Book Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle Jensen
Hmm, I liked this YA novel, but not as much as I thought I might like it.
Stolen Songbird, author Danielle L. Jensen’s first novel, takes place in a historical fantasy setting in which trolls exist but were cursed by a witch to live underground in secret. The protagonist is Cécile de Troyes, a farmer’s daughter with a lovely voice who is kidnapped and brought to the city of Trollus under the mountain, sold to trolls who intend to marry her to their troll prince, Tristan.
This element of cursed creatures abducting a beautiful human bride and taking her below ground reminded me of the 1991 animated movie The Princess and the Goblin, but after that, there are fewer similarities. Contrary to popular belief, Stolen Songbird explains, trolls aren’t ugly; they’re “more like beautiful things that have had the misfortune of being broken.” Troll characters have various misfortunes like no limbs, misaligned halves of their face, or being conjoined twins. However, the book misses a potential interesting element in exempting Prince Tristan from this: he is instead tall, pale, and beautiful, though cold and sardonic.
The book’s world-building is essentially limited to the history of Trollus, which, as Cécile notes, is “shrouded in mystery but for the few snippets of information revealed by those seeking to use me.” There are also some politics in the form of citizens fighting for the rights of “half-bloods,” those who are kept subservient due to their status as half-troll, half-human. While the theme of a revolution to gain civil rights is an important one, I felt like Cécile was somewhat removed from the concerns of the half-bloods because we didn’t get to know the secondary characters well enough to see their daily lives and fears in depth.
I loved seeing how Cécile develops as a person throughout the story: she’s obviously horrified and angry at being kidnapped, but instead of moping, she decides to make the best of her new life and is courageous in trying to help improve Trollus. It was weird that her singing didn’t play more of a part, though, considering the title! I also enjoyed the slow-building but satisfying romance between Cécile and Tristan. While at first neither of them wants anything to do with the other, they slowly move from mutual distrust to a mutual respect as more details are revealed about Tristan and his family.
This novel is the first in the Malediction Trilogy, and the second book, Hidden Huntress, is expected to be published next summer. I hope it will add more depth to the universe, let us see more of the secondary characters, and clear up those cliffhangers!
Stolen Songbird, author Danielle L. Jensen’s first novel, takes place in a historical fantasy setting in which trolls exist but were cursed by a witch to live underground in secret. The protagonist is Cécile de Troyes, a farmer’s daughter with a lovely voice who is kidnapped and brought to the city of Trollus under the mountain, sold to trolls who intend to marry her to their troll prince, Tristan.
This element of cursed creatures abducting a beautiful human bride and taking her below ground reminded me of the 1991 animated movie The Princess and the Goblin, but after that, there are fewer similarities. Contrary to popular belief, Stolen Songbird explains, trolls aren’t ugly; they’re “more like beautiful things that have had the misfortune of being broken.” Troll characters have various misfortunes like no limbs, misaligned halves of their face, or being conjoined twins. However, the book misses a potential interesting element in exempting Prince Tristan from this: he is instead tall, pale, and beautiful, though cold and sardonic.
The book’s world-building is essentially limited to the history of Trollus, which, as Cécile notes, is “shrouded in mystery but for the few snippets of information revealed by those seeking to use me.” There are also some politics in the form of citizens fighting for the rights of “half-bloods,” those who are kept subservient due to their status as half-troll, half-human. While the theme of a revolution to gain civil rights is an important one, I felt like Cécile was somewhat removed from the concerns of the half-bloods because we didn’t get to know the secondary characters well enough to see their daily lives and fears in depth.
I loved seeing how Cécile develops as a person throughout the story: she’s obviously horrified and angry at being kidnapped, but instead of moping, she decides to make the best of her new life and is courageous in trying to help improve Trollus. It was weird that her singing didn’t play more of a part, though, considering the title! I also enjoyed the slow-building but satisfying romance between Cécile and Tristan. While at first neither of them wants anything to do with the other, they slowly move from mutual distrust to a mutual respect as more details are revealed about Tristan and his family.
This novel is the first in the Malediction Trilogy, and the second book, Hidden Huntress, is expected to be published next summer. I hope it will add more depth to the universe, let us see more of the secondary characters, and clear up those cliffhangers!