The Architect of Song Blog Tour: ARC Review--Architect of Song by 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 love story that transcends life and death.

For most of her life, nineteen-year-old Juliet Emerline has subsisted – isolated by deafness – making hats in the solitude of her home. Now, she’s at risk to lose her sanctuary to Lord Nicolas Thornton, a twenty-seven-year-old mysterious and eccentric architect with designs on her humble estate. When she secretly witnesses him raging beside a grave, Juliet investigates, finding the name “Hawk” on the headstone and an unusual flower at the base. The moment Juliet touches the petals, a young English nobleman appears in ghostly form, singing a song only her deaf ears can hear. The ghost remembers nothing of his identity or death, other than the one name that haunts his afterlife: Thornton.

To avenge her ghostly companion and save her estate, Juliet pushes aside her fear of society and travels to Lord Thornton’s secluded holiday resort, posing as a hat maker in one of his boutiques. There, she finds herself questioning who to trust: the architect of flesh and bones who can relate to her through romantic gestures, heartfelt notes, and sensual touches … or the specter who serenades her with beautiful songs and ardent words, touching her mind and soul like no other man ever can. As sinister truths behind Lord Thornton’s interest in her estate and his tie to Hawk come to light, Juliet is lured into a web of secrets. But it’s too late for escape, and the tragic love taking seed in her heart will alter her silent world forever.

International and NYT bestselling author, A.G. Howard, brings her darkly magical and visual/visceral storytelling to Victorian England. The Architect of Song is the first installment in her lush and romantic Haunted Hearts Legacy series, a four book gothic saga following the generations of one family as - haunted by both literal and figurative ghosts - they search for self-acceptance, love, and happiness.

New Adult: Recommended for ages 16+.

I received this ARC from the author for being a part of the blog tour. I was in no way compensated for this review.


The Architect of Song is A.G. Howard's foray into the New Adult world and I must say it was quite an intriguing and fascinating read! Juliet is a young woman who is deaf, she was severely sick as a child and it resulted in a loss of hearing, but over the years she has managed to read lips and basically no one would know as long as she's able to see their lips moving. We open to her mother's death and see her tragic outcome that follows, and when she visits the cemetery, she meets a strange young man when she touched a flower.

Hawk is a ghost and he doesn't know how he died or why he's connected to the flower that Juliet touches. Basically, as long as the flower touches her skin, he is visible and able to speak to Juliet, and wonders of wonders, she can hear him without having to read his lips. It's quite a feat of magic really!

Conflict arises when a certain Lord Thornton decides he wants to buy Juliet's home and makes her an offer she can't really refuse, though she tires. Forced to spend time at his own estate and help run a dress shop--for that's sort of her family business, she specializes in hats--she begins to grow closer to Thornton. All the while, she's trying to help Hawk solve the mystery behind his identity and death and all that jazz. They soon find there's a connection between him and Thornton.

I really enjoyed the connection Juliet had with Hawk. Guess I'm a sucker for forbidden romances, because you can't get more forbidden than having one alive and one dead person fall in love. It brings about its own challenges, for sure enough, Juliet does love Hawk, and he her. And when you throw in Lord Thornton, you basically have one epic love triangle that's bound to end in tears, for there's only one way to truly be with a ghost after all! And I will leave you with that and not mention the love triangle again! But suffice to say there are quite a few swoony moments in this one!

I did enjoy the mystery element! Not only are we trying to figure out who Hawk is, but there's still the matter of his untimely death to solve. And even that brings up a new mystery that needs solving! And I must say it was done rather well, if a bit too cleanly towards the end. But more on that in a moment.

One issue I had with this one was the pacing. At times, and especially in the beginning, I felt like I had no idea where this story was going. Suddenly Juliet has a new ghost friend and then things are just dandy as she tries to go about her life and dealing with her mother's death. It was just slow progress for awhile because I really didn't see where we were going with things. And finally, when Juliet goes to Lord Thornton's estate for a possible marriage proposal and to work in a store, things moved along better because this is exactly where Hawk wants to be in order to solve his murder. Though he doesn't care for Thornton's intense attention towards Juliet.

The ending was a little too clean cut as well, in some areas. I did like how things wrapped up, but when dealing with one particular character, I felt like it was too easy to end with the way it did. I guess because it all happened with Juliet off scene and she's our narrator, so it felt a little rushed and too clean. But again, minor nuisances.

This is the first book in a series of four, though it's my best guess that the other three might involve different characters. Possibly even new ones. Juliet's story is wrapped up nicely with a neat little bow (this is a GOOD thing!) and there are no unanswered questions at the end. Which is always the proper way to end a book, should it not be a series or what not! Or you know, should the author like to torment her readers, then I guess I can accept the pain and torture of cliffhangers. (LOL!)

The Architect of Song is a vastly different kind of read for me in some ways, but it was still rather enjoyable. There's ghosts, romance, mysteries, murder and secrets abound! Plenty to have any and all readers engaged! Looking forward to seeing where this series will take us in the next three books!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars


The Architect of Song releases August 15, 2016

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.
When she's not writing, A.G.'s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

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Trailer Link:

https://youtu.be/ojH_3WUM6yE

Giveaway Details:

All tour prizes (INTL):
2 - signed The Architect of Song paperbacks
3 - The Architect of Song e-books
1 - heart locket necklace
1 - Architect of Song poster
1 - faux leather journal
1 - 5X7 musical print
3 - The Architect of Song swag packs
1 – LitCube surprise box

13 separate winners

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

7/25/2016- Dark Faerie Tales- Guest Post-Hybrid Author

7/25/2016- a GREAT read- Review

7/26/2016- Lisa Loves Literature- Review

7/26/2016- Bookfever- Review

7/27/2016- Fiktshun- Character Interview

7/27/2016- The Cover Contessa- Review

7/28/2016- The Reading Café- Review

7/28/2016- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Review

7/29/2016- Please Feed the bookworm- Review

7/29/2016- 21st Century Once Upon A Times- Review

Week Two:

8/1/2016- Once Upon a Twilight - Exclusive Excerpt

8/1/2016- Ramblings of a Daydreamer- Review

8/2/2016- My Friends Are Fiction- Guest Post- Fashion

8/2/2016- Sarcasm & Lemons- Review

8/3/2016- Cornerfolds- Review

8/3/2016- BookHounds YA- Review

8/4/2016- Bookiemoji- Exclusive Excerpt

8/4/2016- Owl Always Be Reading- Review

8/5/2016- Mundie Moms- Review

8/5/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post- Playlist