Book Review: Strange Sweet Song

Title: Strange Sweet Song

Author: Adi Rule

Genre: Gothic romance/fantasy/pure awesomeness

Book Blurb:

A young soprano enrolls in a remote music academy where nothing, not even her mysterious young vocal coach, is as it seems

Outside Dunhammond Conservatory, there lies a dark forest. And in the forest, they say, lives a great beast called the Felix. But Sing da Navelli never put much faith in the rumors and myths surrounding the school; music flows in her blood, and she is there to sing for real. This prestigious academy will finally give her the chance to prove her worth—not as the daughter of world-renowned musicians—but as an artist and leading lady in her own right.

Yet despite her best efforts, there seems to be something missing from her voice. Her doubts about her own talent are underscored by the fact that she is cast as the understudy in the school's production of her favorite opera, Angelique. Angelique was written at Dunhammond, and the legend says that the composer was inspired by forest surrounding the school, a place steeped in history, magic, and danger. But was it all a figment of his imagination, or are the fantastic figures in the opera more than imaginary? 

Sing must work with the mysterious Apprentice Nathan Daysmoor as her vocal coach, who is both her harshest critic and staunchest advocate. But Nathan has secrets of his own, secrets that are entwined with the myths and legends surrounding Dunhammond, and the great creature they say lives there.

Review:

What a stunning debut novel! Adi "Rules" the pages with Strange Sweet Song. This is one of those books that start off good and just keeps getting better and better as the plot moves on. It's kind of like getting hypnotized and getting drawn into the story the more you read...in my case, I started this book thinking it was okay/good. Maybe 3-4 stars at that point.

And then...halfway through the book, I began to realize Hey, this is actually really quite good! The plot is starting to make sense now! And I would've probably rated Strange Sweet Song a solid 4 stars at that point.

Fireside Chat with Adi Rule

Fireside Chat: n. The fireside chats were a series of thirty evening radio addresses given by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944...."fireside chats" were the first media development that facilitated intimate and direct communication between the president and the citizens of the United States. Roosevelt's cheery voice and demeanor played him into the favor of citizens and he soon became one of the most popular presidents ever, often affectionately compared to Abraham Lincoln. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireside_chats) 

Hiya everyone! I was thrilled to meet Adi Rule, author of Strange Sweet Song yesterday at the local library. Adi was soooo nice and friendly :-) I, along with some other fellow readers, were lucky enough to pick at Adi's brain for a good hour or so and ask any questions we wanted. We talked about a huge variety of topics, ranging from the steps it takes to get a book published to Adi's cat named Scooter.

I've organized this posts into sections discussing different topics for ease of reading.

My Impression of Adi Rule

Adi was such a sweet and friendly person! She didn't mind answering questions and was very funny. She answered each question very earnestly and didn't mind us asking some strange questions either :-) Plus, she also has a good narrator voice (she read a few chapters from her book out loud.)