Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This novel's delightful premise of a woman trying to regain her soul by giving Hell the souls of seven other violin prodigies (one to go!) is what snagged me attention.  Well that and the awesome cover.  The writing style in this book was lovely.  It got me to care about violin concertos and food descriptions even though both of those things are not important in me everyday life.  Add in aliens, AIs, transgendered issues, curses, and donuts.  It makes for an odd mix that found enjoyable.

The three main characters are 1) Shizuka Satomi, the Queen of Hell, who needs her seventh violin student; 2) Katrina Nguyen, a transgendered violinist; and Lan Tran, a star ship captain on the run from the Empire.  While I enjoyed the main characters, I really loved the secondary characters.  In particular, I loved the housekeeper and the aunt at the donut shop.

The subject matter of the novel is extremely dark at times even though the book ends on a hopeful note.  I really enjoyed the set up for the novel though as the story progressed, I ended up less and less enamored of the plot.  I felt that the Katrina storyline stalled overall and too many side stories were involved.  It felt like a little too much with not enough character or plot development.  And while I loved some of the sci-fi elements, I wasn't sure if they ended up being necessary other than to make a happy ending.

An odd book for sure.  I am going to be interested in seeing other reviews for this one.  Arrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!