Friday, February 3, 2017

Book Review (ARC) | Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

Title: Empress of a Thousand Skies
Author: Rhoda Belleza
Publication: February 7th 2017 by Razorbill
Series: First in a series (number of books tbd)
Pages: 344
Genre: YA sci-fi/fantasy
Copy: ARC provided from my local bookstore, Face in a Book
Summary: Empress
Rhee, also known as Crown Princess Rhiannon Ta’an, is the sole surviving heir to a powerful dynasty. She’ll stop at nothing to avenge her family and claim her throne.
Fugitive
Aly has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. But when he’s falsely accused of killing Rhee, he's forced to prove his innocence to save his reputation – and his life.
Madman
With planets on the brink of war, Rhee and Aly are thrown together to confront a ruthless evil that threatens the fate of the entire galaxy.


This book is soooo freakinggg goood.  I flew through this in two days, and the fast-paced plot combined with the dynamic characters kept me hooked the whole way through.  I LOVE space books; like, it's a problem.  Literally all you have to do to sell me on a book is say "aliens" or "space" and I'll be all over it in a heartbeat.  So when I read the synopsis for this book, I immediately got super excited.  I did not want to be disappointed with this book, and luckily, I definitely wasn't.

This book has duel POVs, which I think worked for this book but also didn't.  The two MCs have almost completely different storylines, so it's kind of hard keep track of what all is going on.  On the other hand, it added a lot more to the overall storyline, and I think the POV style will work better in the next book.  It also allowed for a lot more characters, which I loved.  All of the characters in this book are hella kickass, especially the MCs.  And, one of them is POC, which was really cool to see!  Add it to the list #WeNeedDiverseBooks!

The world-building in this book is pretty cool (did I mention space???) so I definitely give props to the author for that.  But, that said, with multiple planets and species, it does get a little confusing.  Some sort of guide or map would've been really helpful when reading.  I did find a map on Penguin's website, but I don't know if it'll be in the final copies of the book or not.

Despite the few small problems, this book is one of the best books I've read in a long time!  The combo of sci-fi and fantasy (my two favorite genres) was totally awesome, and not only that, but there are elements of revenge and betrayal going on too.  I mean, if you aren't sold yet I don't know how else to convince you.  Did I mention SPACE OPERA?!?!

Final Verdict: Read it.  Trust me.  Just read it.



What do you guys think?  Have you read this book yet, or do you want to read it?  Let me know in the comments!

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