Highborn: Brynna has a lot of acclimating to do…

Highborn by Yvonne Navarro

Highborn begins with a vividly described scene of Hell. Astarte, a fallen angel, watches the daily round of horrors from her bloodstained tower, and decides she wants out. We then cut to Astarte, having escaped Hell and calling herself Brynna Malak, as she adjusts to life in modern-day Chicago. Brynna can understand any language she hears. She’s less adept at navigating other aspects of human life: how to feel empathy, how to pet a dog, and why you shouldn’t just wander away from the scene when you witness a murder. Yvonne Navarro does a terrific (and often funny) job of portraying a character who just doesn’t “get” social norms and has a lot of acclimating to do.

Brynna soon learns that someone is killing nephilim in the city. Nephilim are the children of angels and mortal women, and each is born for a specific, divine purpose. Killing them not only snuffs out their lives but also prevents them from fulfilling their cosmic destinies. The cops are stymied by this serial killer, but Brynna has special insights into the crime and finds herself assisting hunky detective Eran Redmond in his investigation. It should surprise no one that sparks fly between the two!

In addition to the central mystery, Brynna dispenses justice to the more run-of-the-mill bad guys in Chicago: bullies, thugs, wife-beaters, etc. These smaller fights add to Brynna’s character development, and also give Highborn the feel of a superhero tale.

Highborn is an exciting, butt-kicking story featuring a complex heroine who changes and grows as the novel progresses. It’s quite violent — there are at least two scenes that utterly grossed me out — but the violence level fits with the fallen-angel and vigilante-justice themes. Navarro’s prose is smooth and makes for a snag-free read.

I didn’t like the ending. It felt like a gut punch. I can see how it fits with the ideas and themes of the novel, but I’m torn between feeling cheated and wanting to commend Navarro for having the cojones to write it that way. Nevertheless, I plan to keep following Brynna’s journey as the Dark Redemption series continues.