Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free copy of this advanced copy of the book to read and review.

A masterful blend of sci-fi, court drama, political intrigue, and romance, all well handled in very few pages. I definitely loved it, and would have gladly taken a bit more!

Received this book from NetGalley for my review.

Skye is such a talented author. She's got a cool style and superb writing. She's so easy to read. I definitely look forward to more books from her.

Glorious Day was an enjoyable book. A quick, sweet F/F read which we definitely need more of.

I only didn't give it 5 stars because I didn't love the characters enough. It was too quick to really get to know then and feel something for them, so that left me wanting, and there were parts skimmed over I wanted to know about, and parts told in detail that I didn't care about. But overall it was a fantastic read. Check it out and definitely keep your eye on Skye.

One of the best novellas I’ve ever read. Make it a full length book and inject it directly into my veins, please.

When it comes to romance in fiction, The Princess and the Bodyguard is one of my favourite tropes, so when I spotted this sci-fi f/f romance novella on NetGalley, which just so happened to include this trope, I had to have it.

In a country ruled by a tyrannical king, it’s clear that the revolutionaries are slowly starting to gain the upper hand. Elsenna Hazen once worked as a bodyguard for the tyrant’s daughter and now feeds information to the revolutionaries knowing that, eventually, she will be caught, tortured and executed. To her it seems a just end to her life when her career in security has seen her send others who challenged the king to their deaths. Now the princess is asking for her protection once again, and Elsenna is terrified of loving a woman who will most likely be executed herself if the revolutionaries win.

I really enjoyed this novella. I liked Kilaen’s writing a lot and I appreciated that she acknowledged how political and messy revolutions are. It doesn’t matter that Elsenna is helping the revolutionaries, she herself has still been a cog in the king’s machine and is therefore just as likely to go on trial for her crimes as the king’s own government.

I thought the princess, whom Elsenna calls Day, was sweet and not the character I expected to find in this story; she’s someone who’s been very decidedly kept away from politics and the state of the country, so there’s a lot she doesn’t understand even though she might want to, and so much of her day-to-day life involves finding ways to ask the questions she wants to ask using the language of the royal court. Her relationship with Elsenna was very cute, too.

My only real problem with this story is that I wish it had been longer. Even for a novella it’s quite short at only 87 pages. I think Glorious Day really would have benefitted from being novel-length and, if it had been, it’d probably be a 5 star read for me. It’s not a bad novella at all, but there’s so much packed into this story and, while that sometimes works beautifully in novella-length tales, I did ultimately leave this story feeling like I’d read an incredibly good synopsis for an even better novel.

Absolutely fabulous novella.

Have to say, I didn't realise it was a novella when I started reading it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the pace and detail. Skye Kilaen managed to pack it with enough to make you feel as though you've read a whole book.

The two main characters were exquisitely crafted and I enjoyed them and their interaction immediately. Kilaen's writing was well delivered and left me with way more than I expected for such a short book.

ARC received for an honest review

This was a tease of what could have been. I wish it had instead been a proper length novel—or a prequel to a novel. There is a lot packed into these pages and the story zips along far too quickly in the places I wish it would have languished a bit more in. As a novella, I felt like I did not have enough time to truly grasp the emotions of these characters. That said though, this author definitely has a talent for world-building and story. I just wish there was much much more of it.

Glorious Day starts with a captain getting a call from her gay Princess she once kissed in a garden. Did I mention this happens while she’s plotting against her tyrannical father, the king? So that happens.

Set in space, Glorious Day reads like a fantasy with a taste of Star Trek. The princess, Banyelle, calls Captain Elsenna Hazen to ask of the threats towards the kingdom. Hazen keeps her moonlighting a secret, as she is unsure of Banyelle’s stance towards her father. These two, despite having apparently shared a kiss, do not really know each other very well.

The Princess asks Hazen to once again be her bodyguard. A plot of rebellion and anti-monarchal plots ensues, as does a supposed developing romance between Hazen and Gloria.

Sounds fun right? Swoony. All the gay things. Rebellious gays kissing their way into rebellion.

It would have be great. If it hadn’t been completely and utterly lacking in chemistry or emotional development. I can not find it. It seems to have been lost. If you have seen chemistry, the sizzles or any sort of development call me. It is dry.

Also the fact that the heroine describes wanting to suck on Banyelle’s finger like a baby kinda weirded me out? It wasn’t even sexy. It was more like……some sorta child fetish in my mind. No. Did not interest me. Not fun.

Where is the sizzle.

Lost like my respect for J.J. Abrams.

Another point which I would like to discuss is the antagonist. I have thought a great deal about this and cannot see an actual purpose for her. There’s a rebellious themes with a lot of action. A secret. There’s a bodyguard/Princess thing going on. Why do you need an ableist antagonist constantly going on about Elsenna wanting to get into the Princess’ pants and treating a blind woman like a child? Can we not have romances where there is a threat of hatred towards a disabled gay woman?

Call me the day when disabled and/or gay people get to be happy and that is completely normal in a fantasy world. I would love to see that. Sounds refreshing.

I also could not find much lead up to decisions or actions taken throughout the novella. Actions seem to just happen. Period. The pacing, plot, and emotional development do not work in conjunction to create a fluidity in decisions made by the characters. It took me out of the book. It was very jarring and sudden.

I’m Bi, a fantasy nerd, and I have a thing for the bodyguard trope. I wanted a f/f SFF romance just like what was in the description. I’ve been desperate for more romances like this but with better writing. The writing did not work for me the way it seems to with other people. It seems that I am more interested in the idea than the actual book.

Thank You To NineStar Press for an advanced readers copy via Netgalley

My only problem with this novella is that I desperately wanted it to last longer.

Glorious Day is, well, glorious. Skye Kilaen manages to weave a story that contains soft sci-fi elements, court intrigue, action, some very important conversations about ableism and people with special abilities... and one of the softest F/F romances I've ever read. One of the MCs is blind and the other is forced to deal with life-altering trauma later on (no spoilers) and they're both such strong, captivating personalities you can't help but fall for them — and pity the fools who underestimate them. Another thing I personally loved was the wry humor, always cutting through tense and dark moments and making this novella a beautiful balancing act.
5 stars, will recommend to everyone, when can we have some more?

P.S. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for offering me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The gushing is 100% mine.

When the King of Iospary was assassinated, the deed was deliberately planned and executed to perfection from the most unlikeliest of source.

As the story unfolds, readers get a grasp of the ruthless reign of King Geren, evident in the murder of his wife and the ordering of killings and imprisonments. Vice-Captain Elsenna, even though a part of the security force, has been quietly abetting rebels and slipping intel to aid the uprising. When she was reassigned as the Princess’s bodyguard, a position she held 2 years ago, memories of an unattainable love resurfaces.

Was a kiss the only thing Princess Banyelle shared with Elsenna? With the death of her father, what happens to Iospary?

There are plenty of twists littered in the story, and it was an enjoyable short read.

I just reviewed Glorious Day by Skye Kilaen. #GloriousDay #NetGalley

Romance? Intrigue? Space castle? YES.
The relationship at the center of the novel is between Elsenna, vice-captain of security, and Her Highness, the Most Glorious Born on the 13th Day of Spring, Crown Princess Banyelle Geren. There is political intrigue, a romantic past between the MCs, and some security situations. Her Highness is blind, and it is used by her opponents to oppress her and keep her guarded, when in fact she manages her life quite well on her own -- she appreciates art, fine clothing, and romance in her life. I should say here that Kilaen is herself a very sensitive reader and I have relied on her goodreads reviews to catch issues in books related to homophobia, sexism, racism, and crappy portrayals of disabilities. But sensitivity does not make a book. Kilaen writes at a perfect pace, clipping along through the plot evenly. The worldbuilding is well done, without leaving the reader in the dust or slogging through clumsy infodumps. The story is told entirely from Elsenna's POV, and the author who I was most reminded of was Kazuo Ishiguro = the themes of penitence, acceptance of the past, and telling the story through the eye of a player instead of the mastermind. It also had Ishiguro's contemplative, internal feeling to it, though unlike Ishiguro this story has a resolution! And did I mention it's a story of love between women?

I thought this was a stunning debut. Kilaen's writing is delicious, I definitely found myself slowing down to savor every word and enjoy the story. I look forward to reading more of her work!

I am grateful to have received an e-arc of this book from Netgalley. My opinions are my own.

Quick exciting action read. Bodyguard, princess romance. Treason, a coup and dangerous regime change.
Definitely had a GREAT surprise moment half way through. Totally unexpected and very entertaining.

Elsenna is the disenchanted vice-head of security for an awful dictator. She is also feeding intelligence to various rebel groups seeking to overthrown the regime. She has no illusions that this course of action will lead to her death, but she can no longer stand passively by while the king kills, torture and imprisons. Princess Banyelle Geren puts on a vapid and helpless face in order to stay below the intrigue of court. But she, ultimately, she is trapped in a horror of constant threat overlaid with opulence.

The two may have more in common than they know... and they know they have a forbidden attraction.

**I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Skye Kilaen writes a dramatic tale of rebellion and redemption in Glorious Day. Kilaen drops us into the story right at the end of the synopsis and the Princess has called Vice-Captain Hazen aka Elsenna into her suite to find out what is happening outside of her walls. Then the Princess decides that to be safe she needs her bodyguard back and assigns the Elsenna as her guard once again.

Kilaen brews up some trouble here. We hear the story from Enna’s point of view and get to understand the quandary she is between what is right for the people and her love for the princess. How she came to the difficult decisions that she has and how she comes to the traumatic decisions to come. Kilaen does not shy away from the harshness of war - bewarned my rainbows there are some harsh scenes ahead. The scenes happen off-stage, but the echoes are imprinted even as I type this. (I almost cried...almost!)

Kilaen writes twists and turns within the story so that you do not know who is the enemy and who is not. It’s awesome!

The romance itself is an emotional one rather than a physical one though it does get to fruition at the end and that is in euphemisms. This is the only area where I just did not feel the connection between Day and Enna. I definitely know how Enna felt, but I just did not feel it from Day. I say this because of one scene early on in the book where if you knew that someone you cared about was coming you wouldn’t be busy doing something else.

Overall, the uprising story and the happily ever after ending is a roller-coaster read!

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

I feel I must preface this with the fact that novellas are just not my thing. This unfortunately had the same pitfalls that I usually find, being that of limited world-building and not having enough character background to gain any sort of real connection. That being said, I remained super intrigued throughout the duration of my read. It felt like I was viewing a snapshot in time of this world fuelled by political unrest. The sapphic relationship was very sweet, and I really enjoyed the interaction between the two characters.

I wasn’t crazy about this. The world building was confusing. I had a hard time keeping track of the events and their significance to the story. I loved that this represented disabilities and a lesbian romance but I wished it was executed better.

I don’t usually love reading novellas, mostly because it seems to be impossible for me to fit good worldbuilding, solid plot, and appealing characters into such a small amount of pages. Novellas often leave me unsatisfied and wanting more from the world I was introduced to. However, there are exceptions.

Glorious Day has its world and plot presented in a clear way. We follow the vice-captain of the guard under the rule of a cruel king who took over the throne by killing his wife. Elsenna, our main character is secretly aiding the rebellion by leaking information. However, there’s a problem - she’s deeply in love with said king’s daughter whose bodyguard she used to be until the memorable kiss in the gardens two years ago tore them apart. When the princess takes her back as her bodyguard after two years, Elsenna will have to decide if her loyalties are with the rebellion or with the woman she loves.

We get a very straightforward story with no unnecessary subplots, no info-dumps of worldbuilding that a story this short wouldn’t be able to take advantage of anyway. Everything sticks to the kingdom where the plot happens so we don’t know much about the state of the universe outside but it’s not necessary to the plot at all. The action is rather fast and a lot of things happen, leading to a satisfying conclusion. What I enjoyed in the world was the fact that despite the setting being SF, the customs of the kingdom were reminiscent of the typical fantasy novel. It’s a thing that I always like seeing in books.

The fast-paced action doesn’t overshadow the romance - thanks to the fact that Elsenna and the princess were close before the plot started, the relationship doesn’t seem rushed and unbelievable. There is some over the top drama to make things spicier but it comes from circumstances, not the characters themselves, and doesn’t feel forced. I especially loved the ending that felt wholesome and warmed my heart.

As for the characters - well, I have to say Elsenna is kind of hot. She’s the stoic type, who treats her job very seriously and doesn’t let her emotions get the better of her but inside she has a lot of feelings. She also has a strong moral compass and hates to see the injustice of the king’s reign. She’s also one of few people who see past the princess’ disability and sheltered upbringing. The princess is also an interesting character - she’s detached from the way normal people live but she’s still trying to make them happy and wants to put their good above her own. She was also aware of her own shortcomings and didn’t try to do things she had no idea about.

All in all, Glorious Day is a fun novella with a cute f/f romance and I recommend it to all the sapphics out there who are looking for something quick to read. It didn’t exactly make it to my list of favorites but it’s still a solid 4 stars read.

4.25 Stars. This was great! First I do want to say that while I do not “know” Skye, she is a Goodreads friend of mine. Skye has been a reader/reviewer on Goodreads for years so most of us, especially if you are a part of the LGBTQ+ book reader’s corner of Goodreads, will probably know of Skye too. While I love seeing “one of us” actually get published, and I was totally rooting for her, I don’t believe I’m being biased here. I was prepared to write a critical review if warranted. Luckily, this story had me hooked from page one and I can easily say that it’s in the running for best novella that I have read in 2020 -so far-.

This was a really interesting mix of fantasy with a sci-fi twist. If you are not a sci-fi fan don’t let this put you off. The sci-fi is very light and in fact I kept forgetting about it. Besides a few devices and people talking about traveling off planet, this almost completely feels like a fantasy book instead. This also has some romance in it too.

I’m happy to say that Skye writes really well. This did not feel like a debut to me. It didn’t have a lot of those newbie bumps that are so common for first time published writers. You can tell that she really put a lot of work into this novella.

Besides this being well written, the story is really gripping. It hooks you in from page one and you can’t stop reading until the end. I was really impressed by how good the world building was for this story. I felt like I knew just how this planet operated and what the people were like. To be able to do all of this in a novella is really impressive. Fantasy novels can be giant tomes because there is so much info to squeeze in there. To write a new world that works in the length of a novella, is very impressive.

I don’t want to say much about the characters since it can be easy to spoiler a novella, but I will say that I cared for both characters and was hoping a HEA could somehow be possible. There was also a twist -if that is even the right word- about one of the characters that I did not see coming. And once you find out what that is, it sinks in just what a badass she really is.

If you are looking for a good quality, WLW fantasy novella, this story is for you. I really enjoyed this and it makes me excited to see what Skye might come out with next.

Wow, this was a tightly paced, engaging novella. It feels like a snapshot of a time of upheaval and country on the brink, without needing to get into the full history of the country in question. It's quite a feat to do a huge amount of world building in just 80 or so pages (that's the page count on my e-ARC )but Kilean pulls it off with ease. I loved how its just integrated into the plot, as we learn the important parts of what caused the unrest and the immediate effects of it. Even though Captain Elsanna is a traitor and a rebel, she still can't help her feelings towards the Princess that culminated in a kiss two years prior to the events of the book. The conflict feels earned even though most of the plot takes place over the span of a couple of days. I could not help but feel just as flummoxed as Elsanna when the Princess seems to be pointedly oblivious but shrewd at the same time.

I enjoyed just about everything in this novella. It feels like a full length novel, despite its really short page count. I hope more books come out of this world, because it was a treat to read.

I received this ARC via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
3.4 stars

Vice-Captain Hazen promoted to her position after guarding Her Highness, the Most Glorious Born on the 13th Day of Spring, Crown Princess Banyell Geren is called back by the Princess to guard her again during a period of unrest. The story is about their unrequited love, buried because of their positions which as romance novels goes is exposed and consummated by the end of the story. The story takes place on a planet which descended into corruption and tyranny by a vicious King (the Crown Princess' father). Told from the point of view of Vice-Captain Hazen, also known as Lady Vissier, she unfolds layers of past history through flashbacks rife with guilt, longing, and death. Hazen is hard emotionally and self-judgmental. Although drawn to the Crown Princess, she doesn't seem to understand her very well. The story is short, so most of the action unfolds in the first few chapters after the characters and world are introduced.
I enjoyed the story arc, but I like endearing characters. Hazen certainly was not, and because she didn't understand Geren until near the end of the book, neither does her readers.
As far as science fiction / fantasy genre, the story may have benefited from more world building early on in the book. .

This novella made my day. I’ve literally read it in one sitting.

Skye Kilaen’s ‘Glorious Day’ follows Elsenna as she navigates her job as a Vice-Captain Hazen, helping the rebels planning to overthrow the current King and her feelings for a princess who she hasn’t spoken to in a long time. Her regret for things she had to do as a guard and strong feelings for a person she doesn’t think she deserves are driving her actions throughout ‘Glorious Day’.

We follow Vice-Captain Hazen as she has to face princess again, all while the tension in the nation increases. Elsenna doesn’t expect to leave this fight alive. She’s strong and devoted to those who she cares about it and I liked following the narrative from her point of view.

While ‘Glorious Day’ is a quick read, it’s full of content - a fast-paced narrative filled with the action centred both around the politics in the futuristic-like world as well as the romance between the two main characters, Elsenna and the princess.

I appreciated the content warnings for the book, although most of the violence has taken place off-page. Moreover, Skye Kilaen’s book has such great representation. From a guard-princess relationship that follows two strong female characters to characters with a disability. The princess herself is blind, but while some around her try to use that to control her, she is not limited by her disability. Similarly, Elsenna has to deal with her injuries at the end of the story, but again that doesn’t necessarily hold her back.

At moments the story felt a little rushed, with so many events contained in a relatively short novella, but overall, I really enjoyed Skye Kilaen’s ‘Glorious Day’ and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining quick read with interesting characters.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Skye Kilaen.