stuck with each other and evolved slowly over time. So often we get insta-lust/love in these kinds of books and sometimes you just want to watch something transform.
I liked this story because it’s not often we see a magical character being terrified of their powers, nor one that has had to suppress themselves so completely to stop themselves from harming others. Unreeling all that damage was interesting to read about, especially as we learn about the Wyrd world in which all the characters live.
I also like the relationship between the three sisters, which involves bickering, love and shoving each other into doing the right thing.
The plot is interesting, with an old friend becoming an arch-nemesis and threatening their home town. This is a plot that will evolve over the series, rather than getting resolved in this one book, but it gives the book direction and gives it structure. This book is mainly about Adelle coming into her own and finding Jack, but it’s really well done.
I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, which I believe is more about Val.
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