Daughters of the Dawn

Gr 7-9–In this fantasy sequel to Sisters of the Snake, twins Ria and Rani embark on a quest to save their world from destruction. Ria and Rani are just settling into their lives as reunited princesses when disaster strikes again. Amara, a woman with dark eyes and red hair who once advised the raja, has set off in search of the talismans that once belonged to the Masters of Fire, Tide, Earth, and Sky. With these and the Bloodstone in her grasp, she will plunge the world into Eternal Night unless the twins can stop her. Racing against time, Ria and Rani must learn to balance the good and bad—love and hate—in themselves even as they uncover dark secrets about their past and the snake magic that unites them. The authors, twins themselves, have taken on an ambitious task in bringing Ria and Rani’s world to life. They’ve composed a high-speed adventure in the same vein as Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” series while also threading in details from South Asian culture, such as honey-soaked pastries, crisp pakoras, gold-embroidered kurtas, and brightly colored saris. By and large, the authors succeed in drawing these details together, although this novel feels at times overcrowded with characters and mythologies that would gain in dimensionality if given more space to develop.