Identity

The Nine Hundred Golden Suns #1

by Jade Cahoon

"Relatable but fascinating... I can't wait to discover more with Norah in the next book." (Amazon review)
"The ending is fantastic and left me immediately wanting more." (Goodreads review)

For as long as she can remember, Norah Bernal has wondered how exactly she ended up alone in a field in an unknown city, watching the stars whirl overhead. As long as she can remember is only four years, though, as she has no memories from before that cold night.

When explosions rock her adopted city and classmate Casey tells her she might be a missing princess—an alien missing princess—this doesn’t exactly clear up the confusion. Soon Norah is being pulled into battles, dumped on rainy moons, and interrogated by living slabs of rock.

And Casey isn’t the only one interested in her missing past. Norah feels inexplicably drawn to green-haired alien Loren, who can’t even speak her language, let alone answer her deepest, most painful question.

Who am I?

344 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2022

Reviews

[Judy Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norah or the princess?

She thinks she is Norah but Casey says she's a princess from another planet. Jade Cahoon has created a space thriller. Sounds unusual but I think this is what Identity is. Throughout the book this lovely girl is trying to find out just who she is and the people around her really aren't helping.

[Crow NoYami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting to hate Norah. When it comes to female princess protagonists, I tend to err on the side of caution. Norah is nothing like I was expecting, and neither were Loren or Casey. This book made me instantly fall in love with the characters and the worlds they come from. I’ve found myself shocked at every twist and hoping for a bright and happy future for them all.

The fact that this is book one should have given it away that there is not only more to come but that happiness is fleeting when you’re in the middle of a war.

I don’t want to give too much away, but being able to explore these new species and have it told most from a human’s POV made it not only relatable but fascinating. Norah was a typical girl, going to university, holding down a retail job, and trying to do her best to pencil in some time with the cute guy from her calculus class. We find out pretty quickly that Casey isn’t who he said he was and that Norah might not be who she thinks she is either.

This fast-paced book brings Norah in the middle of an intergalactic war, where both sides are fighting for her. What’s frustrating about the war is that it’s hard to tell who you want to win. Both sides believe in what they’re doing, in what they’re willing to die for, and you can see both points throughout the book. Who is the ‘good’ guy? Both have done some horrible things, and at the end of the novel, there are still so many questions that are left unanswered.

Thankfully, this is only book ONE.

I can’t wait to discover more with Norah in the next book. To see more of Loren (who I’m seriously suspicious about at this point), more of Casey (I’m Team Casey, BTW), and more of the worlds revealed on these pages.

Did I mention the love triangle? I feel like I should mention the love triangle. Well, there is one, and it brings just the right amount of sweetness and angst to the story.

[Nicholas Aelick · Rating 5 out of 5]

You definitely need to set aside time to read this one. Once you start it's hard to avoid getting swept up in Norah's journey. The story is fast paced and interesting, and it's clear that the author has put a lot of thought into the world building, though the story doesn't get bogged down with the details. The ending is fantastic and left me immediately wanting more. Hopefully the wait won't be too long!

[Jade Cahoon]

Using this to track, officially, how many times I actually revise this book after it's "done" (lots of air quotes there).

[Ellie Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

~About

Norah, a young book-loving university student gets the shock of her life when her city is attacked by strange spacecraft and her good friend Casey declares she might actually be an alien princess. With no memories of life before four years ago, Norah has no idea who she is, but on a journey across worlds, she will soon find out. But, will she accept her new identity, with all the pain and responsibility that is sure to come with it?


~Characters

Norah (secretly Princess Anutea) was an interesting and highly relatable character for me. An avid reader, forgetful, and a little lost in life, I felt a growing sense of kinship with her. Having been found naked in a field four years prior to the start of the story, with no idea who she is, Norah simply began creating a new life and a personality to go with it. She seeks answers as to who she was before she was found that night and when her city is attacked by strange spacecraft, her journey for such answers truly begins. Throughout the story, Norah had to make some truly tough decisions as her life and identity changed forever. Overall, she felt relatable and admirable, for all that she endured on her journey.


Casey, Norah’s close friend (secretly a Space Captain called Casilim La) was a protective and loyal companion, who did whatever he needed to in every situation to keep her safe. He repeatedly demonstrated his bravery, as well as his devotion to her as he risked his own life to preserve hers. His growing affection for Norah was evident from the start of the story and as Norah’s own affections became visible, I couldn’t help but root for the pair of them to get together.


Loren, a deputy leader of The Empire at first appeared cold, mysterious, and goal-driven. At first, I didn’t like him at all, however, over the course of the story, his character became oddly sympathetic and I became conflicted over how to feel about him overall. His actions began to make more sense as parts of his past were revealed. At times, I couldn’t help but feel pity for him, yo-yoing back and forth between my general dislike of him as a character.


~Likes

Identity was a gripping and enjoyable read. I particularly liked the following aspects of it.

-The third person narration works well as there are several key players involved in this story, each inhabiting a different location. The narrative point of view shifts mainly between Norah and Casey, alongside Loren’s on occasion, giving us a more varied perspective on the core issue of the novel: Identity.

-The world-building was unique, with multiple races, languages, and technology introduced in snippets throughout, providing a promising glimpse of what this series has in store for its readers.

-The antagonistic relationship between Casey (Casilim La) and Loren was well constructed and gradually revealed more of their intertwined and complicated pasts, revealing the true extent of their hatred for each-other.

-The gradual relationship which formed between Norah and Casey was heart-warming and had that ‘it’s about time guys’ feeling that you might get when watching a beloved tv show.

-The exploration of Norah’s sense of self was well executed. Her character arc of identity, beginning with a lack of true identity, shifting toward regaining said identity, was intriguing and well-developed over time.

My one dislike was that the copy I received for review could have done with a good proofread beforehand, as after the half way mark, there were a decent amount of grammatical errors which repeatedly interrupted the flow of the story and confused some of the meaning of the words.


~Memorable Quotes

Throughout the book, I kept my eyes open for quotes that stood out to me. On this occasion, I found just one, but its importance has stayed with me since.

‘Maybe the question wasn’t who she was, but who she ought to be.’

This quote left me thinking deeply about who we all ought to be: who do we want to be in life, compared to who we currently are? What are our hopes and dreams, and how can we live up to our full potential as individuals?


~Overview

Overall, Identity (Book 1: The Nine Hundred Golden Suns) was a unique tale of a loss of identity, and an epic space journey toward gradually recovering a person’s true sense of self.

My Rating: 5 stars. A moving and deeply engaging sci-fi journey.
Recommended to: Lovers of gripping science fiction series.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, and I’m not usually one for sci-fi fantasy type books.