Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Dauntless

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin

4 reviews

emily_mh's review

adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Everything about this book was pretty much perfect apart from the execution of its theme, which I’ll get into later. For now I want to talk about the good stuff.

First of all, this book wasn’t trying to accomplish too much. Quite often in standalone fantasy, especially ones centring a conflict, the author makes the scope WAY too broad, so that nothing within the book feels fully fleshed out. This was not the case here! The story focusses on one stage of the broader conflict/situation. As such, the plot is well-paced, with ample space for world-building and character development.

Bonnin presents a fascinating world here. I was particularly compelled by the armour magic system (how armour functions and how it is governed), spreading trees, and the death rites of the People. Bonnin also never info-dumps; she spreads her world-building across the narrative.

The story is told from multiple POVs, which was incredibly effective. Mostly we read from Seri’s POV, but we also get Eshai’s and Tsana’s. This meant that the story had a clear focus driving it (from Seri), but could dip into other perspectives to give broader context. The character work within these three POVs was excellent. Seri had some of the most natural, yet significant, character development I’ve ever read. Across the story we see her evolve from secretary to warrior, yet there is never a clunky moment where this change is sudden. Eshai was really interesting to read from as she embodied the reluctant hero trope: all she wanted to do was explore and be in love. Tsana was also compelling, as her development was driven by her marginalised position in her own society, and also her abusive relationship with her mentor.

There is a romance between Seri and Tsana, and I enjoyed it. They pushed each other to be better. They also saw the ugliest parts of each other and still wanted to be together regardless. The romance is very much a side-plot, so don’t go in expecting anything swoony.

All this is disseminated through Bonnin’s writing style. It very much reminded me of how adult fantasy is written, letting the reader interpret the story, characters, and theme. I also appreciated how well Bonnin wrote the action scenes; I was genuinely gripped by them, and they were conveyed really clearly.

Despite all these positives, I have a big criticism of this book. That is that the theme of war was executed muddily. The book was simultaneously trying to depict war as futile and unnecessary while glorifying the valiants, who are essentially a military. I understand that the valiants were not aware of what their actions signified, but that doesn’t make these actions okay or heroic, which is how they were painted to be right til the end of the book. I also found it hard to view the conflict the valiants were involved in as a war, because the beasts’ side was fuelled by self-defence of their territory that the valiants are encroaching upon. The villain on their side is purely a lone agent. So painting the conflict like both sides have good reasons to fight didn’t make sense to me. I understood why the valiants needed to take down the lone agent villain, but the narrative kept justifying their overall fight against the beasts as good and heroic, because they were protecting the People. Protecting them from what? The consequences of their own colonising?? I really wish the book had been about rejecting the way of the valiants. As I said before, it’s not like Seri ever realises the folly of their ways; she just keeps on praising the military. Right at the end,

it’s just the Hollows making reparations for the war. The valiants keep wearing armour, which might I remind you is constructed from dead beasts! And the valiants themselves continue to exist, even though they were formed to fight the beasts - now there is no fight, why do they still exist? A force like that can’t be “reformed.” They should have been disbanded.

(By the way, I don’t know if I’m completely misinterpreting everything here, and I’m happy to adjust this review if I am.)

Despite my criticisms here, giving this book less than four stars didn’t feel right. I would ultimately recommend it with the caveat that the theme may not play out well for you. I’m really looking forward to reading more of Bonnin’s work in the future.

Rep: lesbian (word not used) Filipino-coded MC, sapphic Filipino-coded LI, Filipino-coded SCs

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knockoffrainbow's review against another edition

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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

starrysteph's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved Dauntless; it felt like a breath of fresh air in the YA fantasy realm!

We follow Seri, who lives in a world defined by very clear rules. Dangerous magical beasts attack the people whenever they can, which is why they’ve made their homes in spreading trees. The brave valiant defend them with superhuman strength, thanks to the armor they make from the beasts’ skin and hearts.

Seri has stayed safe in the “known world”, until one day she encounters a stranger from beyond her borders who can communicate with these beasts, challenging everything she’s ever known to be true. Now she’s faced with a new possibility: peace

One of the standout elements of Dauntless was world-building. Bonnin has created an incredibly vivid Filipino inspired world; I really felt like I was in a tropical jungle. The descriptions of the environment and the food and the culture were SO immersive. (Note: this book is pitched as a Filipino-inspired fantasy, but to the best of my knowledge this just means the world, not so much the mythology/events of the story).

The fantasy world was thoughtful; it’s fleshed out in a detailed way without feeling overwhelming.

There was a very strong focus on worldbuilding at the beginning - so the plot was gentle and slow at first but still found it quite engaging. She’s taking these delightfully creative concepts but storytelling with straightforward details: so younger readers can follow along easily.

An element I LOVED was the concept of valor armor: magical armor (taken from killed-in-battle beasts) which shifts and changes color and shape to adapt to the warrior’s body … and to reveal their inner self. It was so neat to see vivid writing & descriptions that reflected characters’ hearts and emotions.

And speaking of characters, there were 3 female POVs here … and I enjoyed all of them! Each character engaged with their strength in different ways; people could cry and grieve and be furious and this wasn’t dismissed at all. Seri in particular had a compelling journey around guilt and grief and learning to open up to others.

There were also some fun POV switches, when you immediately get corrected on information one character thought they had right. I think that’s such a fun way to utilize multiple points of view

There’s also a sapphic romance here between two of the main character POVs (Seri is a lesbian and Tsana is bi). The romance IS a subplot but it’s important and given some depth; it’s warm and earnest and sweet to watch. It does feel very YA at times - especially with the instant connection - but I appreciated the slower development of the relationship over the course of the book.

Also … there’s an animal companion component here, which might just be my favorite element in a fantasy book. I can’t talk about it too much without being spoilery, but OOO was it sweet.

Finally, there’s a sweet open-ended - but happy - ending. I love standalone fantasy books. I can see that the door was left open for a follow up here, but everything was also concluded in a satisfying way

CW: murder, death, violence, animal cruelty (hunting & culling), animal death, gore, grief, death of a parent, physical abuse, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts, classism, colonization, mental illness, fire, poverty, starvation

(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

Content Warnings

bookishflower's review against another edition

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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!

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