Member Reviews
Thank you Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I loved this adventure! Alechia Dow really puts the reader into this world of different plants and species! Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin must find a way to stop the Llori Emperor and the God of Destruction. A that while dealing with complicated backstories and teenage angst! I enjoyed that there were elements of fate, found family, love, magic, and space! I found all three POVs to be likable and the story to be fast paced and easy to sink into! Can’t wait to read it again!
Dow’s tender stories sweep you away to fantastical worlds but her words breathe life into characters of such depth and beauty. A storyteller who’s a true gift to the genre.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review .
I love when YA books feel like they are written for actual teens...The trilogy that didn't feel like a trilogy comes to a very trilogy end and we close the door on a universe that felt alien while still feeling accessible to the age group. Dow takes some notes from other works here, but they feel like loving tips of the hat rather some of the lightly-recycled fan fic published lately–making a distinction, not a judgment, and of course maybe I'm just not enmeshed in fandom enough to see how low on the head that tip really is. Ultimately, a vibrant and enjoyable series that I have and will continue to recommend.
A Song of Salvation was the space opera it promised to be. It was quick paced and a really sweet read about the power of your voice, humanity and love. Our MC's Wesley, Rubin and Zaira are perfect trio. Wesley is the han solo smuggler who is looking to find his place. Zaira is the reincarnated God trying to find her perpose and how to use her powers for good. While Rubin is the heart of the story while also being the comedic relief. They were fun to get to know. This book is very plot driven, things happen fast and characters explain their develop[ment outright. I think this book is a great YA read, but it might even be a little more middle grade.
Starting this book without reading anthing by this author prior felt like i missed an inside joke or 10. It took a while to find my footing in the story.
I enjoyed Both Z and Wesley's povs. Finding family fighting The God of Destruction.
Wesley and Rueben give Z the family she's been looking for
I had a really great time reading this book! While this technically isn't a series (though it should be, it's set in the same world with the common foe of the Ilori) each book focuses on a different couple, and the various evil things the Ilori are doing. And I loved this book, which had two different couples, yeah!
The few overlapping characters and a common threat have made these a series of interconnected standalones. Well, this book brings that overlap to the max, because a certain someone is a love interest in this book, and we get to see some more familiar faces that we've been wanting to see!
Both Zaira and Wiseley are in pretty poor places in their lives. She's the only one of her people alive, and the Ilori Emperor wants to sacrifice her to his god, who is the opposition of the god that she's supposed to be. So that was not a great pace to be in.
And Wesley, the connections that he has, and how his life has been affected, I just loved how it tied things together! Because oh, how the Ilari plot progressed in this book! This might be the final one, at least with the Ilori as the bad guys, but I'd love to spend more time in this world!
This was another really great read, and I can't wait to read more by Alechia Dow!
I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This book was wonderful! I loved how all 3 books in this universe were intertwined. It was so well done and I was blown away. I love revisiting characters from the other books and seeing where they ended up. They all worked together and it was amazing! I can’t wait to read more of Alechia Dow’s books!
When I started this book, it felt like I was in the middle of a story. Online results said this wasn’t a part of a trilogy, but there were two other books set in this universe. I’m very glad I chose to read “The Sound of Stars” and “The Kindred” before reading this one. I recommend everyone does this because it makes the story so much better! I love this universe that Dow has created for us.
The story is told from two POVS. Zaira, a nightweaver and the host of a god, is the last of her species trying to bring back her family. Wesley, rejected by his mother and abandoned by his brother, wants to spend all day traveling the universe instead of attending boarding school. The two are brought together along with Ruben, an intergalactic podcaster. As Zaira tries to figure out her powers, she, Wesley and Riuban become the family she’s been missing. The three race to Earth to try to take down the Ilori and Ozvios, the god of destruction.
I am probably a good bit older than the demographic this book is shooting for but I thought it was very well done! There's great world building and sci-fi of a world beyond earth - but the characters are still relatable. It examines with an historic problem in a futuristic world - that of colonialism. I think it has a very important message that the subjugation of people based on race or class is an ongoing issue. I would recommend this book, and think it would be most enjoyed by young teens.
A reincarnated god that has lost all hope. A grumpy space pilot who never had any. A Song of Salvation follows two main perspectives— Zaira and Wesley— in an intergalactic battle to save the universe.
This book was AMAZING. It had such great lovable characters and tropes that I really loved (found family and gay romance!? SOULMATES!!). No matter the perspective I was in, I was always invested in what was going to happen next.
Dow did an amazing job creating this story, which had a beautifully unique concept and great world building. All of the species and characters felt fully fleshed out.
That said, I will say that some elements of this plot felt predictable (not necessarily a bad thing but the plot twists didn’t twist enough).
If you’re looking for your next YA novel, I would definitely recommend this one. This is a book that no one should miss out on.
A Song of Salvation is a YA space opera. It has two primary POVs. The first is Zaira, the last of her species known as nightweavers…oh, and she’s also the reincarnation of a god named Indigo. The second is Wesley, an empath and a smuggler who loves ditching school to fly his ship.
This is such an adventurous and heartfelt read. The worldbuilding is honestly phenomenal. All of the different planets and species are so well fleshed out.
I love how it feels like a classic YA read, as all of the characters have tragic backstories and a lot of angst, but it also tackles colonization, genocide, and war. On top of the main theme of handling and embracing your emotions, this book focuses on love, togetherness, family and friendship, fate, and justice.
A Song of Salvation has a found family, romance, including a gay romance, and plenty of song magic and space travel! It even has a cute octopus-like alien named Blobby. It was a fun, fast-paced story with lovable characters and a hard-hitting heart and soul.
I know Dow’s other two books take place in the same universe and probably ease the reader into the world(s) more, so I’m looking forward to checking those out!
A Song of Salvation was my first space opera novel and certainly not my last. I tend to read more fantasy than sci-fi but Alecia Dow did a phenomenal job weaving both together.
This novel has all the major tropes that you'd love in an adventurous, yet cozy sci-fi book. There was romance. There was vengeance. There was found family. There were so many moments where I had no idea what would happen and hungrily turned to the next page.
I loved how thorough yet simple Dow's world building is. She also weaves in some heavy subjects that leave the reader reflecting on the world we live in. I will highly recommend this book and consider assigning it in future courses.
This story of found family was great. The characters all have a likable quality (even if they themselves don't know it yet). They learn to depend on each other to survive in a hostile world. Loved it.
A satisfying wrap up to this trilogy. New characters meet up with familiar faces and work to save the universe.
Thank you, Inkyard press, for allowing me to read A Song of Salvation early.
While this book doesn't belong to an official trilogy, it feels like it is. The start of the story felt a little slow for me but once I read the first chapters, Alechia Dow's writing pulled me into the book and I finished it in less than 24 hours. Really liked it!
Zaira is the last of her people, a nightweaver, and destined to die under the Ilori rule. But she holds within herself a god, a song, and the power to save the universe.
Wesley is an empath who has turned from learning his destiny, and he'd rather fly private missions than attend classes at his elite boarding school. But he's also the person Zaira's grandmother told her would help her free her people.
Rubin Rima is a podcaster willing to take on the Ilori, and his need to escape puts him on a collision course with Zaira and Wesley. And together, this found family must determine what they're willing to do to make the universe a better place.
While this book isn't officially part of a trilogy, it pulls together the events of Dow's previous two books, The Sound of Stars and The Kindred, both of which I really enjoyed. Zaira reminds me a bit of Yeine in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (by N. K. Jemisin) -- someone who must learn how to live with a god inhabiting their own being, with their powers and memories juxtaposed against their own -- but since Zaira is a teen, she also faces the challenge of growing up while learning to live with the god inside, and her growth over the story is bumpy and honest. Wesley's growth as a character takes him from the resentment over his mother's disapproval and yet the wish he could be accepted for himself to the recognition that he can choose his own destiny. And Rubin? Rubin is alternately annoying and precious and live-out-loud, and the way he embraces his courage as well as his vulnerability is inspiring.
If you haven't read Dow's previous two books, the beginning will feel slow and confusing, but for Dow's readers, familiar faces will provide a welcome way to connect the dots. Ultimately, the book finds its strength in addressing the questions of how we want the world to change, what we're willing to do to make those changes, and whether we will let ourselves be divided by hatred or united by love and compassion.
(Also, gorgeous cover! This perfectly captures the way Zaira and her swirling-constellation skin appeared in my mind's eye.)
Read this if you love: song magic, embodied gods in mortal situations, found family, intergalactic revolution, overthrowing the oppressor, finding your joy, working with others to make the universe a better place
Thank you, Inkyard Press and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.