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Summer Lights by Cassia Hall
I always begin my review by describing why I chose a certain book. I believe it’s a fantastic technique for someone who reads my reviews to comprehend my viewpoint and the thinking behind my reading preferences. It also establishes the mood for whatever potential expectations I may have going into a story. The cover and the blurb, which included the phrase “sand kittens,” were what initially piqued my interest in this book.
This novel promises love and adorable creatures. I was prepared to be carried away. In what I later learned to be a prequel, novella-like series, Summer Lights is book 2. I have read the first book in this series, which I will evaluate in further detail on my personal review blog. Depending on the author, I either adore being thrust into a world I don’t understand or I get progressively agitated trying to figure out who is who and what is what.
I was swept away by this novel and given the chance to unwind while taking in the strange magical traits of these new individuals. The universe in which this series is set is magical, and while the magic system isn’t explicitly discussed in this book (it might be in the main series), the author did give a little dictionary of terminology that was very helpful. This narrative also featured a number of pairs of destined lovers, at least one or more of which were LGBTQ+.
I particularly liked watching the characters gradually understand these newcomers’ identities and their significance to one another. My own heart skipped a beat when I realised how they had first appeared to me in dreams. It was simple to get caught up in the exhilaration of new love, even though the passion wasn’t always intense and wasn’t explicit on the page.
I discovered something about reading this story that was really healing. Nature, flowers, bugs, animals, songs, and music played just as big a role in creating the overall mood as the characters, who are the plot’s driving forces.
It took me a while to get acclimated to the world-building and language in this book, but once I did, it felt like this is how books have always been written. This component might first turn readers away, but I do urge you to continue reading. Which of these characters plays a bigger role in this primary series is something I’m very interested in.
More than anything else, listening to a handful of the songs written for this story on the YouTube account to which the author included a link helped me become immersed in it. The author’s unique touches and commitment to the craft of purposefully creating this world left me feeling extremely impressed.
About The Book
Can love transcend time, space, and worlds?
Spring Song may be over, but Midsummer celebrations at the House of Silveria come with unexpected challenges. A pair of sand kittens arrive with their handler, Fang, a desert nomad whose people are hounded and oppressed. Set on a secret mission, Fang must accomplish it by any means.
At least, that was her plan until she meets Mara, the Stable Master whose scent has long haunted her dreams. Can Desert Warrior Fang accomplish her mission and still win the heart of the woman she desires? The annual lake outing on Night of Lights is imminent and everyone is excited, until the Reclining Dragon arrives with his liegeman.
With these two unwelcome visitors prowling all over the House and the children running wild, Heinregard and Clayten must somehow keep them apart. Will the truth about the wildlings’ parentage be revealed or will they be able to keep the Reclining Dragon in the dark?
The Review
Summer Lights
8.3 Score
Summer Lights is a sequel to Spring Song, but it stands well on its own. Cassia Hall expands her cast of intriguing and endearing characters throughout the book and gives us more of the characters we grew to love in Spring Song. She has created a wonderous fantasy world full of stories, songs, and lore. While the love stories are poignant, my favorite part of her books has been the children. She writes them with as much depth and complexity as her adults, giving them character arcs and growth that feel age-appropriate and natural for their stories. The wildlings touch our hearts, but as children, they can also be thoughtless and impulsive--and they have their reasons. Careful, earnest Lowell has his reasons too, and the interactions of these little ones against the backdrop of love and secrets is wonderful.
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