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Title: Siren’s Song
Author: Heather McCollum
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Pages: 376
Year: 2014
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Source: Review Copy from NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5

Summary:

Jule has always had a mesmerizing voice, just like her mother. When Luke moves to town, the two are immediately attracted to each other. But her voice, instead of its usual spellbinding effect, causes only anger and violence in Luke. When Luke comes clean about his real history, Jule finds herself caught in a 200-year-old tale, desperate to hold on to Luke and to end an awful curse.

My Thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was unique for me – I don’t think I’ve read a book about a siren before and the paranormal backstory/mythology is really interesting.

While the topic was unique, this one did have some similarities to Twilight: girl has crush on boy who can’t seem to figure out whether to love her or kill her. It even – in what I hope was an intentional tongue-and-cheek moment – quotes it at one point. So if you like Twilight – and I won’t make you raise your hand if you do – you might like this one.

While the Luke-Jule relationship was certainly central to the book, I think my favorite aspect of the book was the powerful friendship between Jule and her best friend, Carly. Although it wavers for a moment, the bond between these two is unbreakable. This is actually one thing I loved (and miss) about high school – that amazing level of friendship that only teenage girls seem capable of, and I love finding YA books that capture this.

One possible con – I occasionally got an abusive relationship vibe from this one. Luke – because of the curse and because of his growing strength – actually harms Jule at times and it made me a little uncomfortable when she wasn’t upset by this (and that she was okay with a boy silencing her voice). But I seem to be the only person on the internet that feels this way so maybe I am being a little oversensitive.

Despite this, I can definitely recommend Siren’s Song If you’re looking for a new paranormal YA novel.