Review--Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

She will become one of the world’s greatest heroes: WONDER WOMAN. But first she is Diana, Princess of the Amazons. And her fight is just beginning. . . .

Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law—risking exile—to save a mere mortal. Even worse, Alia Keralis is no ordinary girl and with this single brave act, Diana may have doomed the world.

Alia just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.

Together, Diana and Alia will face an army of enemies—mortal and divine—determined to either destroy or possess the Warbringer. If they have any hope of saving both their worlds, they will have to stand side by side against the tide of war.

I'll admit when it comes to comic book icons, I don't know much about them other than what I learn from the movies! And then with all the movies we've had over the years, I find there are conflicting storylines too! But since I LOVE Leigh Bardugo's books, I knew I had to give Wonder Woman: Warbringer a try! And even though I don't know my Wonder Woman lore--yes I still need to see the movie, waiting for it to hit Red Box! Lol!--I found I was able to follow along fairly easily. And perhaps it might have helped that I didn't know much because I was able to take Leigh's Diana as the Diana. Though I do suspect she did keep the main parts of Diana's legacy the same!

So begins Diana's story as she's one of the only teenagers on Themyscira, for she was actually born on the island whereas others came to it after they've proven their status as an Amazon. Diana is partaking in a race with all the other Amazons and is determined to win. She's determined to prove to her mother, the other Amazons, and herself that she belongs with them and that she is a true Amazon as well. She's in the lead of the race when she suddenly hears a loud noise and uncovers a boat wreck out in the ocean near her home. Then she sees there's someone in the water and with barely a second thought, Diana is swimming out to save her.

Themyscira is a secret place that no mortal knows about and shouldn't be able to find, but when Ali is brought unconscious to its shores, things quickly fall into chaos. And it's not because a mortal is on their territory, it's because Alia is the Warbringer. Her very presence has been known to incite war among people. As it is, Diana's people start to fall ill and skirmishes start to occur. Diana learns from the Oracle that she must get Alia to a spring near Helen of Troy's temple in order to cleanse her of her Warbringer curse and only then would there be peace for the line of Warbringers would be put to an end.

This story was far more interesting and entertaining than I could've hoped for! True, I had a rough start in the beginning, but part of that could've just been from my busy day when I tried starting it. But on my second day of reading I was hooked! Diana is such an intriguing character! I loved seeing her early Wonder Woman-isms happen. Donning golden cuffs, bringing a "magic" lasso with her before she leaves, the little things like that were what made me smile throughout! 

Diana and Alia are joined on their journey by Alia's brother, Jason, and her best friend, Nim, and her brother's best friend Theo. They make for an interesting group, as Jason is the overprotective older brother, Nim is the enthusiastic and charismatic BFF, where Theo is the lovable goofball, yet he has his tech savvy edge to him as well. Then there's Diana who's never once been to our world and everything is a new adventure for her.

These characters were truly enjoyable! I loved getting to know them! Nim and Theo, who constantly bicker always had me chuckling! Then there's this possible chemistry happening between Jason and Diana. We only catch glimpses of it, but it makes you wonder...will Diana have a reason to not go home?!

The ending was shock! I hadn't expected the twist but I loved it! It was totally fitting with the story! And while things do wrap up, you're left with the sense that Diana's journey is far from over! And since this is basically Wonder Woman as a teenager, you know where her story will lead!

Leigh Bardugo is Wonder Woman in her own right! We already know she rocks the fantasy world with her previous series, but now she sets the bar high with the DC Icons series! She totally made Diana her own, yet still keeping her as the Wonder Woman we will come to know! She nailed it!


Overall Rating 4.85/5 stars--the awkward rating from my little hiccup of a start, but as I said, when I picked it up again the next day I was all in!!