Daughters of the Dawn

Volume XXIX / Issue 26 - March 10 / 2023
Daughters of the Dawn
Daughters of the Dawn
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Daughters of the Dawn

Author: 
Sarena Nanua
Sasha Nanua
Series: 
Ria & Rani
New York, NY: HarperTeen (Distributed in Canada by HarperCollinsCanada), 2022
550 pp., hardcover, $23.99
ISBN: 
9780062985620
Grades: 
Grades 7-10
Ages: 
Ages 12-15
Review by: 
Kim Aippersbach
3
Excerpt: 

The Snake Master rumbles a laugh.

“Can’t you see? We are the same. Each of us a rattlesnake wishing to be a cobra. So be it. Become the cobra within you. Believe in it, my apprentice.”

I let my trembling hands fold in toward me, snapping at the cobra within me to rise. It does, hissing at me, craving more power.

“Keep going.”

This time, I welcome the cobra. I tell it to fuse with me until we are one. I imagine that door in my mind turning to flames. But instead of the image of a door, I see me and Rani, rising like twin fires, our snake magic bright and burning. I rise higher than Rani, watching that crown sit on my head instead of hers. Next to me doesn't sit my twin sister… but the Snake Master.

Daughters of the Dawn is the sequel to Sisters of the Snake. This fantasy duology with an India-inspired setting chronicles the adventures of twin princesses trying to save their kingdom from evil magic.

After Amara’s plot is discovered at the end of the first book, she disappears with the magical Bloodstone. Prophecies and dreams warn sisters Ria and Rani that, if Amara is able to gather certain talismans, she will be able to use the Bloodstone to become the all-powerful Soul Master.

Ria and Rani each go on separate quests to different kingdoms to find the talismans and stop Amara. With them go their new romantic partners, Saeed and Amir.

Narration again alternates between Ria and Rani as they follow clues, try to create allies, and work on their fledgling romances. Amara ends up being destroyed while seeking to become Soul Master, and the Snake Master is revealed as the mastermind who was manipulating her all along. Ria and Rani discover that he is their ancestor and the source of their magic. Ria must choose whether to accept his offer to gain power over her sister or to unite with Rani and defeat the Snake Master.

Daughters of the Dawn is longer and more complicated than the first book and gets confusing at times. There is a lot of convoluted mythology and backstory that needs explaining. There is also a love triangle that feels unnecessary, given how much other plot is happening.

Ria and Rani are intelligent and determined heroines, and their developing relationships with each other and with Saeed and Amir are the strongest part of the novel. Their stories are tied together with themes of choosing one’s own destiny and choosing to trust one another.

Readers who loved Sisters of the Snake will enjoy Daughters of the Dawn which has more magic, more plot twists and more romance.

Recommended with Reservations
Reviewer: 

Kim Aippersbach is a writer, editor and mother of three in Vancouver, British Columbia.