Samantha Shannon

An ebook exclusive which bridges the story between the previous and forthcoming instalments of Samantha Shannon's international phenomenon series The Bone Season. Paige Mahoney and Arcturus Mesarthim have arrived in the Scion Citadel of Paris. Exhausted by her efforts against Scion, Paige has no choice but to remain in hiding, away from the revolution she started, so she can heal and come to terms with her mental and physical scars. In the confines of a safe house, Arcturus and Paige begin to reconnect after following separate paths for weeks. As they wait for contact from the mysterious Domino Programme – an espionage network operating in Scion – their present begins to mirror their past.

A Bone Season novella

The Dawn Chorus

An ebook exclusive which bridges the story between the previous and forthcoming instalments of Samantha Shannon's international phenomenon series The Bone Season Paige Mahoney and Arcturus Mesarthim have arrived in the Scion Citadel of Paris. Exhausted by her efforts against Scion, Paige has no choice but to remain in hiding, away from the revolution she started, so she can heal and come to terms with her mental and physical scars. In the confines of a safe house, Arcturus and Paige begin to reconnect after following separate paths for weeks. As they wait for contact from the mysterious Domino Programme – an espionage network operating in Scion – they remember their complicated past, and what brought them together.

Lily

Judy Hutchins 

Bryanna M

Grace O'Callaghan

A short but impactful novella following Paige and Warden after the events of The Song Rising.

Mostly an exploration of trauma after something horrific.

Kaitee Tredway

We learn so much about Paige and Warden in this little book. About their past, present, and how they might move forward. Beautifully done.

Samantha Shannon also writes about trauma and anxiety with such respect and care.

Hannah

This is such a hard read, I feel even more attached to Paige and Warden than before, my heart broke for them and it made me even more eager to pick up The Mask Falling. And terrified for how much Samantha Shannon is going to further hurt me. A fantastic novella.

Pam Sartain

The Dawn Chorus by Samantha Shannon is a novella, setting up the story for book 4 when Paige and Arcturus will be taking on their next challenge, in France.

Paige was tortured in the last book, and had things said to her that have taken root, and she has to come to turns with the results of this, and her feelings for Arturus.

This is very much a book written about mental health, and you can see Paige struggling in many ways.  It is sad and you are moved for Paige.  You are taken on her journey as she tries to move past the way things like water were used in her torture, and her struggles with using water to get clean, for instance.

 The Dawn Chorus  was published on 9th July 2020 and is available from  Amazon .

You can follow Samantha Shannon on  Twitter  and her  blog .

You can read my review of the other books in the series below:

 The Bone Season  (book 1)

 The Pale Dreamer  (novella 0.5)

 The Mime Order  (book 2)

 The Song Rising  (book 3)

Kat Kooiman

Sarah

⭑⭑⭑⭑

 tw: ptsd, mentions of violence and torture 

Favourite quote 

“Let the storm into you, Paige. Hold it inside. See yourself as a force of nature, vast enough to defeat a god, and carry that image for all of your days.”

I recommend this for 

people who love the series and want more insight on the consequences of the third book.

What I liked 

This novella broke my heart multiple times. It’s so short and yet it hits hard despite managing to be really hopeful. I really like the time we spend exploring trauma. I genuinely don’t like when a character has something really traumatic happen to them and they move on after two seconds. This doesn’t happen here and I love that! I need more books like this please. Can’t wait to start The Mask Falling, I already know The Dawn Chorus is the perfect bridge between TSR and TMF!

What I didn’t like 

I would have loved more variety on the flashbacks, but it’s such a minor issue and it’s probably just because I want to read everything that ever happened in this world.

Final thoughts 

Definitely worth the read, like The Pale Dreamer novella, I believe it enriches the world and the main books a lot.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

This was a nice look at Paige and Warden pre-The Mask Falling, set in Paris. Important to see Paige after the traumatising events of the Archon, and Warden continues to be The Best and Most Respectful.

Cristina Cicivelli 

The Dawn Chorus made me suffer A LOT and broke my heart into a thousand million pieces, but it was also able to put it back together: seeing with how much care Warden treats Paige, so delicate and respectful of her needs and fears, made me soft in a way I can’t properly explain… he is clearly the best bookish man ever created.
Additionally to all this domestic content (the cooking lesson gave me ten years of life), It was really nice to see some flashbacks of their first months together in the colony and to have, in consequence, a little insight into those meaningful moments that shaped their bond back then. 

I adore how Samantha doesn’t downplay AT ALL Paige’s trauma (One embrace was never going to put me back together. Only I could do that, and I sensed that it would be a lifelong task.), and instead plant in this short story the seeds needed for a slow and coherent healing process. 
My fierce queen is still standing, and for now that’s all that matters ❤

Lisa Beasley

This was heart breaking, my poor beautiful Paige. I felt so deeply for her. Despite the serious and sad tones there was still elements of humour which, for me, just had it feeling that much more real. Beautiful. Cannot wait for book #4 next year.

The Dawn Chorus A Bone Season novella

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