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I received an E-ARC of DAUNTLESS and I'm so thankful to be one of the first people to read this incredible story. Growing up, there were no books with Filipino characters that I could enjoy and this is EXACTLY the kind of book I wish I had as a teenager. Seri's struggle with her identity, her first love, and what she believes as right and wrong was incredible to witness. Her hopes and fears were very personable and gave her character so much depth. I loved Seri from the moment I met her and love her even more at the end of her story.

It was more than just Seri that drew me into the story. It was all the other strong female characters surrounding her, Tsana, Eshai, and Raya. Without spoiling too much I want to say that I've never related to so many characters in a single novel before. Usually I find myself liking only one or two but I fell in love with every character I met (except maybe our main villain, though I could understand his actions to a point). I could see pieces of myself in each of the women mentioned above. Their immense love and loyalty for those around them and their courage in the face of incredible hardship made me want to embody them and their values.

The romance arcs (and even the friendship arcs), though not the main plot of story, were fully fleshed out and beautiful to witness. I'm a sucker for romance and the ones inside this story were gut punches in a VERY good way and I'm going to leave it at that.

This is truly a wonderful book and I cant' wait to re-read it when my pre-order comes in.