bluejayreads's review
4.75
In my last library trip, I picked up two books, and this is actually the one I was less excited about. Both the cover and description seemed weak and just a tiny bit corny. However, the concept of the beasts that may not be as antagonistic as previously thought and the Filipino inspiration were enough that I decided to give it a shot.
And oh boy. It sucked me in within just a few pages and I blazed right through almost four hundred intense and rich pages. I had to go back and read paragraphs again sometimes because I would inadvertently skip huge chunks of the text in my excitement to find out what happens.
We'll start with the simple - the world. The rainforest where people live on platforms on huge trees is not a very complicated setting, but it's unique and vivid and very cool. There are some very neat details about society, as well, such as "marks" (which I gather are something like tattoos) to commemorate important things in your life and the way every city, town, and settlement is just … a single tree. There may not be a ton of depth to explore, but the breadth is spectacular. The characters do a lot of traveling and there are always new interesting sights for the reader and the characters. There was almost no exposition, but I still understand and appreciate the beautiful, lush, dangerous rainforest and the society built in the trees.
And in this society we have Seri and the valiants. Seri's growth is spectacular. She starts off relatable in a quiet way. She ends up as an aide to a legendary commander not intentionally, but because she took the first opportunity she could to run away from the memory of something painful. But as the story goes on, just by virtue of doing her best and dealing with what's put in front of her, she becomes the stuff of heroic legend - braver, more confident, and powerful (with just a touch of the overpowered protagonist trope I love). She's in her late teens during this story, and it really feels like she matures into an adult.
Other valiants thread through the story, but Eshai is the one consistent through the whole book, and she played a much bigger role than I anticipated from the back cover. And I loved the whole concept of her. She's a huge legendary folk hero, but in real life she's disorganized, has a temper, good at what she does but still feels like she's a little over her head, and not really excited to be a folk hero but if that's the role she has to play she's gonna do it. I also adored the dynamic between Eshai and Seri. It's hard to describe, but it was very good.
If you like action, this book has quite a bit of action. Almost all of it is large-scale battles, with our protagonists and a bunch of unnamed or briefly-mentioned side characters facing off against beasts. The battles themselves are great - it's warriors with superhuman abilities against beasts with other weird abilities, so it's bound to be great. But this book also does something impressive: It makes these large-scale battles actually have consequences. Seri herself is rarely at risk of actually dying. But someone dies in every fight. And when they die, there are rites for the dead. There is grief and guilt and hurt. Even though we really don't have much doubt that the people we care about will survive, even the deaths of minor characters have profound effects on our protagonists, and that makes the danger feel real and ensures the fights never feel cheap.
But after all of these great things, my absolute favorite thing is all the moral complexity in this story. At the beginning, everything is straightforward - the beasts kill people, so people need to defend against the beasts. But the more Seri learns about the beasts and Tsana's people, the more unclear everything becomes. Maybe the valiant aren't actually the good guys. There is eventually a single antagonist, but even there the morality isn't strictly black and white - he may be doing horrible things, but I can understand his reasoning. The main tension for Seri is trying to do the right thing when it's not clear what the right thing is, because for most of the book it's very unclear what is right. Neither "side" is truly good or evil. There's also a settler-colonization element that was good, if a little muddled.
This review got long, but that's because there's so many great things to say about it. It was a thrilling, engrossing read with a vibrant world, good characters with great growth through the story, and some really awesome battles. And it has a happy ending - I love a dangerous, violent book with a happy ending for the primary characters. I'm very glad I gave it a chance, because it was completely worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Colonisation
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Murder, and War
Mind control, betrayalknockoffrainbow's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Alcohol, and Grief
josb's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Rounding up for this non-eurocentric sapphic fantasy!
Set in a world based on Filipino culture and customs, I loved the world-building and felt it holds up against many other fantasies I have read. I can't begin to say how important it was for me to read something Filipino-inspired and sapphic. A story like this would have been critical in my youth.
Besides the personal importance, the story was also very well paced. Lots of action mixed in with learning about the world as well as a variety of complex perspectives. There were lots of questions about what was right and who was being affected by doing the "right" thing.
The other thing I really liked was the willingness to move on from certain plot points, using them as a way to fuel future plot points instead of teasing the reader for a big reveal at around the 70% mark. Some stuff stays until the end and some stuff is dealt with right away and actually creates more problems. It kept my attention and is my preference compared to the classic big reveal 80% into the book that you know is coming.
The romance is certainly a slow burn, with a bunch of angsty bits in the middle. I enjoyed how it was portrayed, but it was secondary to the other main plot points. I did wish there was more time for the love interest to grow as much as other characters. I felt like that story was a little more rushed and is why I hesitate to give an easy 5 stars.
If you're a fan of YA fantasy and would like to read something a little different I can't recommend this enough.
Set in a world based on Filipino culture and customs, I loved the world-building and felt it holds up against many other fantasies I have read. I can't begin to say how important it was for me to read something Filipino-inspired and sapphic. A story like this would have been critical in my youth.
Besides the personal importance, the story was also very well paced. Lots of action mixed in with learning about the world as well as a variety of complex perspectives. There were lots of questions about what was right and who was being affected by doing the "right" thing.
The other thing I really liked was the willingness to move on from certain plot points, using them as a way to fuel future plot points instead of teasing the reader for a big reveal at around the 70% mark. Some stuff stays until the end and some stuff is dealt with right away and actually creates more problems. It kept my attention and is my preference compared to the classic big reveal 80% into the book that you know is coming.
The romance is certainly a slow burn, with a bunch of angsty bits in the middle. I enjoyed how it was portrayed, but it was secondary to the other main plot points. I did wish there was more time for the love interest to grow as much as other characters. I felt like that story was a little more rushed and is why I hesitate to give an easy 5 stars.
If you're a fan of YA fantasy and would like to read something a little different I can't recommend this enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Animal death and Death
melaniereadsbooks's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Thank you to Swoon Reads and Netgalley for an arc of this book.
Seri decides to leave behind her home and join a new settlement further from the known world. Seri is tasked to be assistant to the head of the Valiant stationed there, the hero Eshai the Unbroken. But the Beasts the valiant are supposed to fend off are becoming more tactical and fighting in ways that seem off, and Seri helps Eshai journey to find out the cause, discovering secrets about herself and her world she never knew existed.
This was so good! I was hooked on the lush world-building and intriguing mystery's of Seri's past right from the beginning. Seri is such a compelling character and the entire time I was trying to figure out what happened to her and where she would go! Eshai and Tsana are also really great characters. Tsana's arc was super interesting to me and I loved seeing how she developed throughout the story.
There is a sapphic relationship at the heart of this one, but I'll be honest and say the romantic relationships in this story were not as compelling as the mentor relationship between Seri and Eshai or the world building. I definitely think the world-building and plot is the highlight of this one! I loved it and can't wait to hold a finished copy!
Seri decides to leave behind her home and join a new settlement further from the known world. Seri is tasked to be assistant to the head of the Valiant stationed there, the hero Eshai the Unbroken. But the Beasts the valiant are supposed to fend off are becoming more tactical and fighting in ways that seem off, and Seri helps Eshai journey to find out the cause, discovering secrets about herself and her world she never knew existed.
This was so good! I was hooked on the lush world-building and intriguing mystery's of Seri's past right from the beginning. Seri is such a compelling character and the entire time I was trying to figure out what happened to her and where she would go! Eshai and Tsana are also really great characters. Tsana's arc was super interesting to me and I loved seeing how she developed throughout the story.
There is a sapphic relationship at the heart of this one, but I'll be honest and say the romantic relationships in this story were not as compelling as the mentor relationship between Seri and Eshai or the world building. I definitely think the world-building and plot is the highlight of this one! I loved it and can't wait to hold a finished copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
bookishflower's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Her people lived on their songs. The songs of valor, of heroes. Maybe they were all lies. Maybe none of them were really true, and there were no heroes.”
- Lesbian rep
- Filipino-inspired fantasy
- star-crossed lovers
- childhood friends-to-lovers
- 'I'd let the world burn but never let it touch you' trope
This is a book I can tell will stay with me for a long time.
I think the shining star of Dauntless is without a doubt the characterisation. Both Seri and Tsana felt their age and incredibly human, with their PTSD, relationship, and coming-of-age arc handled beautifully. (I am officially a Tsana protector, if anyone says anything mean about her I am running at high speed to your location. Eshai is also very relatable, if you've ever hidden in self-preservation or felt responsible for everyone at the expense of your own welfare be prepared to cry).
The wonderful writing and world building was beautiful and completely immersive with a dark underside. The lack of a clear moral judgement or good and evil between the two people added a wonderful depth to the book too. However, this never takes over the story. The found family relationship between Seri and Eshai, Eshai and Lavit's relationship, and Tsana and Seri's lesbian romance creates the needed light and hope to balance the dark.
This was a beautiful book that deserves to get so much love!
I'm very thankful and proud to have read this book early as a part of the street team for Dauntless (all opinions are my own), and I'm very excited to be able to gush about this book with everyone on July 19th!
- Lesbian rep
- Filipino-inspired fantasy
- star-crossed lovers
- childhood friends-to-lovers
- 'I'd let the world burn but never let it touch you' trope
This is a book I can tell will stay with me for a long time.
I think the shining star of Dauntless is without a doubt the characterisation. Both Seri and Tsana felt their age and incredibly human, with their PTSD, relationship, and coming-of-age arc handled beautifully. (I am officially a Tsana protector, if anyone says anything mean about her I am running at high speed to your location. Eshai is also very relatable, if you've ever hidden in self-preservation or felt responsible for everyone at the expense of your own welfare be prepared to cry).
The wonderful writing and world building was beautiful and completely immersive with a dark underside. The lack of a clear moral judgement or good and evil between the two people added a wonderful depth to the book too. However, this never takes over the story. The found family relationship between Seri and Eshai, Eshai and Lavit's relationship, and Tsana and Seri's lesbian romance creates the needed light and hope to balance the dark.
This was a beautiful book that deserves to get so much love!
I'm very thankful and proud to have read this book early as a part of the street team for Dauntless (all opinions are my own), and I'm very excited to be able to gush about this book with everyone on July 19th!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism
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