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Song of Phoenix and Ink Duology #1
Song of Phoenix and Ink
All Nadzia Kaminski wanted was to finish writing her novel.
When she finally finished the manuscript for Crimson Mayhem, she did what any writer would: gave it to her best friend to read. Her friend’s reaction, however, wasn’t what she had expected and, upset by her criticism, Nadzia left her at the café where they had met.
Waking up the next morning, Nadzia was no longer in her bedroom, finding herself in a world of her creation, surrounded by dangerous magic and vaguely familiar settings.
With a country at war and no clear way home, time is running out and Nadzia has to find a way to gain the trust of the very people she created and figure out her confusing feelings for two of her own characters.
She soon realizes stories aren’t perfect when there is no one left to write them.
When she finally finished the manuscript for Crimson Mayhem, she did what any writer would: gave it to her best friend to read. Her friend’s reaction, however, wasn’t what she had expected and, upset by her criticism, Nadzia left her at the café where they had met.
Waking up the next morning, Nadzia was no longer in her bedroom, finding herself in a world of her creation, surrounded by dangerous magic and vaguely familiar settings.
With a country at war and no clear way home, time is running out and Nadzia has to find a way to gain the trust of the very people she created and figure out her confusing feelings for two of her own characters.
She soon realizes stories aren’t perfect when there is no one left to write them.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2022
About the author
Margherita Scialla
5 books193 followersMargherita Scialla (they/them) is a gen-z author born and raised in Italy. They obsessively studied languages for years, only to drastically change paths and study design at university.
They now spend their days procrastinating and avoiding all and any responsibility (and getting their driving license) in order to read and write.
They now spend their days procrastinating and avoiding all and any responsibility (and getting their driving license) in order to read and write.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
April 11, 2023
Is it normal to get emotional over your own book or am I just a hopeless idiot?
Content Warnings: war, blood, death, animal death, violence, injury description, confinement, trafficking, anxiety, alcohol consumption.
Content Warnings: war, blood, death, animal death, violence, injury description, confinement, trafficking, anxiety, alcohol consumption.
April 14, 2026
⸺ 2 (generous) stars ⟢
"You can have my heart." His voice was sweet and tender and sincere. "You can have my heart and you can do whatever you want with it. You can cherish it and you can break it. It's yours."
꒰⚔️꒱ If the true beauty of books lies in their ability to grab readers by the hand and guide them across infinite worlds, sharing soul-crushing tales of all protagonists and villains alike, then my personal journey through the Song of Phoenix and Ink can only be compared to a funeral march. Let me preface by saying I do not wish to be rude or discourage the author in question by any means. I respect writers, especially those with enough courage and resources to independently publish their work for anyone to see, but I'm also a petty clown raised by YouTube comedians (like Kurtis Conner and Danny Gonzalez) by heart, and my Goodreads friends know I can sometimes indulge in sarcastic jabs as way to cope after a particularly unsatisfying read, so.
𑣲⋆˙⟡⋮ my thoughts ꒱
꒰💭꒱ Disliking this book hurts more than any ridiculous, one-star novella I read for entertainment purposes ever could. Not only because I rarely reach for full-fledged novels on my kindle and this was my first proper attempt at getting used to e-books, but also because my expectations after reading the synopsis were high, and having high expectations more often than not leads to disappointment. I like Margherita’s craft. I have read a bunch of their shorter works in the past, but as you can see, the standards between a proper fantasy book and a novella you can finish in an hour or so are drastically different. What mattered the most here were the hands' inability to follow the brain’s lead, I suppose. A problem that many artists, especially beginners, struggle with and me being a yapper who loves sharing their thoughts, but uses English as their third language can easily understand. The Song of Phoenix and ink was published in 2022, Margherita was obviously at the starting point of their creative journey at the time, and this book suffered immensely from being their second-born.
The foundation was there, I could almost see the author’s notebook with my very own eyes, every idea they had, plot points being scribbled down with a pen, waiting to be followed at a steady pace, but what the story really missed the most was heart and experience. There was no way for a reader to become immersed in the book. The language was light and easy to read, but the sheer simplicity of it and lack of any care towards picturing the world around us made everything appear flat and soulless. Like, I could easily deduce on my own that the field was vast, I could picture thin grass blades digging into the main character's bare feet as she walked. If the evening was approaching, then, of course, the air was slightly cold and the sky was slowly turning pink… But what else? Nothing. The only descriptions we got were the basic necessities, no smells, no details, no colors, no feelings. Simplistic writing can sometimes be on point, especially in a more modern setting or regarding stories heavily focused on dialogue, but in a fantasy novel (written in third person nonetheless)? This ain’t Central Park, you have to give me something of substance.
𑣲⋆˙⟡⋮ characters ꒱
꒰🪦꒱ The characters were a mess. Normally, I would divide this segment into different parts and try my best to scrutinize every person who mattered to the story, even in a simple sentence or two, but Margherita gave me nothing, so what am I supposed to write if the author themselves doesn’t give their babies a moment to shine? There were barely any casual interactions between the main character and her love interests, and Nadzia (being the author of Crimson Mayhem, of course) knew everyone better than the back of her own hand, sharing paragraphs of backstories and crucial information in her thoughts instead of allowing me the reader to get to know them at a natural pace. I’m aware it was in part inevitable, you can’t expect an author to act dumb and keep her mouth shut when she literally gave life to the entire world surrounding her, but if we focused more on developing relationships in between the group and let already established personalities develop into something not even the creator expected, then perhaps the initial info dump wouldn’t feel so stiff.
𑣲⋆˙⟡⋮ romance ꒱
꒰🥀꒱ Speaking about stiff, three hundred pages is a lot, a proper full release, especially compared to novellas Margherita usually writes, but three hundred pages is nowhere near enough to develop a complicated, polyamorous relationship in a setting that already feels new and complicated as it is. No, you know what? Scratch that, this wasn’t a relationship. I’m not going to give the benefit of the doubt to this book and call it a romance, because there was nothing romantic here. No tension, no courting. Nadzia spoke to both of the boys twice and suddenly all three of them were considering being together in the future. They were friends only because Nadzia already considered them as such, what she called flirting was barely a humorous interaction at best and all the important scenes between the two guys happened off-page! We only get a proper point of view of their growing feelings towards one another after the epilogue, reading bonus content (which I skimmed through because, honestly? Who cares about different povs when the characters were never that interesting to me in the first place).
𑣲⋆˙⟡⋮ on a final note ꒱
꒰🤍꒱ Overall, I believe in this idea. If Margherita ever considered rewriting the first book before deciding to publish the second one, I would happily read it again because I see potential in their plot. At the time the Song of Phoenix and Ink was written, this novel had no experience and writing comprehension to back the idea it was trying to convey. Perhaps if there was more substance, more pages, more patience or maybe even a dedicated editor with ideas of their own, I would’ve liked it more, but at the current state I can’t really recommend this story to anyone. I’m not a writer myself, I have no idea how hard it must be for a person to write an entire novel by themselves, but I am a reader and if I can both physically and mentally feel that I’m reading a book, without ever getting immersed, then something very important is lacking and should be fixed.
𑣲⋆˚࿔ p.s. I'm not good at writing long, proper reviews at all.
March 28, 2022
I have received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Song of Phoenix and Ink was a magical adventure. It was also pretty hard to put down once things started to happen. In this, you will meet Nadzia. She is an author who wrote a book. A book that she just so happens to magically enter. If you think being the author of this would give her an advantage throughout the adventure she's about to embark on, you'd be dead wrong. Mostly because everything changes once she's in the book.
Talk about unknown twists and turns. Now this isn't the first time I've read about someone falling into a book. I could probably count on one hand how many books I've read with this similar storyline. With that being said, each one had their own unique take on it and this one was pretty entertaining. I never once found myself bored or confused with what was happening.
In the end, I'm really happy that I got the chance to jump into this. Especially towards the end when we got the extra content and point of views from other people. Definitely excited to see what the next book will bring with how things ended in this one. The waiting period will suck but my excitement will never diminish.
Song of Phoenix and Ink was a magical adventure. It was also pretty hard to put down once things started to happen. In this, you will meet Nadzia. She is an author who wrote a book. A book that she just so happens to magically enter. If you think being the author of this would give her an advantage throughout the adventure she's about to embark on, you'd be dead wrong. Mostly because everything changes once she's in the book.
Talk about unknown twists and turns. Now this isn't the first time I've read about someone falling into a book. I could probably count on one hand how many books I've read with this similar storyline. With that being said, each one had their own unique take on it and this one was pretty entertaining. I never once found myself bored or confused with what was happening.
In the end, I'm really happy that I got the chance to jump into this. Especially towards the end when we got the extra content and point of views from other people. Definitely excited to see what the next book will bring with how things ended in this one. The waiting period will suck but my excitement will never diminish.
July 9, 2022
Thank you to Booksirens and the publishers for providing me with a free digital arc, to leave a voluntary and free review.
This story can be roughly described as a book within a book. When an author is faced with rejection towards the manuscript that contains all of her hard work - her blood, sweat, and tears, she finds herself even more concerned as she suddenly wakes up in the world that she created. While she tries to navigate through a life that is set in her own novel, she meets the characters who she spent years crafting, and the sentimental value of this journey is not allowed to last long as danger begins to strike. Upon arriving before the war plot point, Nadzia is forced to adapt to her surroundings and gain the trust of those whom she wrote to life before the story changes too much and it's too late to save everyone in her reach.
My personal opinions are my own - harsh and critical, but that should not impact a person's interest in reading this novel. I mentally noted this book as one of my most anticipated new releases, but I found myself extremely disappointed as it was not to my standard. The idea was lovely but my affection for this book does not go much past that standard. The writing style was too simplistic and abrupt for my preference, and it greatly affected my ability to stay immersed in the story as well as appreciate the plot being narrated to me. The characters are told to be so sentimental to the protagonist and I LOVED the illustrations of each of them, but there was hardly any time for proper development so I didn't feel attached to, particularly any of their personalities, and I just rather distinguished them based on their looks. (This might just be me but Kagen felt like a knock-off of the one and only Elfhame King, Cardan Greenbriar, and I just could not deal with it). The romance felt really rushed and underdeveloped, so felt no attachment to the abrupt polyamorous relationship that the author attempted to implement in their novel. The world-building was quite shaky and it was difficult to understand the reasoning behind Nadzia being transported into her book, as that was not explained at all. Also, just a minor personal complaint - I am a huge fan of cliffhangers IF they are done right; the cliffhanger in this book felt like the end to a chapter, not the end of a novel. I just felt okay and had no suspense or shock, most likely due to my detachment from the characters and the actual plot itself.
Overall, I think that with some more writing experience, this author could make the second novel into something that is fantastically written and developed. I will be picking up the second part upon its release and hopefully see some stronger characterization and world-building taking place. I am interested in the growth of this upcoming duology and I am grateful to Booksirens for providing me with a copy of this novel.
This story can be roughly described as a book within a book. When an author is faced with rejection towards the manuscript that contains all of her hard work - her blood, sweat, and tears, she finds herself even more concerned as she suddenly wakes up in the world that she created. While she tries to navigate through a life that is set in her own novel, she meets the characters who she spent years crafting, and the sentimental value of this journey is not allowed to last long as danger begins to strike. Upon arriving before the war plot point, Nadzia is forced to adapt to her surroundings and gain the trust of those whom she wrote to life before the story changes too much and it's too late to save everyone in her reach.
My personal opinions are my own - harsh and critical, but that should not impact a person's interest in reading this novel. I mentally noted this book as one of my most anticipated new releases, but I found myself extremely disappointed as it was not to my standard. The idea was lovely but my affection for this book does not go much past that standard. The writing style was too simplistic and abrupt for my preference, and it greatly affected my ability to stay immersed in the story as well as appreciate the plot being narrated to me. The characters are told to be so sentimental to the protagonist and I LOVED the illustrations of each of them, but there was hardly any time for proper development so I didn't feel attached to, particularly any of their personalities, and I just rather distinguished them based on their looks. (This might just be me but Kagen felt like a knock-off of the one and only Elfhame King, Cardan Greenbriar, and I just could not deal with it). The romance felt really rushed and underdeveloped, so felt no attachment to the abrupt polyamorous relationship that the author attempted to implement in their novel. The world-building was quite shaky and it was difficult to understand the reasoning behind Nadzia being transported into her book, as that was not explained at all. Also, just a minor personal complaint - I am a huge fan of cliffhangers IF they are done right; the cliffhanger in this book felt like the end to a chapter, not the end of a novel. I just felt okay and had no suspense or shock, most likely due to my detachment from the characters and the actual plot itself.
Overall, I think that with some more writing experience, this author could make the second novel into something that is fantastically written and developed. I will be picking up the second part upon its release and hopefully see some stronger characterization and world-building taking place. I am interested in the growth of this upcoming duology and I am grateful to Booksirens for providing me with a copy of this novel.
October 24, 2022
"You can have my heart." His voice was sweet and tender and sincere. "You can have my heart and you can do whatever you want with it. You can cherish it and you can break it. It's yours."
Thanks to the author for providing me a free E-Book in exchange for a honest review.
2.75, but rounding up to 3 stars.
EDIT: while writing review I realized I didn't like it enough for such rating. 2 stars.
To me, this felt like a great idea that was executed a bit poorly. It was a bit to fast-paced for my taste (however if you are into fast-paced books, this might be perfect for you) and it felt like it lacked the world building that's usually quite important for fantasy. I missed some further explanation of characters powers and what their world was like.
I felt like the pacing was really inconsistent, like the mood changes so drastically sometimes without any proper explanation/build up. It just felt like there was just lots of writing stuff, without actually showing them. We get told that certain characters usually act a certain way, but we get no actions that would actually support the idea. We are just told things happen one after the other, but we don't actually experience it with the characters.
I also had a mixed feelings about the main character. Like at times I appreciated that she was honest with what she was feeling and told whatever was on her mind. But at other times (especially at the beginning) she was acting rather childish but also like she is a superior. Sure, she created those characters but girl, you are in their world now, it doesn't matter whether you created it, you don't know how to function in it.
I was also slightly bothered by how simple this book was. But I think this is mostly due to the standards I have for NA fantasy, but I genuinely don't know why this wouldn't be suited for YA. Sure, the characters are over 20, but they don't really act like it (most of the time). There also wasn't any graphic/explicit scenes so...? I don't know.
See now that I've written my review I'm really starting to think what about this book did I actually like. Besides the idea, which really was good, because it was the main thing that grabbed my interest. The more I think about the relationships, the less chemistry I remember between them. It was all quite rushed and done over just 2 short conversations.
Still, give it a shot if you're into fast paced fantasy with good LGBT representation.
Thanks to the author for providing me a free E-Book in exchange for a honest review.
2.75, but rounding up to 3 stars.
EDIT: while writing review I realized I didn't like it enough for such rating. 2 stars.
To me, this felt like a great idea that was executed a bit poorly. It was a bit to fast-paced for my taste (however if you are into fast-paced books, this might be perfect for you) and it felt like it lacked the world building that's usually quite important for fantasy. I missed some further explanation of characters powers and what their world was like.
I felt like the pacing was really inconsistent, like the mood changes so drastically sometimes without any proper explanation/build up. It just felt like there was just lots of writing stuff, without actually showing them. We get told that certain characters usually act a certain way, but we get no actions that would actually support the idea. We are just told things happen one after the other, but we don't actually experience it with the characters.
I also had a mixed feelings about the main character. Like at times I appreciated that she was honest with what she was feeling and told whatever was on her mind. But at other times (especially at the beginning) she was acting rather childish but also like she is a superior. Sure, she created those characters but girl, you are in their world now, it doesn't matter whether you created it, you don't know how to function in it.
I was also slightly bothered by how simple this book was. But I think this is mostly due to the standards I have for NA fantasy, but I genuinely don't know why this wouldn't be suited for YA. Sure, the characters are over 20, but they don't really act like it (most of the time). There also wasn't any graphic/explicit scenes so...? I don't know.
See now that I've written my review I'm really starting to think what about this book did I actually like. Besides the idea, which really was good, because it was the main thing that grabbed my interest. The more I think about the relationships, the less chemistry I remember between them. It was all quite rushed and done over just 2 short conversations.
Still, give it a shot if you're into fast paced fantasy with good LGBT representation.
September 18, 2022
1.5
Song of Phoenix and Ink is a story following Nadzia, who spent years writing her fantasy novel, Crimson Mayhem. She, of course, gave it to her best friend to read, but she got a different reaction than the one she expected. Upset about that, she goes home, but when she wakes up the next morning, she discovered she has somehow been transported to her own book. However, as she is now a new character, the story seems to go in a different direction than what Nadzia wrote. She has to gain the trust of the characters she wrote and find a way home as war looms in the fantasy land she created.
I am, honestly, really sad that I didn't like this book as much as I hoped I would. It truly seemed like everything I would enjoy, and yet the execution really didn't live up to my expectations as I found most of it underwhelming. For me, the novel felt like the bones of a good story, but not fully explored. Reading this felt like someone was telling me the gist of a story I would've really enjoyed reading, but it was, sadly, underdeveloped. I think the novel had a lot of potential, and I am sure that the next book can be everything I thought this one would be.
As far as the plot goes, I thought the book had an interesting premise. I really loved the idea of an author getting sucked into their own book and then having to get to know their characters and form actual connections with them as people rather than just letters on a page. But a lot of things fell short for me. The writing is very simple, which is not an issue by itself, but in this case, it amplified the feeling of the story being underdeveloped. Especially for a fantasy book, the lack of descriptions of the world or the characters' powers was felt throughout.
An issue I had was that everything was too simple and the story was just jumping along without painting a picture of what was happening - it made the pacing seem choppy and disjointed. A lot of things were just listed rather than written in a way that makes you immersed in the story. This is why I say it feels like someone was just telling me about a book they read - it feels exactly like that. We are just told things happen one after the other but as readers, we do not experience it with the characters. We are just told Nadzia's characters are this way or that way, without us ever seeing it happen. We are told someone feels this way, without anything showing it. The book did a great deal of telling us what was happening, but not of actually showing us through the characters' actions and even thoughts. We are told Nadzia was desperate to get home, but she does nothing to actually do so. There were so many instances like this one, but I'm being vague for the sake of this review staying spoiler free.
In the beginning, Nadzia gets very upset at her friends for the criticisms of her book, which is understandable, but she reacts very childishly just running off. I understand this is something she worked very hard on, but at the end of the day Nadzia did ask for her opinion, and (in my opinion) reacted very abruptly. On the other hand, her friend did choose a very strange approach to voicing her opinion, it was quite rude and she definitely could've been nicer about it. However, this brings me to another issue I had, which was that the book reads much younger than I expected. The book is marked as NA, and the characters are in their early 20s, but they do seem quite young and immature. The tone of the story overall, and the characters' actions definitely seem more like YA rather than NA. Nothing wrong with that by itself, either, but not something I expected. The simplicity and the way things happen all of the sudden really do bring this even more out.
The characters had a lot of potential to be really interesting, but we were again told who they were without really being shown anything. As Nadzia is their creator, she just lists their characteristics and personalities (often to them, as proof of her identity as the author) and very little of that is actually visible through the story itself. The characters all have powers, and almost no one is fully human but I often forgot that as we didn't really see how any of that was relevant to the story. The characters' arcs also feel quite underdeveloped, and this aspect of the novel suffered from the same issue the plot did - telling, not showing; and everything happening too suddenly with no build-up.
What I mean by this is we would be told by Nadzia that she wants to gain their trust, them trusting her more almost immediately, her hiding one (kind of inconsequential) thing, them immediately not trusting her anymore. The friendships she formed with the characters were built with one or two conversations at most. None of the relationships she forms with other characters feel organic, they either feel like they came out of nowhere or like I skipped many pages for them to be this close. I did like the illustrations of the characters that were featured in the book though, I thought that was a great addition. What I did like is that the cast of characters was diverse. There was bisexual, lesbian and polyamorous rep which I really liked. Besides that, one of the characters was mute and using sign language).
As far as characters themselves go, I wish we saw more of them. To be fair, most of them were present for the majority of the book, but I don't think we actually got to know any of them. I could tell you very little about all of them without sounding like I'm feeding you a list of traits with no actual personalities. They all were presented as completely different people, of course, but on page, they were pretty indistinguishable. My favorite characters were Hedyah and Faleece - we do see the least of them probably, but they made a cute couple and I felt like they had the most personality. King Lucjan, Dacey, and Xayvion (until a certain point) really didn't feel that three-dimensional most of the time.
Xayvion becomes more prominent in the second half when he and Nadzia develop feelings for each other, which I honestly completely missed. They have two conversations in the middle of the night, and all of the sudden they're in love. Besides them, there was Kagen, the elf king, Nadzia's other love interest. He gets introduced by Nadzia as outwardly cold, but much softer on the inside. He was definitely written to be your typical male love interest, but honestly, I'm not sure why. We never see him be really cold or manipulative or anything of the sort. He pretended to be that for maybe a split second upon their first meeting, but he dropped the act super fast.
To be fair, I think this book was quite short for what it tried to achieve, and that was its downfall. I think everything in the story needed more, the relationships needed more time to feel authentic, and the preparations for war needed to be more detailed and more explored for it to feel like the stakes are as high as they should have been. Nadzia's quest to go home should've been explored more (or at all, if I'm being honest). I was also really confused as to why Nadzia finds herself a part of her book, that was truly never elaborated on.
All in all, I am really sad about not liking this book. I was actually super excited about reading it, but it left me underwhelmed. If you are still interested in the book, give it a go, maybe you will like it more than I did. I still think the idea of it was great and had potential, so I have high hopes that the second book will improve the issues I had with this one!
Thank you to Book Sirens for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!
Song of Phoenix and Ink is a story following Nadzia, who spent years writing her fantasy novel, Crimson Mayhem. She, of course, gave it to her best friend to read, but she got a different reaction than the one she expected. Upset about that, she goes home, but when she wakes up the next morning, she discovered she has somehow been transported to her own book. However, as she is now a new character, the story seems to go in a different direction than what Nadzia wrote. She has to gain the trust of the characters she wrote and find a way home as war looms in the fantasy land she created.
I am, honestly, really sad that I didn't like this book as much as I hoped I would. It truly seemed like everything I would enjoy, and yet the execution really didn't live up to my expectations as I found most of it underwhelming. For me, the novel felt like the bones of a good story, but not fully explored. Reading this felt like someone was telling me the gist of a story I would've really enjoyed reading, but it was, sadly, underdeveloped. I think the novel had a lot of potential, and I am sure that the next book can be everything I thought this one would be.
As far as the plot goes, I thought the book had an interesting premise. I really loved the idea of an author getting sucked into their own book and then having to get to know their characters and form actual connections with them as people rather than just letters on a page. But a lot of things fell short for me. The writing is very simple, which is not an issue by itself, but in this case, it amplified the feeling of the story being underdeveloped. Especially for a fantasy book, the lack of descriptions of the world or the characters' powers was felt throughout.
An issue I had was that everything was too simple and the story was just jumping along without painting a picture of what was happening - it made the pacing seem choppy and disjointed. A lot of things were just listed rather than written in a way that makes you immersed in the story. This is why I say it feels like someone was just telling me about a book they read - it feels exactly like that. We are just told things happen one after the other but as readers, we do not experience it with the characters. We are just told Nadzia's characters are this way or that way, without us ever seeing it happen. We are told someone feels this way, without anything showing it. The book did a great deal of telling us what was happening, but not of actually showing us through the characters' actions and even thoughts. We are told Nadzia was desperate to get home, but she does nothing to actually do so. There were so many instances like this one, but I'm being vague for the sake of this review staying spoiler free.
In the beginning, Nadzia gets very upset at her friends for the criticisms of her book, which is understandable, but she reacts very childishly just running off. I understand this is something she worked very hard on, but at the end of the day Nadzia did ask for her opinion, and (in my opinion) reacted very abruptly. On the other hand, her friend did choose a very strange approach to voicing her opinion, it was quite rude and she definitely could've been nicer about it. However, this brings me to another issue I had, which was that the book reads much younger than I expected. The book is marked as NA, and the characters are in their early 20s, but they do seem quite young and immature. The tone of the story overall, and the characters' actions definitely seem more like YA rather than NA. Nothing wrong with that by itself, either, but not something I expected. The simplicity and the way things happen all of the sudden really do bring this even more out.
The characters had a lot of potential to be really interesting, but we were again told who they were without really being shown anything. As Nadzia is their creator, she just lists their characteristics and personalities (often to them, as proof of her identity as the author) and very little of that is actually visible through the story itself. The characters all have powers, and almost no one is fully human but I often forgot that as we didn't really see how any of that was relevant to the story. The characters' arcs also feel quite underdeveloped, and this aspect of the novel suffered from the same issue the plot did - telling, not showing; and everything happening too suddenly with no build-up.
What I mean by this is we would be told by Nadzia that she wants to gain their trust, them trusting her more almost immediately, her hiding one (kind of inconsequential) thing, them immediately not trusting her anymore. The friendships she formed with the characters were built with one or two conversations at most. None of the relationships she forms with other characters feel organic, they either feel like they came out of nowhere or like I skipped many pages for them to be this close. I did like the illustrations of the characters that were featured in the book though, I thought that was a great addition. What I did like is that the cast of characters was diverse. There was bisexual, lesbian and polyamorous rep which I really liked. Besides that, one of the characters was mute and using sign language).
As far as characters themselves go, I wish we saw more of them. To be fair, most of them were present for the majority of the book, but I don't think we actually got to know any of them. I could tell you very little about all of them without sounding like I'm feeding you a list of traits with no actual personalities. They all were presented as completely different people, of course, but on page, they were pretty indistinguishable. My favorite characters were Hedyah and Faleece - we do see the least of them probably, but they made a cute couple and I felt like they had the most personality. King Lucjan, Dacey, and Xayvion (until a certain point) really didn't feel that three-dimensional most of the time.
Xayvion becomes more prominent in the second half when he and Nadzia develop feelings for each other, which I honestly completely missed. They have two conversations in the middle of the night, and all of the sudden they're in love. Besides them, there was Kagen, the elf king, Nadzia's other love interest. He gets introduced by Nadzia as outwardly cold, but much softer on the inside. He was definitely written to be your typical male love interest, but honestly, I'm not sure why. We never see him be really cold or manipulative or anything of the sort. He pretended to be that for maybe a split second upon their first meeting, but he dropped the act super fast.
To be fair, I think this book was quite short for what it tried to achieve, and that was its downfall. I think everything in the story needed more, the relationships needed more time to feel authentic, and the preparations for war needed to be more detailed and more explored for it to feel like the stakes are as high as they should have been. Nadzia's quest to go home should've been explored more (or at all, if I'm being honest). I was also really confused as to why Nadzia finds herself a part of her book, that was truly never elaborated on.
All in all, I am really sad about not liking this book. I was actually super excited about reading it, but it left me underwhelmed. If you are still interested in the book, give it a go, maybe you will like it more than I did. I still think the idea of it was great and had potential, so I have high hopes that the second book will improve the issues I had with this one!
Thank you to Book Sirens for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!
June 15, 2023
A story with a female writer as the main character? Yes! Nadzia is a wonderful writer, creating fantastical worlds with amazing storylines. She hits her first roadblock when her friend reads the story for the first time and instantly dislikes it. This breaks Nadzia's heart. Sad that her story didn't receive the kind of response she wanted, she somehow finds herself in a world different than her own. There's only so much time before she realises that she's inside her very own story. She knows the where but she doesn't know the how. Her only goal becomes to get out of the world she had so diligently created. Which should be easy right, because she's the one who wrote it so she already knows all the characters and working of the world at large? Only that she's gravely mistaken. Both her characters and the world they live in have so many layers that go deeper than what Nadzia created.
I loved the character development and the world building. I have not read many books with polyamory so reading about Nadzia's relationship with two of her own characters was intriguing. It is fast paced and overall very interesting. I liked how the characters go from simple to complex as Nadzia tries to find her way out of their world.
A writer falling into their own story only to realise they don't fully know about it although they wrote each word themselves? Sold. The story ends on a cliffhanger and I am looking forward to the sequel. Recommended.
I loved the character development and the world building. I have not read many books with polyamory so reading about Nadzia's relationship with two of her own characters was intriguing. It is fast paced and overall very interesting. I liked how the characters go from simple to complex as Nadzia tries to find her way out of their world.
A writer falling into their own story only to realise they don't fully know about it although they wrote each word themselves? Sold. The story ends on a cliffhanger and I am looking forward to the sequel. Recommended.
May 23, 2022
Thank you to the author for providing an e-book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
3.5/5 Rounded up.
Song of Phoenix and Ink follows Nadzia, who is a young author. After her best friend reads and hates her manuscript, she feels betrayed and angry. But magic is at play and Nadzia wakes up inside her novel. Meeting her OCs is something else, but as the plot of her novel begins to change, suddenly Nadzia and her new friends are in incredible danger.
This was a fun novel. I did enjoy it overall. I definitely forgot the premise of this between signing up to read it and reading it. I was a fun plot, though I wish the magic of how Nadzia actually makes it into the novel was explored more. She spends so much of her time inside her novel trying to get out and then the plotline gets left behind in favor of battle.
The writing and characters were fine overall, but I didn't feel a huge connection to either. I wasn't particularly invested in Nadzia's journey. I did enjoy the fantasy world she created and then entered though and I would like to know more about it. We don't get to learn too much aside from the war that's coming.
Something else that bothered me is that this was sold to me as a polyamorous love story, but we don't ever see the poly triad come to happen. The third partner blatantly objects to it. I'm not sure if this will be resolved in the second one, but I was kind of annoyed by that.
Rep: white polyamorous cis female MC with anxiety, white polyamorous bisexual cis male elf side character, BIPOC cishet male side character, BIPOC cis male side character, white sapphic cis female side character, BIPOC sapphic cis female side character who uses sign language, white cishet male shapeshifter side character.
CWs: War, violence, injury/injury detail, murder, death, blood, medical content, confinement. Moderate: alcohol consumption, animal death, trafficking/sale of 1 human being, fire/fire injury, mental illness (anxiety), panic/anxiety attacks.
3.5/5 Rounded up.
Song of Phoenix and Ink follows Nadzia, who is a young author. After her best friend reads and hates her manuscript, she feels betrayed and angry. But magic is at play and Nadzia wakes up inside her novel. Meeting her OCs is something else, but as the plot of her novel begins to change, suddenly Nadzia and her new friends are in incredible danger.
This was a fun novel. I did enjoy it overall. I definitely forgot the premise of this between signing up to read it and reading it. I was a fun plot, though I wish the magic of how Nadzia actually makes it into the novel was explored more. She spends so much of her time inside her novel trying to get out and then the plotline gets left behind in favor of battle.
The writing and characters were fine overall, but I didn't feel a huge connection to either. I wasn't particularly invested in Nadzia's journey. I did enjoy the fantasy world she created and then entered though and I would like to know more about it. We don't get to learn too much aside from the war that's coming.
Something else that bothered me is that this was sold to me as a polyamorous love story, but we don't ever see the poly triad come to happen. The third partner blatantly objects to it. I'm not sure if this will be resolved in the second one, but I was kind of annoyed by that.
Rep: white polyamorous cis female MC with anxiety, white polyamorous bisexual cis male elf side character, BIPOC cishet male side character, BIPOC cis male side character, white sapphic cis female side character, BIPOC sapphic cis female side character who uses sign language, white cishet male shapeshifter side character.
CWs: War, violence, injury/injury detail, murder, death, blood, medical content, confinement. Moderate: alcohol consumption, animal death, trafficking/sale of 1 human being, fire/fire injury, mental illness (anxiety), panic/anxiety attacks.
May 2, 2022
How can They How can SHE How can YOU MY GODS BEGGING FOR A SEQUEL RN
May 24, 2022
“this world isn’t real and neither are you… you think you own your lives but they were actually all chosen and molded by someone else.”
i’m sure you all know the familiar childhood narrative of children ending up inside the fantasy world of their fiction. i grew up on these stories. which is, why, when the author reached out to my to review an arc of this story, i couldn’t deny it. this book simultaneously felt nostalgic, and hilarious, and something that i most definitely overthought more than was probably intended. at least for me, i found similarities in vibe to acotar, so for my sarah j. maas fans who are looking for a something a little less faerie-smut and a little more diverse, this is the perfect read.
this book follows nadzia, writer who somehow ends waking up in the land of her own creation, meeting the characters she spent so long falling in love with in her head. xayvion, who can feel people’s emotions, dacey, a shapeshifter, hedyah, and faleece (who uses sign language), the valkryies, lucjan, king, and kagen, elf king. besides her onslaught of feelings towards xayvion and kagen, nadzia also unfortunately entered her story at the brink of the war she started with her pen, and no way home.
besides the typical fantasy-novel outline, the added aspect that nadzia was in a world of her own creation drew me in. she communicates with characters fully of her own imagination, and yet they are real, they don’t stick to the confines she wrote them in. how real can xayvion be if nadzia determined his fate, but he is still breathing on his own? about dacey, who surprised nadzia in his mannerisms? about what she didn’t write, about the world taking on it’s own shape? because this is the first in a duology, i really hope we get more of these answers in the sequel, but the logistics of these character arcs were so engaging!
though not a romance, this book does have polyamorous themes and characters, which is rare to see in a fantasy! and there are very cute and ferocious big cats! and cool training montages! though not necessarily the most deep or artistic writing i’ve ever read, this fantasy was the perfect balance of emotions, curiosity, and light-hearted storytelling to keep me engaged! i highly recommend, + i think it could be a good start for those looking to get into fantasy as well. thank you margherita for providing me with an arc!!
content warnings: war, violence, injury, murder, death, blood, medical content, animal death, anxiety attack, alcohol consumption, fire/fire injury, trafficking/sale of a human being
i’m sure you all know the familiar childhood narrative of children ending up inside the fantasy world of their fiction. i grew up on these stories. which is, why, when the author reached out to my to review an arc of this story, i couldn’t deny it. this book simultaneously felt nostalgic, and hilarious, and something that i most definitely overthought more than was probably intended. at least for me, i found similarities in vibe to acotar, so for my sarah j. maas fans who are looking for a something a little less faerie-smut and a little more diverse, this is the perfect read.
this book follows nadzia, writer who somehow ends waking up in the land of her own creation, meeting the characters she spent so long falling in love with in her head. xayvion, who can feel people’s emotions, dacey, a shapeshifter, hedyah, and faleece (who uses sign language), the valkryies, lucjan, king, and kagen, elf king. besides her onslaught of feelings towards xayvion and kagen, nadzia also unfortunately entered her story at the brink of the war she started with her pen, and no way home.
besides the typical fantasy-novel outline, the added aspect that nadzia was in a world of her own creation drew me in. she communicates with characters fully of her own imagination, and yet they are real, they don’t stick to the confines she wrote them in. how real can xayvion be if nadzia determined his fate, but he is still breathing on his own? about dacey, who surprised nadzia in his mannerisms? about what she didn’t write, about the world taking on it’s own shape? because this is the first in a duology, i really hope we get more of these answers in the sequel, but the logistics of these character arcs were so engaging!
though not a romance, this book does have polyamorous themes and characters, which is rare to see in a fantasy! and there are very cute and ferocious big cats! and cool training montages! though not necessarily the most deep or artistic writing i’ve ever read, this fantasy was the perfect balance of emotions, curiosity, and light-hearted storytelling to keep me engaged! i highly recommend, + i think it could be a good start for those looking to get into fantasy as well. thank you margherita for providing me with an arc!!
content warnings: war, violence, injury, murder, death, blood, medical content, animal death, anxiety attack, alcohol consumption, fire/fire injury, trafficking/sale of a human being
March 4, 2022
The author was nice enough to give me an arc of Song of Phoenix and Song and it is incredible! I really fell in love with this world, the characters, and this story.
Nadzia is thrown into the world that she created through her writing. The characters are immediately suspicious of her motives and story. When Nadzia’s plot starts unfolding, they are forced to trust her. The only problem is, the plot is unfolding differently than Nadzia wrote it.
The relationships Nadzia starts to form are incredible. She learns that the characters she had written are deeper and have more layers than even she knew. I absolutely loved watching the poly relationship between Xayvion, Kagen, and Nadzia evolve. Even though they were short on time, they learned what it meant to care for one another.
I don’t normally enjoy the trope of someone being sucked into a story because I am always scared of the ending, plus it can be overdone. Though, Song of Phoenix and Ink was a fresh new twist and I really enjoyed this book.
That ending really left me hanging and I need the second book immediately. Fans of romantasy check this book out, I highly recommend!
Nadzia is thrown into the world that she created through her writing. The characters are immediately suspicious of her motives and story. When Nadzia’s plot starts unfolding, they are forced to trust her. The only problem is, the plot is unfolding differently than Nadzia wrote it.
The relationships Nadzia starts to form are incredible. She learns that the characters she had written are deeper and have more layers than even she knew. I absolutely loved watching the poly relationship between Xayvion, Kagen, and Nadzia evolve. Even though they were short on time, they learned what it meant to care for one another.
I don’t normally enjoy the trope of someone being sucked into a story because I am always scared of the ending, plus it can be overdone. Though, Song of Phoenix and Ink was a fresh new twist and I really enjoyed this book.
That ending really left me hanging and I need the second book immediately. Fans of romantasy check this book out, I highly recommend!
April 11, 2022
I received an arc by the author in exchange for an honest review 😊
•
I really enjoyed this book. The writing is very clean and the plot was fast paced. In the beginning it was a little too fast paced in my opinion. But the pacing got better after we were introduced to the Elf Realm and Kagen. I started to really get into the story and we got to learn more about the characters. As a character-focused reader I really appreciated that. The love story was cute and this is the way to write love triangles! The ending surprised me and I really liked.
•
All in all a great fast paced fantasy story with cute moments and the best part are definitely the great unique creatures and species.
•
I really enjoyed this book. The writing is very clean and the plot was fast paced. In the beginning it was a little too fast paced in my opinion. But the pacing got better after we were introduced to the Elf Realm and Kagen. I started to really get into the story and we got to learn more about the characters. As a character-focused reader I really appreciated that. The love story was cute and this is the way to write love triangles! The ending surprised me and I really liked.
•
All in all a great fast paced fantasy story with cute moments and the best part are definitely the great unique creatures and species.
April 11, 2022
When she wrote her book she never imagined she’d end up inside it…
After receiving a rather disappointing opinion from her best friend about her book, Nadzia finds herself in a new world. How?, she has no idea. But somehow the world she created came alive, she’s in it and worst of all her characters aren’t as friendly as she imagined them when she mets them. She realizes that she has to find a way home and a way to make her characters trust her enough to help them, her appearance made huge changes in the plot and if she want to survive, she’ll have to fight alongside them.
This book was such a funny, heartbreaking read. It took me out of my comfort zone and gave me something I didn’t expect, it really surprised me how much I loved it. Characters are lovable and relatable, funny and interesting and the world building was pretty good.
After receiving a rather disappointing opinion from her best friend about her book, Nadzia finds herself in a new world. How?, she has no idea. But somehow the world she created came alive, she’s in it and worst of all her characters aren’t as friendly as she imagined them when she mets them. She realizes that she has to find a way home and a way to make her characters trust her enough to help them, her appearance made huge changes in the plot and if she want to survive, she’ll have to fight alongside them.
This book was such a funny, heartbreaking read. It took me out of my comfort zone and gave me something I didn’t expect, it really surprised me how much I loved it. Characters are lovable and relatable, funny and interesting and the world building was pretty good.
December 15, 2022
I dont think i have ever read a premise that is an author gets sucked into their own book and becomes a character, but i have definitely seen anime like this, so this book totally reminded me of an isekai (the concept of traveling to another world from the real world for an unknown reason). I actually had a lot of fun with this one! Margherita asked me to read this book and when i tell yall i heard the word queer poly relationship and ran, i did just that. This book is very simple in plot, so its very easy to read and get caught up in all the emotions. I think the whole time i was reading this i was hoping for more. More of the world, more of the relationships, everything. Like, HOW COULD YOU CUT ME OFF LIKE THAT MARGHERITA!?!? Ill never forgive you *cries* Regardless, I think that this was a very easy read and enjoyable my only complaint is that I hoped for more, so hopefully the second book delivers and gives me a cute HEA (happy ever after) with my three babies. I love them so much. Thank you so so again Margherita for this book and putting your books on my radar! I cannot wait to see how you develop as a writer!
I would recommend this book to anyone who like easy to read fantasy with isekai concept, queer main and side characters and plot twists!
I would recommend this book to anyone who like easy to read fantasy with isekai concept, queer main and side characters and plot twists!
June 29, 2022
"Maybe a nap would make everything better”
Same Nadzia, same.
Nadzia is an aspiring author. After receiving some not so great criticism about her manuscript, she becomes angry and heads home to sleep it off. When she wakes up, magic has been at play and she is now inside of her story. Nadzia quickly comes to the conclusion that events are not playing out the way she originally wrote them. She now has to navigate a world headed to war while trying to gain the trust of the characters she created.
Song of Phoenix and Ink was really fun to get lost in for a little while. I fell in love with the world itself, especially when elves were introduced. What can I say, I’m a sucker for elves. Each of the characters has a unique personality that I could feel myself connecting with. Lucjan made some questionable choices, but a king usually has to and by the end I wasn’t so mad at him anymore. There are some fun twists and I think Nadzia does grow into herself by the end.
At the end of the story the author does provide POV’s from some of the other characters as certain events were taking place. I thought it was a great addition because I’m always curious what they may be thinking in those moments too. I would have loved a villain perspective, but that’s because I’m always curious about a villains motivations and how they really see everything. There is also character art throughout which I LOVED!
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this story! I’ll be keeping my eye out for the sequel to see what happens next with this group! Also, I don’t know why, but I fell in love with Xayvion immediately for some reason.
“You can’t choose who to fall in love with, but you can eventually choose who to love.”
Rep: polyamorous themes, bisexual side characters, sapphic side characters, use of sign language.
Triggers: war, death, blood, animal death, anxiety, confinement,
Same Nadzia, same.
Nadzia is an aspiring author. After receiving some not so great criticism about her manuscript, she becomes angry and heads home to sleep it off. When she wakes up, magic has been at play and she is now inside of her story. Nadzia quickly comes to the conclusion that events are not playing out the way she originally wrote them. She now has to navigate a world headed to war while trying to gain the trust of the characters she created.
Song of Phoenix and Ink was really fun to get lost in for a little while. I fell in love with the world itself, especially when elves were introduced. What can I say, I’m a sucker for elves. Each of the characters has a unique personality that I could feel myself connecting with. Lucjan made some questionable choices, but a king usually has to and by the end I wasn’t so mad at him anymore. There are some fun twists and I think Nadzia does grow into herself by the end.
At the end of the story the author does provide POV’s from some of the other characters as certain events were taking place. I thought it was a great addition because I’m always curious what they may be thinking in those moments too. I would have loved a villain perspective, but that’s because I’m always curious about a villains motivations and how they really see everything. There is also character art throughout which I LOVED!
Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this story! I’ll be keeping my eye out for the sequel to see what happens next with this group! Also, I don’t know why, but I fell in love with Xayvion immediately for some reason.
“You can’t choose who to fall in love with, but you can eventually choose who to love.”
Rep: polyamorous themes, bisexual side characters, sapphic side characters, use of sign language.
Triggers: war, death, blood, animal death, anxiety, confinement,
July 13, 2022
I can only imagine that the dream of a writer, is to become part of the world they are writing..
Well for Nadzia, she kind of fell into it - completely by accident, and i'm so glad that she did...
Following Nadzia on her journey into her novel was a fun, explorative one. I found my heart reaching for all of the main characters, wanting to spend more time with them, and get to know them, and i'm thankful that we got to spend time with so many throughout the book!
A fun fantasy tale and an easy read, Song of Phoenix and Ink was a journey into the known-unknown for Nadzia and it was enjoyable to be part of the journey through this first person POV.
There's lots of fantastic representation throughout this book, including Sapphic/Lesbian, Achillean/Gay, Some Aromantic representation, and also Disability representation (I enjoyed that some of the other characters communicated in Sign language with Faleece and home this continues in Book Two)
This was the first full length novel that I have read with polyamorous representation - and it was lovely. I found myself in the beginning trying to figure out *who* Nadzia would *choose* but as her character developed, so did my opinions, and I am thankful of the result... (to an extent, no spoilers here!)
I don't cry at books (not yet, anyway) but that ending ALMOST had me in tears...
... If you're wanting that happily ever ending, it's not coming (at least not yet?!) and I am hanging on this cliff awaiting book two.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review, Margherita! I am so glad I picked up a physical copy, in colour not long after received the E-Arc as the artwork in the novel really adds to it!
Well for Nadzia, she kind of fell into it - completely by accident, and i'm so glad that she did...
Following Nadzia on her journey into her novel was a fun, explorative one. I found my heart reaching for all of the main characters, wanting to spend more time with them, and get to know them, and i'm thankful that we got to spend time with so many throughout the book!
A fun fantasy tale and an easy read, Song of Phoenix and Ink was a journey into the known-unknown for Nadzia and it was enjoyable to be part of the journey through this first person POV.
There's lots of fantastic representation throughout this book, including Sapphic/Lesbian, Achillean/Gay, Some Aromantic representation, and also Disability representation (I enjoyed that some of the other characters communicated in Sign language with Faleece and home this continues in Book Two)
This was the first full length novel that I have read with polyamorous representation - and it was lovely. I found myself in the beginning trying to figure out *who* Nadzia would *choose* but as her character developed, so did my opinions, and I am thankful of the result... (to an extent, no spoilers here!)
I don't cry at books (not yet, anyway) but that ending ALMOST had me in tears...
... If you're wanting that happily ever ending, it's not coming (at least not yet?!) and I am hanging on this cliff awaiting book two.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and review, Margherita! I am so glad I picked up a physical copy, in colour not long after received the E-Arc as the artwork in the novel really adds to it!
July 17, 2022
Thanks Margherita Scialla for giving me a copy of your book in exchange for an honest review.
I can’t … I don't have any idea of how to even start to praise this book.
First a blurb:
All Nadzia Kaminski wanted was to finish writing her novel.
When she finally finished the manuscript for Crimson Mayhem, she did what any writer would: gave it to her best friend to read. Her friend’s reaction, however, wasn’t what she had expected and, upset by her criticism, Nadzia left her at the café where they had met.Waking up the next morning, Nadzia was no longer in her bedroom, finding herself in a world of her creation, surrounded by dangerous magic and vaguely familiar settings.
With a country at war and no clear way home, time is running out and Nadzia has to find a way to gain the trust of the very people she created and figure out her confusing feelings for two of her own characters.
She soon realizes stories aren’t perfect when there is no one left to write them.
Review
Ok so … I loved the idea of an author among characters in their own fictional world. I started and finished the book completely fascinated. I enjoyed every single line. The main character, Nadzia, is really relatable. How she reacts to meeting her characters is simply perfection. I laughed, screamed, cursed … total emotional rollercoaster.
My head is still digesting how good this was. I love most of the characters, not that the rest were not lovable just not my type. The world building is incredible. The plot goes really well with the pace and the characters. The only reason this is not a 10/10 is because I found the ending a little abrupt.
I can say tho… I NEED MORE!!!!
I can’t … I don't have any idea of how to even start to praise this book.
First a blurb:
All Nadzia Kaminski wanted was to finish writing her novel.
When she finally finished the manuscript for Crimson Mayhem, she did what any writer would: gave it to her best friend to read. Her friend’s reaction, however, wasn’t what she had expected and, upset by her criticism, Nadzia left her at the café where they had met.Waking up the next morning, Nadzia was no longer in her bedroom, finding herself in a world of her creation, surrounded by dangerous magic and vaguely familiar settings.
With a country at war and no clear way home, time is running out and Nadzia has to find a way to gain the trust of the very people she created and figure out her confusing feelings for two of her own characters.
She soon realizes stories aren’t perfect when there is no one left to write them.
Review
Ok so … I loved the idea of an author among characters in their own fictional world. I started and finished the book completely fascinated. I enjoyed every single line. The main character, Nadzia, is really relatable. How she reacts to meeting her characters is simply perfection. I laughed, screamed, cursed … total emotional rollercoaster.
My head is still digesting how good this was. I love most of the characters, not that the rest were not lovable just not my type. The world building is incredible. The plot goes really well with the pace and the characters. The only reason this is not a 10/10 is because I found the ending a little abrupt.
I can say tho… I NEED MORE!!!!
August 17, 2022
Thank you to the author for sending me an arc of this book in return for an honest review. These opinions are my own.
3.5/5
This book had a great concept. It was really interesting and intriguing but I just found myself lost as I got more into the book.
Like I said, the plot and concept was really interesting but I don’t think that it’s my type of thing.
It was a good book. I liked the characters but I just didn’t connect with the main character. She isn’t my favorite. I don’t like her much.
The world was a bit confusing to me, as were some of the characters but I began to understood them as I got introduced to them more.
I also feel like the book was, to me, a bit slow. I’m not one for slow-paced books so I was a bit distracted a couple of 100 pages after.
This is a debut novel so I didn’t expect it to be amazing, so my expectations were met and I think it even exceeded my expectations from what I thought I would get into.
Anyways, it was a good book.
3.5/5
This book had a great concept. It was really interesting and intriguing but I just found myself lost as I got more into the book.
Like I said, the plot and concept was really interesting but I don’t think that it’s my type of thing.
It was a good book. I liked the characters but I just didn’t connect with the main character. She isn’t my favorite. I don’t like her much.
The world was a bit confusing to me, as were some of the characters but I began to understood them as I got introduced to them more.
I also feel like the book was, to me, a bit slow. I’m not one for slow-paced books so I was a bit distracted a couple of 100 pages after.
This is a debut novel so I didn’t expect it to be amazing, so my expectations were met and I think it even exceeded my expectations from what I thought I would get into.
Anyways, it was a good book.
July 5, 2022
Thanks to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Instagram can make you digitally meet so many fascinating, sweet, creative and kindhearted people. When I got a request to join in on a review group for this book I was excited right away! I know I have a lot to learn about, for example, pronouns and also about the LGBTQIA+ community. I felt like Pride Month would be a great time to read this book, but I would love to keep reading LGBTQIA+ books all year long! I do have to say that this book had to grow on me, but when it did, I loved it.
Full review can be found at BiteIntoBooks
So happy to get to know this author, because I also felt like I was learning and being educated while reading a book that I was enjoying! I noticed that this is a duology and I'm very curious to see where the second book will take us. Hopefully I will get my time with the throuple, because that was the part I enjoyed the most!
Instagram can make you digitally meet so many fascinating, sweet, creative and kindhearted people. When I got a request to join in on a review group for this book I was excited right away! I know I have a lot to learn about, for example, pronouns and also about the LGBTQIA+ community. I felt like Pride Month would be a great time to read this book, but I would love to keep reading LGBTQIA+ books all year long! I do have to say that this book had to grow on me, but when it did, I loved it.
Full review can be found at BiteIntoBooks
So happy to get to know this author, because I also felt like I was learning and being educated while reading a book that I was enjoying! I noticed that this is a duology and I'm very curious to see where the second book will take us. Hopefully I will get my time with the throuple, because that was the part I enjoyed the most!
June 28, 2022
[★★★★]
quick and addictive with a start that throws you rights into the book which i LOVE. incredibly diverse cast of characters and a good plot. i found myself routing for all the characters even though i was frustrated with some of them at points. and that ending only made me wanna read more.
quick and addictive with a start that throws you rights into the book which i LOVE. incredibly diverse cast of characters and a good plot. i found myself routing for all the characters even though i was frustrated with some of them at points. and that ending only made me wanna read more.
August 5, 2022
2.5★
Thank you to the author for providing an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review!
Song Of Phoenix And Ink was an easy read with simplistic writing and a fast-paced plot which I found myself flying through in a matter of days. I'd say that the story of Nadzia - a young writer who finds herself trapped in the plot of her own book - will appeal to people looking for a simple story to throw themselves into. Moreover, I think that the representation and diversity that feature in the book will appeal to many. The inclusion of bi, lesbian, poly, and disabled characters was nice to see as I find that sometimes certain fantasy novels are very lacking in rep.
That being said, I felt that the world-building was underwhelming and lacked the development and vividness that I like to see in fantasy books. Furthermore, due to the fact that (through no fault of its own) the book is rather short, there wasn't much time for the characters to develop well. As a consequence, I felt that some relationships and dynamics (namely that of Kegan, Zayvion, and Nadzia) seemed rushed or seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Also, we as readers never get a very in-depth explanation as to why exactly Nadzia has found herself in her novel. Whilst one of the main plotlines is that she is trying to find her way back to her world, we rarely see anyone doing anything practical in order to aid her, or provide any reasoning for her predicament.
Overall, Song Of Phoenix And Ink was an okay read. I liked the concept and how diverse it was but wasn't so keen on the plot or the worldbuilding. Whilst it wasn't personally my cup of tea I recommend it to anyone looking for a short and easy fantasy read!
Thank you to the author for providing an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review!
Song Of Phoenix And Ink was an easy read with simplistic writing and a fast-paced plot which I found myself flying through in a matter of days. I'd say that the story of Nadzia - a young writer who finds herself trapped in the plot of her own book - will appeal to people looking for a simple story to throw themselves into. Moreover, I think that the representation and diversity that feature in the book will appeal to many. The inclusion of bi, lesbian, poly, and disabled characters was nice to see as I find that sometimes certain fantasy novels are very lacking in rep.
That being said, I felt that the world-building was underwhelming and lacked the development and vividness that I like to see in fantasy books. Furthermore, due to the fact that (through no fault of its own) the book is rather short, there wasn't much time for the characters to develop well. As a consequence, I felt that some relationships and dynamics (namely that of Kegan, Zayvion, and Nadzia) seemed rushed or seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Also, we as readers never get a very in-depth explanation as to why exactly Nadzia has found herself in her novel. Whilst one of the main plotlines is that she is trying to find her way back to her world, we rarely see anyone doing anything practical in order to aid her, or provide any reasoning for her predicament.
Overall, Song Of Phoenix And Ink was an okay read. I liked the concept and how diverse it was but wasn't so keen on the plot or the worldbuilding. Whilst it wasn't personally my cup of tea I recommend it to anyone looking for a short and easy fantasy read!
November 4, 2022
I have received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I had very high expectations for this book after reading the synopsis but in the end I didn't like it very much. I couldn't connect with the characters.
One of the things I liked least was the polyamorous relationship between Kegan, Zayvion and Nadzia. It seemed too quick for me that they vowed love to each other, as if their romance had lasted for years, when in reality it had only been a few weeks with one or two casual conversations, perhaps because the book was so short and there was no time to develop the characters' personalities and relationships.
The whole Lucjan and Malkiya conflict thing that was going to turn into a war because of the way Nadzia told Lucjan I thought it was going to be more explosive. It felt rushed and yes, we know the plot had changed but well from what we saw the events just overtake because everything else was as Nadzia had created it.
I got to a point where I thought Nadzia was unconsciously rewriting her book for her benefit because she didn't feel like she fit in and it was getting out of hand by her characters not liking her and well, in the end she was right because she became not only a character in her own book but a main character.
I still enjoyed the read despite the things I didn't like and I hope the author improves for the second book. I really think the story has a lot of potential, it just wasn't executed well.
I had very high expectations for this book after reading the synopsis but in the end I didn't like it very much. I couldn't connect with the characters.
One of the things I liked least was the polyamorous relationship between Kegan, Zayvion and Nadzia. It seemed too quick for me that they vowed love to each other, as if their romance had lasted for years, when in reality it had only been a few weeks with one or two casual conversations, perhaps because the book was so short and there was no time to develop the characters' personalities and relationships.
The whole Lucjan and Malkiya conflict thing that was going to turn into a war because of the way Nadzia told Lucjan I thought it was going to be more explosive. It felt rushed and yes, we know the plot had changed but well from what we saw the events just overtake because everything else was as Nadzia had created it.
I got to a point where I thought Nadzia was unconsciously rewriting her book for her benefit because she didn't feel like she fit in and it was getting out of hand by her characters not liking her and well, in the end she was right because she became not only a character in her own book but a main character.
I still enjoyed the read despite the things I didn't like and I hope the author improves for the second book. I really think the story has a lot of potential, it just wasn't executed well.
June 29, 2022
thank you so much to the author for providing me with a free copy!! however, this does not influence my opinion on this phenomenal book.
I would describe it as a 'reversed "Inkheart" meets my dreams'. I absolutely loved the premise and just the whole concept of somehow going into the story you wrote. it's fast-paced, super easy to get into and to follow. overall it's just a really fun time and I enjoyed every second of it. even though there were quite a lot of characters, they all had depth and complex personalities. of course not everyone could have that much 'screen time' but I'm very excited too see more of them in the sequel!! my favorite is definitely Jaya, I need her in my life. also, character art!! I often struggle a bit with picturing characters the way they were intended, simply because I don't pay a lot of attention to the descriptions, so being able to go back and look at them was really nice.
one of the main plot lines in this book is the romance and omg I loved it. can we please have more polyamorous books and abandon love triangles forever?? it was so nice to see Nadzia falling in love with two of her characters but not having to decide between them. it's not complicated in that way. I also think the fact that Nadzia already knew the characters, because she had written them, added a lot to the romance and made her feelings clearer.
then there's the ending, that broke my heart a little. I mean objectively it is a good way to end the book but how could you do this to me?? I am in desperate need for more.
overall, you should definitely read this if you're looking for a fun, quick read with lots of diversity and if you like fantasy without too much world building.
I would describe it as a 'reversed "Inkheart" meets my dreams'. I absolutely loved the premise and just the whole concept of somehow going into the story you wrote. it's fast-paced, super easy to get into and to follow. overall it's just a really fun time and I enjoyed every second of it. even though there were quite a lot of characters, they all had depth and complex personalities. of course not everyone could have that much 'screen time' but I'm very excited too see more of them in the sequel!! my favorite is definitely Jaya, I need her in my life. also, character art!! I often struggle a bit with picturing characters the way they were intended, simply because I don't pay a lot of attention to the descriptions, so being able to go back and look at them was really nice.
one of the main plot lines in this book is the romance and omg I loved it. can we please have more polyamorous books and abandon love triangles forever?? it was so nice to see Nadzia falling in love with two of her characters but not having to decide between them. it's not complicated in that way. I also think the fact that Nadzia already knew the characters, because she had written them, added a lot to the romance and made her feelings clearer.
then there's the ending, that broke my heart a little. I mean objectively it is a good way to end the book but how could you do this to me?? I am in desperate need for more.
overall, you should definitely read this if you're looking for a fun, quick read with lots of diversity and if you like fantasy without too much world building.
December 14, 2022
Wow okay. So many thoughts but I will try to make them coherent. But the one word that truly sums up the experience of reading this book is FUN!
First off, I’d like to thank the author for sending me a free e-copy of this book via BookSirens!
I had so much fun reading it and it felt like a breath of fresh air after this slump I’ve been in. The concept first of all is SO FUN. It’s not too heavy on the fantasy which made me devour the story so quickly; as I found I was able to wrap my head around it easily. The story jumped straight in, which I love because I was immediately hooked it and excited to see where it was headed. Also I absolutely loved the images of the characters that were included as I find it to be a big help when it comes to visualising and it was another fun element to the book! I somehow was blind to the fact that the book had polyamorous rep so it was a very pleasant surprise and it was SO LOVELY. I completely fell in love with these characters, they’re all so lovable and I didn’t want the story to end. There’s also sapphic rep with a sapphic relationship where one of the women use sign language to communicate. The queer, BIPOC and disability representation was very casually done which I really enjoyed. Also the fact there was a giant feline creature/pet easily won me over and was another bonus! There’s just so many elements/tropes in this book that I adore and if you’re like I was where you were struggling with a slump then I definitely would recommend.
Trigger warnings: death, blood, violence, animal death, war, gore, grief, injury/injury detail, imprisonment
First off, I’d like to thank the author for sending me a free e-copy of this book via BookSirens!
I had so much fun reading it and it felt like a breath of fresh air after this slump I’ve been in. The concept first of all is SO FUN. It’s not too heavy on the fantasy which made me devour the story so quickly; as I found I was able to wrap my head around it easily. The story jumped straight in, which I love because I was immediately hooked it and excited to see where it was headed. Also I absolutely loved the images of the characters that were included as I find it to be a big help when it comes to visualising and it was another fun element to the book! I somehow was blind to the fact that the book had polyamorous rep so it was a very pleasant surprise and it was SO LOVELY. I completely fell in love with these characters, they’re all so lovable and I didn’t want the story to end. There’s also sapphic rep with a sapphic relationship where one of the women use sign language to communicate. The queer, BIPOC and disability representation was very casually done which I really enjoyed. Also the fact there was a giant feline creature/pet easily won me over and was another bonus! There’s just so many elements/tropes in this book that I adore and if you’re like I was where you were struggling with a slump then I definitely would recommend.
Trigger warnings: death, blood, violence, animal death, war, gore, grief, injury/injury detail, imprisonment
March 19, 2022
[🇬🇧/🇺🇸] First things first I really enjoyed this book. We follow Nadzia who finds herself in the world she created but the plot is not the one she wrote and also the characters are different; they are more deeper and have layers she didn’t know. She has to gain their trust and survive the upcoming war while searching a way to come back home. I liked the LGBTQIA+ representation and the polyamorous relationship, of which I rarely read about. I devoured it in a couple of nights as it is really fast paced, sometimes maybe too fast. It doesn’t end with a hard cliffhanger (using the Rick Riordan cliffhanger scale for comparison😂) but the ending is open and I need the sequel right now!
**I received a free ARC of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
[🇮🇹] Chi non ha mai sognato di entrare nel libro che sta leggendo? Questo è quello che succede a Nadzia che si trova catapultata nel libro che ha scritto. Presto però scopre che la trama è diversa e i personaggi che ha creato sono più profondi rispetto a quello che aveva scritto lei. Nel libro è rappresentata la comunità LGBTQIA+ e mi sono piaciuti i temi trattati, come le relazioni poliamorose, di cui ho letto e si scrive poco. Questo libro mi è piaciuto molto e l’ho divorato in un paio di sere, il ritmo infatti è molto veloce e non si riesce a interrompere la lettura. La fine è ovviamente aperta e non vedo l’ora di leggere il continuo!
**Ho letto una copia gratuita (ARC) di questo libro e questa recensione riflette i miei pensieri.
**I received a free ARC of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
[🇮🇹] Chi non ha mai sognato di entrare nel libro che sta leggendo? Questo è quello che succede a Nadzia che si trova catapultata nel libro che ha scritto. Presto però scopre che la trama è diversa e i personaggi che ha creato sono più profondi rispetto a quello che aveva scritto lei. Nel libro è rappresentata la comunità LGBTQIA+ e mi sono piaciuti i temi trattati, come le relazioni poliamorose, di cui ho letto e si scrive poco. Questo libro mi è piaciuto molto e l’ho divorato in un paio di sere, il ritmo infatti è molto veloce e non si riesce a interrompere la lettura. La fine è ovviamente aperta e non vedo l’ora di leggere il continuo!
**Ho letto una copia gratuita (ARC) di questo libro e questa recensione riflette i miei pensieri.
June 21, 2022
“Because when you had just fallen from grace and had nothing left, you came here, to this broken kingdom, and built it all back up, giving both yourself and this place a new purpose. You’re the one who gave the people hope, who saved them and gave them a safe place to live in. Even if everything was already here before you arrived, it came to life thanks to you.”
“You can’t choose who to fall in love with, but you can eventually choose who to love.”
Nadzia Kaminski has been working on her book for awhile now, and after all the work she puts into it, she has finally finished and is eager to share it with her best friend, however she can not handle her critism of it. She storms off and heads home to get some much needed rest, little does she know rest is the last thing she'll be getting when she wakes up in a magical world that looks...... familiar?? She is given the opportunity that no other author has ever received. She's living in a world with characters extremely close to her heart, the ones she created in her book. She becomes terrified because The timeline she has found herself in is right before a catastrophic war, And she knows she cannot survive it. However things are not how she ever could have imagined as these characters feelings are all so much more real than she had planned, morphing themselves beyond just the page. Can they come together and rewrite their ending??
This book was brilliant you guys! I love the characters, the plot twists, and the idea of getting pulled into your book, amazing!!! this book was so fun and I suggest you read it if you like fantasy!!!
“You can’t choose who to fall in love with, but you can eventually choose who to love.”
Nadzia Kaminski has been working on her book for awhile now, and after all the work she puts into it, she has finally finished and is eager to share it with her best friend, however she can not handle her critism of it. She storms off and heads home to get some much needed rest, little does she know rest is the last thing she'll be getting when she wakes up in a magical world that looks...... familiar?? She is given the opportunity that no other author has ever received. She's living in a world with characters extremely close to her heart, the ones she created in her book. She becomes terrified because The timeline she has found herself in is right before a catastrophic war, And she knows she cannot survive it. However things are not how she ever could have imagined as these characters feelings are all so much more real than she had planned, morphing themselves beyond just the page. Can they come together and rewrite their ending??
This book was brilliant you guys! I love the characters, the plot twists, and the idea of getting pulled into your book, amazing!!! this book was so fun and I suggest you read it if you like fantasy!!!
July 3, 2022
I received this book for free as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Nadzia is a writer who poured her heart and soul into her fantasy book only to have her best friend read it and hate it. After she gets home, she falls asleep, waking up in the middle of a field. She quickly finds she has somehow been transported into the world of her book. She gets to see the places and characters she created come to life. Every author's dream right?
But her knowledge of this world lands her in trouble. She knows top secret information that very few people are privy to. She finds herself imprisoned by the very characters she wrote. Follow Nadzia as she experiences love and war firsthand.
Review:
This book was a quick read. It had a cast of diverse characters and tons of representation which I loved. I also really enjoyed the concept of this book. The idea of finding yourself trapped in a story you created really grabbed me and hooked me.
I do wish the author relied more on showing the reader emotions and scenery rather than telling us most things. That would've expanded the world a bit more and hooked me further. I believe it would've added to the chemistry of the love interests as well.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to go on a fun adventure to a new fantasy world. I just love books inside of books.
Thank you again for the chance to read your book.
Summary:
Nadzia is a writer who poured her heart and soul into her fantasy book only to have her best friend read it and hate it. After she gets home, she falls asleep, waking up in the middle of a field. She quickly finds she has somehow been transported into the world of her book. She gets to see the places and characters she created come to life. Every author's dream right?
But her knowledge of this world lands her in trouble. She knows top secret information that very few people are privy to. She finds herself imprisoned by the very characters she wrote. Follow Nadzia as she experiences love and war firsthand.
Review:
This book was a quick read. It had a cast of diverse characters and tons of representation which I loved. I also really enjoyed the concept of this book. The idea of finding yourself trapped in a story you created really grabbed me and hooked me.
I do wish the author relied more on showing the reader emotions and scenery rather than telling us most things. That would've expanded the world a bit more and hooked me further. I believe it would've added to the chemistry of the love interests as well.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to go on a fun adventure to a new fantasy world. I just love books inside of books.
Thank you again for the chance to read your book.
January 27, 2023
Ok, first of all, I’ve been looking for a book that could make me feel miserable and empty (not in a bad way) and this book came down from the heaven to give it to me.
The last time I cried for an end was with The Song Of Achilles, and that time I cried because I was sad and happy at the same time, but this time… the book just broke me.
I did write i longer review, but for some reason I can’t find it. Anyway, in that review I said that the only thing that I didn’t like too much was that the book was a little bit TOO MUCH short. I would have liked it to be longer, or maybe two books so we can get to know more about the characters and the end would be more… HEARTBREAKING.
That was my only complaint; more books, longer story, LESS PAIN.
No, honestly, I love pain, I love ugly crying. And also I love Margherita’s characters, they always make me feel happy, they’re my safe place. Both of the books I’ve read of them made me feel so happy, it’s just like they write my comfort books, EVEN IF THIS ONE BROKE ME.
I love both of their stories (the ones I have read) and I will definitely going to read everything they write.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that. Great book (FOR THE MASOCHISTS).
now a little of my pain:
IT WASN’T FAIR!!! THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE TIME!!! AND WHAT ABOUT KAGEN??? NADZIA COULDN’T SAY GOODBYE!!! HE WILL SUFFER IF HE KNOWS THAT SHE CAME BACK AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE (VERY LITTLE) SECONDS!!!
The last time I cried for an end was with The Song Of Achilles, and that time I cried because I was sad and happy at the same time, but this time… the book just broke me.
I did write i longer review, but for some reason I can’t find it. Anyway, in that review I said that the only thing that I didn’t like too much was that the book was a little bit TOO MUCH short. I would have liked it to be longer, or maybe two books so we can get to know more about the characters and the end would be more… HEARTBREAKING.
That was my only complaint; more books, longer story, LESS PAIN.
No, honestly, I love pain, I love ugly crying. And also I love Margherita’s characters, they always make me feel happy, they’re my safe place. Both of the books I’ve read of them made me feel so happy, it’s just like they write my comfort books, EVEN IF THIS ONE BROKE ME.
I love both of their stories (the ones I have read) and I will definitely going to read everything they write.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that. Great book (FOR THE MASOCHISTS).
now a little of my pain:
IT WASN’T FAIR!!! THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD MORE TIME!!! AND WHAT ABOUT KAGEN??? NADZIA COULDN’T SAY GOODBYE!!! HE WILL SUFFER IF HE KNOWS THAT SHE CAME BACK AT LEAST FOR A LITTLE (VERY LITTLE) SECONDS!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2022
The author was kind enough to send me an e-book and I am incredibly grateful. I really enjoyed this book, the concept was incredibly interesting and I was immediately drawn to it. I was hooked from page 1. I loved seeing how the world created by Nadzia evolved on its own, the characters and events developed and changed on their own, they’re fundamentally what she created but have so many more layers in reality.
Nadzia is very funny, her coping mechanism is definitely humor. The way she interacted with everyone was great to see, she already knew them and the world around her but seeing it in real life is completely different for her.
I wish they would have taken more time to form those foundations of the relationships in the early days, after that it's fine but that beginning doesn't convince me, i feel like we missed a little bit more interaction that is compensated as the book goes on but sometimes it was hard to connect with some of the characters. Still, I loved the characters. I think my favorite is Kagen and Jaya lol. The world was really interesting and I hope we can see more in the next book and explore other places too. I have so many questions WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM.
I can't wait for the next book and I'm definitely going to pick up the other book by the author that's already out.
Nadzia is very funny, her coping mechanism is definitely humor. The way she interacted with everyone was great to see, she already knew them and the world around her but seeing it in real life is completely different for her.
I wish they would have taken more time to form those foundations of the relationships in the early days, after that it's fine but that beginning doesn't convince me, i feel like we missed a little bit more interaction that is compensated as the book goes on but sometimes it was hard to connect with some of the characters. Still, I loved the characters. I think my favorite is Kagen and Jaya lol. The world was really interesting and I hope we can see more in the next book and explore other places too. I have so many questions WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO THEM.
I can't wait for the next book and I'm definitely going to pick up the other book by the author that's already out.
July 6, 2022
The premise of this book is so damn interesting - an author, Nadzia, who falls into the fantasy world she's created, becomes a part of the story, and falls in love with two of the characters (poly relationship rep!)
I pretty much binged this book within a few hours, it was extremely gripping right from that start. The characters and the fantasy world are introduced in a very easy and likeable way right off the bat, so the book was also really relatable and emotional for me (I DID cry a bit with Nadzia there in the middle 🥲)
The ending is a (sad) cliffhanger, and for a few minutes, I thought this was a standalone and almost lost it (read: I was in tears again, lol). But tg, the author confirmed that book two in on the way, so I can breathe easy 😂
I guess the only critique I had with this book is that we don't see much of the relationship of 1/3 pairs of the poly relationship, on page in the main book - we only see them properly in the extra scenes at the end of the book. I hope book 2 has more of their interactions as well!
Queer rep - polyamorous relationship, bisexual characters, sapphic relationship
TWs - death/injury during battles (although this is written in a mild way, and will probably not be triggering)
I pretty much binged this book within a few hours, it was extremely gripping right from that start. The characters and the fantasy world are introduced in a very easy and likeable way right off the bat, so the book was also really relatable and emotional for me (I DID cry a bit with Nadzia there in the middle 🥲)
The ending is a (sad) cliffhanger, and for a few minutes, I thought this was a standalone and almost lost it (read: I was in tears again, lol). But tg, the author confirmed that book two in on the way, so I can breathe easy 😂
I guess the only critique I had with this book is that we don't see much of the relationship of 1/3 pairs of the poly relationship, on page in the main book - we only see them properly in the extra scenes at the end of the book. I hope book 2 has more of their interactions as well!
Queer rep - polyamorous relationship, bisexual characters, sapphic relationship
TWs - death/injury during battles (although this is written in a mild way, and will probably not be triggering)
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