I liked it but also not. The fantasy was ok and the world building did work for me. Probably many things need more work and many times I was confused, but they did not ruin the total experience!
The characters did argue too much for really let me enjoy the story, unfortunately.

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this book, and DNFed it about a quarter of the way through. I liked Moranthus's backstory to begin with, but I struggled to tell the two heroes' points of view apart, and by 25% I still didn't particularly care about either of them - which for romance, is a bit of a dealbreaker for me. I'm always here for queernorm fantasy, but I do still need some engaging leads and some chemistry between them, which for me, didn't click here.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

Dawn's Light was an interesting book to dive into. I honestly thought it was going to go one way and I'm a little disappointed that it didn't. The book definitely had potential to be a bit better as well. I just feel like things happened and that's that. Nothing really sucked me in and I was just reading the pages until I hit the end.

Now that doesn't mean I wont dive into the next book because I totally will. Mostly because of the potential of things to get better. Or better explained to make me super engaged. It's weird to admit that the first half of the book was doing a pretty good job at keeping me entertained. Then I hit a couple of snags and I just started to lose my interest.

As for the characters, they were okay. I didn't really see the romance until it actually happened. Even then, I still wasn't truly convinced. I think if we got hints a bit earlier in the book then I could've visualized shipping them but right now - I got nothing.

In the end, I'm hoping there's a ton of growth in the next book and certain changes that make the adventures a bit more adventurous and entertaining at the same time.

Not a bad book, but not a favourite either.

The book kind of came across as supposed to be a bit of a slow burn romance, but I didn’t really feel as if there were any romance feels until at least half way through the book. The majority of the time I felt as if the the book was really going to keep heading into the adventure path and the romance was going to be very minimal but it did pick up a little.

I didn’t necessarily like some of the choices the characters made. I thought they were a little odd and I often question the motivations of some of the characters.

I think more work needed to be done on the book

Dawn's light is a fantastical LGBT romance for anyone who loves a good adventure and a second change at love. Moranthus is an elf, and when we meet him he is suffering, his partner is dead and his career is at a deadend. He finds himself embarking on a journey to rescue a human prince from goblins who are hunting him. Failure isn't an option. Gerrick is a human soldier and single father. He might as well be a doppelganger for the prince, I loved that Gerrick is more than just a dumb soldier. He is a parent and he needs money which is why he agrees to be the body double for the prince.

I loved the slow burn and the case of mistaken identity as Moranthus and Garrick try to come to terms with what they need to do and with what they believe. It was complex and the world building was a good dose of fantasy and interesting characters with real stakes between the main characters. Please see the TW note below.

A Note From the Publisher
WARNING: scenes of graphic violence and self-inflicted wound/suicide, suicidal ideation - - TAGS: LGBTQIA+, Royalty, first time, sexual discovery, elves, goblins, duplicity, mercenaries, kidnapping, revenge, action/adventure, coming out, enemies to lovers, in the closet, slow burn, road trip

***Special thanks to NetGalley and NineStar Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review***

This was a really enjoyable fantasy novel that sucked me in from the beginning and kept me entertained throughout. I would recommend.

To me, Dawn’s Light was more an epic fantasy than a romance, but that’s not a bad thing.

Gerrick was a devoted father and loyal to his prince and kingdom. He took his position seriously and was more than willing to sacrifice himself to protect the prince. He had no idea what he was in for when he let himself take the prince’s place.

Moranthus had lost everything when he lost his lover – including his identity. When given the chance to win some of what was lost to him back, he jumped at the opportunity. Even though he knew it was too good to be true. It was an offer from someone he knew better than to trust.

These two warriors were an unlikely pair that found themselves thrown together through a case of mistaken identity. They fought against each other until they realized that working together was easier. It still took them a while to realize that they were both on the same side. It didn’t help that they denied what they were feeling for each other – well, at least Gerrick did – for most of their story. If nothing else, it definitely kept things interesting.

This is my first read by Shannon Blair, but since Dawn’s Light is the first book in the Duskblade series, I’m fairly certain that it won’t be my last.

Dawn's Light was an enjoyable enough fantasy tale on many levels. The premise was interesting and I liked the fact the 'bad guys' were well fleshed out and three dimensional characters, rather than just stereotypes. I would have liked a little more world building here and there, but what was presented in that regard worked fine. I also would have liked to have seen some hints at the coming romance a little earlier. It didn't appear until the final third of the book and then felt a bit too sudden and 'out of nowhere'. But both Moranthus and Gerrick are engaging characters and I'd be happy to read more of their adventures in the future. As such, I am giving this 3 stars.

I was stuck between giving this 2 or 3 stars, but I had a really fun time so 3 stars it is.

I was hooked when I read the description: an enemies-to-lovers slow burn on a rescue mission. I love slow burns, the pining, the buildup; sadly this didn’t do it for me. I felt that they went from hating each other to having developed feelings so quickly that I felt like I missed out on the slow, gradual change in feelings.
And once the romance was happening, the characters seemed to completely shift into different people.

I was expecting a bigger ending, some huge spectacle of a fight. Instead I was left wondering when the big fight would happen after I had already read it…
Overall the big momentous scenes fell a bit flat for me.

What I did enjoy was Moranthus and Gerrick getting to know each other while on their journey, how they worked together despite their different opinions and general lack of trust.
The world that Shannon Blair has created was interesting and I would love to know more about it.

Thank you NetGalley and Ninestar Press for an eARC of this title.

Alright friends, I really enjoyed this book! I am not usually an enemies to lovers fan because I often find them super unrealistic. Whoever, I found this really realistic. I loved how Gerrick and Moranthus meet, learn about each other, and work together though out the story. I found it really nice to see two characters learn about each other over an extended period of time and actually getting to know each other.

One thing I really enjoyed about this story was the cultures created for all the different fantasy races. I also loved how these cultures and ideologies where explained within the story without having any info dumpy sections. I loved how organically the information was presented. I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding and atmosphere within this story.

Overall, this was incredibly sweet, exciting, and fun all in one. For someone who doesn’t typically like an enemies to lovers story this was written really well and felt so realistic that I really enjoyed it.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This started a bit slow for me, but the second part of the book made up for it.
I really liked the idea of the elves and the goblins being more canonically queer and humans being the ones that struggle to grasp with subjects like gender equality and homosexuality. It opens a path for more high-fantasy stories set in a canonically queer world, and we need those narratives.

Moranthus is an elf who has lost everything. With his lover dead and his career stagnating, he jumps at a chance to redeem himself by rescuing a human prince from the goblins hunting him—even if failure means death or eternal exile from his homeland.

Gerrick, a human soldier who bears an uncanny resemblance to his prince, has always chosen duty over desire. As the sole parent of his young daughter, he needs the extra coin that working as the prince’s body double provides—even if it may one day cost him his life.

When a case of mistaken identity puts the prince in the hands of a goblin raiding party, Moranthus’s and Gerrick’s paths collide. With winter closing in and miles of hostile goblin lands ahead, they must set aside their differences and work together to bring the prince home safely.

Their deepening connection comes with a growing certainty that rescuing the prince may be fatal. Moranthus and Gerrick must each find a way to reconcile his heart’s desires with his homeland’s needs—or die trying.

This is a very sweet slow burn love story. The characters are well rounded and likeable. It’s fairly slow moving but not boring. I will definitely read more by this author.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Shannon Blair and NineStar Press for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Moranthus, an elf who's true loyalties lay with the previous ruler of the elf lands, is now in partial exile. He now must prove his new loyalty by completing tasks, however low or impossible they may be.

Gerrick, a human who looks strikingly similar to the human prince, is a body double\guard to the human prince. His role takes him away from his precious daughter. His travels are dangerous but he'll do anything to protect Daisy.

When Moranthus mistakes Gerrick for the human princling, Gerrick decides his deception must end to save the real prince. Moranthus, who's only goal is to make the Matriarch remove his partial exile, needs to find the real prince before something worse happens. Their adventure brings them closer, creating a bond that goes beyond anything Gerrick knows, or wants to accept.

This fits right into the epic elf/fae/human romance fantasy that I love, with LGBTQ characters.

I gave it 3 stars, but I'd say more like 3.5. The story at times was slow moving and it didn't flow nicely. There were paragraphs where I swear I read the word "matriarch" or "patriarch" 15 times. This got better about 1/3 of the way through but I was 'this close' to DNF. (I'm glad I stuck with it)
Overall, it was nice to read a story from the perspective of a LGBTQ character, who struggled with the (real life) biases that this community faces, in a fantasy realm that is heavily written for the straight couple perspective.

2.5 stars. :( I'll need to gently shelve this one in the 'definitely not bad, you might very well like this, but it had too many of my pet peeves for me to really enjoy it' pile. Truly, they had us in the first half, not gonna lie.

The premise of this sounds like everything I want out of a high fantasy adventure/romance! An elven assassin who's lost everything: his lover, his honour, his place in society. A human warrior, bodyguard to a prince, who values duty and his daughter above all else. A case of mistaken identity, an unlikely partnership, a rescue mission and a budding romance within an interesting fantasy world. So many things that I love, and I thought for sure they would make a winning combination. I did like parts of this (the interesting titbit of elves always referring to their leader with a possessive, the goblins having personality and culture, rather than being reduced to a mindlessly evil race, the writing was serviceably good), but in the end it just didn't work for me.

Crucially, the plot/worldbuilding. The macro elements were very interesting and had a lot of promise, and I looked forward to getting to learn about them in more detail. But as soon as we got that detail, things started to kind of fall apart for me. I can't say too much because of spoilers, but characters made weird decisions, a bunch of little plot things felt out of place, and everyone's motivations felt out of whack. (WHY did Mornathus's Matriarch keep him alive in the first place? Yes. the book gives us a reason but not a very good one.) The book would ask me to believe something basic, like an enemy's keenness or ruthless competence, and then five seconds later that same enemy is being fooled by something really silly.

Even more crucially (for me, at least), the romance. It was almost non-existent in the first half! I thought I was in for a slow burn romance, which I love, but instead for the first maybe 45% I got a pretty good adventure story with two leads who had no chemistry and no interest in each other. I don't think that the author had to have them making eyes at each other from page 4, but there are so many things that could have been done to hint at romance, even if they weren't aware of it yet. And it just wasn't there! I feel like we absolutely tortoised our way to the halfway mark, where there were some very abrupt feelings, and from there we flat out hared it to a thoroughly unconvincing HEA. At no point did I start rooting for these two. The pace was all wrong and I just didn't enjoy it. When I realised how slowly things were moving in the first part, I thought that maybe this book was the first in a series, and it would take them more than one book to realise their feelings? As much as I'm not into series right now, I would have liked that, because then the pace would have made sense to me. But nope. Maybe there ARE more books to come? But after the way this wrapped up, I'm not very interested.

Besides that, the way the plot got unconvincing made this pretty dull for me most of the time. In addition, Gerrick is from a pretty conservative nation and has some conservative ideas that were extremely tiresome to listen to. Not just in terms of sexuality (that didn't bother me; I'll always have a soft spot for coming out narratives) but general things about women that nearly sent me to sleep. It helped that we had Moranthus there as a counterpoint, but as I said. Just a bit tiresome to read.

I might have liked another book with these same flaws if some other extraordinary things had been done with the plot or style? But that was not the case. Really, this is not a bad book! It just hit a lot of the wrong buttons for me, without adding anything much to sweeten the pot.

Fantasy worlds are a big weakness for me so I am definitely biased when it comes to reviewing this XD There will never be enough in this genre and it is rare enough that even if this wasn't well written I would have loved it. The story and writing are excellent, however, and I am extremely pleased XD

Cover: The cover feels very dark yet magical. This would make it a cover buy for me and is the main reason I requested this ARC.

The fact that it’s the first part of the series ‘Duskblade’ is intriguing me. This can either go really, really well or turn out to be a disappointment.

The story contains 29 chapters.

The quote at the beginning of the book already gives me a good feeling. It’s such a simple and yet such a strong one.

My opinion about the story: The first chapter contains a lot of information and sometimes it gets me confused a little. However, I find this “normal” for the fantasy genre as there is always a whole new world to introduce.

When the event with Gerrick evolved I can’t say that it was an original one. It’s used more than once before. However, I didn’t expect it to happen. The fact that it surprised me proves that it was a good decision to use it in this story.

My favourite character, from the beginning, is Moranthus. I was really waiting to get to know more about him and his past. He’s a character that easily gets to you.

The way that this story portrays diversity is well done. I really love it. Never does it feel forced, it feels as natural as it should be.

The decision to incorporate human stupidity/homophobic reactions made it feel relatable and very real. Very smart move.

My favourite quote:

“They were both driven by an unwavering loyalty to their respective homelands and an unflinching desire to do right by their people. And they’d both struggled to reconcile that loyalty with their love for their children.”

My conclusion: I’m very excited to see the sequel. Shannon managed to end the story on the point that I'm excited for more but not mad because it stopped in the middle of all the action.

I give it 4,5/5.

Interesting with dramatic writing and chat that really reel you in. I had fun reading the book and will look for more from this writer!

This was an entertaining read with some interesting and endearing characters. It's an enemies to lovers plot which I do enjoy wholeheartedly. The story moved at a great pace and wove in the characters' past into their present very well. I appreciated getting glimpses into past memories to get more familiar with the characters, which was really necessary, especially for our protagonists.

I also very enjoyed the different surprises and twists the author threw in, especially in the beginning, where are protagonists meet for the first time. You think you know who's who, but there was a little interesting deception involved that gets the reader sucked in at the start.

However, all those great things being said, there were at times an abruptness to the writing. I felt I saw this disjointedness most as the characters reflect on their developing feelings and thoughts. It almost seems like things go from enemies and distrust, to falling head over heels and just not saying anything. I mean, there was a line or two thrown in here and there to try and develop those feeling subtly through the book, but for whatever reason it felt a bit forced rather than fluid.

My other qualm is that the book switches POVs, but doesn't label them during the reading. I felt like the POV shifts were so subtle that I found myself having to go back and reread some parts because I hadn't realize the shift had taken place. I would have appreciated a label/notification just to spare some of the confusion I'd had while reading.

This was an "okay" read.

Love love love. This book has everything I could want. A refreshing fantasy setting, romance, and mistaken identity.

I was gripped as soon as I started reading. The setting, while fairly typical for fantasy, feels unique, particularly the way it's written. You get enough info about the setting without being overwhelmed by it. The action picks up immediately which helped draw me in.

I loved the developing relationship between Moranthus and Gerrick, and the internal conflict they both feel. Honestly enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes when it's done well, particularly when it starts like this. Their constant bickering made me laugh more than once.

This book has a perfect slow burn and I loved every single word of it. I highly recommend.

This could be read as a stand-alone but I really hope it's the start of a series, because I want to see these characters again.

<i>Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.</i>

Alright, lets just get this out of the way. I have nothing against LGBT community, i fully respect the community. my review and rating has nothing to do with them. i was honestly so hype to read this cause it look soo cool, but i didnt expect what it has instored for me. the premise of the book had me at the words 'elf and goblin.' I love fantasy and im a sucker for a good well thought-out fantasy world and character. But just so everyone knows, this book contains man-to-man romance which i wasnt aware of and didnt saw coming, i was really shook by it.

I honestly find it a little too hard to get into the story, it just felt like your classic fantasy-dystopian world which im not really that interested anymore. first 1/4 of the felt relatively alright but as i went on further the story goes up and down like a rollercoaster ride, some parts looks like its going somewhere then drags it in further.
for the romance part. I, myself dont really like reading romance in general but i have tried getting into it before but is was alright. its not really my forte but i am slowly but surely trying to get into it. With that, i was surprised, not only did i get a fantasy-romance novel but a man-to-man type of romance. Now look, i have another against it, im just not comfortable diving in and reading stuff that im not really comfortable imagining. which i hope you respect.
<spoiler>for the death part, i just wish that the author gave him more time and grow and get an attachment to the reader and not just bring him up as a love interest then kill him afterwards cause then his parts wouldnt be necessary anyways. the story wouldve been okay without him on it. if the author wants the reader to feel despair and sadness after his death then the author shouldve let his character grow first then kill so the effect of it is there but if he was just there for plot then they shouldve drive it to a better plot.</spoiler>
the action parts of the plots was alright, it wasnt as thrilling and intense as i hope itd be. there are few parts where it was good and there were parts that i find lame. Most "almost" fighting parts always end up with an arguing then just threaten the other person or party, reading those parts felt soo dragging to me like when i was a video and it gets boring i wanna skip and go to the good parts but i cant do it on a book. its just little disappointing that itll make you feel like its going somewhere but its nothing and there's more arguing than an actual fight scene. i wish theres more intense-gripping and thrilling parts, i mean this is a fantasy novel after all.

But what i did find very relevant to our time now is when gerrik, moranthus and the other charater ( i forgot the name of sorry) were arguing about being a warrior but likes men at the same time.

<b><i>YOU CAN''T PLAY A WOMAN ROLE IN BED AND STILL BE A MAN ON THE BATTLE</i></b>

when the readers read the arguments on that part, people can easily relate it into our real situations now, its nice that the author brings that discussion up on a novel even though theres a risk that people may not like it and not supporting it. which im not, again i fully respect the lgbt community, i have nothing against them, im just comfortable getting into a mindset and perspective of a person or character and reading stuff about that topic. at least not right now.

Overall its a nice fantasy novel. writing wise it was alright need some work but its a debut novel so its not that bad. I rate this a 2 star not because its bad novel but because i thought this would be an action packed novel, it was there but it didnt quite reach my expectations, kid you not i dont have that high expections for a fantasy novel. I'd say im not the target audience and im sure people will love this and people should try it for themselves.