For centuries in the Temple of Valnon, young men have paid a tremendous price to be chosen as Songbirds. Every twelve years, a new Lark and Thrush are castrated for their heavenly voices, but few men have ever been capable of claiming the title of Dove: the holy avatar of Saint Alveron himself. In the six hundred years since the Temple's founding, Willim is only the third to buy the Evensong with his blood. A virtual prisoner of the Temple for the duration of his term, Willim pays little heed to anything but his duty to sing for Valnon. That all changes with the murder of the Songbirds' loyal bodyguard and Willim's rescue by Nicholas Grayson, a sell-sword who brings whispers of Temple scandal and ancient prophecy in his wake.
Plagued by ghosts and nightmares, betrayed by a fellow Temple Bird and forced into exile, Willim struggles to unravel the tangled history of his title in the hopes of understanding what it truly means to be Valnon's Dove. With his friends scattered and Valnon poised on the brink of war, Willim's only hope lies in summoning the ancient power of his saint: to Sing Down from Heaven a music that can fell an army in its tracks, or wipe a city from the surface of the earth. But the song of Saint Alveron is as unpredictable as it is powerful. Whether Willim's Song will bring salvation for his city or the destruction of everything he holds dear, only Heaven knows.
Click to View on Amazon: Evensong's Heir (Songbirds of Valnon Book 1)This was an extremely beautiful book. I couldn't put it down, I was actually reading it in class. The whole concept of this book is that three young boys are selected based on their singing abilities to become the physical embodiment of saints, upon accepting the position the boys are castrated so that they can retain their youthful voices. Now, I am a singer, so this whole concept really interested me. I was curious as to how the author would describe the singing, because it can be a bit difficult to put amazing singing into words. (The author did beautifully).
Now, Willim, he is the dove, and it has been hundreds of years since the last dove was instated, so he is really precious to the temple. He is found wandering and covered in blood in the middle of the street by the sell sword Grayson. Grayson brings him back to the temple, where shit promptly starts to go down. This is an action packed book. And while it is toted as m/m romance, it is more fantasy adventure with a splash of love thrown in. I wanted more of the romance, but didn't even realize that until I was done with the book. I wasn't sitting there while I was reading thinking "Damn, when do they fall in love?" It was more like, I closed the book then thought, "Wait, wasn't that supposed to the a romance?" I am telling you guys, the story sucks you in.
I loved the characters and how you could really see how these boys develop into the songbirds that they are. All the characters were so expertly created I just wanted to meet them in real life. And that last scene in the book, with Willim singing (I'm not giving anything away), man it gave me chills.
After finishing I went straight to see if the next book was out (It's not, boo). But I saw that there is a perfume line based on the books... what what? I want it, I don't even care what the perfume smells like, I just want it. Actually I just took a break to go look at the perfume, and on my next paycheck I will probably buy it. I know I can be a fangirl (And I am in no way ashamed of it) but I really liked this book and so I really want to help support this world that it exists in and the author who created it.
Here is the link to the website: http://www.valnon.org/
I give this a 5 out of 5
