This was a fun Sci-Fi adventure that gave me the feels of Star Wars meets Guardians of the Galaxy! Zaira is such a lovable and relatable main character - We love a girl boss, but even better when they're a reincarnated god. Wesley was her perfect counterbalance with his grumpiness and added just the right sparkle of humor. A great, easy read that you'll want to get to the end of.

I read this voraciously. The point-of-view characters, Zaira and Wesley, are literally out of this world yet so relatable in their self-doubts and growing pains. A Song of Salvation bills itself as a standalone, but could (should?) be read as part of a series with The Sound of Stars and The Kindred, neither of which I've read but whose characters contribute to A Song of Salvation's plot and make me curious about their stories. While this book was way heavy on the expositional dialog, particularly from villainous characters, I enjoyed its joyful, hopeful, be-the-change, inclusive tone and language.

[Thanks to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

Since Alechia Dow debuted with The Sound of Stars, there’s been one certainty when you dive into one of her books: you’ll be on a fast-paced rollercoaster ride filled with conspiracies, danger, romance, and positivity. It isn’t that her characters don’t get angry or upset or face major losses. There’s just something about the way her books infuse hope into the foundation. It’s really refreshing, because the unlikeliest of heroes do the right thing, even when it really bleeping sucks to do the right thing.

A Song of Salvation delivers on this in spades. Now, Alechia Dow isn’t exactly writing a series, but her books are part of a shared universe, so you’ll learn about the different alien races and planets and their relationships and conflicts by reading her other books. You’ll also know about M0Rr1S and Ellie and Felix and Joy and you’ll enjoy those references instead of feeling confused. Still, I’m sure you can read this without reading the other books and still enjoy the story.

Dow weaves romance into all her stories, but this one takes some unexpected turns, which is a lot of fun. She also has a knack for throwing the most unlikely groups of characters together and using their differences to provide a lot of entertainment.

I always feel like my faith in humanity will be restored when I read one of Dow’s books, and A Song of Salvation delivered that, and more. This is a great story that touches on personal loss, parental estrangement, and found family. 4.5 stars.

A Song of Salvation has easily been one of my favorite reads of 2023 so far! I was first drawn in by the promise of demisexual representation in a young adult sci-fi novel, as that is not something I had seen before, and wow did this book deliver! I loved the found family dynamics, the subtle tie-ins to Alechia Dow’s previous books, and the fabulous space setting. The cosmic world-building and lore built into the plot and into Zaria’s character were fascinating, and made me want to stay reading about this universe forever! My favorite part about the book had to be Rubin’s podcast sections, and his unending optimism. Each of the characters had unique merits, but Rubin stood out to me as a truly fascinating individual, making him my favorite!

My Recommendation:
If you love Sci-Fi but prefer books that are easy and quick to read, you absolutely need to grab a copy of A Song of Salvation! I would especially recommend this book to fans of found-families in space stories, like those in Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindafer, The Disasters by M.K. England, or Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff!

YA needs more space operas, and definitely more stories by Alechia Dow! This book had the same ethereal feel and fast-p;aced yet moving storyline as THE SOUND OF STARS, and I couldn't put it down! Dow is masterful at creating worlds that are original and whole, while still feeling so much like our own world that we don't question its rules and ways.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.***

If you love space operas then this is for you. We need more of these in YA. I haven’t read any other book from this authors and have read reviews that you should read the others first but I didn’t have any issues reading this novel without the other ones.

This was such a beautiful book✨

I love the familiar sense of warmth and wonder I get whenever I'm reading something by Alechia Dow. This book has some stellar worldbuilding and a gripping plot that helps us journey through different planets in space and meet different people from all over the galaxy.

I really liked Zaira's character. We had a sort of clear distinction between her voice and Indigo which wasn't something I was expecting but I love how it played out in her and the way she slowly discovered her powers. She was a relatable characters with all her anxieties, desires and goals.
Both wesley and Rubin were the perfect side-characters: but well-fleshed out with their own lives and story arcs and it was truly beautiful to see them unfold and mesh together. I love the slow romance that played out between them, it might have been my favourite part of the book.

I think my main issue was that this book is pitched as a standalone whereas I see it as a culmination of the rest of the books Alechia Dow wrote in this world. A new reader might be overwhelmed and confused by the worldbuilding, and overarching plot. Even I, a reader who reads all of the author's books as soon as they release and has a terrible memory, had to struggle a bit to remember everything and piece it together.
At the same time, I was delighted by the cameos of the stars of the past two books so that's another thing I feel like a new reader might miss out on.

I also felt that the romance between Zaira and her lover was extremely rushed and never really built upon. I wish it had been left more open-ended or just addressed in the epilogue but that might just be a personal thing.

I feel like you get the best experience of the book if you've read Alechia's other books before. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful book that managed to surprise me here and there and gave a satisfying end to this world's stories.

Zaira is meant to die. Very soon. See, she has a goddess inside her just waiting to be let out and the power in place cannot let that happen so she'll die. Except she escaped? And now she has to find some guy named Wesley to save the entire galaxy.

I'm sorry, that's a very bad summary but I don't know what else to say.
This was a really good book with a lot of twists and turns that I did not see coming. I really enjoyed the different points of view and little snippets of other medias.
The characters and the relationships in the books were really well written and captivating. And the plot kept me on my toes. The world was also very rich and complex and so enthralling. I was a bit lost at times though and had some trouble completely connecting to parts of the story.
Basically, a very good sci-fi YA for all the sci-fi fans.

I’ve read both THE KINDRED and THE SOUND OF STARS before and enjoyed them, so I knew I wanted to give this book a try. It’s got the same deep characters and vivid descriptions that made Dow’s other books so great, along with a found family vibe. The story also involves themes about colonization and the spirituality of creativity versus destruction.

One of the things I haven’t seen in the marketing for the book (via a peek at Amazon, Goodreads, and the top Google search results) is that these are maybe companion novels? They exist in the same story world. And they have cameos of characters from both of Alechia Dow’s other YA books. I’m not sure if I’m mixed up or if maybe they aren’t being marketed as companion novels on purpose for some reason?

In any case, you can easily enjoy this book as a standalone. It’s got a bit of romance and social commentary as well as some humor. Rubin and Blobby are my favorite characters. I love that Zaira could communicate with Blobby, and Rubin’s upbeat, always-prepared manner made him such a fun character.

On the whole, I had a great time reading this book. I think fans of Claudia Gray should check out all of Alechia Dow’s books.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

An Epic Space Opera with BIPOC and LGBT+ rep! 💜🚀

Thank you #partner @alechiadow @InkyardPress @coloredpagesblogtours for this #gifted copy of A Song Of Salvation by Alechia Dow!

PUB DATE: July 11, 2023

I love the dynamic between Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin. Last of which is hands down my favorite character, his sunshine being the perfect antidote for the grumpy Wesley in their romance. Filled with great commentary on colonization and privilege and a lovely theme of found family, I cannot wait to see how this story ends!! I do wonder if I would enjoy the book even more if I had read the books set in this same world published earlier. With that said, this book was not difficult to follow being treated as a standalone.

• S Y N O P S I S •
“Zaira Citlali is supposed to die. After all, she’s the god Indigo reborn. Indigo, whose song created the universe and unified people across galaxies to banish Ozvios, the god of destruction. Unless she escapes and finds Wesley, the boy prophesized to help her defeat Ozvios and the Ilori, once and for all…

Wesley Daniels didn’t ask for this. He just wants to work as a smuggler so he can save enough money to explore the stars. Once he completes his biggest job yet—bringing wanted celebrity Rubin Rima to a strange planet called Earth—he’ll be set for life...

Together, Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin must find their way to Earth and unlock Zaira’s powers if they’re going to have any hope of saving the universe from total destruction.”

A song of salvation is my first Alechia Dow book, I've enjoyed the characters and world building. The story is told by Wesley, Rubin and Zaira. It has found family, Magic, instant love, adventure and action. Zaira has the powers of the God Indigo inside her, but she can’t use them to save herself from being sacrificed, stop the planetary war or save her dying planet. Zaira is a fat, Black demisexual/Grayace God. Wesley is a smuggler and Rubin is a podcast. Both Wesley and Rubin are Black and Demisexual/Demiromantic. There’s a lot of Black and Queer Representation.

Also there’s some cameos of other characters from Alechia Dow’s two other Sci-Fi books, Sound of Stars and The Kindred. The message of the book is you don’t have to be perfect, the whole point of life is to love, connect and experience.

Thanks to colored pages book tours, author Alechia Dow and Inkyard Press for an opportunity to spotlight the book and a finished copy.

As always, Alechia Dow is a Scifi Queen. I've followed her since her debut and I will continue to read and review her books. No matter the genre. Alechia's characters and worlds are always so nuanced and flawed and complicated and real. I can't recommend her books enough. Or buy enough copies for my library.

Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for providing me with a review copy.

Another cozy sci-fi/fantasy by Alechia Dow where the universe is vibrant with life and beauty.

Wesley Daniels and Zaira have lived lives of deep trauma and it’s not over yet. And yet, they find family in each other and the vivacious podcaster Rubin Rima even as they run, sometimes for their lives and sometimes directly into danger. With Rubin’s annoyingly persistent affection, they both learn to value themselves for exactly who and what they are, just as he already does.

A (non-romantic) love story of found family, courage, self-discovery and acceptance nestled in a save-the-university action-packed adventure.

And yeah. There might be a little bit of romance too.

This is my first book by Alechia, and it will most definitely not be my last! ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
This story alternates POVs between Zaira and Wesley, with our lovable extrovert and podcast celebrity Rubin rounding out the trio (and having his own podcast chapters).⁣⁣
⁣⁣
While it did take a bit for the story to get going, by the half way point, I was hooked as Zaira, Wesley, and Rubin were on the run for their lives. The stakes were hang and ALL of the shenanigans ensued. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I absolutely loved the normalized queerness as well as Zaira being fat and Black!⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Overall, if you’re looking for a fun, gay, space romp…this is it!

I didn’t think space operas were my thing; however, I had to join the tour when I saw a woman of color on the cover. I have to say; I thoroughly enjoyed this. The three main characters, Zaira, Wesley and Rubin are fantastic. The world-building is amazing. It was fast-paced, and I can’t believe that this is the first book I’ve read from her, but it was totally worth it. I don’t know if this is part of a series because it did feel like I was missing something; however, I was so immersed in this story that I didn’t mind. The writing is phenomenal, and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

I love Alechia Dow's approach to sci-fi. It's joyful and hopeful and fun, even while it deals with trauma. A Song of Salvation is supposedly a standalone, but really it's the conclusion of a trilogy and you would do yourself a disservice by not reading the previous two companion novels first. This offers a lovely and very satisfying conclusion to the series, complete with appearances from the main characters in previous books. This time the main characters are the reincarnated embodiment of a goddess and a gay smuggler who helps her on her journey and finds love along the way. There is an intergalactic war, lots of aliens, and the search for cosmic balance with a good dose of romance as well. I really enjoyed it and would recommend the entire series! I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.

I loved the first two books I read by this author and their newest is no different. I think it's really interesting that her three books are marked as stand-alone's but they read like a trilogy. I really loved the two romances we follow in this one. There was a big focus on the found family trope, and I was very invested in these three. They were a good balance of serious and ridiculous.

This was such a fun space opera! My favorite trope is found family and this story leaves you filled to the brim. The inclusion, the lush magic system, and the growth each character experienced were so satisfying. I do feel like the pacing was a bit off at times with things either slowing down or progressing too quickly. But that would be my only issue with this story. The stakes were certainly high, but there was so much warmth between the characters that it honestly felt like a cozy sci-fi ready for me personally. I loved it! 4.5 stars

This is my second book by Alechia Dow, and she is quickly becoming a favorite author. I believe it is a condition of the story started in the Sound of Stars. I now see I need to read Kindred too, A Song of Salvation can be read as a standalone perfectly well though.
I loved the characters and their flaws, and in some ways Wesley seemed to channel my husband with his stoic cynicism. Which of course endeared me to him more. Again Alechia fills me with the possibility of hope, and the power of compassion and love.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

The god Indigo had created the universe and united people across galaxies to banish Ozvios, the god of destruction. Zaira Citlali is Indigo reborn, but hadn't ever harnessed those powers. Because of her power, the Ilori Emperor will sacrifice her in Ozvios’s honor unless she finds Wesley, the boy prophesized to help her defeat Ozvios and the Ilori. Wesley Daniels is a smuggler so he can explore the stars. He didn't plan on being part of an intergalactic war or helping to unlock Zaira’s powers to save the universe from total destruction.

Though A Song of Salvation is set in the same universe as The Kindred, you don't have to have read that one in order to understand this one. It's just a fun shout out to see names from that book in this one and see how the story continues. In this one, Zaira is on the run, and when we meet ne'er-do-well Wesley, we assume it's going to be a sudden romance between teenagers. While they have intense emotions due to their ages and the desperate situation that they're in, the focus is more on the escape from the Ilori and the meaning of destiny. The Ilori had brought war to various worlds in the galaxy, and now many planets are finally stepping up to put a stop to it. They figure prominently in this plan because of the roles they play, not necessarily because they fix everything on their own.

I really like the message that it's connection that solves problems. People don't have to be perfect or have all the answers. Life is meant to be lived, and there doesn't always have to be a grand purpose. It helps, sure, but for most of us the whole point is to experience and connect, to have and live love.