Review by Tionna (@readwithtee)

SING ME TO SLEEP by Gabi Burton was crafted beautifully, I couldn't pull away from the story the moment I read the first page. The writing was captivating as well as the plot, the magic system, the political aspect, and the world building. You were able to feel the emotions of the intense scenes. Set in a world ruled by the Fae who in their attempts to thrive, accomplished in annihilating other creatures within the kingdom, making those who survived their servants. We follow Saoirse, a siren, who is considered to be one of the most feared creatures of the land to exist; and possibly the only survivor of her kind. An assassin, Saoirse was able to hide her identity from the Fae. But when she becomes selected to be one of the prince's guards, her identity and the lives of those she loves is threatened by a political uproar and coup

 
I enjoyed learning the history of the kingdom and the royal family.

 
Saoirse was a phenomenal character. She is one of my new favorites, she captured my attention from the start. Saoirse was completely flawed, ruthless, and vulnerable. It was beautiful to see her growth through the story as she experiences constant battles with herself falling for the temptations of her powers and the consequences of it. Struggling with the morals of being a siren of what the world expected her to be versus what she wanted for herself. I admired the love that she had for her family and the lengths she would go to protect her sister Rain. She didn't care about the amount of sacrifices she had to make, as long as Rain was safe that's all she cared about.

 
I loved the interactions and the dynamic between Saoirse and Prince Hayes. There were incredible moments of their chemistry being built in this book that leaves so many possibilities for them in the second book, especially after what transpired at the end. I cannot wait to see what to come for both of their journeys.
Overall, incredible debut 

Review by Ash (@ash_and_her_books)  

Sing me to Sleep by Gabi Burton

This was an extremely fun read! We follow a murderous siren, Saoirse,  as she infiltrates the royal palace in an attempt to find out who is blackmailing her family.

I loved following a siren. I haven't read any other books with a siren as the main mythological creature. Gabi burton did not downplay the murderous nature of these creatures which we tend to see in YA titles. Our bookclub discussion did focus on how her urge to kill men was not well explained nor did the book center a black reimagining of siren lore. However, I found the explanation given in the book sufficed.

I also loved the slow burn romance. I have not read many stories that feature black fae so this was fun to see those tropes reimagined. I also enjoyed the dynamic of a royal falling in love with their guard . This dynamic always makes way for tension and forbidden yearning.

I  also loved the pace, the pages kept turning themselves , I was so anxious and the twist got towards the end truly shocked me

The main character also had an intense protectiveness of her younger sister . Again, in our bookclub discussion, a lot of our members felt that this motive was overdone but I felt it made sense given how isolated Saoirse felt being the only reviled siren with no one unconditionally accepting her outside of her sister 

I also loved the elemental magic, the cocky prince and having villainous black girls running the show.