Series: DC Icons #1
Published by Penguin Australia on August 31st 2017
Source: Publisher
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
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She will become a legend but first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning...
Diana is desperate to prove herself to her warrior sisters. But when the opportunity comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law to save a mere mortal, Alia Keralis. With this single heroic act, Diana may have just doomed the world.
Alia is a Warbringer - a descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery. Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies, mortal and divine, determined to destroy or possess the Warbringer.
To save the world, they must stand side by side against the tide of war.
After watching and loving DC’s Wonder Woman in cinemas earlier this year, I was excited to find out that one of my favourite authors would be retelling her origin story.
The only difference? Instead of Diana’s love interest landing on Themyscira, where she’s tempted into the “world of man”, it’s a young woman who appears instead. It turns out Alia is a Warbringer, who is doomed to bring war to them all. With Diana’s altrustic nature and also secretly wanting to prove her worth to the other Amazons, she decides to save Alia from the curse of her bloodline, by taking her to Greece to purify her bloodline.
I loved what Alia brought to the story – she’s slightly awkward, introverted and a science nerd and also Greek-African American. Despite her scary fate, she manages to keep her wits about her and takes the female goddess under the wing, guiding her through the streets of New York. Together, they make an unstoppable duo, and their friendship really shines in the book. It was hilarious seeing Diana’s disbelief at the “corrupted World of Man” especially in contrast with Alia’s reaction upon seeing Themyscira.
We soon learn about Alia’s family history and her domineering brother Jason. This is where things took a turn for me – Jason is arrogant, cocky and so very alpha. He often dictates to Alia how she should behave and what she should be doing, as a daughter of the Keralis bloodline. While him and Diana shared much antagonistic banter, I definitely didn’t expect a romance to bloom between them and wasn’t a fan of it at all. Thankfully it doesn’t really form a big part of the book.
Going into the book, we already know that Diana is strong, kind, brave, selfless and the embodiment of all is good, and there wasn’t really anything else that was added here. Instead, the side characters are what made this book shine – Alia’s strength and defiance, Nim’s fabulous flair, Theo’s nerdy self and unfortunately, Jason’s arrogance. And of course, I loved the strong dose of feminism and the focus on female friendships, above all else.
I am done being careful. I am done being quiet. Let them see me angry. Let them hear me wail at the top of my lungs.
The book also has a rather slow pace, as Diana gets accustomed to the modern world and we slowly get introduced to the secondary characters (who are also fabulously diverse). There were some hilarious scenes and dialogue, but the action doesn’t really kick off until halfway through.
While there were certainly parts of the book that I enjoyed, Woman: Warbringer lacked a bit of spark for me. The plot was good – but also slow and predictable with barely any build up. The characters were great – but I wasn’t a fan of the romance. The banter was entertaining – but it all felt very surface level.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer would be a great introduction to the iconic female warrior – if you’re not already a fan.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Thanks to Penguin Random House for sending me this book for review.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer is available from Australian bookstores for RRP$18.99.
Giveaway – Win a paperback of the book!
I’m giving away my copy of Wonder Woman: Warbringer to a lucky reader of Happy Indulgence! To enter, fill in the form below.
- Winner will be announced on the blog below and must respond within 48 hours.
- Internationals welcome.
- Verified entries only (we check)!
- Happy Indulgence is not responsible for lost or stolen packages.
- Giveaway ends 16 November 2017 (AEST).
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I hadn’t realised Diana had a love interest in this book, so I’m a bit more hesitant to read it now, especially after how you’ve described Jason – I’m pretty sure I’ll hate him. I typically avoid book/movie tie-ins, but because it’s written by Leigh and because I heard good things about the new characters I was tempted. Thank you for your honest review, Jeann – I will keep it in mind so as not to have too high expectations because of my love for the author 🙂
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The storyline and the author! Thanks for the giveaway!
I love reading stories with strong female characters, and that exactly why I’m dying to read this book ♥ Thank you for your review and for the chance to win a copy, Jeann! 😀
I read this quite recently, and because I’ve never watched or read Wonder Woman, I found it really interesting! I liked the characters but got really annoyed with Jason at the end when I wanted to like him UGH. And the ending just felt so tense and I was a bit annoyed with the resurrection sub plot. Overally, though, it was a good book and a good way to get introduced to Wonder Woman. Definitely want to watch the movie now!
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Oh my gosh, Jason was so annoying! He got in the way for me liking the book. Yeah, there were a few things that were so predictably convenient. Oh well, I’m glad you enjoyed it! The movie is definitely awesome.
The book sounds like she’s more than just strong. That she’s smart and blunt and a serious bad ass. I’d really love to read it.
Yes, she is a pretty awesome character Irma! Good luck!
Thank you 🙂
I was a bit hesitant about this book, and I’m glad I didn’t preorder it because I don’t think it would have lived up to my expectations. I think it is interesting that in this book, history is changed in that it doesn’t follow the movie. But I’m glad to see that all the side/new characters worked out!!
Thanks for the review Jeann!
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Yeah, I think she added in some liberties with the side characters but overall it kind of felt really rigid in a sense. Lots of people love it thought *shrugs*
I love wonder women movie. It is sad to hear it has slow pace. I usualll hate slow pace story.
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If you love the movie, you might like the book too Hana!
I have been wanting to read this book I have heard mix things about it. Great review and honest.
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Thank you Amber, I hope you get the chance to read this book and enjoy it!
Six of Crows is one of my favorite books, so it makes me sad that you were so ambivalent about this one. Nonetheless, thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! <3
Same here Zoe! I went in thinking I was going to absolutely love it, oh well.
i would love the cover theof the book and then i love the idea of her helping the world
Yes she’s definitely a great superhero! good luck!
I’ve seen a lot of different reviews for the book, so now it’s time to read it for myself! I’m a big Wonder Woman fan and so I’ll read all the things if it means seeing more books about her. 🙂
Good luck Whitney, I’m a big fan of her as well!
Eeep, I really loved this one!! I laughed a LOT ahha (which I mean is basically my #1 criteria for loving a book). I do think it lacked some of the spark of a normal Bardugo book? (I’m spoiled by Six of Crows gahhh.) But it was probably still one of my favourite ever superhero novels. And Diana was adorable and awkward trying to fit in as a normal human. And omg Aila and her comments on Diana’s height. Doesn’t she call her a tree once?! I love Aila.
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Yesss I loved it when Alia (lol I kept on getting it mixed up with Aila as well!) and Diana went back to New York because Diana was sooo funny! But yes I kind of thought it is nothing compared to SoC etc. lol
Yeah i was worried something like this might happen, but was hoping good authors may make it decent. Books based on movies always seem to fall flat. Still I want to give this a go I think. I don’t know all that much about Wonder Woman compared to you haha
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Yeah, I guess the key is not to expect too much because of how much we love the author, heh