I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Song of Blood & Stone is a fantasy novel that refers to magic spells as Songs - which appealed to me because I absolutely love music and magic being connected. I was attached to the main character, Jasminda, who lost her whole family and had to face racism as a biracial person in the country of Elsira. I also loved the backstory regarding the "leaders" of the two countries, and how the story unfolded gradually thanks to Jasminda's visions.

And yet, I constantly felt like something was lacking. I liked the premise and the worlbuilding, but the writing couldn't really engage me, and it was difficult to keep going sometimes. I didn't care much for the romance, and while the quotes from folk tales at the beginning of each chapter were interesting at first, I struggled to see the point of many of them.

Overall, this was an okay read, but nothing really special for me - hence the 3 stars.

That being said, the epilogue suggests that the sequel is going to deal with plotlines I have an interest in, so I might end up picking it up.