Chapter by Chapter

Right from the get go I wanted to read Strange Sweet Song just because of the title. I don’t know why but it reeled me in and after reading the description I was eager to get started. The very first chapter of the novel was all it took for me to be addicted. This was an amazing read that I felt so, so glad I got to check out. Everything from the way it was written to the way the plot played out was hauntingly beautiful. I loved it.

Sing da Navelli is a teenage opera singer whose father refuses to let her let go of her dream of becoming a diva just like her deceased mother Barbara da Navelli. When Sing is enrolled for her first year at Dunhammond Conservatory (DC) she discovers that the school is performing the opera Angelique—the very same opera that Barbara da Navelli died in while playing the lead, Angelique. So when Sing receives the role as Angelique’s understudy she becomes caught up in DC’s social scene and the competitive nature of its students.

Sing is forced to prepare for the opera with Apprentice Nathan Daysmoor who is nothing but cold, distant and rude toward her and constantly tells her that no matter how good she attempts to sing her voice is still missing something. The opera Angelique was written at DC and that the composer had taken some truth in the lore used in the opera from the forests surrounding the school. As the year continues Sing can’t deny that there is something supernatural at work and that Sing has unwittingly caught the eye of the rumored beast who roams the forests at night.

The novel begins with an ominous chapter taking place in the second person (which is something that I personally have never seen before in a novel) that involves an eerie crow and sets a dark tone for the novel. From that point on the story is told mainly from Sing’s point of view and shows her struggle between being the singer she wants to be, the singer her mother was and the singer her fathers want to shaper her into. Most of the novel is written mysteriously. When there aren’t chapters in Sing’s point of view they either reveal the secrets behind who Nathan Daysmoor is or tell a story from the point of view of the Felix.

Strange Sweet Song is amazingly well-written in almost every way. Rule’s writing style is clear and flows perfectly. There’s enough details when they’re needed, the dialogue was realistic and apart from all of that (and this being a novel about an opera singer) there’s still a dark undertone beneath it all. Instantly I compared it to multiple authors like Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare and a few others whose names I can’t recall at the moment. The point I’m trying to make is that Strange Sweet Song was brilliantly written and deserves so much recognition for it.

There’s so much character growth present in the novel as well as relationships being formed. Sing does end up in a relationship with one of the first male characters we’re introduced to in the novel however as the novel progresses that changes and another character is presented as a love interest (and I can’t say too much about this because of cursed spoilers!). All I can say that about the latter bit is that I wanted them together from the start and holy when they ended up together—it was perfect.

I would recommend Strange Sweet Song to any readers who just want a novel that will be addictive from start to finish. Any readers who want a dark novel that mixes teen fiction and the paranormal together will love it. Any readers who want a progressive romance and a progressive plot with mystery, secrets and a strong female lead need to read Strange Sweet Song.