I try to read the Vampire Academy series at least once a year because it was one of my first (and favorite) YA series. I've also enjoyed the spin-off Bloodlines although I still have to read the last two books. Needless to say, I had high hopes for SOUNDLESS. Sadly, they were not entirely met. 
 This one has a much different feel than VA and Bloodlines had, and I think that was due to the author really branching out and trying new things. Everyone is deaf in this novel and there is technically no dialogue (spoken, at least). People communicate in sign language and I applaud the author for taking on such a challenging task. However, I do have to say that this did lead to some pacing issues, as this book was full of paragraphs that dialogue usually breaks up. 
 SOUNDLESS seemed to be lacking development in both world-building, characterization, and plot, because I wish we had gotten more explanation to why things the way they were. This style of writing also contributed to some confusion in general. 
 I thought the characters not being able to speak verbally would allow the reader to get to know them on a deeper level but that did not happen. Because of this, I had trouble caring about Fei and the others, especially when it came to the romance which seemed to randomly intensify from bitterness. 
 Overall, I think SOUNDLESS lacked the complexity of what I have come to expect from Richelle Mead and it didn't deliver what I have come to expect from a fantasy book either, although the concept was intriguing and the reveal compelling.