A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A Brown [Book #2]

Content Tags: Emotional Abuse, Grooming, Violence, Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Physical Abuse

This is the second book of the A Song of Wraiths and Ruin duology. My post about the first book is located here.

DESCRIPTION (from Storygraph)
The highly-anticipated second—and final—book in the immersive fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore that began with the New York Times bestselling A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, from author Roseanne A. Brown.

Months have passed since the violent coup that upended Princess Karina’s life. She is now a fugitive racing across the desert to sanctuary in the Arkwasian Jungle, where she hopes to find allies to help her reclaim her kingdom from her adopted brother's clutches.

Meanwhile, Malik's illusion magic is flourishing under Farid's tutelage, but the bonds keeping the Faceless King trapped in his mind are weakening. His quest to best the spirit once and for all leads him deep into the dark history of his own ancestors, with an unlikely ally by his side—Princess Hanane, Karina's resurrected sister, who hides more secrets than even she realizes.

As the fabric holding Sonande together begins to tear, Malik and Karina once again find themselves on opposite sides of an ever-worsening conflict, even as their connection flares to a breaking point. And when the fate of the world hangs on a single, horrifying choice, they each must decide what they value most—a power that could transform the world, or a love that could transform their lives. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Karina and Malik continue their journeys as they learn more about themselves and how they may be connected to each other more than they previously realized. This book had me feeling all of the emotions - laughing, crying, stressing, fuming, celebrating, and on! Roseanne A. Brown has such a talent for storytelling and connecting the reader to the emotions on the page. Again, she began the book with content warnings and handled all of these topics with such care.

"A Note from the Author

Please note this book depicts issues of self-harm, fantasy violence, emotional and physical abuse, anxiety and panic attacks, grooming, and suicidal ideation. I have done my best to approach these topics with sensitivity, but if you feel this kind of content may be triggering, please be aware."

There was one scene in particular where there was a distinct shift in the writing that made me feel the anxiety and panic attack of the character building. There were so many moments where I felt so deeply connected to what was going on, but these feelings and moments were used with great care. I have read other books where harmful things are included with seemingly no purpose, but every single thing included in this book felt deeply personal and purposeful.

The way the characters developed as the story progressed and more information was revealed felt so real. I want to say it felt "human" but not all of the characters involved are strictly human, so... there's that. Though, I really enjoyed one particular non-human character that kept pointing out how the humans handled different things or viewed different things. It was interesting to see through the perspective of a character not confined to the mortality or limits of human existence how the way we view things can be very binary and restrictive. There were so many layers to this book and I loved every single one of them.

Additionally, there was a lot of "representation" that simply... existed. Nothing was some big thing - outside of the main premise and conflict in the book - that needed attention drawn to it. There wasn't any focus on how significant these things were, the characters simply were the way they were. I really appreciate that approach.

I loved this duology and especially the second book. It's not an uncommon thing for later books in a series to feel not as solid as the first book, but in this case it felt like the second built perfectly off of the first. 10/10 highly recommend (if you are able to handle the content mentioned in the author's note).


In conclusion:
Would you want to read another book by this author?
1000% yes. I vastly enjoyed her writing style and world building and character development.

Which character did you relate to, or empathize with, the most?
Malik. I want to expand on this answer more, but also don't really know how to describe it. His struggles and experiences were ones I deeply connected with for many reasons. 

Bonus question because I had to mention this character:
Which character did you like best?
Ife. They were also a character I related to, just not as closely as I did with Malik. They seemed to be neuro-divergent and very matter of fact. I absolutely loved them and want all the best things in life for them.

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