A crazy adventure with interesting characters | Starflight

Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers

Published: February 2nd 2016 by Disney Hyperion

Genre: young adult, science-fiction

Goodreads summary: Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...

REVIEW

When I first heard about this book, I wasn't expecting a lot from it. I read Melissa Landers' debut, Alienated, when it came out, and really disliked it, because it was full of clichés and almost only focused on the romance. So if you're like me and disliked Alienated, you should still read Starflight, which I found so hilarious and entertaining. If you're a 'beginner' in sci-fi, you can also start with this one, because it doesn't involve complicated theories.

The beginning of the story was a little predictable, with Solara wanting to go to the outer realm and having no choice but to go with her nemesis, Doran. It was obious they would warm up to each other during the story, but I still really enjoyed reading about it. The plot really surprised me, I didn't really know what to expect, but it's more complex that I thought. It involved pirates, conspiracy and space ships, I don't see how I can ask any more. I really enjoyed the fact that some twists surprised me, because I hadn't thought this or that could be a possibility. This book was more of a fun book to read quickly, with no pressure. When I think about some scenes, I'm still laughing. It was action-packed, but sometimes I felt like I was waiting for something big to happen, so maybe it dragged in some parts - or I would have read faster.

Starflight didn't have a lot of world-building, but it didn't need it anyway. At the beginning of the book, our two main characters are on Earth and then they go in space. It's basically our world if we were able to colonize other planets. Also, you can note that a Planet Disney was mentioned, which made me laugh and eager to get there. Melissa Landers still managed to describe a realistic world I can totally see as an evolution of our world. It was a little like the Starbound trilogy with a powerful company and conspiracies, which I liked. Landers' still created special beings, the Daeva, whose will gave you goosebumps.

I found the characters to be interesting and realistic. Solara was a mechanic, typical in sci-fi, that had to fend for herself all life because she was basically an orphan - I would like to know more about that aspect by the way. She was daring and I really enjoyed that about her, she never gave up or anything. I had a harder time liking Doran, because he was such a jerk in the beginning. He went through a lot of character development and I even liked him at the end of the book. He was more resourceful than everyone was saying, which actually made sense since his father was sending him into missions all the time. The secondary characters -the crew- were all interesting and had their secrets. I loved learning about them, because at first, we knew nothing about them, just like the main characters. 

The dynamics between the characters worked well, thanks to witty dialogue. Of course, there was Solara and Doran's romance, which was a hate-turned-love type of relationship, which I enjoyed, even if I found that Doran was a bit quick in changing his opinion of Solara, even if I get it, he was in a bad situation and had to think through everything. Their dynamics were still well written and at some point I was just waiting for them to finally kiss. I think they reminded me a little of Tarver and Lilac in These Broken Stars. Landers managed to write a realistic relationship for them and I don't think they'll have to deal with drama in the next book, since it'll focus less on them. There were other interesting dynamics among the crew, the best one was of course the family aspect. At the end of the novel, the characters were ready to do anything for each other, which makes me want to read the sequel now. I even liked the idea of Acorn, even if in the beginning I was sceptical. 

I was surprised by one turn of event, I'm wondering if I could have predicted it, but the author still got me. It was more of an open-ending which could almost make me feel like this one is a standalone. I would have liked more closure because there is one plot point. Moreover, I'm not sure I'll have my answer straight away, since the sequel will focus more upon Cassia and Kane, even if we'll still see the main characters. 

Overall, this was an entertaing book which was so much fun to read about. I didn't feel this spark that makes an amazing book, but I still loved it. The characters were interesting, especially since we didn't know everything about them. The romance was cute and enjoyable. I don't know if the second book will be as good as this one, since it seems to involve more drama, but I'll read it nonetheless. If you're looking for a quick book to read that will entertain you should pick this one up, even more if you loved Illuminae or the Starbound trilogy.

 Do you love sci-fi books? Have you read this one? What did you think of it? Did you have a Illuminae/Starbound vibe?

A wild and unique ride in space that took me some time to get used to | Illuminae

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Published: October 20th 2015 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Genre: Young adult, Science-fiction

Goodreads summary: This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

REVIEW

Illuminae is so hyped up that I was really scared to get into it. I thought I would be the black sheep, you know? So basically, I've postponed reading it for months, but I finally did. And wow, it totally deserved the hype. I really, really, really need the second book now. I've never been as crazy about a sci-fi book that I am right now. I loved it so much!

As you probably now, the format of this book is pretty unique, because it's told through messages, graphics, pictures and camera transcriptions. To be honest, it took me 100 pages or so to get used to it… It basically gave me an headache. I'm sorry, but I'm not used to typos because English isn't my main language, so it took some time to get used to. The camera transcripts were the least fun, and it could be the only times I got "bored". Moreover, this book had so much of swearing. Like, at least every two sentences. But it was blanked and each time, my brain was like "biiiiiiiip". That was fun. But anyway, once I got used to the format, I loved it. I was pretty unique and made the book such a unique experience.

 I loved the characters. We mostly saw them through their messages and I got attached to them real fast, which I wasn't expecting at all. They had to go through so much drama, like EVERYONE DIES, a creepy disease and an insane artificial intelligence. Kady and Ezra were so sassy and brave, even if they were scared. Kady was an amazing hacker and Ezra was conscripted as a pilot, which was so cool. I was basically yelling at them to get back together… Even if they weren't on the same ship. But it's just a detail. AIDAN, the artificial intelligence, was so much fun to read about. We got a lot of scenes from his point of view and wow. Basically, he got crazy and started developing feelings? And killed a lot of people? But it was really interesting to see him develop feelings while his systems were like "ERROR. ERROR.".

            Am I not merciful? (AIDAN)

 It was so action-packed, I never got a chance to breathe or be bored, which was amazing. The Alexander and the Hypathia were running away from a ship, the Lincoln, which wanted to destroy them so it was pretty worrying. There were also the Phobos, a creepy disease where people kind of became zombies. Like when they were running after Kady "Little birdie", it was insanely scary.

There couldn't be a lot of world-building, because it was told through transcripts so I was a little confused at the beginning. But the more you get through the book, the more you learnt about what was going on, but I would have liked more? Even though I understand why not. It makes sense they weren't going to explain when they were trying to survive and the story was just an enormous file.

The ending was crazy because it felt like everyone I mean the people that were still alive was going to die. My heart was pounding so hard, because I was really scared for the characters. Some twists surprised me and left me craving for more. Also, it totally felt like Amie Kaufman was one of the co-author, because some aspects reminded me so much of the Starbound trilogy, which was so great <3

 Overall, this book is a total must-read. If you're not a big fan of sci-fi, I think it would be a great place to start. This book makes me want to read so much more sci-fi set in space. The format was unique and took some time to get used to, but I got really attached to the characters and it made the story so gripping. It took me three days to get through this book, but basically I got used to it on the first day, then devoured it until I felt asleep on the second day, then finished the rest the morning of the third.

Have you read Illuminae? What did you think of it? Do you think there is too much hype around it? Do you have recommendations for similar books? Are you excited for the cover reveal of Gemina tomorrow (Monday)?

An entertaining Snow White retelling with a Sci-Fi twist | Stitching Snow

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Published: October 14th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion

Genre: YA Sci-Fi Fairy Tale Retelling

Goodreads summary: Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

REVIEW

The question everyone is asking about this book is: Is it similar to the Lunar Chronicles? Honestly, it didn't feel like it, even though a lot of people said it. Sure, you can see little similarities here or there, because they're both Sci-Fi Fairy Tale Retelling. The story is based upon the classic trope : "missing princess comes back to reclaim her throne", but I really enjoyed the way it was done, because Essie didn't exactly come back willingly at first, she grows used to the idea of being Windsong's queen, that's all.

Essie was an amazing main character. The first scene of the book shows her fighting miners in a cage, she was pretty tough. She lives on Thanda, a cold planet where there are mostly miners. The area she lives in is only composed of men, but that doesn't stop her from refusing all of them and being an independent woman. She doesn't have a perfect life, but she manages with her seven drones - which were obviously the dwarves. Dimwit, the silly one, was my favourite, he was so funny. Back to Essie, she was an anti-trope character, from her real name (Snowflake) to the fact that she dyed her hair red (which is the typical heroine hair colour) to hide what her real hair looks like. She had a really interesting development during this book, because she started as a character who just wanted to hide, to a taken one, to a rebel, to a queen.

Essie's life starts to change when Dane crashes in a shuttle near her home. She helps him to fix it, even if I wondered why she really did, since she's the kind of character that doesn't trust a soul (and is right). From that starts a crazy spaceship's ride on three different planets. I enjoyed reading about all of them, but I could have done with a little more detailed, actually. Something I really enjoyed about this world was the Exiled arc of the story, because they more or less had the ability to go into other people's bodies. It was really interesting to read about, but I wished we had seen more of it and it would have been explained. Overall, I don't know why they were different from the others: are they aliens? Or was it just special abilities? I wish I knew.

The romance was enjoyable and wasn't instalove-y at all. Even if this book is a standalone, there really is development in the relationship between Essie and Dane. At first, she doesn't know what to do with his friendship, because she wasn't sure she could trust him. It was pretty obvious he liked her, but she wasn't used to that kind of thing, it was so adorable!

The fairy tale retelling was nicely done, with a queen who works with poisons, an unsure king who was actually the villain, a different kissing scene that what would be expected. Dane even has SEVEN freckles, I found it really funny!

The plot was simple but really enjoyable to read about, I wasn't bored a single moment. It's not perfect since I would have liked a little more motives for the "villains", I couldn't really understand them and they were one dimensional, I'm disappointed in that aspect. It was nice to have a last chapter that could be an epilogue, a "what happens next", even if it was set in the near future for the characters.

This book was an eventful and evenly paced read, I was really happy about it since it's a standalone. It was a very pleasing one and I'm looking forward to read Spinning Starlight, even though it's not set in the same universe.

Overall, this book was a quick read that definitely entertained me even if I wasn't blown away with what happened, since it was a classic plot. I really enjoyed the characters, the romance and the fairy tale retelling aspect of the story, but I could have done with a little more world building - even if I understand it was hard to do since it was only a standalone.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Have you picked up the companion, Spinning Starlight, yet?

Ten Thousand Skies Above You & Their Fractured Light | Mini-reviews

Title: Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird #2)
Author: Claudia Gray
Published: November 3rd 2015 by HarperTeen

Goodreads summary: Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

REVIEW

Discovering new dimensions was as interesting as the first time around and the plot was original, because it revealed something else about the Firebirds. The novelty of discovering dimensions has faded a bit though, especially when Marguerite went to dimensions she discovered before. However Marguerite pissed me off because when a Paul from another dimension did something bad, she doubted she could love her Paul. I understand that some Paul's decisions she couldn't agree with in some dimensions, but it didn't mean it was her Paul. She has a lot of trouble keeping up with identities, she already had this problemn because of Lieutenant Paul Markov in the Russia-verse, but it was worse this time around. The different Paul weren't the same and she also acted like that around Theo, because of what happenned in the first book. She doubted of her relationship with Paul because in some universes they weren't in love. Really? Ugh. She was like: um but if I don't love him in this universe, it's because we haven't met yet, right? Well no. She believed in the fate theory a little too much I believe? However I loved that we learn how Triad was created and everything, I didn't expect it at all. And the ending OMG. This story took such a turn, I can't wait for the next one to be released.

Title: Their Fractured Light (Unbound #3)

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Published: December 1st 2015 by Disney-Hyperion

Goodreads summary: A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were rescued from a terrible shipwreck—now, they live a public life in front of the cameras, and a secret life away from the world’s gaze.

Now, in the center of the universe on the planet of Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players, who will bring the fight against LaRoux Industries to a head. Gideon Marchant is an eighteen-year-old computer hacker—a whiz kid and an urban warrior. He’ll climb, abseil and worm his way past the best security measures to pull off onsite hacks that others don’t dare touch.

Sofia Quinn has a killer smile, and by the time you’re done noticing it, she’s got you offering up your wallet, your car, and anything else she desires. She holds LaRoux Industries responsible for the mysterious death of her father and is out for revenge at any cost.

When a LaRoux Industries security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s separate attempts to infiltrate their headquarters, they’re forced to work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take down LaRoux Industries, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide.

REVIEW

It actually took me a week to finish this, because it was the last week of school *sigh*

I really enjoyed getting introduced to Gideon and Sofia, because they were both grey characters and I love that! They were both plotting to take down LaRoux but had a HARD time trusting each other because obviously they sometimes betrayed the other one. Like at the beginning when they met, it was so funny. Iloooooved their dynamics together and I shipped them so hard! But, I had a hard time reading the first 40% of the novel... I was kinda bored, idk. The other reason I was so confused/bored was that I didn't remember much of the first two books (only the big lines) so I didn't understand anything... I should have read a recap.... But then big step in their relationship/betrayal and I was hooked again!

I'm so happy the whole gang was back, the story was much interesting when they were there I think? Even if I loved Sofia and Gideon but... Sometimes I wondered what the beginning of the story had to do with the bigger picture? But after that it was so great, action-packed, plot twists and revelations and much plotting (which I love).

I really enjoyed the resolution of the story and how we didn't only got Sofia and Gideon's POV. It was weird and very mysterious but I liked it, in the end. I'm pleased with the ending.

Still I had a problem while reading but it's probably just me: at the beginning of each chapter, the name of the character wasn't written, so I was confused all the time, because I didn't always remember where I left off. But when I was looking at the index it had the name of the characters and the chapters numbers, so maybe my ereader just messed up.

Anyway, this trilogy is a total must read! 

Have you read any of these books/series? What did you think of them?