Inside Every Living Soul There Exists A Spark

I recently finished reading Song of Six Realms by Judy I. Lin.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT

  Rating: 3/5 stars

"Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.

With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. The young man is strangely kind and awkward for nobility, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.

But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.

The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms."

Ensure that anything written about Chinese mythology and folklore here is quite good. I clearly can see all those vibes, especially from the extensive world-building (too much actually). I didn't mean I didn't like those beautifully detailed descriptions of every place, but this book spends too much time just talking about that. I think there was a time when I didn't even know what was happening because no plot was actually developed. By halfway through, nothing important had happened; the main characters were just exploring celestial places. It started to interest me near the end, which is the peak of the storyline I've been waiting for. And it was kind of acceptable but not satisfying enough.

The characters themselves felt so bland; there was not much contribution from each of them except the main character. They were just there, existing without excitement in their actions. Also, I disliked the romance because it felt too forced. I mean, there was no romantic chemistry that grew between them with that only short time spent together, and suddenly they kissed each other? I'm so done with their romance after that because I came to the conclusion that their romantic feelings were so weird.

Overall, I didn't enjoy or like the book as much as I had hoped because with that beautiful cover, at least I had this little expectation for a great one. Maybe this book is meant to be enjoyed purely for the vibes during some short reading on a cozy day. Well, if it’s for that, I didn't get the agenda, so I'm putting this off my shelf, but I truly hope others would love this one.

Check out Song of Six Realms, and discover what happens when you enter the six realms.

Happy Reading :)