STATS:
Book: Archer’s Voice
Author: Mia Sheridan
Date read: August 22, 2014
Date finished: August 25, 2014
Rating: ★★★★★ 5 Stars
HOW MUCH THIS BOOK AFFECTED ME:
Physically: ★★★★½ 4.5 Stars
Mentally: ★★★★ 4 Stars
Emotionally: ★★★★½ 4.5 Stars
MY REVIEW (SPOILER-FREE)
Before I begin this review, I’d like to thank Debra on Goodreads for “introducing” this book to me. The first thing that caught my eye about Archer’s Voice was the average rating: 4.59 stars, higher than any other I’ve seen on Goodreads so far. That alone just made me want to pick it up to see what all the hype was about. Being a person who knows that a book could be hated by one person and loved by the other, Archer’s Voice seemed to steal the hearts of all readers alike. And in a book, that’s really, really hard to accomplish.
I’ve read a book by Mia Sheridan in the past – Stinger – and I absolutely loved it. So I thought, why not give this one a shot, too?
So I got the book. I read the book. And let me tell you… damn, was this a good book.
Archer’s Voice is a part of Mia’s A Sign of Love “series”, where the books are based on the Zodiac signs. This particular book, a standalone, was inspired by Sagittarius (or the Archer) and the story was built around the tale of Chiron the Centaur from ancient Greek mythology. (Props to any Percy Jackson fans out there – yes)
“Chiron’s wound symbolizes the transformative power of suffering – how personal pain, both physical and emotional, can become the source of great moral and spiritual strength.”
Archer’s Voice represented that moral exceptionally, and in the utmost beautiful way. I honestly don’t know how to explain it; this magnificent and deeply affecting story is one to discover for yourself. I can only tell you about how much I enjoyed it in hopes that you’ll give this beautiful book a chance to embed itself into your mind.
Rarely do I ever find books that ignite some sort of connection with the story within me, but Archer’s Voice successfully accomplished that, much to my surprise. I’m extremely picky about what books get to capture a bit of my heart, and it all comes down to whether or not the story makes me feel something. Most romances get a surge of unnamed emotion out of me, but only a couple get me feeling anything real. And by real, I mean the butterflies-in-the-stomach, blushing-all-over, warmth-spreading-through-the-chest kind of thing. Unexpectedly, Archer’s Voice did exactly that.
The only thing preventing this book from joining my all-time-favourites is that though I absolutely loved it, it just didn’t call out to me in particular. Now, I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with the book, because majority think the book is close to perfect; it’s just my own preferences. It’s like when you’re vegetarian and everyone else is not, you like the colour green and everyone else likes blue, your friends all play sports outside but you’d prefer to curl up indoors with a book, etc. Yeah. I think you get what I mean by now.
Nonetheless, this book was still pretty goddamn amazing. And would I recommend it? Hell. Yeah.
EXTRA DEETS (SPOILER WARNING)
One thing I just didn’t really get in Archer’s story was that if he got shot in the neck (damaging his vocal chords), wouldn’t that be like slitting one’s throat? Wouldn’t the neck be severed? I don’t know, I just had the impression that he’d be, you know, dead before the paramedics got to him. But hey, what do I know about the details of butchered neck? Oh yeah. Nothing. Don’t take my word for anything (;
And… that part… near the end…
Excuse me while I go all shouty-caps for a second. To let all my sorrow and frustration out. I apologize in advance.
DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH I CRIED WHEN I THOUGHT ARCHER WAS SHOT DEAD AND OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL MIA SHERIDAN YOU GET HERE RIGHT NOW LADY HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME I WAS AN EMOTIONAL WRECK DO YOU EVEN HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR MY OWN FEELINGS HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MEEEEE
Yeah. Okay. I think I got out the worst of it.
But seriously, when I got to the end of that chapter, I literally just calmly and steadily set the book down back on my lap, turned my blank gaze to the wall, and completely broke down while the tears streamed endlessly down my cheeks. I am not exaggerating a single word. That chapter wrecked me, I tell you. All I could think of as I wept was, Why would you create and develop this amazing story of Archer and Bree only to fucking kill off Archer in the end?
So after a full half hour of wallowing and grieving, I finally picked up the book again… and whaddya know? Archer was still alive.
Excuse me, again, while I turn on caps lock.
HOW COULD YOU EVEN I KEPT CRYING AND CRYING AND I THOUGHT THE STORY JUST ENDED LIKE THAT AND ARCHER DIED AND BREE WAS LEFT ALL ALONE AND DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO ME I WASTED SO MANY GODDAMN TEARS OVER SOMETHING THAT DIDN’T EVEN FUCKING HAPPEN WHAT THE HELL
Alright. Done with that. For now.
What are your thoughts on Archer’s Voice? Comment below! I want to see your opinions on this beautifully-written novel and hopefully we can all rant on and on about Archer’s “death” – together. Yay (:
aimless thoughts 