I found this a struggle to get through the first 30%, I wasn't bonding with the characters, struggled to understand what the songlight was all about and I just wasn't able to see where this was going. However after I hit that mark more of the story started to unfurl and the pieces started to fall in place for me. Bear in mind I had just finished an incredible fantasy series so my initial stuggles could have been caused by a slight book hangover!

The concept of the book is really interesting, I began to like our FMC Lark more and her impulsive decisions. The plot is fairly slow to unravel, but in a good way, as it keeps information a surprise later on in the book. As you progress through the book you also get introduced to more character POVs which bring in a good balance. Overall you follow 5 different POVs, but mainly we follow Lark and Nightingale - I did find them both naive but when they work together they are much stronger characters and I liked following their development (I did have to remind myself this is a YA book though as naive characters aren't typically my favourite!). I actually would have liked to see a little more from Rye in this latter part of this book as his story just kind of drops off, but I can see this will likely be a large part of the second book instead and I will definitely be intrigued to carry on the series.

I enjoyed the politics, but you do have to work to get to this in the book. For the majority of the story we are on the Brightland side of the story and only see this perspective, but once you get introduced to the wider picture it really opens this up to be an interesting trilogy. It's hard to say much about the politics without giving away some elements of the storyline I don't want to ruin. For me I would say the world building is minimal, but again I think this typical first book establishing the overall story and we'll see more of the world unravel in the next book.

Overall an enjoyable read which was different to my recent epic fantasy reads. It feels almost like a fantasy WW2 type setting and I really enjoyed this mix of historical elements with fantasy/magic infusion. My review is also on goodreads (linked below).

Caveat first: I am absolutely not the target audience for this book by many, many years, but I love great YA (Hunger Games, Chaos Walking, Divergent) and I like Moira Buffini's screen writing work. Second (weird) caveat: I also don't love books written in the first person present, especially from the POV of multiple characters, so this took a while to settle in to. But settle in I did, and whilst there's nothing wildly original here, it was an enjoyable, rich and exciting page-turner of a book, with good, strong female characters (extra points from me), and I finished it slightly grumpy that I'm going to have to wait a while to find out what happens next, which is always a good sign!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is my book of 2024! Okay. So I appreciate that is a bold statement to make in July but I loved everything single thing about this book (maybe with the exception of having to wait for the next instalments!)

The story is a very strong opening book of what is going to be an amazing trilogy and focuses on a group of characters in a dystopian future where some characters have a special gift called “songlight”..

Torn apart in a war, Elsa’s home town and those in the surrounding areas treat anyone with songlight as an “Unhuman” so Elsa is forced to hide her secret from all but her lover Rye who shares the same gift.

When Elsa’s world starts to unravel, a young girl appears in Elsa’s songlight - captivated by her grief. The world has to change to make it safe for those with songlight but the pursuit of freedom often costs lives.

It is told from different character viewpoints per chapter which I always enjoy as it allows me to understand the characters personal drivers and opens them up to understanding. The characters are stalwart, tenacious and imperfect. Each of them fighting their own personal battles which nearly costs some of them their lives.

This book is advertised as a YA book but reads traditionally older than the average YA book and the pacing, especially towards the end, is fast paced.

Thank you Faber and Faber for providing this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book surprised me in a good way! A dystopian post-apocalyptic universe, magic with a twist, endless intrigue, and characters I wanted to throttle and hug at the same time. I felt like I should know where the plot was going but oh hell was I wrong. The richness of Moira Buffini's writing meant every new element added ever more complex layers of depth to her world-building. This was an excellent YA adventure/fantasy debut and I am so excited that this is book 1 in a trilogy! Add this to your TBR pile immediately and you will not regret it. Fans of This is How You Lose The Time War, Incarceron and Sarah J Maas will feel right at home.
Thank you Faber & Faber for providing this ARC for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

I couldn't put this book down as I was utterly transfixed by Elsa and her family and the other characters she met - both in person and in songlight. The dystopian feel at the beginning of the book was brought to life with enough touches and references to the modern-day world to hint at a future world that is struggling to survive after near extinction and the ravages of war. I'm already desperate to read the next instalment and I know my teen will enjoy this book when I pass it on.

#faberbooks #faberandfaber #songlight #femalevoices #dystopain #YA #freedomvsvictory

This is a beautiful story of hiding who you are, and finding those who are just like you. And when you help one another, the good can come from it.

Lark lives on an Island, cut off from the rest of her nation, and she has a secret. She is a Torch, she has a gift called searchlight, and in her moment of greatest pain, she cries out with her gift and finds someone just like her. But they are far away, and their nation is at war. Being a Torch is illegal, and the treatment for it will strip her of who she is to her very soul. In this situation, what do you do?

This was a beautiful story, full of loss and love, heartache and longing and coming out to show the world who you are. A must-read.

What can I say about this book. EPIC!!
I know I'm not the target audience for this YA Dystopian, and I going to admit I did struggle with the first half but boy, once I hit the second half of the book I was so immersed and invested in the characters Moira Buffini has created I couldn't put it down.

I'm not going to go into too much plot detail, as I feel you need to take it all in for yourselves. Songlight is a special gift some humans possess. It gives you the ability to communicate telepathically with other Songlights. For many, these people are seen as 'unhuman' they are persecuted and hunted down. This story has multiple POVs, but it mainly follows two female characters, Lark and Nightingale. They are both strong minded young women who are tired of living in fear of being found out that they're Songlights. Their world is at war, and they wish for peace and to live free.

The character development, world building, and the war and politics of this story are so well written and thought out. It also tackles a lot of heavy subject matters that are relevant to the plot but may be hard to read for some.

By the end of this book, I felt every emotion and turmoil the characters had gone through. Beautiful, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking journey, Moira Buffini takes you on. You end up falling in love with the heroes of this story and despising the villains. My only problem is I need book 2!

All in all, a must-read for 2024. An epic trilogy in the making, with touches of Hunger Games, Divergent, and Handmaid's Tale. I, for one, cannot wait for book two in this series.

Loved this book. The intertwined stories of Lark, Nightingale, Sister Swan, Kingfisher kept me enthralled. Absolutely heartbroken that I have to wait for the next two books to continue their stories. Highly recommend this book
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC

I found this really interesting and enjoyed it. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

Wow, this was good. I had no idea how much this book would grab me and keep hold till the end. I quite literally couldn't put it down. This has to be on the best seller list surely.

Non spoiler review From the first pages, I knew this book was going to be epic, and it truly delivered! The characters are all incredible, and Moira Buffini does an excellent job of making you understand them and their choices. The world-building is nothing short of amazing. I love how you become immersed in a community you wouldn’t normally want to be part of, and how Moira keeps giving you hope only to dash it again (I really hope everything turns out well after book three, though).

My only issue now is waiting for the next two books to come out!

I enjoyed this book. The characters were drawn out really well giving it an edge on other fantasy books featuring fighting factions. I never lost interest but nor was I completely gripped. Maybe not quite the genre for me but very well written.

Wow! I loved this…and that came as a huge surprise as I didn’t think it would be my sort of thing. I enjoyed the Hunger Games and I think that’s the most similar thing I’ve read…though they’re not the same at all.

Numerous different narrators did not put me off. On the whole I am bored with that narrative device but here it really worked well and I think is vital in understanding the whole idea of Songlight.

The world building was done seamlessly, perhaps because enough is not that different, I didn’t need to plough through too much description. It’s all about the ideologies more than the physical world.

Relationships are strong and totally believable.

As a school librarian I’m pleased that thus isn’t too ‘spicy’! However, there is lots of strong language. It felt legitimate and added to the characterisation, but does mean I’ll need to flag it for younger readers.

Very grateful for the ARC and excited for the next instalments in the trilogy!

Love, love love this book. It's the best YA I've read in ages. Really interesting world building and strong central characters. I liked seeing multiple points of view - it worked really well. Am now desperate for the next one. All the stars from me!

No spoilers here as this book isn't released till August but WHAT A RIDE THIS BOOK IS!

This has the potential to be a new YA all time classic. The most beautiful cinematic writing (not a surprise with Moira Buffini's background) brings you a mix of Hunger Games, Divergent, The Handmaid's Tale with elements of Leigh Bardugo's GrishaVerse.

I can't recommend this enough!!

Absolutely brilliant! I loved this dystopian story where those with songlight are ‘unhuman’ and dehumanised in the worst possible way, once caught. Where propaganda maintains a war, the people unaware of the State’s true agenda. Many of the tropes you’d expect to find are here, so in that sense, nothing original, but it’s done really well, which makes all the difference. I enjoyed all the characters, evil ones too! The rest of this series is going on my auto-buy list. Many thanks to NetGalley for an arc of this book.

I did struggle at first and set the book down but then came back to it and really got into it, so glad!

It’s a mixture of The Handmaids Tale and Divergent. It was an easy and exciting read..

I have to admit that I was very excited for this book, but had trouble getting into it because of the whole forced submissive role women take. Only good for childbearing. As someone's who's infertile it always enrages me and I wasn't prepared to come across it in this book somehow.

Yet, the premise of songlight pulled me in and made me thing of well known world such as divergent and the book thief. The hiding, the war, the keeping secrets.

The action and suspense packed story made for a nice read that allowed me to escape from reality.

I was surprised at the end and I'd have loved to know more about Rye. I feel like his story isn't done yet.

Thank you for this opportunity.

This is a fantastic book! I was so excited to read this that I put all the others down!
Think Powerless/Divergent/Mutants and this is that book!
I found the characters likable, even Piper, who I wanted to hate for what he did to Rye but couldn't, and I liked Nightingale/Lark's relationship as it grew.

Such a beautiful book, I have already started telling friends to add it to their preorders.