“We can't help the way we're born. We can't help what we are, only what life we choose to make for ourselves.”
Synopsis
Daughter of immortals.
Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.
Daughter of death.
Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Together.
Two girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Oh my gosh! This book is definitely not what I expected. I was very surprised by how much I liked this book. I was a bit hesitant going in, I mean Wonder Women is my favourite superhero so I had high expectations. This did not disappoint! Once I started, I didn't want to finish which is hard for a book to do that to me. I'm really excited now to also read about Batman, Catwomen, and Superman which is going to be written by other authors.
Diana has never left her home living among the other Amazons. She has never felt like she fitted in since she was the only one born on the island, Themyscira. Determined to show her strength, Diana enters in a race which is where we first meet Diana. Although not too long later, coming across a girl, Alia Keralis who brings dark forces across the island after becoming shipwrecked from her ship exploding. Alia is a Warbringer, a descendant of Helen of Troy and known to bring havoc and war when they are born. Diana risks everyone, including the Amazons by journeying off the island to ensure no war ever occurs due to a Warbringer again.
This was full of friendship and female empowerment, and some parts you could relate to including feeling like you don't fit in. Diana feels this way for a lot of the first half of the novel whilst on the island and when she ventures off the island. I love how Bardugo incorporated these themes and showed the value of friendship. Alia and Diana developed from barely liking each other to a bond of friendship you'll never be able to break. YA doesn't have many new books at the moment where the predominant theme is friendship and it was nice to have a refresher from the usual romance themes. Although this book did have times where it expressed this theme, it wasn't the focus of the novel.
Daughter of immortals.
Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.
Daughter of death.
Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
Together.
Two girls will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Oh my gosh! This book is definitely not what I expected. I was very surprised by how much I liked this book. I was a bit hesitant going in, I mean Wonder Women is my favourite superhero so I had high expectations. This did not disappoint! Once I started, I didn't want to finish which is hard for a book to do that to me. I'm really excited now to also read about Batman, Catwomen, and Superman which is going to be written by other authors.
Diana has never left her home living among the other Amazons. She has never felt like she fitted in since she was the only one born on the island, Themyscira. Determined to show her strength, Diana enters in a race which is where we first meet Diana. Although not too long later, coming across a girl, Alia Keralis who brings dark forces across the island after becoming shipwrecked from her ship exploding. Alia is a Warbringer, a descendant of Helen of Troy and known to bring havoc and war when they are born. Diana risks everyone, including the Amazons by journeying off the island to ensure no war ever occurs due to a Warbringer again.
This was full of friendship and female empowerment, and some parts you could relate to including feeling like you don't fit in. Diana feels this way for a lot of the first half of the novel whilst on the island and when she ventures off the island. I love how Bardugo incorporated these themes and showed the value of friendship. Alia and Diana developed from barely liking each other to a bond of friendship you'll never be able to break. YA doesn't have many new books at the moment where the predominant theme is friendship and it was nice to have a refresher from the usual romance themes. Although this book did have times where it expressed this theme, it wasn't the focus of the novel.
“Sister in battle,” murmured Diana, “I am shield and blade to you.”
“And friend.”
“And always your friend.”
“And friend.”
“And always your friend.”
Aside from the friendship, I loved the action and the fast-paced scenes (I mean what's a superhero book without action?), although a lot of it did happen right at the end and a good 30-50% of the book was world building and development of the various character. Those last 60 pages were a POOF in your face. Agh the plot twist! Honestly, I didn't like a bit of the reveal but I did like the creativity of it and how you did not see it coming. It is hard for me to come across a good plot twist in a book these days as I swear every author thinks their creative but isn't. They build up the climate for the particular event which you already have predicted as the same plot is present it 30 other different books (ok I'm exaggerating a bit here, but still).
I loved the side characters in this novel! It was such a diverse mix of people. Alia and her brother were African American, Theo was Brazilian and Nim was a gay Indian girl who was amazing and my favourite character in the book, aside from Diana. I liked how all these characters had an important role to play and weren't just there to be a filler character which I tend to hate in a book.
This book was a great read for me and would 100% recommend to anyone who loves fantasy, mythology, and superheroes! I do hope when I read the rest of the DC icons they will be just as good as this because after reading this I have pretty big expectations for them.
Purchase book | Amazon | Book Depository | Dymocks |
I loved the side characters in this novel! It was such a diverse mix of people. Alia and her brother were African American, Theo was Brazilian and Nim was a gay Indian girl who was amazing and my favourite character in the book, aside from Diana. I liked how all these characters had an important role to play and weren't just there to be a filler character which I tend to hate in a book.
This book was a great read for me and would 100% recommend to anyone who loves fantasy, mythology, and superheroes! I do hope when I read the rest of the DC icons they will be just as good as this because after reading this I have pretty big expectations for them.
Purchase book | Amazon | Book Depository | Dymocks |
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