stacey_is_sassy
I made the mistake of waiting nearly a year between instalments. I spent a quarter of the story trying to remember what the heck had happened beforehand and who was who. I felt like I was bombarded with information and each character, language, relationship and magic, all puzzle pieces needing to be put together. I was listening instead of reading this story, so any distraction and I was having to rewind in case I missed something important. By the end, I just didn't care and hoped I'd catch up.
I know I would have enjoyed King of Sword and Sky a lot more if I had read it and I would have appreciated the narration if it was a re-read. In normal circumstances, listening to a paranormal fantasy like this would have been my happy place. Unfortunately, life is busy at the moment and I couldn't sink into this escape from reality and absorb all of its magical, romantic goodness. Any time I had to stop, I wasn't desperate to get back to it and I even contemplated giving up a couple of times. It was just not the right time and I'm kicking myself for ruining the experience.
It wasn't all bad and I'm not writing off the Tairen Soul series but I definitely learnt my lesson and will pick a better time to start Queen of Song and Souls.