Book Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Malediction Trilogy

Publisher: Strange Chemistry (April 1, 2014)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars 

Stolen Songbird was my top anticipated young adult novel coming out from Strange Chemistry this year, and I have to say all the lusting and the pining has been worth it. Author Danielle L. Jensen opens up a whole new world for readers who love magic, romance, and enchanted lands.

Buried deep within the Forsaken Mountain lies Trollus, a city forgotten by time. It is said that monstrous trolls live there, bound by a witch’s curse. However, on the night before Cécile de Troyes is about to embark on her journey to become a famous singer, she is kidnapped and taken to Trollus, where she discovers there is far more to what she thinks she knows about the trolls and their city. For one thing, they’re not all hideous monsters. The troll prince she is supposed to marry is actually pretty good looking! But one thing the legends got right is that trolls are talented magic users — the more pure their blood is, the stronger their ability. Even all the magic in Trollus cannot break the curse and set the trolls free, however. Cécile and Prince Tristan’s union was supposed to be the key, but the plan ends up failing, leaving Cécile a prisoner in Trollus, biding her time and waiting for the perfect moment to escape.

But over the weeks, Cécile inevitably falls for Tristan. How I just loved the way their relationship developed! Instead of the usual formula of treating each other horribly but then falling head over heels in love anyway (a trope which is a big pet peeve of mine), Cécile finds out that the prince really isn’t such a bad troll after all. In fact, he’s secretly championing the rights of the half-bloods, who are part troll and part human, treated as nothing more than slaves and property by the arrogant pure-bloods. So while Cécile and Tristan may at each other’s throats in public, it’s actually all a part of a brilliant plan they’ve hatched up to throw off suspicion. What a delightful little twist to the usual YA romance.

The story also has just enough of that “Forbidden Love” vibe to it so that I just can’t help myself. I like romances a lot more when they are hindered by outside forces rather than internal ones like misunderstandings between the lovers (Tristan and Cécile aren’t completely innocent of this, but at least it was kept to a minimum) and the relationships usually emerge stronger and more compelling to me. Of course, the author also leaves their relationship mercilessly hanging in the first book, making you wonder what will become of the hero and heroine, but this meant she succeeded in building a lot of interest in these two characters. 

There are also plenty of little surprises all over this book. One thing that is sort of a “twist”, but not really — and I’m sorry if I’m being vague but I think it would be best if it comes as a surprise to others the same way it did for me — is the nature of the trolls.

It did occur to me as I was making my way through the story to wonder the creatures are called trolls in the first place. They are smart, quick, have super strength and magic powers, but apart from a few exceptions in the royal family, they appear mostly human. And that’s when the author began to drop certain clues and I had one of those “AHA!” moments where I realized where she’s going with all this. Well played, Ms. Jensen, well played! Like I said, I don’t think it’s meant to be some big twist because once you start catching the hints it becomes pretty obvious what she has in mind, but in that moment of clarity I started to get really excited about the future of this series.

In fact, Stolen Songbird is an excellent start all around, the first of a trilogy that builds a good framework and promises even bigger things to come. I would like to know what happens to Tristan and Cécile, but I’m especially pumped for more about the troll origins story. It goes without saying, I’m all in for book two!