Book Review #67: Honu Book One: Waterborn by Dawyone Combes

Hello Dear Reader!

Welcome to an indie book review! This book is the first in its series and features superhero powers, a lot of lore, and a few cultural aspects of Hawaii! Dawyone Combes is active on Instagram @dawyonecombesauthor, and he’s a cool guy, so be sure to check him out when you have the chance!

ANYWAY! This story follows three first-person points of views, with the main one belonging to the hero of this story, Koldair Noa. Following a tragic neighborhood incident that severely injured his leg, a strange woman communicates with him in his mind. Soon, he finds powers awakening and learns of a magical history and a bloodline he wasn’t aware he was a part of. As he comes into his new role as superhero of Hawaii, he finds that being one isn’t as it looks and experiences more pain and rage than he bargained for.

But before I get deeper into that, here’s the back-cover summary (from Goodreads)

Koldair Noa can sum up his whole life in three words: Running, family, friends. But one day, while recovering from an injury he received on his way home from school, a woman speaks to him. She says his world will change. Modern medicine will no longer have an effect on him. He will discover powers he never knew he had. And he will become the savior the world didn't know they needed.

I wish I can write a back-cover summary as short and effective as this one, but anyway, time for the review!

As I mentioned earlier, there are three first-person points of views, and they belong to the villain I won’t name because of spoilers, Koldair, and Koldair’s girlfriend Fatima. Koldair gets most of the screentime compared to the villain and Fatima, which makes sense to me because this story is really most centered on his character development and his relationships with his friends and family.

An athlete with a heart of gold, Koldair treats his friends and family preciously, because they are who make up his foundation. He absolutely adores Fatima, his relationship with his guy friends is both sweet and silly, and his relationship with his mother is absolutely wholesome. Is his relationship with his little brother rough? Yes, but his family has also been through a lot with the disappearance of his father. Though he lets his rage get the best of him sometimes, Koldair always has his heart in the right place, prioritizing the safety of others around him.

I’m not going to touch on the villain much other than the fact his character is highly driven on revenge, but I came to like the addition of Fatima’s point of view. At first, I wondered whether or not it was really necessary, but the further the book went on, the more her side of the story became important to the plot. She’s a strong-willed person with a lot of love in her heart and a bravery in her soul, and I absolutely loved her character.

There are two main settings in this book. The first is Hawaii, where most of the book takes place, and the second is San Francisco for reasons I will not reveal due to spoilers. This book is deeply steeped in Hawaiian culture, with words and phrases being used frequently by the characters of the book and real landmarks and places being referenced throughout. Combes did a great job of integrating a real setting into his story without info-dumping too much, bringing in just enough of places in Hawaii to provide a solid location without taking too much attention away from the plot.

I absolutely loved the story of this book, mainly because of Koldair’s character development. He goes from being a normal high school graduate to awakening his powers and accidentally becoming the superhero of Hawaii. He learns a lot through his experiences that pushes his development as a character who wears the many hats of being a son, a student, a brother, a significant other, and a protector. Not to mention there were a few jaw-dropping moments I wasn’t expecting. I also loved the lore attached to Koldair’s powers and learning of the unfortunate events that led to his unfortunate encounter with the villain of this story.

Though I absolutely loved the story and characters of Waterborn, there were several things that stuck out to me that took away from my reading experience, and they are related to the writing. There were frequent run-on and incomplete sentences throughout the book, and there were also times where the incorrect homophone was used, for example site instead of sight. I found these to be pretty distracting, which I found upsetting because I genuinely loved the story. I am one of those people who takes in the writing just as much as the story itself, so it does affect my overall rating. Still, it doesn’t take away from the fact I still want to read the next installment.

So, Honu Book One: Waterborn rating:

3/5 and highly recommend if you like superhero stories and great character development! It’s a great coming-of-age story with a focus on friends and family as well, making it a well-balanced novel and a great opening to a new series.

Thanks for reading!