This was a beautifully constructed world. I loved the multi POVs, the prose and the unique telepathy. I did want it to be longer - it felt like it moved very fast and didn’t explore some elements as a result, but I’ll definitely be picking up book two.

Songlight is the perfect book to kick off your reading in
The new dystopian era! I adored this and added it into
My latest dystopian recs video!

What I love most about songlight is the focus on how accepting one little prejudice can soon topple a society it felt really important and special to be reading this in such a volatile world.

While the start was a little slow I fell headfirst for these
Star crossed lovers and cannot wait to pick up the fight in book 2!!

Lark lives in secret, hiding her Songlight as there are many things, including this, that will put you in danger in Northaven

The most dangerous thing in this place through is the people and the way they have been indoctrinated to let behaviours that are not okay be allowed. All whilst persecuting people with Songlight or based on who they love

The arranged marriages in this were the worst thing to read about, and really made me uncomfortable as to how much they just allowed this to happen, the younger girls really placed a lot of their worth in whose wife they would end up being

As a massive dystopian fan, I understand dystopia is there to push boundaries and show what is not right and hopefully the story takes you through the change in this, and I would really hope this is something that is pursued further through the rest of the series.

I really took my time reading this one because I didn’t want it to end and will have to wait years for the next instalment!

Songlight is a spectacular dystopian epic, the first of a trilogy set in a brilliantly original world thousands of years in the future where some people have developed telepathic abilities called songlight. Those with songlight, though, are feared, hunted and turned into lobotmized slaves, so people with songlight, like Elsa, have to hide their abilities from the rest of their communities - even from their closest relatives - for fear of being caught.

The story is split between several POVs, including Elsa’s and another girl with whom she connects through songlight, even though they’re thousands of miles apart. The different POVs could’ve been more distinct - some of the voices were more compelling than others and the characters and their relationships felt a little flat at times.

That being said, this isn’t a voice or character-led story; its biggest focus is its world-building and wow - the post-apocalyptic fantasy world Buffini has created is breathtaking. The vibe to me was like Handmaid’s Tale meets Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind with a sprinkle of the Hunger Games; unlike anything I’ve read before. If YA dystopias are back, this is a blazing start!

If you’re yearning for a haunting and gorgeously imagined fantasy/dystopia with fierce female protagonists, pick this one up!!

A wow book that made me travel somewhere and kept me enthralled
Liked it . Due to health issues cannot will write a proper review at a later time
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mineA more extensive review will follow

Set in a post-apocolyptic future it grabs you at the the start, a world builder of a first book taking you into seemingly harmless Northaven that cannot tolerate people that are different. A great start to a new trilogy.

Such an interesting concept and setting but Sadly ,I've had to do a soft dnf for now and come back to the book in the future. I think the writing was very good. Based on what I've read so far I would still recommend this to people I know would love this type of story.

This was an exceptional debut, a powerful and intriguing book from the start, it pulls you in and keeps you there until the last page! Not my usual thing but so glad I requested it as I found it to be a sheer joy! A must read.

YA post apocalyptic dystopian fantasy is my jam. Give me a big spoon I just loved it and the magic system in this book was delicious. There are multiple POVs but really easy to keep up with both people and places. Loved the pacing it’s nice and snappy.

If you’re looking for escapism this is a book you can get lost in, and yet the world building still feels super realistic which is something I personally really like. It is YA but it handles mature themes and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this advance reader copy.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an aARC cooy of songlight. I was drawn to this book because of the cover. I really enjoyed this book, to say that it was longer as well because it is a fantasy, I flew through this. I lived the world that it was set in, it was so atmospheric and i was completely immersed. I think the writing style was amazing and flowed really nicely and I recommend this to anyone looking for a good fantasy to read

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the advance reader copy,

I enjoyed the premise of the book and the different POV chapters, especially as it showed how war and regimes can affect people’s ideas.

Overall I enjoyed the book but found the middle to be slow. There was an increase in plot speed towards the last few chapters which is due to it setting up a sequel.

This is a 2.5 star review rounded up to 3.

Songlight is a powerful and emotive debut novel that transports you into a world of fear and disharmony as our main characters carry the 'curse' of Songlight; a telepathic skill that casts them out as inhuman and fit only for mutilation and servitude. This is marked as YA, but it's worth noting that it is very dark YA with a focus on the persecution and dehumanisation of those marked as different; whether by power, sexuality or thinking. There's sexism, homophobia and outright hatred depicted on the pages here with people turned to tools for the crime of being different.

That said, this is an intricately woven novel made up of five different point of views that allow the world to be crafted in detail. The switching between point of views allows you to see different perspectives and areas, threading the world building together in a multi-layered arc. You've got the small town of Northhaven with Elsa and Rye, showcasing the patriarchal and misogynistic views of the land, Kaira in the larger city hiding her gifts from her enforcer father, Swan beholden to a powerful and cruel man at the heart of politics and spear-heading the charge into a more and more destructive war.

The narrative is tight, if a bit slow - partly because of the changing view points. I found some of them more difficult to get into than others - Swan's point of view was vexing at the beginning for instance as it always seemed to intrude to take me away from the important stuff. Once the threads start coming together though, everything is important and all the characters are critical. There's no hand holding here though; all of the characters are absolutely put through the wringer time and time and time again. Your heart breaks for them at points as they have to come to terms with whatever fresh peril the world has thrown at them.

And I couldn't help but fall for the characters here. They really shine and I was invested in both the small, personal stories along with the wider world changing narrative that slowly builds to a climax. The vast majority of the characters are complex and multi-faceted, with complex motivations, secrets and inspirations. They are very human; a landscape of greys rather than black and white morality. There's a couple of notable exceptions in the 'bad guy' camp, but the vast majority are flawed, real people doing the best they can in a landscape torn by war, grief, anger and the need for revenge.

This is absolutely an author to keep an eye on for future releases. I'll be interested to see how the series continues, but I'll also be keeping a watchful eye for unrelated releases. This is some excellent writing, with a vividly drawn world with all the messy human politics and machinations set alongside wonderful characterisations and a tightly written narrative.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.

A brilliant dystopian YA fantasy novel and a great start to a pending trilogy. An eye opening yet relatable book showing the power of propaganda in a war which definitely leaves you wanting to pick up with the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was really excited for this. It sounded like something I would absolutely love but unfortunately there was an aspect to this book that just rubbed me the wrong way which made the rest of my journey with this book a lot less enjoyable.

I did think the characters were quite interesting and thought the storyline was good (minus the forced marriages of a bunch of teenaged girls to soldiers who are a lot older than them) but unfortunately I won't be continuing with the series.

I loved this book, I really didn't want it to end and I'm glad that it doesn't and it's the first part of a trilogy, I'm just sad now that I have to wait for the next instalment.

Great world-building, fleshed out and interesting characters along side a fast moving plot made this an unputdownable page turner. I could definitely see some Margaret Atwood influence here in the story. I sometimes find books with lots of different POV a little confusing or disjointed but I never felt this with this book, and there were no characters whose chapters I wanted to skip to get back to another's, I was enthralled by all of them. Really intrigued as to what will happen next and I have already recommend this book to others.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC!

I started this book a while ago, and although I have loved what I have read so far I just keep finding myself not wanting to pick it up. It could just be me and my mood, I’m not sure!

It took me a while to get into the swing of this book but once I got past the first few chapters, I found myself determined to keep reading to find out what happens next.

I like the premise of this book - the set up of the war and the political landscape. I found myself routing for Elsa all the way through - she is such a strong character and experiences so much in this book, all the characters do.

I'm already excited by the prospect of the next books in the series and will definitely be keeping an eye out for that!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

There's been a dearth of good YA dystopia in recent years since fantasy and romantasy came to the fore, but Buffini's novel is definitely in the vein of classics such as The Hunger Games and Divergent. While the jumping POVs is a bit confusing at first (especially when characters suddenly change names), the worldbuilding is good enough that you soon settle into the narrative, and by the end I was excited for more in this series.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

So the reason I wanted to read this book is because I read the description of it on Netgalley and it drew me in so quickly. So I applied for it and was lucky enough to receive it. Friends, I've not had a book this fast paced and well written in a long time. Every moment of this book was full of action, surprises and secrecy, and I just continuously wanted more. I spent quite a few nights up until the early hours of the morning reading this one and that is not something I have done in a while! The multiple POVs we got of this book were incredible, this is such a flushed out and information filled story that I don't think we would of got everything without it being multiple POV and the way that they wrote it made it so that it wasn't confusing at all of who was speaking. This book fully played on my emotions, there were so many times where I was rooting for the characters but also so many times where my heart hurt for them. I loved every single moment of reading this book and with a cliff-hanger like that, I can't wait until the second book comes out!

(If you'd like to see more of my reviews please go to my blog:
https://doesden.blogspot.com/)

Brightland has been at war for years. Young men go away to fight as youths. The girls become choir maidens taught how to be a good wife, preferably a first wife, if not a second. No-one wants to be a third wife- they go away to service the troops! Elsa doesn't want to be anyone's wife. Rye, her soul mate is arrested. In Elsa's world she knows that she has to keep the most important part of herself hidden. She has Songlight, able to communicate without words across long distance. In her society such people are considered 'unhuman' & dealt with brutally. The way they have treated Rye. Elsa's grief reaches Nightingale- a girl many miles away in the city. Will this madness never end?

What an amazing world Moira Buffini creates. The characters & the setting totally enthralled me & I was caught up in their world. I hadn't realised when I started reading that it was a trilogy so I was devastated when the book came to an end. I can't wait until the next one comes out. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this amazing book!