Sing Me to Sleep: a darkly enchanting young adult fantasy

Sing Me to Sleep: a darkly enchanting young adult fantasy

By Author / Illustrator

Gabi Burton

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

14+

Publisher

Hodder & Stoughton

ISBN

9781399718417

Format

Hardback

Published

27-06-2023

Synopsis

Words sting. Songs kill....    The Cruel Prince meets To Kill a Kingdom in this seductive YA fantasy debut, in which a siren must choose between protecting her family and following her heart in a prejudiced kingdom where her existence is illegal.

Saoirse Sorkova survives on secrets. As the last siren in her kingdom, she can sing any man to an early grave - but her very existence is illegal, and if her true identity were ever discovered, it would be her life on the line.  By day, Saoirse disguises herself as a fae, pretending to be the perfect soldier-in-training. By night, she satisfies her darker urges working as an assassin for dangerous mercenaries. And all the while, she keeps the biggest secret of all: that she is not always in control of her Siren powers, or her desire to kill.

Then a blackmailer threatens her sister, and Saoirse's investigation takes her to the royal palace, and her most dangerous job yet: personal bodyguard to the Crown Prince.  Saoirse expects to despise Prince Hayes. But he is kind, thoughtful, and charming, and she finds herself increasingly drawn to him . . . until he tasks her with investigating a killer plaguing the kingdom. The problem: the killer is Saoirse.

Trapped by her deadly double life, Saoirse can't leave the palace until she saves her sister . . . but who will save her from herself?

Reviews

Linda

Sing Me To Sleep is a must-read debut for 2023. This exciting new author has given her target audience an adventure in a fantasy world that is full of mystery, secrets, lies and otherworldly creatures...


Saoirse Sorkova survives on secrets. She is the last Siren in the Kingdom of Keirdre. She can sing any man into an early grave, however, her existence is illegal; if her true identity were discovered, it would be her life on the line. By day, Saoirse disguises herself as a Fae, a perfect soldier in training. By night, she lets her darker side free and kills for a man called The Raze. Even though her Siren urges are strong, she is able for most of the time to be in control of this darker side - until someone threatens her sister, Rain. This threat takes Saoirse into the Royal Palace, a most dangerous place for her.


The prince tasks her to find the killer in his father's kingdom, but the problem is...she is the killer! Saoirse cannot leave the palace walls until she finds the blackmailer and protects her sister. How is she going to cope? Will her Siren desire to kill become to hard for her to control? What are these other emotions she is feeling for the Prince?


This is a compelling, well written plot right from the first page to the very last. Sing Me to Sleep is suitable for the 13+ reader and will captivate its audience, with the well thought out characters, blossoming romance and the twists and turns of all the deceit and deception. Like me, it will leave you wishing you had the next book to hand. This is an easy 5 star recommendation for 2023.


400 pages / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 14+

 

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