*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TLDR: Great dystopian book which, in my opinion, will appeal to those outside the YA genre. The stories, lore, characters and themes looked at in Songlight are so well done and definitely recommend reading!

I’ll just say, I finished Songlight and immediately preordered it. Probably one of the most enjoyable books of the year so far and reminded me a little of L.A Weatherly's “The Broken Trilogy”.

Buffini has done a solid job with this book, from her worldbuilding to the unique lore of Songlight and how it works, to her characters and how nuanced they are. We get a few “villain/ bad guy” POVs which really changed my view of said characters as they aren’t all black and white in their reasons for making the choices that they do.

Songlight has multiple POVs (if I remember correctly 5?) which I usually hate but Buffini navigates this well. You never spend too long with a character or move away before you’re ready. Even with a character I disliked (you’re supposed to) I felt like the chapters were written long enough where I could see the value of their POV but not too long to where I got fed up.

This is a YA dystopian novel and would encourage those who aren’t the biggest fan of YA anymore to still give it a go. I somehow missed that it was YA before reading or I likely would have passed, but I felt like it wasn’t simplified too much, and looked at some more adult themes looking at discrimination, war, the retelling of history and colonisation, propaganda etc. You, at least in my opinion, could often forget you were reading a YA book and just enjoy the story.

I am eagerly awaiting my physical copy arriving and will definitely be looking out for and picking up the next in the series when it comes out.

This was a pleasant suprise , I picked it not knowing anything about the author or the writer and it was good , I didn’t have any expectations it was a cross between the handmaids tale , the hunger games and the power … I want the telepathic powers ….

Loved this but I am a sucker for a good YA story building was brilliant I can’t wait for the rest !

Wow! I haven't read a YA dystopian this good in years! Honestly, it's one of my top reads of the entire year. If I could describe what it's like, I would say imagine if The Hunger Games & The Handmaid's Tale had a baby...THIS would be it!

I knew within the first few chapters I was going to be completely obsessed with this. The characters are all so distinct and relatable. The plot is unique. The atmosphere has the classic dystopian feel that you want while being different and unique enough to not feel like you've already read it before, which I find with a lot of other dystopian books.

This story had me in an absolute choke hold from start to finish, and I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire time. I am so excited for this trilogy as I know it's going to be one I reread for years to come.

Thank you so much for approving me for this because it was exactly what I have been looking for!

What an amazing start to a series with so much promise! I loved this book and young people will love it too. A brilliant multiple narrative showcasing a dystopian world of prejudice and conflict, with an exciting array of characters who bring the story to life. I like that we can see multiple perspectives on the conflict and can feel the pain of our protagonists.

There will definitely be a sequel, which I can’t wait for, lots of unresolved issues but a brilliant starting point for the next chapter.

This book is exciting emotive and deeply involving. We move through the world with our characters who will eventually come together. I can’t wait!

To be honest, I picked this book without really knowing what to expect, and it was amazingly good.
I didn't give it five stars since, not being used to first person narrations (and the book has three main narrators) I sometimes got lost as to whose storyline it was and had to get back to the beginning of the chapter and check who was narrating, (and as a result got confused in the first chapters, but I guess that's on me).
The worldbuilding was great, and the idea of songlight hooked me from the start. I loved how the three female main characters each had their own paths and personalities, but all got some real, logical and credible character growth (not something I've seen in most books lately). The secondary characters were all interesting and their motivations understandable, and the writing was flawless and beautiful, every single part describing songlight pure magic.
As soon as I got used to the different voices, the rest of the book flew by, and now I cannot wait to discover more about the world and what will happen next !

This was a really enjoyable start to a trilogy - it's a future dystopian world where fossil fuels are (allegedly) banned, and there's a war between two nations. It has echoes of The Handmaid's Tale, telepathy and conflicted characters. Overall, a great read.

I found the book surprisingly good. The entire plot was very interesting, and I enjoyed both the book and the characters. I particularly liked the multiple points of view and the structure of the young adult dystopian book, which is told by several different voices. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the use of oil for fuel is banned. In this world, some humans have developed telepathic powers, I think it gonna be a win win for any person who actually enjoy this genre. The book was easy to follow and read so I recommend it

An enjoyable YA dystopian book told by several different voices. A post apocalyptic world where using oil for fuel is banned. A world where some humans have developed telepathic powers - and where a new patriarchal order seeks to wipe them out, waging war on their more tolerant neighbours. Two young women try to hide their songlight from their families, a young man is outed by his best friend, and another grapples with his illegal feelings for other men. Fast paced, enjoyable, this is an intriguing start to a new series.

This YA novel is one of my favourite genres – a post-apocalyptic world examining a dystopian society.

Brightland is a nation at war, keeping its citizens in order through fear and disinformation. Boys enrol as army cadets from a young age, and girls are kept uneducated, trained only for marriage. Main character, Elsa, prefers the freedom of sailing and fishing and has no interest in marriage, much to the annoyance of those around her. However, she has a greater secret to keep – she has a telepathic ability, called Songlight.

In Brightland, people with songlight are hunted down, then used as slaves or political pawns. Elsa must keep her ability hidden, or risk being turned over to the authorities by friends and family. She thinks she is alone with this, until one day, another teenage girl in a faraway city makes contact with her, and they both realise just how much danger they are in.

Once through the initial world-building, which is delivered mainly through expository dialogue, I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the elements of political intrigue and duplicity, and the portrayal of the men returning from battle. Towards the end of the novel, the action really ramped up, and I found myself eager to read more. I also particularly enjoyed the examination of female behaviour. Buffini intertwines female rivalry, motherhood, and friendship throughout, and we gain a sense of the futility of the women who blindly follow orders, but also see the strength in shared experience and resulting loyalty. The women of Brightland may well be capable of out-manoeuvring the government.

This is the first book in a new trilogy, and I very much look forward to reading the other books in the series when they’re published.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Faber for the ARC!

A joy to read from the start.

This book is set in a dystopia world, and likened to the handmaid's tale meets the hunger games. The world is war torn, and a lot mlre complex than the characters first believe.

I love how there are so many characters woven throughout this stroy in an incredibly seamless manner that ties up well. I like how they all have their own difficulties to over come, and how this is handled.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

There are so many characters - heroes and villains and those lost in the misinformation and propaganda of an apocalyptic world. All credit to the author for weaving their stories together seamlessly to bring this new world to life.

I think this was a great read. The characters were interesting and I thought the concept was interesting enough to keep me hooked. If there’s more to come, that should be another great read!

A bleak yet beautifully written vision of a distant future, with echoes of The Handmaid’s Tale, Songlight explores a world where ideology rules, and those who are different are condemned to darkness. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

a great read, i loved the concept and the characters.
a story of differences and how people try to overcome them.
cant wait for the next instalment

Songlight was an absolute joy to read - many thanks for sharing it. I requested it because I'd heard a writer I admire singing its praises online, and I guessed Moira Buffini would write an incredible novel, but it still exceeded my expectations. It is a masterclass in creating tension and high stakes, with a wonderful cast of characters, both heroic and flawed, it was a delight to spend time with. The prose is just gorgeous, but also accessible, deftly painting a picture of a believable post-apocalyptic world (though I would have welcomed a map or just a little more detail about where everything lay in relation to each other). I especially loved Elsa and her mother, the brave women resisting the narrow roles allotted to them. World-building is meticulous and immersive - I enjoyed the bird-themed names for example - and it worked very well to interweave the different locations and plot lines. Above all, I treasured the message of love and resistance, hope and friendship. I wish this book so much success and am sure it will find it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Moria Buffini and publisher faber and faber ltd for providing me this arc.

4.5 stars

This book had me right from the very beginning chapters. Reminiscent of stories like the handmaids tale and the power mixed in with some hunger games this first book, of a trilogy, enticed me and kept me hooked through multiple POV. Each character is well developed and I found myself becoming attached to several. The story and world is captivating and I can’t wait to read the other two books within this trilogy!

Thank you Moira Buffini, Faber and Faber Ltd & Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for a review.

It's rare that we get a novel in recent years which does everything right. The characters are distinct. The heroes are relatable. The villains have nuance. The story-line holds ones attention, whether it's action or more character based.

Whether or not I get an advance copy of the next book, I'll be reading it.

I was excited about the premise of this book and the beautiful cover. The magic of songlight is a wonderful concept and I appreciate how the it draws on inspiration from dystopian classics such as The Chrysalids and the Handmaids Tale.
I found that at the beginning it was hard to feel any distinctions between the characters, they didn't seem to have unique voices. I also felt the writing alternated between short sentences that were all action and the occasional imagery that felt forced and uninspired.
I eventually got the feel for the writing style though, and found myself more absorbed in the story as it continued.

This may not stand out as the best example of dystopian literature but, there is definitely an audience for this book and my library will probably purchase it.

A great start to a new series! I love a dystopian read, and Songlight had all the world building needed to achieve this. I haven’t read a dystopian series since I was a teen and so I was super excited when NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd gave me the opportunity to read this prior to release!

Multiple POVs helped with the flow of the story & it was super encapsulating from the start!

A promising start to a trilogy with great world-building.

This first book of a trilogy was a fun and entertaining read. The characters all have their own personalities and you quickly get attached to some of them and feel their struggles, as they try to naviguate the complicated and strict society they live in. The book alternates between different narrators, which I liked less, but that is a very personal opinion. I see what it brings to the story, but I would have liked to have discovered some of the actions at the same time as the main character, rather than getting other characters’ perspectives too. All in all though, this was an enjoyable read and I am convinced that many fantasy readers will be very enthusiastic about this new book series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for the ARC. This is my honest opinion of the book. This review will be available on Goodreads and TheStoryGraph.