Song of the Forever Rains

Written by E.J. Mellow

Narrated by Madeline Lake and Nelson Hobbs

From the award-winning author of the Dreamland series comes a new dark romantic fantasy about a young woman finding hope in her powers of destruction.

The Thief Kingdom is a place hidden within the world of Aadilor. Many whisper of its existence, but few have found this place, where magic and pleasure abound. There, the mysterious Thief King reigns supreme with the help of the Mousai, a trio of revered and feared sorceresses.

Larkyra Bassette may be the youngest of the Mousai, but when she sings her voice has the power to slay monsters. When it’s discovered the Duke of Lachlan is siphoning a poisonous drug from the Thief Kingdom and using it to abuse his tenants, Larkyra is offered her first solo mission to stop the duke. Eager to prove herself, Larkyra accepts by posing as the duke’s potential bride. But her plans grow complicated when she finds herself drawn to Lord Darius Mekenna, Lachlan’s rightful heir. Soon she suspects Darius has his own motivations for ridding Lachlan of the corrupt duke. Larkyra and Darius must learn to trust each other if there is to be any hope of saving the people of Lachlan—and themselves.

Welcome to the world of Aadilor, where lords and ladies can be murderers and thieves, and the most alluring notes are often the deadliest. Dare to listen?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jul 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781713570318

E.J. Mellow

E. J. Mellow is the award-winning author of the contemporary fantasy Dreamland series. The Animal under the Fur is her first stand-alone action romance. She is also the cofounder of She Is Booked, a literary-themed fundraising organization that supports women’s charities. With a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, E. J. splits her time between her two loves—visual design and writing.

Reviews for Song of the Forever Rains

[ZizaCal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not sure why anyone would give this book 2 stars, but I loved it. Beautiful imagery, complicated and diverse characters, a well built fantasy world, and a morally ambiguous protagonist. Can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy!

[barnesfamily02 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed the adventure in this story. I liked every bit of the journey and the build up to & the eventual romance.
I would like to read the next 2 books, as I think they should be as good.

[Brittany Hicks · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This one was rough to finish. Just could not get into it and the twist was way too far fetched.

[Krystal Reid · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A really good story. Very well written. Unique storyline made it hard to stop listening.

[Angela Joy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

DNF. I tried, but it felt way too forced like the author was trying too hard to be shocking but didn't hit the mark. It reminds me of my own writing at age 14. I am actually wondering if this is meant to be YA?

[Lucia Garcia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It started out slow. Some of it is predictable but satisfyingly so. There's magic, a bit of romance, sisterly banter, and gossip. It was a good feeling reading about good-doing thieves.

[Giada Vancini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found this book lovely, the story is very original and I loved the type of magic, also I'll never be able to say no to sassy female characters.

[Monique Monrean · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Long review short…

World building could be better. Was left struggling to envision the story at times.

The romance felt forced and sudden, not much build up.

Definitely worth a listen, it’s just not a strong book.

[varen shino · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The cause of conflict was such a trivial matter it caught me by surprise at how unsignificant it is lmao

[Gabriela Porto · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't think it was a more than ok reading, until I caught myself thinks about this book and the world it introduces us for days later. The FMC is not that relatable, butt hey, maybe that's bc I'm the older sister. I'm looking forward for the next books.

[MELISSIA LENOX · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best audio books I've had the luck and pleasure of listening to in a long, long time.

[Billie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Song of the Forever Rains
E.J. Mellow
YA Fantasy

In the Thief Kingdom, there are three sisters who make up the Mousai, and this story is about young Larkyra Bassette, the youngest of the three, her voice is her magic, able to drive men and monsters mad, or heal injuries, and her first solo mission to find out where the Duke of Lachlan is getting his drug, which is made from the blood of the gifted like Larkyra, and to put an end to his abuse of his step-son and tenants.

It's a good story, and moves along at a pretty good clip, though I feel that the characters need more life brought to them along with the people of the Duke's kingdom, they especially seem plain. Larkyra's sisters were also pretty plain, but they each get their own book in this series.

3 Stars

[Charity · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Obviously the cover us beautiful and I've been in a bit of a slump but this was just the breath of fresh air I needed! Magic and a dad that lets all of his daughters be a part of what he does from parties to torture.

You know it's going to be interesting to say the least when the prologue has the three sisters as kids playing in a puddle of blood drawning designs on their dresses. That right there was all I needed to follow Larkyra and her family on and adventure.

[Charlotte · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars

This is an excellent beginning to a new world and series. The world-building was well thought out and the characters have a lot of depth. There is more fantasy and plot than romance but it has a good YA romance plot in the background which is a slow burn.

The sisters have a great relationship and I loved that the story focused on their friendship a fair bit throughout to help Larkyra with her journey. It reminded me a lot of a fairytale with how the plot was laid out and how the characters were trying to figure out the best way to overcome this challenge they were faced with. I would have like to have learned more about the Theif King and his Kingdom, it seemed to focus more on the "good" characters than the "bad" when it came to explaining backstories.

[Unathi Guma · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was fantastic. The world. The kingdoms. The names. Our author is very talented when it comes to naming. Wow! The only disappointment is the reason the Kings phoria induced cruelty to his stepson. That I felt was a little anti- climatic to be very honest. Apart from that. Wonderful, wonderful story!

[baochuan-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good story about the people who has and has not the magic power intertwined and how the Thief king (king of people who has magic) tried to maintain the balance. The magic can be siphoning off to the non Magic people with consequence similar to drug addition. The main character Larkyra is well described, however, other characters are kind of flat.

[spiritedstardust · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this and I’m excited for the rest

[starknits_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed it for a bit then I couldn't get into it and I'm not about forcing myself to read books I'm avoiding

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Mousai trilogy. I got a copy of this on ebook through Kindle First Reads.

Thoughts: I ended up enjoying this a lot, it was much different than I was expecting but not in a bad way. This is much more of a serial fantasy romance type of format and I think I was expecting more epic fantasy. I enjoyed this though, the writing style is beautiful and effortless to read...this is one of those books that practically reads itself. The next two books of the series each feature one of Larkyra's sisters and the romance they find.

The story alternates POV between Larkyra (one of the three Mousai) and Darius (stepson of the Duke of Lachlan). Larkyra is sent to Lachlan to root out an illegal drug that's being smuggled out of the Thief Kingdom. Darius wants to stop his father the Duke, from destroying Lachlan. Initially, Larkyra and Darius are at odds but soon learn that they might accomplish more by working together.

I really enjoyed the Mousai and their magical powers and the strange Thief Kingdom. The Thief Kingdom has a magical almost dark circus-like or fairy tale feel to it. The whole book has a gothic dreamy feel to it that felt very magical.

After the initial setup, the story does devolve into more of a dark fantasy romance. Darius and Larkyra have an enemies to lovers thing going on. The main plot is always woven through this but I would put this more into the fantasy romance category. The book is beautifully written and really sweeps the reader away into magical and desolate locations.

I enjoyed Larkyra's relationship with her sisters and father. I also loved the magic in here and how the story wrapped up. I also liked some of the edginess to the darkness throughout the book. I plan on continuing the series.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was very well done but different from what I was expecting. This is very much a dark, gothic, fantasy romance. I liked the characters and the magical settings. The description in here is beautiful and the story is very easy to engage in and read. This was a book I struggled to put down and I really enjoyed how dark and magical it felt. I would recommend to those looking for an effortless but magical, dark fantasy romance read. I have already picked up the next two books in the series through Kindle Unlimited to read.