Hey Bookworm friends, I thought trying to post one “Old Review Dust-Off” a month would be fun. It’s a series where I re-share my old reviews of books I think deserve more attention. I believe old posts deserve to come back into the spotlight every once in a while🖤. The last one I did was for The Terraformers. If you’re reading this I invite you to leave a link from an old review of yours and I’ll show it some love! Today’s review I’m re-sharing is for Vevin Song.
I’ll be linking up this post with @athomealot’s Book Worms Monthly. It’s a monthly linky event where we can share our bookish content, up to 4 posts per month. Reviews, reading lists, interviews…Anything book-related is allowed. Come join in on the fun!
About Vevin Song
Author: Jonathan Neves Mayers
Genre(s): Sci Fantasy
Publisher: Self-Pub
Format Read: E-Book
Year Published: 2023
Source: Author Request
Series: Vevin Song, #1
Cover Artist: Miblart
Synopsis
Vevin Song is an SFF dystopian novel. We’re thrown into a world that has been invaded by Lightbirds otherwise known as Vevin. They came down from the sky, killing humans on sight, and have taken over the island where the humans live. To survive, the humans move to underwater cocoons, as water is the Vevin’s kryptonite.
Pace: Fast, Plot Driven
Tone: Adventurous, Mysterious
Mini-Review
We mainly follow our MC Marla but the book has different POVS. Marla lives for parties and hates her job; She wishes she got assigned to the Goldgills, the heroic group of people who go above land to collect resources for the cocoons. One day she begins to display Vevin-like abilities and decides to run away to the island.
This book is so creative! The Vevin are unlike anything I’ve ever read: they are terrifying, fascinating and sometimes even cute. The author really took advantage of what I love best about fantasy: the endless possibilities. I very much enjoyed learning about the Vevin lore and culture.
I was immediately hooked at the start as the story is action-based and fast-paced so if you like action adventures this is for you. Especially if you like violence mixed in with your adventure, it was gory in parts and the author has no qualms about killing off his characters!
At its core, it’s a story about the fear of the unknown and not blaming a whole group for the actions of a few individuals. This is a good time to mention a few CWs for alcoholism & abuse as it hits on heavy topics. While I liked the overall message, I thought that part of the delivery was a bit confusing and convoluted. I struggled to keep up with the # of characters, and the motivations of different factions seemed nebulous to me.
Final Thoughts & Rating
Ultimately, the ending was satisfying and it leaves the door open for a continuation but it can also serve as a stand-alone. Edit: the second book is in the works according to the author. I am glad I read this book as I do believe it’s a feat of imagination and I know this author will only get stronger with each next book!
Neves Mayers’ upcoming book “Cazorra’s Curse“, a prequel novella, is scheduled for release on October 8, 2024. I’m looking forward to checking it out!
Please note that when I wrote this review I was not using the CAWPILE rating method. I’ll attempt to rate the categories as best as my memory allows given I read this in 2023 (For reference I gave it 3 stars on GR).
| CAWPILE | Rating (0-10) |
|---|---|
| Characters | 6 |
| Atmosphere | 6 |
| Writing Style | 7 |
| Plot | 8 |
| Intrigue | 8 |
| Logic | 5.5 |
| Enjoyment | 8 |
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder,
Physical Abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal Death,
Child Death, Grief
Minor (Mention):
Let’s chat in the comments!
Does this book sound like one you might enjoy? Feel free to share the links for a review you think needs more love so I can check it out!
“Terrifying, fascinating, and sometimes cute…” Mm, these Vevin sound like toddlers!
hah yes if toddlers had a sharp blade-like weapon that came out of their arms then Vevin are exactly like that 😂!!
I’ve never heard of this book before but maybe I’ll check it out one day. I’d like to try out a couple of other Sci fi books first to see how I get on with them though. I’ll keep an eye out for what you have to say about the prequel though. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it. And I appreciate that it sounds like it tackles a lot of difficult themes.
This one is a small indie one that I hope more people read. The author is so nice and this story is so creative! This one is not hard sci-fi by any means but sci-fi in the way that it’s a dystopian and they live in cocoons underwater so all the technology that goes along with that. It’s fantasy in a lot of other ways. I am curious to see how you get on with sci-fi books too. & I hope to enjoy the prequel as well! 🙂
Ooh well I do enjoy a dystopian novel and it’s lovely when a book seems to fit several genres like that. Hopefully more people will discover it as the prequel comes out.
Yes here’s hoping! And I love books that seamlessly blends various genres as well 🙂