Damselflies by Jayel Gibson

Lives are ruled by prophecy and legend in Gibson’s continuation of the Ancient Mirrors series. Men whose minds have been corrupted seek to destroy all the enchanted folk, especially the Damselflies, because of their fear of a legend telling that men would be ruled by a Damselfly’s halfling daughter. Only through the kindness of two hunters is Arcinaë able to survive, becoming the last Damselfly. She struggles to overcome her passive nature and become a warrior, in order to get revenge on the men who killed her Damselfly kin and to learn to lead Grimmoirë, as is her right. Damselflies tells the tale of Arcinaë’s struggles as well as those of her halfling daughters.

Firstly, I commend Gibson for being able to weave a thrilling story that held my interest the entire way through. I really like the strong female characters presented throughout the Ancient Mirrors series, and Damselflies was no exception. These females are skilled warriors in battle and are also highly intelligent and usually stubborn, yet they are easy to like by the reader. I also like how there’s always a bit of romance woven into the story, even in the midst of fighting. My only issue with this story was that in the second half, the plot seemed rushed and sometimes details were unclear, such as the location of one character and who spoke what line. However, Damselflies was a truly exciting read.

Out of the three first novels in the Ancient Mirrors series, Damselflies is by far my favorite. It isn’t necessary to read the first two novels to understand Damselflies, but I recommend reading Dragon Queen and The Wreckening just because they are also great stories, although readers who are not very into fantasy may be intimidated by the length of Gibson’s novels.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from Phenix & Phenix Literary publicists