- Title: Sorrowfish
- Author: Anne C. Miles
- Series: The Call of the Lorica
- Genre: Fantasy
- Publishing Date: August 30th, 2019
- Publishing Co.: Indie
- Length: 363 pages
- Format: Kindle Unlimited, Paperback
- Acquired: Given a free paperback copy in exchange for an honest review
- Amazon Link: Sorrowfish
TWO WORLDS ONE FATE
A bard. A wizard…and a college student from Kentucky.
Sara Moore is having crazy dreams. Gryphon and dragon crazy.
The scary part? Waking up, with scratches and splinters. Is she losing it because of stress? Her twin sister is in a coma. One more unfinished sculpture will fully tank her grades. Goodbye bachelor’s degree, hello failure.
It’s enough to make anyone sleepwalk.
Choosing to defy the Conclave, Trystan risks capture and mind control to find a magical lute through a shadow network. Dane meets a sinister stranger and barely escapes with his life. Together, guided by a fae only known as Sara, they will end an ancient curse…or die trying.
Final Judgment: 5 Stars out of 5
The Song is everywhere. It is what keeps the world alive. But it was broken long ago, and now Dissonance manifests itself as evil. Whenever someone lies or tricks another, the Dissonance grows. Lately, Dissonance has been overpowering The Song in Canard, and crops have not been growing as well as they should. Dane, the dewin luthier practices The Song in secret and creates illegal enchanted instruments for bards to use. Trystan is one such bard, dedicated learning more about The Song and ridding the world of Dissonance. They, along with Dane’s gnome friends, must risk everything to try to fix the Tree and restore The Song to its former glory. Will the Storm King awaken in time to defeat the evil Wyrm again? Luckily, Sara, a normal girl from our time, may be able to help as she crosses over into Dane’s world while she sleeps. Can she hear the song and use it to help his world?
This book was absolutely amazing. Let me just say that right now. If you were already thinking about reading it, go ahead and pick this book up; you don’t even have to read the rest of my review! I will say that I was a little hesitant from the title of the novel, as “Sorrowfish” just sounds a bit …strange. And not in a good way. But, the book definitely ties it in and actually makes me want to use this new word in my own daily life! Miles created something beautiful–with this one word and her entire novel, both.
As I read through, I discovered that I needed to grab a pencil and keep it with me. I normally HATE annotating books I read for fun, because I love keeping them as pristine as possible. But, I had to make an exception with this novel. There were just so many amazing insights into my own life and thoughts that I needed to record. These are lines that I know I will be going back to again and again in my life, and they were scattered throughout the novel. Each time I came across one, it resonated within my being, within my mind. This wasn’t just a book I was reading for fun–this was a book I needed to read. I needed to see these pieces of advice and insights into the world. I know that I will now become a better person because of them 🙂
Even if this book is not as awe-inspiring for you as it was for me, it is still a great, fun read! It takes you on an adventure, not just through one magical fantasy world, but also through our own contemporary world. There are all kinds of different races, each unique in their own right and each with their own motivations and lore. There are gnomes, Cyntae, fae, dewin, and chymaera. There are humans and stone riders, The Storm King and the Wrym. All of which are intertwined and have vital roles to play in this universe. The characters themselves are all fully fleshed, dynamic, and sympathetic. I felt as if I were traveling along beside them, ready to hear The Song.
I was also very impressed with the dialogue. I tend to be very picky with my dialogue, and if it sounds just a bit off or awkward, it throws me out of the book. But in this case, the dialogue was natural and witty. Each character had their own specific way of talking, especially Sara, who speaks in old movie quotes–a quirk to her character that was just enough to give her more realism, but not enough to become an overpowering idiosyncrasy. The dialogue flows smoothly throughout, and I could see each character’s motivations and thoughts behind what they were saying.
The writing style itself is also beautiful. The cadence of the words and sentences are even and each character fits with the others nicely. If each piece of this novel–dialogue, character, plot, writing style, etc.–were puzzle pieces, this novel was a large and fully completed puzzle. Each piece fit snugly with the others.
I seriously cannot gush enough about this novel. It was inspiring and honestly, life-changing. It helped change my perspective on a few things, and I am all for opening my eyes to the intricacies of the world around me. I just didn’t expect it in a fantasy novel! This was a great beginning to The Call of the Lorica series, and you can bet that I am going to continue with the next books! I’m all lined up to grab the second book as a pre-release!
The Book Dragon 