Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)

Daughter of immortals.

Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon lawβ€”risking exileβ€”to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that she has rescued no ordinary girl, and that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world.

Daughter of death.

Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringerβ€”a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

Together.

Two girls will face an army of enemiesβ€”mortal and divineβ€”determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. Tested beyond the bounds of their abilities, Diana and Alia must find a way to unleash hidden strengths and forge an unlikely alliance. Because if they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

Diana was born an Amazon, daughter of Queen Hippolyta. Unlike the others, Diana never saw the world of mortals and men. Although she grew up alongside her sisters, she never had to prove her worth in battle, and so she didn’t feel like one of them. 

Alia felt stifled under the watchful, overprotective eyes of her brother Jason, who never allowed her to travel on her own for fear that she would be kidnapped. Because of this Alia needed to explore the world, to do something on her own, and so she embarked on an overseas internship. However, an unfortunate shipwreck occurred which brought Alia to Diana.

Alia and Diana were both strong, empowering female protagonists. Although they were born under different circumstances- Alia as the daughter of world-renowned researchers and Diana as an Amazon, the two girls soon found common ground. They were both different from the others around them; both had something to prove. Throughout their journey, they looked out for each other. I cared for both Alia and Diana. Throughout the novel I wanted both to succeed.

I liked the secondary characters in this novel, including the somber and serious Jason to the gregarious and humorous Theo and Nym. Each had their own unique personalities and quirks that kept the story interesting. 

I liked the villain in this novel (no spoilers here)– they were certainly villainous though they were convinced that their goal was for the best of mankind. I found it a bit difficult to wrap my head around the rationale behind the villain’s wrongdoing. They could have been a bit more convincing in my opinion.

In the opening scene of the novel, Diana participated in a race with the determination to win first place and prove herself in front of her Amazon sisters. When she stumbled upon a shipwreck and the unconscious Alia, Diana had a difficult choice to make. As an Amazon, she was not supposed to interfere with the livelihood of humans, however she couldn’t leave Alia to die. In a turn of events, Diana joined forces with Alia to bring an end to the prophecy of the Warbringer, with the goal of preventing a future war. 

Usually I am not a big fan of superhero stories, however I enjoyed this one. The plot was fast-paced and had several plot twists that caught me off guard in a good way. Even though this was not a short novel, it felt like a quick read.

Leigh Bardugo’s writing shined in this novel. The descriptions were vivid without being drawn out. The dialogues were interesting and witty, able to bring out the characters’ personalities and the dynamics between them. I enjoyed the world in this novel, which was a fusion of the mystical world of Greek mythology and modern-day Earth.

I experienced the entirety of the book in the audiobook format, which I enjoyed. The narrator did an excellent job of portraying Diana and Alia’s roles, as well as each of the side characters.

I loved the characters, the fast-pacing and the plot twists in this superhero novel by Leigh Bardugo. Whether or not you are a superhero fan, Wonder Woman might be worth a read!

4/5 sea turtles!

Are you a fan of superhero movies/books/comics? Who is your favourite superhero?

24 responses to “Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)”

  1. Great review! I loved this movie but I’m wondering if I will enjoy the book better. By the way, your nautical theme is the cutest. 😍

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey Crystal!!! I loved the movie and I really enjoyed the book as well. The plot is different however Diana is still as awesome, so I hope if you liked the movie you will enjoy this as well πŸ™‚
      Yay! Thanks!! I am so glad that you like the new theme haha :’)

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I need to read this then!
        Yes, it’s lovely. ❀️

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Aubrey Campbell Avatar
    Aubrey Campbell

    I LOVED this book. Like you, I’m not really a fan of superhero books, especially if they’re right on the tail of a movie. They tend to be too watered down. And when I found out that this had no connection with the DC movie, I was even more skeptical (that movie was badass awesome, how can you possibly top that?)

    But I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters. I adored Diana and wished I’d had more characters like her growing up. I hope we get more YA books like it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey Aubrey! Glad that you enjoyed this book! Yes I loved that Diana is such a badass female MC, which I can imagine would be inspiring for the kids and teens reading this book πŸ™‚
      I agree that I loved the Wonder Woman movie and I didn’t think that any book could compare. But this one really was exceptional πŸ™‚ Thank you!!

      Like

  3. Great review for this book Sophie, and I’m really glad you enjoyed it. It’s been ages since I read Wonder Woman but I loved the twist when it came to the villain (I honestly did not see it coming which are the best twists) and I really loved Diana and Alia’s characters, I think the only issue I had was with the very ending, and how things were left with Diana’s character. I won’t go into it in detail here (spoilers and all) but it felt like she was back where she started and yeah I get her character grew but it felt like there was I sacrifice on her part you know? The film did that better I thought. πŸ™‚
    Still great review, do you plan to pick up the other books in the DC Icons series soon?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey Beth! Yes that plot twist took me by surprise too. Agreed that the best plot twists are the ones we can’t predict πŸ™‚
      I can see what you mean about the ending. It does seem like Diana was back where she started and she wasn’t acknowledged for her accomplishments, which was a bit disappointing. However I guess she felt affirmed on the inside?
      I am not too sure about the others in the series. I might read Batman by Marie Lu haha. Did you read any of the others?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Definitely, which is probably why I loved books like Warcross and Scythe so much (that book was full of twists I didn’t see coming).
        Yeah and it was a risk for her leaving because she wasn’t sure she’d be able to ever find her way back. To have that not be an issue at the end made the sacrifice feel cheap in my mind.
        I’ve read the Batman one, but none of the others. I dunno, maybe one day I’ll get around to them but they’re not high on my TBR list or anything. :/

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Yes plot twists are the best! I’m curious what are your thoughts on the Batman book? Still debating if I will read that one πŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I’ve never really been a massive fan of Batman as a character but I did enjoy Marie Lu’s take. I think if you enjoyed Wonder Woman you’ll enjoy Batman. πŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Good to know!! I might give Batman a try then πŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it, even if you don’t love it. πŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

  4. I love all superhero movies and books, hahaha. But wow, this book sounds exceptionally good! And of course, I fantasize about some romance between Diana and Alia. XD But it probably won’t happen unless I’m really lucky.

    This sounds like a very well-written book too. Thanks for the great review and recommendation!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hey Sieran! Yes this was a fun book to read πŸ™‚ Just curious, who is your favourite superhero? Do you have a favourite superhero movie? Do you read the comics?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. It’s quite hard to decide on a favorite, lol. So I’ll just pick one I quite like: I love Storm, played by Halle Berry. I think she’s so cool, haha. Again, it’s hard to choose a favorite movie, so I’ll just pick one I particularly enjoyed— Antman! I especially loved the touching relationship between Antman and his daughter. I am such a sucker for heartwarming parent-child relationships in fiction. Haha interestingly, I don’t read the comics, though maybe I should.

        Like

  5. Hey Sophie, I am really like your new graphics– the font is great and I am loving the sea theme– the turtles and whales are so cute!! Whales were my favourite animal growing up and I’ve always wanted to go to a Sea Turtle Sanctuary one day!! Anyway I love them!!
    I really love superheroes– from the movies, I’ve never read the comics. But I have never picked up any of the DC icons books. But I think this one would be the one I would most likely pick up– I love Leigh’s writing. I’m glad you enjoyed it and liked the characters!! So I might get in one day after hearing you liked it!!
    I think my favourite superheroes are Thor, Captain America, Shazam, spiderman and Antman– I like them all to be honest haha!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hello Sophie πŸ™‚ So glad that you’re liking this new theme. I thought a nautical vibe would be good for the summer haha πŸ™‚
      Yes Leigh Bardugo’s writing is great πŸ™‚ I think if you liked her other books, you might like this one as well (especially if you also enjoy superhero movies!) Looking forward to hearing what you think about this book πŸ™‚
      Very cool. I don’t watch many superhero movies but I did just see End Game. Captain America seems pretty cool and Thor and Antman are funny haha πŸ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Yes it looks wonderful– and it is good for summer indeed 😊
        Yes hopefully I will like it!! πŸ’›
        Ahh yes endgame!! I saw that in the cinema too– I really enjoyed it!! Yes I do enjoy watching the superheroes which can be funny!! πŸ˜‚

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That’s great that you enjoyed End Game πŸ™‚ It was definitely an epic movie hahaha. Even though it was fairly long, it had my attention the whole way πŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Yes it was very epic!! And the 3 hours flew by, it definitely didn’t feel that long!! πŸ™‚

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Wonderful review, sweets! I’m glad you enjoyed this one, especially since superhero books aren’t your favorites. Leigh bardugo is one of my auto-read authors, so I’m not surprised to hear that her wiring and descriptions are lovely! It’s also great to hear that you enjoyed the audiobook. I have this one on my β€œmaybe” list on OverDrive, and am hoping to listen to it soon! ❀️

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Absolutely, Leigh Bardugo is one of my favourite writers so I am always glad to read something by her. It is probably THE reason why I picked up this book haha πŸ™‚
      The audiobook was incredible haha. I thought the narrator did a great job of bringing out Diana and Alia’s voices πŸ™‚ Hope that you’ll enjoy this one when you get a chance to read it or listen to it πŸ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  7. […] Wonder Woman (DC Icons #1) was the first superhero novel that I read, and I enjoyed it very much. It was packed with action and girl-power, which is super awesome. I was, of course, in love with Leigh Bardugo’s writing which was the reason I decided to read this book in the first place hahaha. Check out my review here. […]

    Like

Leave a comment