Book review: The Guardians' Daughter

⭐4/5 ARC review: The Guardians' Daughter

Two hands appear on the side of my arms and move snakelike onto my shoulders. Emerald Blaze whispers in my ear, "I made a choice... and you need to as well."

The day her parents were murder, Ember swore to never trust heroes again. A powerful prodigy, Ember is set on forging a life away from the hero path that took her parents from her, but will this path cost her a chance at love?

Aiden wasn't looking for love, just a chance to do some good. What he found instead was a captivating young woman tied to the most painful secret of his past. Can he keep the mistakes of his past a secret to protect her?

Ember embarks on a journey to find herself, but Aiden's secret may have her second-guessing everything. Will these heroes in training conquer the wounds of their past and give love a chance?

Superpowers, secrets, and romance, The Guardians' Daughter is our first taste of The Stalwarth Chronicles. For fans of My Hero Academia and Young Justice, TGA is a fantastical superhero romance packed with creativity. I came to this book with high expectations and McPherson delivered! I’m a character-driven reader, so I enjoyed the characters of this story the most. The protagonists—Ember and Aiden—are complex, flawed characters that grow as the story moves along. My favorite journey was Aiden’s since I identified with his personality and his drive the most. The secondary characters were also a joy to read. I appreciate the attention to detail that McPherson put into crafting all her characters. I of course loved Lime and I’m excited to read more about him on The Adventures of Lime.

The universe of this book was a nice surprise! What I love about superhero fiction is that all authors approach universe creation in unique ways. McPherson went with a comic book vibe that I really enjoyed: most people in her world have superpowers and not everyone chooses to take on the hero path. This premise makes for some creative abilities that I had not seen in a book before.

Overall, this was a great debut novel, and the only reason I don’t give it the full 5 stars is because I felt the narrative could have used a bit more polishing around passive voice and distancing language, but that is just the nitpick writer in me. If you enjoy romance, superpowers, mental health themes with a dash of mystery, then I would recommend you check this book out.

The Guardian’s Daughter is out for pre-orders now. Find out more at A.M. McPherson website.

P.S. Thank you to A.M. McPherson for considering me for her ARC readers and for the free copy of her book! I hope we get to see Aiden and Ember again soon!