Glorious Day by Skye Kilaen
- Publisher: NineStar Press, August 3rd 2020
- Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance, LGBTQ+, Novella
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 87 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
See Kilaen’s website for content warnings.
A lot happened in this novella. I experienced a range of emotions such as concern, sadness, and joy throughout the read.
Vice-Captain Elsenna Hazen of the castle’s security force is helping to overthrow the current king of Iospary. When she gets reassigned as the princess’s bodyguard, the same job she had two years ago, she has no choice but to face her feelings for the crown princess. Again. She is also sure that the princess has many bedmates and does not miss her the slightest. Though carefully shielded from everything going on, the Blind princess sees more than anyone suspects, and has plans of her own. Seemingly on different sides of the revolution, both characters find themselves needing more from each other than they thought they do.
Glorious Day starts off with these sentences: “It had been difficult that morning to fit treason in around my duties as vice-captain of the castle complex’s security forces. Every professional conversation had taken twice as long as it should have.” This no doubt piqued my interest, and throughout the whole story, I was constantly wondering what would happen next. I only relaxed upon reaching the guaranteed HEA.
The first thing I noticed as I read was the beautiful language. It created an exquisite feel for the sci-fi story. Along with the royalty, Glorious Day reads almost like fantasy but in space. The technologies involved are not far from current developments. In fact, one robot in particular reminds me of a project my lab mates proposed: a personal radar system for the Blind. If you want to try some light sci-fi without all the fancy gadgets, this one is a good start.
I love the disability representations in this story. Other than the Blind princess, there is also another one which I cannot touch on without spoilers. I appreciate Kilaen not treating disabilities as a novelty, but since I am non-disabled, I cannot comment much on this.
At least two characters use they/them/theirs pronouns, including Elsenna’s sibling Tesza and a judge. Also note that with Glorious Day told in Elsenna’s first-person viewpoint, we don’t actually know her gender until chapter three.
The initial pitch of an “f/f sci-fi novella with a bodyguard and her princess” totally seized my attention, and I am happy to say this story is much more than promised. Within the 87 pages (paperback), the world of Iospary literally changes. If you are looking for a short exciting read with some cute sapphic romance (I consider it non-explicit), read Glorious Day. You are guaranteed not only a lovely HEA but also a great story. It is definitely a thrilling and sweet novella I would love to revisit some day.
I received an e-ARC from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
