An enjoyable read but, after loving the previous book in this series, I think my expectations were too high for this read. It will definitely have its audience, but not one for me.

This was a very interesting book for unfortunately I don’t think it was marketed to me as a demographic. I didn’t enjoy it to some extent and thought it was interesting but it just isn’t for me. I don’t think middle grade is my cup of tea anymore as I’m kind of feeling in general Disinterest in the genre. It’s not this book specifically because it was fine but I don’t think I’ll be reading anymore

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Siren, the Song and the Spy' by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

This is the sequel to 'The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea' and honestly, it was just as fun. I do prefer the first book more but this sequel was just as beautifully written and I fell in love with new characters and remained in love or even grew to love old characters we met preciously. Maggie Tokuda-Hall has such a talent in writing this genre and if she wants to write another book to this one somehow, I'm all for that.

Firstly, whilst this is a companion novel to the authors previous work, I was unaware of this at the time and it didn't make this novel any less enjoyable.

The Siren, the Song and the Spy was a joyful ride, whilst still exploring the effects of colonialism, identity and justice. Due to the multiple POV's we see the effects of colonialism from a variety of viewpoints, including those whom born under colonialism and how this plays into their views of the Empire and their actions and how it feels once they realise the affect of their actions and how the Empire's stance of justice was really, lies.

The rep in this was wonderful, it truly felt diverse.

It took me a moment to have a clear understanding of the time jumps, but once I did the back story to the characters was KEY.

I only realise after reading this that it is the second book set in this world, however I was able to read it without having read the first. Not giving anything away by saying I will be reading the first one, The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea.
The author’s world building is excellent, as are the characters she has created and developed. They are well formed and deep. I think the use of chapters giving us multi viewpoints throughout helps us to bond with them. I particularly loved that the sea had her own chapters, which provided a link between a lot of the others.
The big themes of identity (individual and group), freedom, decolonisation, war and resistance are covered well and the friction between wanting freedom but having to inflict violence to achieve it is palpable, especially in Koa, one of the suppressed nation’s warriors.
It you enjoyed series like Utterly Dark by Philip Reeve or Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray you will enjoy this.

Thank to NetGalley and Walker for the eARC in exchange for this review.

I want to sit on the fence for this one. If only there were a button for "undecided" for the question of whether we want to use it in a course or not.

When I read the prologue, I was blown away by the beautiful writing and wanted to use it in my course. But as I read on, I found the plot a bit confusing. Maybe it is because the author tries to introduce too many characters in one go in the first couple of chapters?