Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Violence, Grief
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In this postmodern dystopia, telepathic mutants known as torches with the powers of "songlight" (apparently not magic nor science) are hunted and mutilated by the corrupt government. This book is heavily inspired by The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, with elements like avoxes from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins thrown in. Seriously, women and girls are treated like crap in this book, so be warned.
This book is marketed partly as a romance, and I can't describe it as such because the love interests spend the entire book apart. There is another LI towards the end, but I didn't realize that's what he was until they were already kissing. This book is more about friendship and devotion and empathy you can feel for people suffering, even many miles away. Along with unpacking the systemic militarization, patriarchy, homophobia, and ableism drilled into you all your life.
The worldbuilding is really loose: for instance this society supposedly bans combustible fuel but it doesn't go into details about how their cities or other weapons are powered. Songlight itself is very ephemeral-feeling, so you can't really put any logic into it. It would be cool to see animated, but describing the concept is tricky because you just have to hand-wave its existence. The writing style is very formal, which fits into the restrictive society where everyone has to maintain politeness with one another. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is named after birds, protagonists and antagonists alike. I suspect people will find this either really cute or annoying.
Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley
This book is marketed partly as a romance, and I can't describe it as such because the love interests spend the entire book apart. There is another LI towards the end, but I didn't realize that's what he was until they were already kissing. This book is more about friendship and devotion and empathy you can feel for people suffering, even many miles away. Along with unpacking the systemic militarization, patriarchy, homophobia, and ableism drilled into you all your life.
The worldbuilding is really loose: for instance this society supposedly bans combustible fuel but it doesn't go into details about how their cities or other weapons are powered. Songlight itself is very ephemeral-feeling, so you can't really put any logic into it. It would be cool to see animated, but describing the concept is tricky because you just have to hand-wave its existence. The writing style is very formal, which fits into the restrictive society where everyone has to maintain politeness with one another. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is named after birds, protagonists and antagonists alike. I suspect people will find this either really cute or annoying.
Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Sexual violence, Trafficking
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Outing
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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:
No
Songlight by Moira Buffini is a captivating tale of identity, acceptance, all types of love full of mystery, intricate politics, heartbreak, and betrayals that will have you captivated from beginning to end. Buffini manages to capture all that makes us humans, all of the emotions and their nuances in under 400 pages.
Set in a dystopian world-at-war, we meet Elsa and Rya, who are both blessed/cursed with Songlight and know of no one else with it - a telepathic form of communication. People with Songlight are considered to be "unhumans." They are hunted and imprisoned, turned into mindless slaves. To keep themselves safe, they have to keep their gift a secret from absolutely everyone. When something terrible happens that leaves Elsa full of anguish: "In songlight, I roar in white, inchohate pain." Which allows another person with songlight to find her, someone quite far away, whose songlight is even more powerful than Elsa's. From there, it dives into friendships and found family, political intrigue, actual truth vs trusting what you were always told is true, right vs wrong, fighting a war for victory vs fighting a war for freedom, and so much more. It may sound like too much, but I don't think it was - at all.
📖 The plot is phenomenal. Intricately woven with big important topics, full of emotions (I got actual chills reading one part) and depth. I love that the plot mimics issues we have in our world in 2024. It encourages readers to look at their beliefs, to search deeper for the truth, to look more deeply at your own beliefs. It also gives you glimpses as to how and why some can have the beliefs and opinions they do, what could lead them to be so dogmatic. That doesn't mean those beliefs are right, or even ok - just providing insight as to some things that could cause a person to hold such parochial beliefs.
It has multiple POVs (5 as I recall), which I know some aren't fans of. Buffini does am excellent job of giving each POV character a distinct voice, making it easy for me to remember whose POV I was in. I enjoyed the multi-POVs and felt it enriched the story a lot.
⏳️ The pacing is great. I read it in a day, and would've read it in one sitting if life had allowed. I couldn't put it down. It has action, mystery, intrigue, and tension - I can't imagine anyone being bored reading this.
The ending had me full on Michael Scott, "No! God! Please! NO!" and panic-swiping. Book 2 can't be in my hands soon enough. 😆 While I love and appreciate the way it ended, I think so many not love the semi-open ending (if they read it before book 2 is out).
✍️ Buffini writes eloquently. It's smooth, and I learned a few new words. The dialogue reads as natural. She imbues so much emotion that it's visceral at times.
🗺 The world building is excellent. Buffini encapsulates all of your senses, and you'll feel like you're there with the cast. Orienting yourself is a breeze. It's written in a way that made it almost cinematic.
🔮 The magic (or gift, rather) is well explained and developed. I found this specific form of telepathy to be unique and quite interesting.
👥️ The characters are nuanced and dimensional. I love them all, except the ones I love to hate. She shows the good and bad in everyone, which really brings out their humanity. She made me cry a number of times, plus the time I got chills reading a passage. The cast is diverse, LGBTQ+ and trauma rep.
If you enjoyed: The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Handmaid's Tale, and/or Shadow and Bone - I think you would enjoy this.
Thank you to Moira Buffini @HarperCollins and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC. I'm choosing to leave this unbiased review.
If you're someone who has (or is) struggling with your identity and/or coming out, I feel like this book could be a great read for you. I think it could help you feel more confident in yourself and who you are inside. However, I feel like it could be a rough read for a tiny group of people who are struggling with their identity and/or coming out. For those reasons, especially, please, please look up content and trigger warnings. ⚠️ some CW/TW: racism, sexism, homophobia, slavery, talk of forced sex work, violence (including 🔫), and death.
It didn't feel YA to me. It read as New Adult, or maybe even Adult. As much as I enjoy YA, I appreciated that it reads as older.
I personally wouldn't say this is a romantasy. It's a fantasy that has some very light romance aspects as more of a footnote. I love that about this book. I think if there had been a stronger focus on romance, it would've pulled the focus away from the very big, important topics.
Set in a dystopian world-at-war, we meet Elsa and Rya, who are both blessed/cursed with Songlight and know of no one else with it - a telepathic form of communication. People with Songlight are considered to be "unhumans." They are hunted and imprisoned, turned into mindless slaves. To keep themselves safe, they have to keep their gift a secret from absolutely everyone. When something terrible happens that leaves Elsa full of anguish: "In songlight, I roar in white, inchohate pain." Which allows another person with songlight to find her, someone quite far away, whose songlight is even more powerful than Elsa's. From there, it dives into friendships and found family, political intrigue, actual truth vs trusting what you were always told is true, right vs wrong, fighting a war for victory vs fighting a war for freedom, and so much more. It may sound like too much, but I don't think it was - at all.
📖 The plot is phenomenal. Intricately woven with big important topics, full of emotions (I got actual chills reading one part) and depth. I love that the plot mimics issues we have in our world in 2024. It encourages readers to look at their beliefs, to search deeper for the truth, to look more deeply at your own beliefs. It also gives you glimpses as to how and why some can have the beliefs and opinions they do, what could lead them to be so dogmatic. That doesn't mean those beliefs are right, or even ok - just providing insight as to some things that could cause a person to hold such parochial beliefs.
It has multiple POVs (5 as I recall), which I know some aren't fans of. Buffini does am excellent job of giving each POV character a distinct voice, making it easy for me to remember whose POV I was in. I enjoyed the multi-POVs and felt it enriched the story a lot.
⏳️ The pacing is great. I read it in a day, and would've read it in one sitting if life had allowed. I couldn't put it down. It has action, mystery, intrigue, and tension - I can't imagine anyone being bored reading this.
The ending had me full on Michael Scott, "No! God! Please! NO!" and panic-swiping. Book 2 can't be in my hands soon enough. 😆 While I love and appreciate the way it ended, I think so many not love the semi-open ending (if they read it before book 2 is out).
✍️ Buffini writes eloquently. It's smooth, and I learned a few new words. The dialogue reads as natural. She imbues so much emotion that it's visceral at times.
🗺 The world building is excellent. Buffini encapsulates all of your senses, and you'll feel like you're there with the cast. Orienting yourself is a breeze. It's written in a way that made it almost cinematic.
🔮 The magic (or gift, rather) is well explained and developed. I found this specific form of telepathy to be unique and quite interesting.
👥️ The characters are nuanced and dimensional. I love them all, except the ones I love to hate. She shows the good and bad in everyone, which really brings out their humanity. She made me cry a number of times, plus the time I got chills reading a passage. The cast is diverse, LGBTQ+ and trauma rep.
If you enjoyed: The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Handmaid's Tale, and/or Shadow and Bone - I think you would enjoy this.
Thank you to Moira Buffini @HarperCollins and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC. I'm choosing to leave this unbiased review.
If you're someone who has (or is) struggling with your identity and/or coming out, I feel like this book could be a great read for you. I think it could help you feel more confident in yourself and who you are inside. However, I feel like it could be a rough read for a tiny group of people who are struggling with their identity and/or coming out. For those reasons, especially, please, please look up content and trigger warnings. ⚠️ some CW/TW: racism, sexism, homophobia, slavery, talk of forced sex work, violence (including 🔫), and death.
It didn't feel YA to me. It read as New Adult, or maybe even Adult. As much as I enjoy YA, I appreciated that it reads as older.
I personally wouldn't say this is a romantasy. It's a fantasy that has some very light romance aspects as more of a footnote. I love that about this book. I think if there had been a stronger focus on romance, it would've pulled the focus away from the very big, important topics.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, War
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Classism