My rating:
Hi, everyone! I’m back with another review! Finally, after all this time. Today’s review is on Soundless by Richelle Mead. Now I’ve read some of Richelle Mead’s other books, like the Vampire Academy series and Bloodlines series, both of which were awesome! When I started Soundless, I expected a certain level of greatness from the novel, which might have been my downfall. Sometimes, especially when the story is so short, you just don’t like the novel, even if it is written by one of your favourite authors. And as much as it hurts me to admit it, I have to say that I wasn’t totally impressed by Soundless.
It’s not that the beginning wasn’t intriguing, because it was. I liked the way the world was built within the novel, with the surroundings, the characters, the social structure and the plot. When I started reading, I was really excited to find out what was happening to the community and how they were going to fix it. I wanted to know more about mythology surrounding the town, though. That was my only problem with the beginning.
As it progressed, things started getting interesting. Once they are on the search for answers in order to save their village, Fei and Li Wei (protagonist and love interest, respectively) learn more than they bargained for about the world outside of their village. I loved that moment when the characters realize that everything they knew to be true was actually wrong! Everything just falls into place, afterwards.
It was actually that moment when I started to lose interest in the novel. Once I knew where this was heading, I got kind of bored and started skimming the words and having to reread them again, only to want to skim them some more. There were times after the main realization where it was enticing and interesting, but not much. By the end of the novel, I was just happy to finish it and move onto something else. And what about all the other aspects that could have been explored in the novel if it the story was expanded a bit more? For instance, the state of government is briefly mentioned, which I find shocking, since they were the controlling factor. Since this is a standalone, I at least wanted to see the king’s downfall before the novel ended! What I’m trying to say is that it started off strong but finished a bit weak.
Those are my thoughts on Soundless by Richelle Mead. If you have any comments or questions you’d like to ask, please leave them in the comments section below. Until next time…
-Sumaya
January 1, 2016 at 12:31 am
I think this book sounds so cool but it hasn’t been getting the greatest review….sigh. Excellent review though: )
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January 1, 2016 at 5:52 pm
It does have a great blurb! And thank you! 😉
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January 15, 2016 at 4:37 pm
Great review! I was curious about this book. I saw it at the library and almost grabbed it. Sounds like maybe it’s a good thing I passed.
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May 13, 2016 at 12:20 pm
Thanks! And yeah, compared to her other books, this book isn’t worth the hype. 😉
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January 18, 2016 at 5:18 pm
Hi Sue, I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award because I think your blog is fab! Your review style is great and I really enjoy reading your posts. You can find out about the nomination here https://thebookshelfblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/the-liebster-award/
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May 13, 2016 at 6:48 am
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy reading my blog! 😀
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January 28, 2016 at 3:48 pm
The cover is so awesome but the story is not huh?
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May 13, 2016 at 6:53 am
Pretty much. 😉 The idea behind the story is great; it’s just the way Richelle Mead went about it that wasn’t so great (to me).
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February 4, 2016 at 6:02 pm
I wasn’t sure what to think of this book. I have picked up books from favorite authors and been horribly disappointed. I think, like you, I expected too much. Thanks for your review!
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May 13, 2016 at 6:55 am
I think that’s the downside to an author making a name for themselves in the book world; that we expect the best from them. I’m glad to hear I wasn’t the only one disappointed by this book! 🙂 Thanks for your input!
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