I absolutely loved The Sound of Stars so I was wicked excited to read A Song of Salvation. Once again, Alechia Dow did not disappoint. She has a way of creating beautiful and awe inspiring sci-fi stories and worlds while touching on serious topics. I honestly have loved both books that I’ve read from Alechia Dow and am looking forward to reading more!

"A Song of Salvation" was a lovely science fiction story about finding your own self and acceptance of others. When the fate of the universe is at stake, Zaira teams up with Wesley to save their world. The story is told through multiple points of view and through podcast transcripts. Each format added dimensions to the story that kept me wanting to read and find out if this team of unlikely friends would be successful. While reading, I was brought on a rollercoaster of emotions, rooting for the team the whole way! Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Thank you to Inkyard Press & Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bless Alechia for this book and wrapping up the open plot lines from both The Sound of Stars and The Kindred! Truly magnificent!

This is also going to be me screaming about all three of these books because they are all entwined with each other. While they aren’t sold as a series, I would vehemently argue that they are and you will get the most from reading these in publication order of The Sound of Stars, The Kindred and finishing with A Song of Salvation.

Ever since The Sound of Stars came out, I have been waiting for more about Ellie and M0rr1s. The Kindred tided me over, but y’all A Song of Salvation came in to sweep me off my feet. I loved this book so much. I loved getting to see how Ellie’s story ends and learning Zaira’s story. Zaira was an amazing MC. I loved seeing her come to understand her power and how to use it. This story also has a bit of revenge and a lot of empowerment specifically for Zaira’s arc and I ate it up!

All of these books take you on a journey, and I would argue A Song of Salvation is the best of them. Truly none of these stories missed, but the way everything feels heightened in Salvation took my breath away! When I heard Fae Crate was making a special edition of A Song of Salvation, I jumped on it so fast. I needed this edition and then I saw the stunning cover! If y’all make dust jackets of the other two, you know where to find me 👀.

While this was a faced paced story, I felt as if it was information overload and there wasn’t enough character development. It was nice to see other characters from the first two books. While this is touted as a “series” I feel as if others wouldn’t truly understand what was happening in the story without having read the first two. It’s a different concept, how song can save the universe. If you are a sci-fi reader this one’s for you.

I was so excited to read this young adult science fiction title with both queer and POC representation!

This story was told from the POV of the three main characters - Zaira Citalali, the God Indigo reborn; Wesley Daniels, a smuggler; and Rubin Rima, a celebrity podcaster.

The three -initially strangers, but thrown together through twists of fate - become an unlikely family, and find themselves caught in the midst of an intergalactic war. Zaira must defeat her nemesis - the God, Ozvios - and the three must overthrow the universe's oppressors, the Ilori. Will Zaira manage to awaken the God powers within her, and will Wesley overcome his generational trauma and the shadow of his successful family? Will Rubin Rima manage to harness his celebrity for the greater good? Read this fantastic novel to find out!

This was a quick-paced, fun, and exciting space drama! I'd love to add this to the young adult section of our library.

Two other books by this author are also set in the same world as A Song of Salvation. I’ve read only one of them but didn’t feel like I really missed anything. They can be read as standalones.

Her whole life, Zaira knew she was the reincarnation of a god and would be sacrified. She’s accepted her fate. Until she’s given an opportunity to escape. Her mission is to find Wesley, who’s prophesized to help her defeat the god of destruction. Wesley thinks he’s the last person who could help Zaira. At the age of seven, his mother told him he was a disappointment, would never amount to anything, and sent him away. I just wanted to hug him. When he accepts a job to transport Ruben, a celebrity podcaster, to Earth, Wesley begins to believe he may deserve more in life. Their romance is adorable. Found family is my favorite trope, so I was thrilled when the three of them develop a familial bond. Considering the fate of the universe is riding on their shoulders, stakes are incredibly high, and their battle is filled with dangerous obstacles.

Dow does an excellent job at balancing the serious topics of trauma and colonization with witty dialogue and humor. The chapters with excerpts of Rubin’s podcast are hilarious, and I’d totally listen to it if he was a real person. If you enjoy epic space adventures, found family, and unlikely heroes, you’ll find it with A Song of Salvation.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A good YA sci-fi playing with traditional tropes like the chosen and keeping you turning pages and having fun.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was a fun Sci-Fi adventure that gave me the feels of Star Wars meets Guardians of the Galaxy! Zaira is such a lovable and relatable main character - We love a girl boss, but even better when they're a reincarnated god. Wesley was her perfect counterbalance with his grumpiness and added just the right sparkle of humor. A great, easy read that you'll want to get to the end of.

I read this voraciously. The point-of-view characters, Zaira and Wesley, are literally out of this world yet so relatable in their self-doubts and growing pains. A Song of Salvation bills itself as a standalone, but could (should?) be read as part of a series with The Sound of Stars and The Kindred, neither of which I've read but whose characters contribute to A Song of Salvation's plot and make me curious about their stories. While this book was way heavy on the expositional dialog, particularly from villainous characters, I enjoyed its joyful, hopeful, be-the-change, inclusive tone and language.

[Thanks to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Since Alechia Dow debuted with The Sound of Stars, there’s been one certainty when you dive into one of her books: you’ll be on a fast-paced rollercoaster ride filled with conspiracies, danger, romance, and positivity. It isn’t that her characters don’t get angry or upset or face major losses. There’s just something about the way her books infuse hope into the foundation. It’s really refreshing, because the unlikeliest of heroes do the right thing, even when it really bleeping sucks to do the right thing.

A Song of Salvation delivers on this in spades. Now, Alechia Dow isn’t exactly writing a series, but her books are part of a shared universe, so you’ll learn about the different alien races and planets and their relationships and conflicts by reading her other books. You’ll also know about M0Rr1S and Ellie and Felix and Joy and you’ll enjoy those references instead of feeling confused. Still, I’m sure you can read this without reading the other books and still enjoy the story.

Dow weaves romance into all her stories, but this one takes some unexpected turns, which is a lot of fun. She also has a knack for throwing the most unlikely groups of characters together and using their differences to provide a lot of entertainment.

I always feel like my faith in humanity will be restored when I read one of Dow’s books, and A Song of Salvation delivered that, and more. This is a great story that touches on personal loss, parental estrangement, and found family. 4.5 stars.

A Song of Salvation has easily been one of my favorite reads of 2023 so far! I was first drawn in by the promise of demisexual representation in a young adult sci-fi novel, as that is not something I had seen before, and wow did this book deliver! I loved the found family dynamics, the subtle tie-ins to Alechia Dow’s previous books, and the fabulous space setting. The cosmic world-building and lore built into the plot and into Zaria’s character were fascinating, and made me want to stay reading about this universe forever! My favorite part about the book had to be Rubin’s podcast sections, and his unending optimism. Each of the characters had unique merits, but Rubin stood out to me as a truly fascinating individual, making him my favorite!

My Recommendation:
If you love Sci-Fi but prefer books that are easy and quick to read, you absolutely need to grab a copy of A Song of Salvation! I would especially recommend this book to fans of found-families in space stories, like those in Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindafer, The Disasters by M.K. England, or Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff!

YA needs more space operas, and definitely more stories by Alechia Dow! This book had the same ethereal feel and fast-p;aced yet moving storyline as THE SOUND OF STARS, and I couldn't put it down! Dow is masterful at creating worlds that are original and whole, while still feeling so much like our own world that we don't question its rules and ways.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.***

If you love space operas then this is for you. We need more of these in YA. I haven’t read any other book from this authors and have read reviews that you should read the others first but I didn’t have any issues reading this novel without the other ones.

This was such a beautiful book✨

I love the familiar sense of warmth and wonder I get whenever I'm reading something by Alechia Dow. This book has some stellar worldbuilding and a gripping plot that helps us journey through different planets in space and meet different people from all over the galaxy.

I really liked Zaira's character. We had a sort of clear distinction between her voice and Indigo which wasn't something I was expecting but I love how it played out in her and the way she slowly discovered her powers. She was a relatable characters with all her anxieties, desires and goals.
Both wesley and Rubin were the perfect side-characters: but well-fleshed out with their own lives and story arcs and it was truly beautiful to see them unfold and mesh together. I love the slow romance that played out between them, it might have been my favourite part of the book.

I think my main issue was that this book is pitched as a standalone whereas I see it as a culmination of the rest of the books Alechia Dow wrote in this world. A new reader might be overwhelmed and confused by the worldbuilding, and overarching plot. Even I, a reader who reads all of the author's books as soon as they release and has a terrible memory, had to struggle a bit to remember everything and piece it together.
At the same time, I was delighted by the cameos of the stars of the past two books so that's another thing I feel like a new reader might miss out on.

I also felt that the romance between Zaira and her lover was extremely rushed and never really built upon. I wish it had been left more open-ended or just addressed in the epilogue but that might just be a personal thing.

I feel like you get the best experience of the book if you've read Alechia's other books before. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful book that managed to surprise me here and there and gave a satisfying end to this world's stories.

Zaira is meant to die. Very soon. See, she has a goddess inside her just waiting to be let out and the power in place cannot let that happen so she'll die. Except she escaped? And now she has to find some guy named Wesley to save the entire galaxy.

I'm sorry, that's a very bad summary but I don't know what else to say.
This was a really good book with a lot of twists and turns that I did not see coming. I really enjoyed the different points of view and little snippets of other medias.
The characters and the relationships in the books were really well written and captivating. And the plot kept me on my toes. The world was also very rich and complex and so enthralling. I was a bit lost at times though and had some trouble completely connecting to parts of the story.
Basically, a very good sci-fi YA for all the sci-fi fans.

I’ve read both THE KINDRED and THE SOUND OF STARS before and enjoyed them, so I knew I wanted to give this book a try. It’s got the same deep characters and vivid descriptions that made Dow’s other books so great, along with a found family vibe. The story also involves themes about colonization and the spirituality of creativity versus destruction.

One of the things I haven’t seen in the marketing for the book (via a peek at Amazon, Goodreads, and the top Google search results) is that these are maybe companion novels? They exist in the same story world. And they have cameos of characters from both of Alechia Dow’s other YA books. I’m not sure if I’m mixed up or if maybe they aren’t being marketed as companion novels on purpose for some reason?

In any case, you can easily enjoy this book as a standalone. It’s got a bit of romance and social commentary as well as some humor. Rubin and Blobby are my favorite characters. I love that Zaira could communicate with Blobby, and Rubin’s upbeat, always-prepared manner made him such a fun character.

On the whole, I had a great time reading this book. I think fans of Claudia Gray should check out all of Alechia Dow’s books.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

An Epic Space Opera with BIPOC and LGBT+ rep! 💜🚀

Thank you #partner @alechiadow @InkyardPress @coloredpagesblogtours for this #gifted copy of A Song Of Salvation by Alechia Dow!

PUB DATE: July 11, 2023

I love the dynamic between Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin. Last of which is hands down my favorite character, his sunshine being the perfect antidote for the grumpy Wesley in their romance. Filled with great commentary on colonization and privilege and a lovely theme of found family, I cannot wait to see how this story ends!! I do wonder if I would enjoy the book even more if I had read the books set in this same world published earlier. With that said, this book was not difficult to follow being treated as a standalone.

• S Y N O P S I S •
“Zaira Citlali is supposed to die. After all, she’s the god Indigo reborn. Indigo, whose song created the universe and unified people across galaxies to banish Ozvios, the god of destruction. Unless she escapes and finds Wesley, the boy prophesized to help her defeat Ozvios and the Ilori, once and for all…

Wesley Daniels didn’t ask for this. He just wants to work as a smuggler so he can save enough money to explore the stars. Once he completes his biggest job yet—bringing wanted celebrity Rubin Rima to a strange planet called Earth—he’ll be set for life...

Together, Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin must find their way to Earth and unlock Zaira’s powers if they’re going to have any hope of saving the universe from total destruction.”

A song of salvation is my first Alechia Dow book, I've enjoyed the characters and world building. The story is told by Wesley, Rubin and Zaira. It has found family, Magic, instant love, adventure and action. Zaira has the powers of the God Indigo inside her, but she can’t use them to save herself from being sacrificed, stop the planetary war or save her dying planet. Zaira is a fat, Black demisexual/Grayace God. Wesley is a smuggler and Rubin is a podcast. Both Wesley and Rubin are Black and Demisexual/Demiromantic. There’s a lot of Black and Queer Representation.

Also there’s some cameos of other characters from Alechia Dow’s two other Sci-Fi books, Sound of Stars and The Kindred. The message of the book is you don’t have to be perfect, the whole point of life is to love, connect and experience.

Thanks to colored pages book tours, author Alechia Dow and Inkyard Press for an opportunity to spotlight the book and a finished copy.

As always, Alechia Dow is a Scifi Queen. I've followed her since her debut and I will continue to read and review her books. No matter the genre. Alechia's characters and worlds are always so nuanced and flawed and complicated and real. I can't recommend her books enough. Or buy enough copies for my library.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for providing me with a review copy.

Another cozy sci-fi/fantasy by Alechia Dow where the universe is vibrant with life and beauty.

Wesley Daniels and Zaira have lived lives of deep trauma and it’s not over yet. And yet, they find family in each other and the vivacious podcaster Rubin Rima even as they run, sometimes for their lives and sometimes directly into danger. With Rubin’s annoyingly persistent affection, they both learn to value themselves for exactly who and what they are, just as he already does.

A (non-romantic) love story of found family, courage, self-discovery and acceptance nestled in a save-the-university action-packed adventure.

And yeah. There might be a little bit of romance too.