A review by brigwen
Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin
2.0
I received an ARC copy of this novel from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A world overrun by beasts. A young girl trying to find her place in the world after a troublesome past. But what if they were one in the same? What if the world you thought you knew, was a whole lot bigger and different than you ever could imagine.
Our main character, Seri, has had a rough life. She was an orphan at a young age after her mother's untimely death and her father's disappearance. Her only friend, Ithim, well, we don't talk about Ithim. Seri joined a traveling settlement to get away from all the ghosts that haunt her in Elaya.
Esthai, the leader of this group and also a legend among the known world for her bravery and sharp wits. She leads Seri and the rest of her valor to a new spreading tree to create a new settlement and to extend the known world.
Tsana, an unexpected hiccup for both Seri and Esthai. Seri cannot help but be drawn to this mysterious figure in more ways than one. But Tsana is hiding a big secret. Will Seri choose to follow everything she has ever known or risk it for someone she just met but can't seem to get out of her head?
I apologize but this was the most "okay" book I've read this year. From the synopsis and and the cover, this book seemed to be just like "The Hunger Games" and it excited me so much. But that could not be farther from the truth. You are immediately thrust into the world without any lead in or explanation. It's assumed that you would know what the world was about and it was confusing. I know that some books are similar but they take the time and world build discreetly, almost like you don't even know it's world building. This book? There was very little world building until closer to the end of the book. I'll admit the book ended better than it started but it didn't have much competition.
I just couldn't bring myself to root for the characters. They were just very two dimensional. I did not develop an attachment to any of them. It did offer great LGBTQ representation and POC representation. But other than that, I just did not enjoy this book.
A world overrun by beasts. A young girl trying to find her place in the world after a troublesome past. But what if they were one in the same? What if the world you thought you knew, was a whole lot bigger and different than you ever could imagine.
Our main character, Seri, has had a rough life. She was an orphan at a young age after her mother's untimely death and her father's disappearance. Her only friend, Ithim, well, we don't talk about Ithim. Seri joined a traveling settlement to get away from all the ghosts that haunt her in Elaya.
Esthai, the leader of this group and also a legend among the known world for her bravery and sharp wits. She leads Seri and the rest of her valor to a new spreading tree to create a new settlement and to extend the known world.
Tsana, an unexpected hiccup for both Seri and Esthai. Seri cannot help but be drawn to this mysterious figure in more ways than one. But Tsana is hiding a big secret. Will Seri choose to follow everything she has ever known or risk it for someone she just met but can't seem to get out of her head?
I apologize but this was the most "okay" book I've read this year. From the synopsis and and the cover, this book seemed to be just like "The Hunger Games" and it excited me so much. But that could not be farther from the truth. You are immediately thrust into the world without any lead in or explanation. It's assumed that you would know what the world was about and it was confusing. I know that some books are similar but they take the time and world build discreetly, almost like you don't even know it's world building. This book? There was very little world building until closer to the end of the book. I'll admit the book ended better than it started but it didn't have much competition.
I just couldn't bring myself to root for the characters. They were just very two dimensional. I did not develop an attachment to any of them. It did offer great LGBTQ representation and POC representation. But other than that, I just did not enjoy this book.