The Short Life of Sparrows

Beneath the light of a full moon, the Nightbloods and Seers are dancing. They are dancing as they await another Awakening, a dream that defines every witch’s destiny.

It doesn’t matter that the coven is cheering and anticipating her turn into womanhood, because Calli doesn’t want any of it. She doesn’t want to see the face of the hired hand Isaiah, nor does she desire the pursuits of a very determined Nightblood as she runs from a future with the Ordinary help. She knows that regardless of whether she taps into forbidden magic or not, an Awakening is rumored to hold ultimate power over the Seer who dreams it.

While the other Seers her age are given to their parties, their enchantments, and the lust of Nightblood suitors, Calli must choose how she'll endure the worst of her visions. There may be a way to survive her sleep, but she's not sure she can defeat the truth that will find her when she’s wide awake.

Does real love even stand a chance against the darkest of magic?

*May Contain Spoilers*

Seers and Nightbloods hide themselves from the world, practicing magic and calling upon both the angels and the underworld to provide justice to Ordinaries in The Short Life of Sparrows by Emm Cole. As Seers dream of horrible acts, the Nightbloods curse those who appear in them. Calli has reached the age of enlightenment, the age of her curse, and the dreams begin. 

Calli has just reached her eighteenth year. She's an orphan of sorts, being raised by her Aunt to avoid magic and the toll it takes. Calli is quite a rambunctious young woman with a blunt way of speaking and a mind of her own. She rarely listens to any advice, whether good or bad, and is quick to anger. Readers will enjoy her feisty attitude, her loyalty, and her determination. They will connect with her as she begins this unknown journey into adulthood as a Seer. 

Isaiah shares the role of narrator with Calli. He's an Ordinary who has been accepted to help out Calli's Aunt over the summer. He's a kind young man with a gentle heart, almost unbelievable with all he's been through as a poor orphan. Isaiah works hard, trying to avoid the Nightbloods while becoming friends with Calli and falling in love with her cousin. Readers will respect Isaiah and love his caring nature. 

The Short Life of Sparrows begins with a celebration of Calli's awakening, where she dreams of running away from her home with Isaiah, the recently hired help. She is determined to never see that come true and tries everything in her power to change it. When Isaiah's feelings for Daphne are revealed, she thinks she is in the clear, but there is much more going on than what meets the eye. The coven has secrets and soon Calli finds herself falling for someone worse than Isaiah. Readers will be enchanted by this new world of magic and curses. All of the characters have great depth and various characteristics that will allow readers to connect with them. The novel is a collection of character journeys and readers will enjoy each one, though the bittersweet ending left a metallic, melancholic taste in my mouth.

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Bound

Sixteen year old Arelia LaRue lives in New Orleans where the music is loud, voodoo queens inhabit every street corner, and the ghosts are alive and well. Despite her surroundings, all she wants is to help her Grand-mere Bea pay the rent and save up for college.

When her best friend Sabrina convinces her to take a well-paying summer job at the infamous Darkwood plantation, owned by the wealthy LaPlante family, Arelia agrees.

However, at Darkwood strange things start to happen, and gorgeous Lucus LaPlante insists that he needs her help. Soon, the powers that Arelia has been denying all her life, come out to play and she discovers mysteries about herself that she could have never imagined. - Goodreads Blurb

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Kira Saito introduces readers to an entirely different world with her novel, Bound, the first book in the Arelia LaRue series. The story revolves around New Orleans and Voodoo folklore, which is a topic that I haven't seen very much. Though, I may have just been looking in the wrong places. 

The novel itself was well laid out. It introduces Arelia who will one day be a great Voodoo Queen. It then tempts her into learning more about the spirit world that surrounds her. Arelia, obviously intrigued (though frightened) accepts her Aunt's help in studying her ability. But just beneath the surface, someone wants to stop Arelia from using her powers.

Sounds great? Sadly, that's where it ceases to be so... interesting. The characters, all of them, lack the depth required when it comes to this folklore genre. It's folklore. Therefore, readers need a strong connection to the characters in order to accept the story as believable. 

Saito fails to connect the reader with Arelia. She isn't a character that draws the audience into her world and she appears to be quite unwilling to help herself. Saito makes her out to be a Voodoo Queen, but pinpoints Arelia's weaknesses. I wanted so much more from this novel. It has the potential to be an amazing book and it could have been if I would have felt any connection to Arelia, but she just falls flat. She has the role of a dynamic character but refuses to be anything but static. 

Arelia's best friend, Sabrina, isn't a nice person. At all. Yet, Arelia still accepts her like a sister, back-stabbing and betrayal included. She's a stereotypical rich girl who doesn't care about anything but herself and what brand her lip-gloss is. It's sad to see a character that could change the outcome of the story cut out of a pattern. And the hero of the story, Lucus? He doesn't seem to do much of anything. Though, he does portray the Southern Gentleman quite well. But he does lack the charm. 

However, I must admit that I did read the entire novel in less than one day. It was a quick easy read that didn't require much in the realm of focus. I would recommend it for a light read if you'd like to know a little bit about Voodoo history. Saito does a nice job revealing the details of Voodoo without it becoming too much to comprehend. That part of the novel: I very much liked. 

Bound
on Amazon

rating: 2/5 cups