Audiobook Review: The Dark Refrain by Jessica Khoury

After defeating the terrifying Necromuse and his mysterious orchestra, all Amelia Jones hopes for is a return to normal. But to her surprise, her class is sent to Europe for a month of study abroad. This seems like the perfect escape from all her problems, but not long after they land in Salzburg, Austria, danger haunts their steps. A street musician claims there is something wrong with Amelia’s magic, odd visions of the past appear around the city, and Amelia finds a strange message preserved in a museum—a message she fears was left by the Necromuse.

He’s still out there, and he’s still after Amelia.

When a storm of time magic traps Amelia, Jai, and Darby in the year 1765, they join forces with the most powerful musicians of the 18th century in an attempt to restore the timeline before it rips apart entirely. But it’s not enough. With time literally breaking down around her, Amelia will have to call on music far more powerful and forbidden than anything she has attempted before . . . magic only the Necromuse can teach her.

With original music throughout, this orchestral fantasy is an adventure the whole family will enjoy.

GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy

PURCHASE LINK: Audible

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jessica Khoury is the author of many books for teens and young readers. Her stories have been translated into over a dozen languages and have been finalists for awards like the South Carolina Junior Book Award, the Ignyte Award, the Maine Student Book Award, the Oklahoma Sequoyah Masterlist, the Amelia Bloomer Project, and many more. Her bestselling middle grade debut The Mystwick School of Musicraft was named one of the Best Audiobooks of 2019 by Audible and is one of the Top 20 Most Listened-To children's books of all time.​

In addition to writing, Jess is also a fantasy cartographer and illustrator. Her artwork has appeared in NYT Bestsellers, video and tabletop games, and of course her own books.

Jess currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her husband and daughters. She spends free time hiking in the mountains, playing video games, and sketching new characters for new stories.

Review

Here are my reviews for the previous books in this series:

• The Mystwick School of Musicraft (book 1)
• The Midnight Orchestra (book 2)

This is the third book in the Mystwick School of Musicraft series, and as of this time it's only out in audio format. Regardless of the reason for that, I do think there's no other way to truly appreciate and enjoy this series but through audio, so I highly recommend getting the audiobook if you can! It's just brilliant to have music as spells and to hear orchestral music played throughout — not as background music, mind you, but as part of the scenes themselves.

The story takes an outrageous turn in this installment BUT I also LOVE time travel, so this was a win for me 😂 After I finished this book I actually ended up reading articles about 18th century musicians (won't name them to avoid spoilers!), listened to their compositions, and even searched for other fantasy books that featured them, particularly... let's call her M.A.M. 😉

And what I really loved, aside from the music, were the characters. Amelia, Jai and Darby have grown on me, and the new characters were just delightful. Plus I was tickled by Mr. Pinwhistle and Miss Mott (oops, listened to the audiobook, so I'm not sure how to spell her name 🙈), and the development of Amelia's relationship (if you've not read the previous books, this isn't what you might think LOL) was bittersweet.

It doesn't feel like the end, because the three books all took place during Year 7, which has been quite unexpected given that I kind of expected one book per year (like a certain wizard story). But hey, it's also good, because it means there's more to come!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️⭐️️

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Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

If you fancy a short read, I have a cozy reimagining of the Norse myths about Hel, but it's just under 70 pages and can be read in one sitting. ✨ Plus there's a swag kit coming soon! Includes a "membership card," a bookmark, a sticker, an origami dog, and an exclusive 500-word story 🫶🏼

All things end, and all must die.

But death is not always the end.

When Geiravor Lokisdottir was stripped of her name and cast out of Asgard, torn from her family and the life she had known, she thought she’d lost it all. But in the shadows of Niflheim she discovers the path to her destiny, and what it truly means to be queen.

This is a prequel short story to THE PROPHECIES OF RAGNAROK trilogy by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, and a retelling of the myths involving Hel, the Norse goddess of death and the queen of the underworld.