Review: Black Canary: Breaking Silence

Title: Black Canary: Breaking Silence

Author: Alexandra Monir

Publisher: Random House Children’s

Publication date: December 29, 2020

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Disclosure: Thank you to DC for sending me a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review! All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Summary

In Gotham City, the Court of Owls are in control. Which means being a woman means being silenced. Moreover, they aren’t allowed to sing, they don’t have the same rights as men. This is the Gotham City where Dinah lives. Except she swears that she heard a girl singing at the age of seven. And she’s been searching for it ever since.

At the age of seventeen, Dinah is starting to learn that just maybe her voice has power. Even though singing comes with the death penalty. A new connection with new student Oliver Queen might be a budding romance–but it could also lead to danger. Does Dinah have the strength to use her voice to stand up against the Court of Owls?

Review: Black Canary

I was so happy to get a review copy of this book! As I love pretty much all things superhero, this is 100% up my alley. Plus, it’s being marketed as: “The Handmaid’s Tale meets the DC Universe.” How could I not want to read that?

The world building in this book is phenomenal. Fans of the DC Universe will appreciate the little nods to familiar characters, like Oliver Queen and Barbara Gordon. Readers who aren’t necessarily avid readers will still be able to keep up with the story and everything that’s going on. We’re introduced to this dark society, very similar to The Handmaid’s Tale. The spark of resistance starts slowly and builds throughout the book and I felt like the pacing was spot on.

Also, we get Oliver Queen asking for consent before kissing Dinah! We love to see it. The characters themselves are well-rounded, too, adding to the fantastic world-building. Also, getting to see Dinah’s growth into her powers flows well with the rest of the story.  Honestly, all of the aspects of this book worked really well together.

If I had to pick just one aspect of improvement for this book, it would be the pace of the romance between Oliver and Dinah. While it was inevitable, it honestly felt like it happened too quickly. Since I’m not necessarily a fan of instant love, I wish it was more drawn out. Other than that, this book is engaging, entertaining, and a great addition to the DC Icons line of books.

4/5 stars