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Galaxy Girl #1
Drum up the Dawn: Galaxy Girl Book One
To most people, Kenzie Shepherd appears to be a slightly nerdy reporter for Emerald City Media, with close friends and a noticeably over-protective big sister. In reality, she’s a super-powered alien refugee who arrived on Earth as a tween and has passed as human ever since. When her editor asks her to interview Ava Westbrook, chief operations officer at Hyperion Tech, Kenzie is understandably nervous about meeting the heir to the most notorious anti-alien family in America. She certainly doesn’t expect Ava to announce that she wants to transform her family’s company into a force for good. But is Ava really as different from her alien-hating brother and father as she seems?
When she agreed to take her mother’s place at Hyperion’s Seattle office, Ava Westbrook was hoping to turn over a new leaf both for the embattled corporation and for her family's name. But with a hostile board and equally antagonistic CEO thwarting her sustainable energy plans, the path to change looks murky. Add in the highly inconvenient crush she has developed on a local reporter, and Ava is certain she is swimming out of her depth. And what is her mother up to, anyway?
Drum up the Dawn is the first book in a new urban fantasy series that takes place on an Earth where alien refugees live on the fringes of society, Kenzie Shepherd may well be the last daughter of a long-dead planet, and Ava Westbrook wishes everyone could just get along.
When she agreed to take her mother’s place at Hyperion’s Seattle office, Ava Westbrook was hoping to turn over a new leaf both for the embattled corporation and for her family's name. But with a hostile board and equally antagonistic CEO thwarting her sustainable energy plans, the path to change looks murky. Add in the highly inconvenient crush she has developed on a local reporter, and Ava is certain she is swimming out of her depth. And what is her mother up to, anyway?
Drum up the Dawn is the first book in a new urban fantasy series that takes place on an Earth where alien refugees live on the fringes of society, Kenzie Shepherd may well be the last daughter of a long-dead planet, and Ava Westbrook wishes everyone could just get along.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2020
57 people are currently reading
294 people want to read
About the author
Kate Christie
37 books249 followersKate Christie, author of In the Company of Women, Gay Pride & Prejudice, and the Girls of Summer series, was born and raised in Kalamazoo, MI. A graduate of Smith College, she lives near Seattle with her wife, their three daughters, and the family dogs.
To join her mailing list and receive email notifications of new releases, giveaways, and other news, visit https://katejchristie.com/mailing-list/.
To join her mailing list and receive email notifications of new releases, giveaways, and other news, visit https://katejchristie.com/mailing-list/.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
May 29, 2020
Quite good book.
In the same way that Fletcher DeLancey's published science fiction have a strong vibe of the Star Trek Voyager fan fiction she wrote, while creating their own different and unique universe, Kate Christie's book has a strong Supergirl vibe while still being a unique and different universe.
Rating: 5+
May 28 2020
(Note: I'd actually have to do a reread of the fanfiction, but a quick glance shows two things: 1) this book here is different than the fanfiction; 2) on the other hand, there is at least several paragraphs lifted from the fanfiction & placed in the published work, albeit with name changes (for example - scene when superhero catches business exec in bed reading book)
In the same way that Fletcher DeLancey's published science fiction have a strong vibe of the Star Trek Voyager fan fiction she wrote, while creating their own different and unique universe, Kate Christie's book has a strong Supergirl vibe while still being a unique and different universe.
Rating: 5+
May 28 2020
(Note: I'd actually have to do a reread of the fanfiction, but a quick glance shows two things: 1) this book here is different than the fanfiction; 2) on the other hand, there is at least several paragraphs lifted from the fanfiction & placed in the published work, albeit with name changes (for example - scene when superhero catches business exec in bed reading book)
June 28, 2020
Definitely a supercorp fanfic, but I'm not complaining :)
August 12, 2020
I'm too impatient waiting for sequels!
This was good, I've got Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers in my head eating brunch together. I hope the next book has more on the relationship between Ava and Kenzie.
This was good, I've got Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers in my head eating brunch together. I hope the next book has more on the relationship between Ava and Kenzie.
November 18, 2020
I don’t read a lot of book on superhero. If I were to count, I can probably count them with my 2 hands (or maybe 1 hand will do it 🤔)…. Reading Drum up the Dawn is like reading a book on supergirl – many similarities (well except maybe the Kara & Lena hook-up?). I can just play it in my head who’s who in the book. So if you are not a fan of supergirl, then maybe you might not like DUTD. It was interesting enough for me to actually read and finish reading it. Though I must admit there weren’t many ‘explosive’ or ‘action-pack’ scenes to go with the theme. It’s more focus on the early friendship/relationship between our 2 MCs (Kenzie & Ava), how they met, became friends, etc. There is likely a book 2 in the making given how the book ended; and I sure would like to read more about Kenzie & Ava – how they navigate their new found relationship
Available in Scribd
Available in Scribd
June 28, 2020
3.5 stars. I had a good time reading this book, I mean, superheroes! I understood this book originates from fanfiction, but I’m not familiar with it, so I started with a clean slate. I have to admit there were a couple of bumps in the book, but I enjoyed reading it and I think it has great potential for more books.
The story is set on earth, similar to present day, the only difference is that humans live together with aliens. Aliens have to be registered though and it is not always safe for aliens as there is a strong anti-alien part of the human population. Kenzie is an alien with extraordinary superpowers who has been hiding her whole life. She’s unregistered, but able to get away with this due to her human-like appearance. She comes into contact with Ava, the COO of a Tech company, who comes from a notorious anti-alien family. Ava doesn’t share these anti-alien feelings, but that’s something Kenzie doesn’t know. Obviously, there is a lot of distrust and bad communication between them, but there is also a clear attraction.
There are quite some things happening, but the book mainly focusses on the development of Kenzie and Ava as a couple and Kenzie as a person. There is a bit of an age gap although I’m not sure how much. Ava is somewhere around 30 and Kenzie is younger, if I were to guess I would say early 20’s? It’s Kenzie’s relatively young age and protected upbringing that give this book a bit of a NA feel. She’s coming out on several fronts and she’s generally naïve and inexperienced. Her shy and slightly socially awkward behavior made me like her instantly though. I felt less of a connection to Ava in the beginning, she’s confident but also more distant and she has her own demons to fight. The supporting characters were great and I loved Sloane (Kenzie’s gruff protective sister) and her girlfriend Mika. The interaction between Sloane and Kenzie also really adds to the book.
Since the story is about superheroes, some action can be expected, but unfortunately, I never felt a sense of real danger. However, some interesting pointers are given at the end of the book that give me hope that this might come in following books. A point concerning the writing style, I felt that the flow and language of the dialogues did not always seem consistent throughout the book, which might stem from collecting the original fanfiction.
Even though there were a few bumps I can recommend reading this book if you enjoy relatively light, low on angst, superhero stories. I’m looking forward to the next part in the series.
The story is set on earth, similar to present day, the only difference is that humans live together with aliens. Aliens have to be registered though and it is not always safe for aliens as there is a strong anti-alien part of the human population. Kenzie is an alien with extraordinary superpowers who has been hiding her whole life. She’s unregistered, but able to get away with this due to her human-like appearance. She comes into contact with Ava, the COO of a Tech company, who comes from a notorious anti-alien family. Ava doesn’t share these anti-alien feelings, but that’s something Kenzie doesn’t know. Obviously, there is a lot of distrust and bad communication between them, but there is also a clear attraction.
There are quite some things happening, but the book mainly focusses on the development of Kenzie and Ava as a couple and Kenzie as a person. There is a bit of an age gap although I’m not sure how much. Ava is somewhere around 30 and Kenzie is younger, if I were to guess I would say early 20’s? It’s Kenzie’s relatively young age and protected upbringing that give this book a bit of a NA feel. She’s coming out on several fronts and she’s generally naïve and inexperienced. Her shy and slightly socially awkward behavior made me like her instantly though. I felt less of a connection to Ava in the beginning, she’s confident but also more distant and she has her own demons to fight. The supporting characters were great and I loved Sloane (Kenzie’s gruff protective sister) and her girlfriend Mika. The interaction between Sloane and Kenzie also really adds to the book.
Since the story is about superheroes, some action can be expected, but unfortunately, I never felt a sense of real danger. However, some interesting pointers are given at the end of the book that give me hope that this might come in following books. A point concerning the writing style, I felt that the flow and language of the dialogues did not always seem consistent throughout the book, which might stem from collecting the original fanfiction.
Even though there were a few bumps I can recommend reading this book if you enjoy relatively light, low on angst, superhero stories. I’m looking forward to the next part in the series.
Read
May 24, 2021I'll refrain from giving this a rating in stars, because it would lose points on stuff that's no fault of the author.
Namely: I'm pretty sure I've read parts of this in Supercorp fanfic form, which colored my experience. Quite a lot. Mostly because my brain was convinced the whole time that the names in this book were wrong, which detracted from the experience...
It also followed a type of script that I've come to expect from Supergirl fanfictions, so I really felt like I was reading a fanfic with messed up names.
But the story itself wasn't bad. Not anything groundbreaking either, but definitely not bad.
So yeah, the main issue is my brain's fixation on the Supercorp aspect.
Namely: I'm pretty sure I've read parts of this in Supercorp fanfic form, which colored my experience. Quite a lot. Mostly because my brain was convinced the whole time that the names in this book were wrong, which detracted from the experience...
It also followed a type of script that I've come to expect from Supergirl fanfictions, so I really felt like I was reading a fanfic with messed up names.
But the story itself wasn't bad. Not anything groundbreaking either, but definitely not bad.
So yeah, the main issue is my brain's fixation on the Supercorp aspect.
April 11, 2021
3,3
Sin duda es un fan fic de Supergirl (Supercorp). Divertido y curioso; nos presentan personajes entretenidos y una protagonista torpemente adorable, aunque sea un súper no le quita el factor de ser el personaje más inocente y despistado del libro.
Una trama sencilla, sin presentación del villano más que por nombre y sutiles rencillas, lo vuelven una lectura ligera fácil de digerir.
Sin duda es un fan fic de Supergirl (Supercorp). Divertido y curioso; nos presentan personajes entretenidos y una protagonista torpemente adorable, aunque sea un súper no le quita el factor de ser el personaje más inocente y despistado del libro.
Una trama sencilla, sin presentación del villano más que por nombre y sutiles rencillas, lo vuelven una lectura ligera fácil de digerir.
did-not-finish
July 19, 2020To be honest, I had a strong feeling I would not like this one before I started. But I was willing to give it a go, because you never know.
Well, I tried, but at around 24% a I gave up. There were a few annoying things, but superhero's that are nigh invincible just aren't my thing. Well, Superhero's in general aren't my thing, and I knew it was based on Superman/Supergirl characters, so I'm not blaming the book. I will not be giving it a rating.
Well, I tried, but at around 24% a I gave up. There were a few annoying things, but superhero's that are nigh invincible just aren't my thing. Well, Superhero's in general aren't my thing, and I knew it was based on Superman/Supergirl characters, so I'm not blaming the book. I will not be giving it a rating.
May 31, 2020
I don't know that I think this is worth 5 stars, so I didn't rate it that way. I like the story and it can definitely go places, but I think it needs a little more... drama maybe? I think it's a bit like a mix of Supergirl and an alien X-Men kind of thing, nice. It's a good read for all that and I love anything sci-fi, so I look forward to the next in the series. Well done Kate!
July 1, 2020
This book gave me life, all the supergirl realness that I needed, without a shadow of fanfic!
Lovely writing and amazing characters. Can't wait for the next one in the series! 5 stars.
Lovely writing and amazing characters. Can't wait for the next one in the series! 5 stars.
July 19, 2020
Wow! Supercorp Fanfic! 😊
August 1, 2020
I wanted to give this author another chance because I am usually interested in the premises of their books. But once again, this didn't work out. Even with lowering my expectations to fanfic level, since clearly this is a remake of a SuperCorp fanfic. Some points could have been very interesting, except they were not explored whatsoever (e.g. any of the efforts from the big company mogul to change her company's culture), or worse, felt like not-even-named bad representation (e.g. the "can't read social clues" from the alien as proxy for "autism representation"). Not to mention all the usual lack of research and analysis regarding what is said in this book to be the most important and urgent concern for humanity, climate change. Just to take one example, electric cars may be a short-term solution to gas, but they are 1) still very bad for the environment and 2) extremely exploitative of the global south, which is ironic and hypocritical when the focus of the book is alien refugees who destroyed their own home planet (even this view is probably just as wrong as the view that humans as a species are destroying the earth, which is actually also expressed in this book). The same can surely be said of any random namedropped "ecoconscious" alternatives in here, like rayon.
November 22, 2020
This book was amazing! I watched Supergirl for the first time earlier this year, and I shipped SuperCorp more than anything, so this book was a breath of fresh air. I loved all of the little jabs at the show that were scattered throughout the story. My favorites were the line "Nothing screamed 'I'm gay for you' like inviting your crush to a black-tie charity gala," and the mention that texting a red heart definitely meant something romantic. This book was fantastic, and I would recommend it to anybody who needs an escape from the queerbaiting.
May 1, 2021
I am so disappointed, I really wanted to like it but all of it felt so shallow. I get that it's supercorp fanfiction, but the writer relays to much on people knowing the relationship from the get go and so in the book I couldn't feel the connection between the two characters or why they would even like each other apart from physical attraction. And all the side characters are caricatures of real people all of them all so good always ready to help and to say the right things that in the end the dialogue doesn't feel like how real people would talk.
July 10, 2020
Good enjoyable solid read. Would recommend
I really liked this book it was a great read with characters that I came to care about. The storyline was well paced and the characters well done. It’s definitely a fan fic to my eyes and I’m sure others noticed that too. Having said that it’s very well done with solid writing throughout and I enjoyed reading this a lot. I’d loved to see what happens next. :)
I really liked this book it was a great read with characters that I came to care about. The storyline was well paced and the characters well done. It’s definitely a fan fic to my eyes and I’m sure others noticed that too. Having said that it’s very well done with solid writing throughout and I enjoyed reading this a lot. I’d loved to see what happens next. :)
February 20, 2022
This is clearly SuperCorp fanfiction but that's fine. If the cowards writing TV shows won't do it, the fanfic authors will.
This is an enjoyable enough story, but I feel like the whole thing runs out of steam when the two main characters are actually alone together and being open with their feelings. You'd think a literal alien with superpowers and one of the richest women in the world would have more to talk about.
This is an enjoyable enough story, but I feel like the whole thing runs out of steam when the two main characters are actually alone together and being open with their feelings. You'd think a literal alien with superpowers and one of the richest women in the world would have more to talk about.
May 29, 2020
It's a great love story with Kenzie and Ava. Kenzie is a lovable character, sometimes a bit naive, her overprotecting sister helps her in her own way.
Ava as new COO, has her own struggles with her family as with her love for Kenzie.
A great novel by Kate Christie, can't wait to read the next one in this series
Ava as new COO, has her own struggles with her family as with her love for Kenzie.
A great novel by Kate Christie, can't wait to read the next one in this series
June 12, 2020
I loved it
What a wonderful job done. Definitely take the time to read. The characters will entirely remind you of the super friends but the author has managed to give them enough of a difference that by the middle of the book they've become their own people if you will and you cant wait to see what they do. Hopefully this becomes a series and the next is out soon!
What a wonderful job done. Definitely take the time to read. The characters will entirely remind you of the super friends but the author has managed to give them enough of a difference that by the middle of the book they've become their own people if you will and you cant wait to see what they do. Hopefully this becomes a series and the next is out soon!
June 27, 2020
Absolutely fantastic
Not only was this book incredibly well written, but it does something most novels fail to do. It represents queer characters while not making the entire book about the fact that the characters are queer. Can’t wait to read the next in series, and will be spending the time waiting reading all this authors other books!
Not only was this book incredibly well written, but it does something most novels fail to do. It represents queer characters while not making the entire book about the fact that the characters are queer. Can’t wait to read the next in series, and will be spending the time waiting reading all this authors other books!
July 16, 2020
A delightful read
I enjoyed every minute of this book. It was light, refreshing, well written, and we'll edited. The author manages to deliver a sweet story of blossoming love, without being too saccharine. And, the plot and character backgounds relevant and engaging. Delightful!
I enjoyed every minute of this book. It was light, refreshing, well written, and we'll edited. The author manages to deliver a sweet story of blossoming love, without being too saccharine. And, the plot and character backgounds relevant and engaging. Delightful!
May 5, 2021
A super sweet romance between an alien and a woman from an alien-hating family. While the parts about Kenzie becoming a superhero were great, her relationships were the best part of the story. My favourites: her romance with Ava and her relationship with her sister, although her friendship with Matt and D'aman was awesome too. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
March 25, 2022
You can see the nods to Supergirl and the SC fanfic this book was born from, but there is so much originality that it still feels like a new experience. I really enjoyed it. And frankly, the author did an amazing job of filling in the many many plot holes the network created. It was a fun read and I'm just starting the sequel as we speak!
July 9, 2020
A cute opener to what looks to be an interesting series. Superman and Lex Luther's sibling dating, but both as women? Whats not to love With! With a much appreciated addition of multiple races of aliens in the US and the World it was a wonderful read, look forward to starting on the second one asap
February 6, 2022
Excellent superhero novel.
Thanks, Kate Christie, for sharing Kenzi and Ava with us. Two great characters with full back stories. I enjoyed this book and look forward to learning more about the world you have created for them.
Thanks, Kate Christie, for sharing Kenzi and Ava with us. Two great characters with full back stories. I enjoyed this book and look forward to learning more about the world you have created for them.
April 27, 2022
Great superhero birth story
This awesome book combines the account of the birth of a superhero, a warm, compassionate group of friends, an accepting queer community, and an author with a wonderful voice, full of humor.
I can hardly wait to read more!
This awesome book combines the account of the birth of a superhero, a warm, compassionate group of friends, an accepting queer community, and an author with a wonderful voice, full of humor.
I can hardly wait to read more!
January 18, 2023
Good book
The story is not unique but definitely didn’t feel like I’d read it before. Lots of unanswered questions at the end but not because of some annoying twists right out of left field. Looking forward to book 2.
The story is not unique but definitely didn’t feel like I’d read it before. Lots of unanswered questions at the end but not because of some annoying twists right out of left field. Looking forward to book 2.
July 22, 2024
great sci-fi fantasy
First book I’ve read by this author and won’t be the last. Great story, characters and a different approach on hero’s. Love it and moving on to the next book in the series.
First book I’ve read by this author and won’t be the last. Great story, characters and a different approach on hero’s. Love it and moving on to the next book in the series.
June 6, 2020
Great read. .
Great read. It had a good ending but I'm definitely looking for more about this story and the group of friends
Great read. It had a good ending but I'm definitely looking for more about this story and the group of friends
June 27, 2020
Loved it. Can’t wait for the second book!
June 30, 2020
Cute, fluffy and fun. You would like it if that's what you're after
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews