Starred review from April 24, 2023
Seventeen-year-old Saoirse Sorkova is a beautiful, brown-skinned siren, believed extinct in the fae-ruled Kingdom of Keirdre. As a siren, she can feel and taste emotions as well as ensnare men’s minds, and she also grapples with an insatiable need to kill. Saoirse hides her lineage and lives in secret among Keirdre’s fae, witch, and human denizens, only sharing her powers with her multi-species family. To make ends meet and protect her non-fae younger sister Rain from the cruel monarchy, Saoirse trains as a soldier in the kingdom’s military school by day, and by night performs covert, clandestine assassinations for an anonymous employer. When Rain receives a blackmail letter threatening to reveal her heritage, Saoirse vows to uncover the blackmailer using her new position as a guard for the otherworldly fae Prince Hayes. But a growing conspiracy soon reveals that her past assassinations might be connected, putting everything she’s worked so hard for at risk. Via Saoirse’s simultaneously ruthless and tender first-person POV, Burton spins an unforgettable debut that boasts impeccable characterizations and fresh takes on well-trod tropes that promise an amorous adventure centering a devoted, rag-tag family, stirring mythos, and sweetly budding romance. Ages 13–up. Agent: Naomi Davis, BookEnds Literary.
May 1, 2023
Grades 8-12 Burton's fast-paced debut is sure to dazzle readers. As the last of her kind, Saoirse must keep her true identity from those who would harm her, but her siren instincts demand that she kill. Saoirse moonlights as an assassin for the mysterious Raze to satisfy her murderous urge. After graduating from her academy, she is recruited to guard Crown Prince Hayes and begins receiving vaguely threatening notes that encourage her to dig into the Royal Family's dark past. While getting to know Hayes and fighting to control her base instincts, Saoirse uncovers a brewing war and must decide where her loyalties lie. Sing Me to Sleep is an enthralling read with complex and morally gray characters. Saoirse's love for her sister is endearing, and it's easy for readers to empathize with the siren as she is forced to make difficult decisions. While Saoirse's world is described as segregated, those details are lost in favor of its fast-paced nature. Be prepared for a fantasy that will hook from the first page and won't let go until the very last!
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Starred review from August 1, 2023
Gr 7 Up-In this murder mystery wrapped in fantasy, debut author Burton creates an entire world filled with fae, humans, witches, and a siren. The novel is set in the mythical world of Keirdren, a kingdom surrounded by a magical boundary put in place by a wicked and still ruling King. Saoirse, the last siren and the best soldier in the kingdom, would do anything for Rain, her adopted sister. Rain has expensive needs that drive Saoirse to use her siren powers as a murderer for hire. She must be careful, because the Royal family hates sirens and what they can do; if found out she would be executed. When the Royal family requests the best fighter in the graduating class to join the ranks of the Royal guard, Saoirse must hide her true nature and appearance with the aid of her adoptive aunt, a witch. Blackmail and murders take place, and a plot to murder the Crown Prince and Royal family is revealed. Saoirse is caught between saving her own family and friends or revealing her true nature and possibly losing herself to the power of her own Song. The book's cast of characters is brown and Black. VERDICT A highly recommended addition to any collection that serves YA readers who enjoy mystery or fantasy.-Helen Prince
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Starred review from April 15, 2023
In the kingdom of Keirdre, sirens are presumed extinct. The trouble is that Saoirse is very much a siren--and not only does she live in Keirdre, she regularly gives into her instincts to kill by seducing men marked for death by the Employer, her anonymous boss, using her astounding beauty and entrancing singing. Her earnings supplement her family's meager income from operating a flour mill under the exploitative rule of the Royals, the all-powerful fae at the top of Keirdre's social hierarchy. Because Royals hate sirens more than any other creature, she hides in plain sight, disguised as an ikatus, or fae without a magical affinity. No shrinking violet, Saoirse is at the top of her class at graduation and gunning for an esteemed position in the Keirdren military. When she is instead offered a position as a guard to Prince Hayes, she initially rejects the position out of disdain for the Royals, but when Rain, Saoirse's beloved and vulnerable little sister, receives a threatening letter, Saoirse joins the prince's guard in hopes that proximity to the Royals will help her identify the blackmailer. Questions pile up, leading Saoirse into a deep web of deceit and intrigue in a thrilling page-turner. Snappy dialogue, unpredictable plot twists, skillful worldbuilding, strong characterization, and steamy, sensual tension between Saoirse and the prince create an immersive tale with an empowering social justice tone centering a predominantly Black and brown cast. A winning debut. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)
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