ARC Review: Soundless - Richelle Mead

Title: Soundless
Author: Richelle Mead
Pub Date: November 10th, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count: 272

From Richelle Mead, the #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines, comes a breathtaking new fantasy steeped in Chinese folklore.

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom.

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Richelle Mead takes readers on a triumphant journey from the peak of Fei’s jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiugo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life forever...

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Boring, seemingly random and riddled with deus ex machinas that stunted the development of the main character. - Nova @ Out of Time

This was my first Richelle Mead book and because of that, I didn't really have any expectations for the book. I know she's a popular author and her VA/Bloodlines series got a lot of success. That being said, my expectations were directed towards the writing style and her ability to craft a story - not the actual book itself.

I'm thinking that maybe I did the right thing. Because even though I didn't have expectations for Soundless, it still managed to let me down. I was frustrated with pretty much everything in the book. The only thing I really enjoyed was the culture [because Chinese culture is mine] and the Asian girl on the cover. The Asian culture was represented pretty well, even if some of it was unbelievable.

First off, this book lacked logic. Food comes in if the village produces metal. Metal is produced by miners. So doesn't it make sense for the food to go where the source of income is? WROOOOOONG! In this book, food is given to the servants and the artists - almost none for the miners. Excuse me, but aren't the miners the only reason the entire village is getting food?

I also could not feel or connect to anything in the story. There was some really awkward romance that read like instalove to me. The love interest sparkles, which should be enough reason in itself. Our main character, while had honorable intentions, failed to impress me in any way, shape or form. Rather, she felt so bland and one-dimensional. I also failed to see much action on her part that affected the plot. Yes, she can hear but in the end, it wasn't actually her that caused things to be resolved.

Which leads me to the amount of deus ex machinas in this book. Jeez. A deus ex machina is when someone random is introduced to fix a seemingly unsolvable problem. The main character and the love interest are stuck in a foreign place while people are starting to take notice. Panic is about to happen. Things are going to get bad - I can see it. When suddenly! A women comes out of the darkness, beckoning them to follow her so she can lead them out of danger. Isn't it funny that she's in the right place at the right time and is also able to sign because she knows they can't hear?
Exhibit B: We're led to believe that the male lead is doomed because he pulls a Jack and lets the girl escape. Yes, they have a nauseating "never let go" moment. However, when things all go to chaos [because obviously, the girl can't do anything on her own] he comes in on a frickin' stallion. Alright.
Don't even get me started on the pixius at the end of the novel because no problem is too big that can't be solved with the arrival of mythical beings.

So much of this book was solved so simply - the main characters never went through much struggle and that caused them to feel so irrelevant. Mead's writing was alright - I could see the skill of an author who'd written a book [or many] before. However, this book just really wasn't for me.

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Scorpio Richelle Mead is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Michigan, Richelle now lives in Seattle, Washington where she works on her three series full-time: Georgina Kincaid, Dark Swan, and Vampire Academy.

A life-long reader, Richelle has always loved mythology and folklore. When she can actually tear herself away from books (either reading or writing them), she enjoys bad reality TV, traveling, trying interesting cocktails, and shopping for dresses. She's a self-professed coffee addict and has a passion for all things wacky and humorous.