In The Lilies of Dawn, there is a lake of marvels. A lake of water lilies that glow with the color of dawn. For generations Kai’s people have harvested these lilies, dependent upon them for the precious medicines they provide.

But now a flock of enchanted cranes has come to steal and poison the harvest. The lilies are dying. Kai’s people are in peril. A mysterious young man from the city thinks he might have a solution. Kai must work with him to solve the mystery of the cranes, and it will take all her courage, love, strength, and wisdom to do what she must to save both the lilies and her people. The Lilies of Dawn is a lushly written, lyrical fairy tale of love, duty, family, and one young woman’s coming of age.

I received an e-galley of The Lilies of Dawn from the publisher, Annorlunda Books, in exchange for an honest review.

I have to commend the cover artist for their work on this book. The cover is stunning and perfect for this novella, featuring the lilies, the cranes and Kai, our main character. I’m not usually one for novellas that don’t tie into other books, but this cover caught my eye and made me fall in love with it.

The writing was lyrical and vivid, and I felt like I was walking alongside the characters, despite the short length of this story. While the writing was wonderful, I felt like I wanted more in the way or world building. We didn’t get a great picture of the world outside of Kai’s small village, or of the gods and goddesses that were mentioned, and it left me wanting more.

I’m rating this four stars. It didn’t quite grab me enough to be a five star read, but it was still lovely and I feel better having read it. I’d love to see more in this universe, though.

You can read an excerpt of this lovely 71-page novella here! The Lilies of Dawn is available from Amazon, BN.com, iBooks, Kobo, Indiebound and Gumroad.

Vanessa Fogg dreams of dragons, selkies, and gritty cyberpunk futures from her home in western Michigan. She is a lapsed scientist and now works as a freelance medical writer. Her short stories have appeared in a number of science fiction and fantasy magazines, as well as in a few non-genre outlets. She is fueled by green tea.

Disclaimer: All links to Indiebound and Amazon are affiliate links, which means that if you buy through those links, I will make a small amount of money off of it.