Daybreak Rising
by Kiran Oliver
For some reason I thought I had left this review months ago. I pretty
much read it in one sitting because I was so entranced by the world and
it fed my hunger for what I've been looking for in a good Science
Fiction/Fantasy novel.
Off the bat, I think the reason I enjoyed
this book so much was because I believe I am the exact target audience
for it. I'm a QWoC who bloody love elemental magic incorporated in my
fantasy and this book had EVERYTHING a girl like me could ever dream of.
It had a mostly queer cast of characters(i think only one main
character wasn't, I read it a while ago so I can't remember) and four of
of seven of the main cast were PoC. So I don't think I took a second to
breath while I read this book. Oh and it had a F/F pairing with the two
main characters Celosia and Ianthe(who's a WoC) which I fangirled to
death over!
The story follows Celosia, or Daybreak, a nickname
she earned by being a failure. It was nice to have a heroine introduced
that wasn't necessarily this chosen one, but instead a heroine with a
bad reputation with following through with an important mission. Because
of that she was sort of like the laughing stock, so the book was
centered on her having to prove herself worthy again.
Kiran's
magic system was on point and the world building took me so many places
that I felt like this was a world i wanted to get lost in. This story
reminded me of a mixture of FullMetal Alchemist(because of the
incorporation of military elements and how it weaved in with folks with
abilities) and The Legend of Korra(because of the technology elements
compared to ATLA)
My favorite characters were Adan(I'd even say
Adan was number #1) and of course Celosia and Ianthe because their
relationship was so cute and easy to root for. I'd recommend this book
for ALL lovers of fantasy, especially if you like reading books with
well-thought out detail and an amazing cast of non-default characters.
This
book ended on a cliffhanger which i don't mind at all because it felt
more like a resolved cliffhanger. I know I'm going to run out and get
the second book once it comes out because i have to find out what
happens next!
Add this one to to TBR list here!
Any of y'all get into Fantasy with Romance elements?