Soundless by Richelle Mead Review

Artist-in-training Fei has never left her village. No one ever has. Isolated on top of an inaccessible mountain, her people use a zipline to trade the precious metals in their mines for food from the city below. But that's not the only hardship her village faces: for generations, no one has been able to hear, forcing them to live in a world based on sign language and written communication. Now, a mysterious ailment is striking villagers blind, leaving them in both darkness and silence--and Fei's sister may be the next victim.

When Fei suddenly wakes one day with her hearing restored, she learns she has the ability to save her village and unlock the secret of their mysterious history. But first, Fei must find a way to descend the treacherous mountain--a task complicated by both her new ability to hear and the company of an old love interest...

Okay, I love love love Richelle Mead. I love her imagination and how she embraces the worlds she create and her characters' voices. She's honestly one of my favorite authors. So when I was at SDCC and I attended a Penguin panel, they brought up this book and the hype was real. My hand shot up when they asked for questions and naturally, I asked if they had any ARCs. They said no, they ran out. I quite literally fell out of my chair. So the next day, I stopped by the Penguin booth and, against all hope, asked them again. AND GOOD LORD, THE WOMAN THERE RECOGNIZED ME FROM THE PANEL AND GOT SO EXCITED BECAUSE THEY'D FOUND A CRUSHED BOX THAT HAD 12 OF THEM, SO I GOT TO TAKE ONE HOME! I've never been so excited in my life. I got a little teary. 

I couldn't wait to read this book. I'd been so hyped about it for so long, so as soon as comic con was over, I sat down and started reading. I finished this book in a few hours, seeing as it's only a little over 200 pages.

I'm going to start with the world building. The world building was absolutely beautiful. She managed to make me believe this deaf community on the top of the mountain was real. There was the caste system, where artists could only marry artists and miners can only marry miners. Then the way the town's people went about their lives. Since everyone was deaf, Mead had to formulate a way of life that was convincing and she went about it beautifully.

When Fei regained her hearing, she captured the child-like wonder people feel when they're experiencing something for the first time. The characters were beautifully written and so fully fledged, I was in love with them and their complex personalities. 

But there was a major downfall to this book. I wanted more to the plot. Not much happened. Fei and Li Wei are going to save the town. They do it. I found myself disappointed with the lack of plot. I was expecting this great adventure filled with magic and new experiences. I got the exact opposite. There was very little adventure, they didn't go very far, magic came from no where, and the ending was very rushed. She spent so much time developing the characters and town that by the time any adventure has started, we're half way through the book. I'm sad to say that I was disappointed.

I wanted so badly to be in love with this book, but it fell short and I wish there was more to it. All in all, I give it 3.5 stars.

(I still plan on reading anything Mead puts out though. I remain optimistic for her future books still.)


I kept this review short and to the point to avoid spoilers. I'll post a more in depth one when the book comes out!