A. G. Howard

A lady imprisoned by deafness, an architect imprisoned by his past, and a ghost imprisoned within the petals of a flower - intertwine in this Gothic love story that transcends life and death.

The Architect of Song

Allyssa Fritz

Steysha

DNF at 30%

Insta-insta-insta-love, stupid as hell Mary-Sue and a ghost-pervert. I don`t really care about the plot, because every page made me raise my brows so high that I started to worry it`ll leave permanent wrinkles. 
I get that the MC`s deaf, and the ghost was the only, ahem, person she could hear, but come fucking on. The fist time she met him she was naked in a bath tube. What would be your reaction if you saw a ghost? Don`t know about you, but the only thing she was curious about was whether he liked her tits!!!!!! She thinks about it a lot and then even asks him (they were talking to each other for about three minutes): 

«What kind of scheme are you running? Summoning men to your bath and teasing them with visions of milky skin and perfect breasts. Purposely leading them on a nightmare journey into madness.”
A forbidden delight stirred in my chest. “You think my breasts are perfect?»

 And after explaining to him that he is a ghost (he didn`t realise it), the man basically threatened to rape her in order to prove that he is pretty much real:

«Why are you holding that blasted plant? Put it down.” A dare laced his words. “Put it down and I’ll give you something worth stealing. First, we start with a kiss. Then I’ll show you how real the rest of my body is.”
My mouth drained of moisture. I never realized a threat could double as an enticement.
Before I could react, he reached for my wrist. His hand dispersed like a rush of dandelion seeds then reappeared. It felt as if the wind had ruffled my skin. He cried out and my legs jerked in reaction, toppling the pot from my lap. Dirt hiccupped onto my bare feet as my guest vanished.» 

Hooray, he vanished, now you are safe from this bastard! But that would be a reaction of any sane person who met a ghost and was almost "defiled" by him, as he put it sometime later. Since our MC`s definately not the brightest crayon in the box, she immediatelly summons him back. I guess it`s a question who would have raped who in the end.

All in all, this was like a cheap start of a porn with a pizza guy, and I don`t have it in me to continue to read this.

Lila Harrison

3.75/5 stars rounded up to 4/5 stars. points off for slowness and a simple plot. points given because i'm mildly intrigued by the series. to view my edits inspired by this book, click here

Jessica 

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If you’re new to my reviews and don't know, let me catch you up to speed: I am in love with words written by A.G. Howard. I mean. Obviously. There, I said it. I’m almost positive that I would read an instruction manual titled How to Unclog Your Toilet With Your Pinky Finger if A.G. Howard wrote it (although, Anita, please don’t take this as an invitation to write said instructions--that was a weird statement even for me and I am sure I should talk to a therapist about it or whatever and I'm probably bluffing.) and I'd give it about four-hundred stars out of five. I'm not really kidding, the woman could write "
  Hello, I'm A.G. Howard
," and I'd probably give it the highest rating imaginable after just casually passing her my wallet. 

Needless to say, I went into The Architect of Song with high hopes that only a few modern day authors have earned from me. I was excited, firstly, because of its plot and the fact that it wasn't a young adult novel. It's exciting seeing one of your favourite authors expand through the genres and in A.G. Howard's case she does so effortlessly and proves how severely underrated she is. There was something instantly classic about The Architect of Song that felt familiar yet undeniably its own--readers who love prose that is highly detailed, indulgent and poetic, will positive swoon over the glorious way this story is told. 

For the rest of the spoiler-free review, head on over to BOOKEDJ.

The Architect of Song

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