The Song Rising (The Bone Season #3) by Samantha Shannon

First I read AND LOVED SO MUCH The Priory of the Orange Tree  and I wanted more of Samantha Shannon so I got my hands on these books, which my friend Rachel who I work with, and who has amazing taste in books by the way (her favorite which is now in my top 5 for sure is I'll Give You the Sun which I highly suggest you read), said this was a good series. It took awhile for me to really fall into this world but once I did, about 80ish pages into The Bone Season, I was totally hooked and with small break between The Mime Order (which I loved from page 1) and this one to read How to Be Remy Cameron (also a must read!!) I am not anxious for the next book in the series which I believe is do out next year sometime and then 1 a year until I think I heard 7 books have been published. 

The Song Rising picks up where The Mime Order left off and Paige is trying to lead and she is trying to learn to have trust in her own instincts and gifts and not be what others want to make her into. It isn't easy and she faces betrayal and resistance. There are some who think she is too soft and others who think she isn't worthy and can't be trusted to run the syndicate. Her judgments are questioned and she begins to believe her detractors. 

I am happy to say Warden is back, he is perhaps my favorite character in this series. I like Paige too, her desire for freedom and to temper justice with mercy are timeless themes. I know this series was begun in the pre-trump era but it feels so important to the times we are living in. The dire warning about creating hierarchies based on some characteristic used for othering, in this case being a clairvoyant, is parallel to the racial and religious othering trump and his ilk are pushing and which is making the world even more dangerous for people of color, Jews, Muslims, and LGBTQ+ people.

Anyway, I won't go into the political realm any more that that. I will end by saying I am so glad I stuck with book 1 because I am now truly invested in this series and these characters.

(Finished Sept. 23, 2019)