This book's cover was so gorgeous; I 100% judged it for its cover before I even read anything about it! I claimed this book with point through BookishFirst because it is so pretty and I thought the premise was pretty interesting. I had not read anything from the author before this book, so I figured it would be an adventure. Thank you BookishFirst and the publisher for supplying me with this copy to read and review early.
This book is a historical fiction set in the world and time of classical music and Mozart. Nannerl and her brother Wolfgang are known around Europe as child prodigies when it comes to both composing and playing music. With their family, they travel around Europe making money and playing for the best. Nannerl realizes that, as a woman, she is not able to openly compose music and will not be able to be a musician for long as she is expected to marry and build her own family. Because of this, she has one wish...to never be forgotten. As an answer to her wish, a strange boy and a strange land begin to appear in her dreams. As time goes by, both Nannerl and Wolfgang start to see the strange "prince" and bits of The Kingdom of Back. Nannerl slowly realizes that her wish has a price, as sickness and ill-will wreck the family. In an attempt to save her brother and her family, Nannerl fights back against the supposed prince.
I really loved the ideal of this book and the premise, especially since it sought to tell a different side of story that we all know and love. The classical musicians are almost magicians in their own right, creating music from sounds and instruments. I adored the alternative narrative of Wolfgang's sister as a master musician. I also enjoyed the blatant hits to culture and society in which women could not do what men could. I thought this was brilliantly done and really created a space to examine what was happening as well as discuss it. These bits of forgotten history are very intriguing and I enjoy reading about them and opening my ideas and perspectives.
While there were some good things in this book (female-driven history, a female in a male world, lush landscapes and descriptions), they were a bit hidden by other aspects and pieces of this book that I didn't find too satisfactory. First, this book had some serious pacing issues. It starts off slow but at a pace that makes sense and allows for the story to develop. As it goes on, the pacing really gets off and it becomes quite easy to get lost in what is happening because it moves so quickly.
Secondly, there are two beautiful maps included in this book. I loved the maps and the orientation they provide. However, I wish that all the cities the family travels to were listed on the map. I often flipped back and forth from the reading to the maps to see where the family was in relation to other places. Sometimes this was possible, and at other times impossible since their hometown wasn't on the map. A similar thing happened with the map of The Kingdom of Back. The map is gorgeous, but I felt like it was not really needed as it didn't really help orient the reader and some of the places on the map didn't really get much description or explaining in the text. It felt like they were placed in the book just as illustrations versus having an actual job. I absolutely loved the maps, but felt like they could have done more.
Besides these two smaller things, the biggest issue I had was the over-used trope of young lady being led astray by a handsome and mysterious stranger. How many times does this plot device have to be used before it is killed?! I was upset by this because Nannerl is a strong female who has the potential to take care of her own problems without the help of a magical male and she doesn't have to be written to give in to his ways and be swayed by him. Also, why does this have to be a male? I just felt like Nannerl was written very strong in the beginning and had much potential but is quickly changed into a weak little girl who only makes wishes and cannot take care of her problems. I just wish this sort of trope or plot device would disappear because WE DO NOT NEED TO KEEP READING THIS. WOMEN CAN BE STRONG-ON THIER OWN.
Overall, I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I felt like it had a lot of potential and could have been one of those stories that we read and fall in love with because of how it portrays a female and lifts her up. The cover of this book is beautiful and the idea is brilliant, it just failed for me as a whole. I wouldn't say not to read this, but instead read it with an open mind and think of ways that it could be better.
This book is a historical fiction set in the world and time of classical music and Mozart. Nannerl and her brother Wolfgang are known around Europe as child prodigies when it comes to both composing and playing music. With their family, they travel around Europe making money and playing for the best. Nannerl realizes that, as a woman, she is not able to openly compose music and will not be able to be a musician for long as she is expected to marry and build her own family. Because of this, she has one wish...to never be forgotten. As an answer to her wish, a strange boy and a strange land begin to appear in her dreams. As time goes by, both Nannerl and Wolfgang start to see the strange "prince" and bits of The Kingdom of Back. Nannerl slowly realizes that her wish has a price, as sickness and ill-will wreck the family. In an attempt to save her brother and her family, Nannerl fights back against the supposed prince.
I really loved the ideal of this book and the premise, especially since it sought to tell a different side of story that we all know and love. The classical musicians are almost magicians in their own right, creating music from sounds and instruments. I adored the alternative narrative of Wolfgang's sister as a master musician. I also enjoyed the blatant hits to culture and society in which women could not do what men could. I thought this was brilliantly done and really created a space to examine what was happening as well as discuss it. These bits of forgotten history are very intriguing and I enjoy reading about them and opening my ideas and perspectives.
While there were some good things in this book (female-driven history, a female in a male world, lush landscapes and descriptions), they were a bit hidden by other aspects and pieces of this book that I didn't find too satisfactory. First, this book had some serious pacing issues. It starts off slow but at a pace that makes sense and allows for the story to develop. As it goes on, the pacing really gets off and it becomes quite easy to get lost in what is happening because it moves so quickly.
Secondly, there are two beautiful maps included in this book. I loved the maps and the orientation they provide. However, I wish that all the cities the family travels to were listed on the map. I often flipped back and forth from the reading to the maps to see where the family was in relation to other places. Sometimes this was possible, and at other times impossible since their hometown wasn't on the map. A similar thing happened with the map of The Kingdom of Back. The map is gorgeous, but I felt like it was not really needed as it didn't really help orient the reader and some of the places on the map didn't really get much description or explaining in the text. It felt like they were placed in the book just as illustrations versus having an actual job. I absolutely loved the maps, but felt like they could have done more.
Besides these two smaller things, the biggest issue I had was the over-used trope of young lady being led astray by a handsome and mysterious stranger. How many times does this plot device have to be used before it is killed?! I was upset by this because Nannerl is a strong female who has the potential to take care of her own problems without the help of a magical male and she doesn't have to be written to give in to his ways and be swayed by him. Also, why does this have to be a male? I just felt like Nannerl was written very strong in the beginning and had much potential but is quickly changed into a weak little girl who only makes wishes and cannot take care of her problems. I just wish this sort of trope or plot device would disappear because WE DO NOT NEED TO KEEP READING THIS. WOMEN CAN BE STRONG-ON THIER OWN.
Overall, I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I felt like it had a lot of potential and could have been one of those stories that we read and fall in love with because of how it portrays a female and lifts her up. The cover of this book is beautiful and the idea is brilliant, it just failed for me as a whole. I wouldn't say not to read this, but instead read it with an open mind and think of ways that it could be better.