Book Review | Our Dark Stars by Audrey Grey & Krystal Wade

Title: Our Dark Stars
Author: Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade
Publication: January 2nd 2018
Series: Standalone
Pages: 316
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Copy: ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: While she sleeps, the whole universe changes.

Princess Talia Starchaser has it all. Wealth. Status. Adoring citizens. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to publicly betray her best friend, a companion mock she’s had since birth, setting events into motion that lead to the destruction of the humans, and the princess floating through space, a remnant of a time when humans ruled over droids.

One hundred years later, half-mock captain Will Perrault and his ragtag crew discover a device floating in space. When a very human Talia emerges from its depths, Will suspects she’s the key to buying his way back into the regiment he once commanded against the last remaining rebel humans—and the ruling mock queen’s good graces.

Both Talia and Will would rather get space-tossed than trust one another, but with the queen’s forces chasing them across the galaxy and the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance, they’ll forge the unlikeliest of alliances to survive.

Book Review (ARC) | Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Title: Defy the Stars
Author: Claudia Gray
Publication: April 4th 2017 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: (Untitled #1)
Pages: 512
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
Copy: ARC provided by publisher & Face in a Book
Summary: Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that's now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth's robotic "mech" armies for decades with no end in sight.
After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel's programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis--even though her plan to win the war will kill him.
Together they embark on a daring voyage through the galaxy. Before long, Noemi begins to realize Abel may be more than a machine, and, for his part, Abel's devotion to Noemi is no longer just a matter of programming.

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.

Book Review | The Syndicate by Sophie Davis

Title: The Syndicate
Author: Sophie Davis
Publication: March 1st 2016 by Sophie Davis Books
Series: Timewaves Book One
Pages: 586
Genre: Young Adult; Time-Travel
Copy: Gifted in exchange for an honest review
Summary: In a future where time travel has been outlawed, a black market exists for anyone with the money, connections, and nerve to request items from days past. As a Runner for one of the underground syndicates that now controls the timewaves, Stassi 2446-89 has seen it all: the fall of Rome, the rise of Hitler, the end of democracy, the establishment of time tourism, and the devastating consequences of it. Her job is to seamlessly slip through the past, in search of items of value to the syndicate's clientele.  Stassi's next assignment takes her to Paris in the 1920’s, in search of a lost manuscript by one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. She and her partner, Gaige, are swept up in the City of Light during the height of fashion and culture—as alluring a locale as they’ve ever visited. But a seedier side of life lurks beneath the glamorous façade, and the pair quickly learns this run is more dangerous than any of their previous missions.  Because history isn’t playing out as it should be—a first for the syndicate. When the stakes are raised and it becomes a matter of life or death, Stassi and Gaige must ultimately decide how far they’re willing to go to ensure the future as they know it.

Book Review | The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa

Title: The Vanishing Girl
Author: Laura Thalassa
Publication: March 15th 2014 by Lavabrook Publishing Group
Series: The Vanishing Girl #1
Pages: 338
Genre: New Adult, Sci-Fi
Copy: Bought, Signed
Summary: Every night after Ember Pierce falls asleep, she disappears. She can teleport anywhere in the world—London, Paris, her crush’s bedroom—wherever her dreams lead her. Ten minutes is all she gets, and once time’s up, she returns to her bed. It's a secret she’s successfully kept for the last five years. But now someone knows.

A week after her eighteenth birthday, when frustratingly handsome Caden Hawthorne captures her, delivers her to the government, and then disappears before her eyes, Ember realizes two things: One, she is not alone. And two, people like her—teleporters—are being used as weapons. Dragged off to a remote facility where others like her live, Ember’s forced to pair up with her former captor, Caden, to learn how to survive inside until she can escape. Only Caden’s making escape seem less and less appealing.

But even as Ember falls for the boy who got her into this mess, she knows that she is running out of time. Because the government has plans for those like her, and those plans might just cost Ember her life.

Book Rec | These Broken Stars

Okay, first of all: just look at this cover.  I mean, come on.

I've been hearing about this book for a while, so when I saw it in our school library, I decided it was a sign that I just had to read it.   And I'm glad I did.  I found myself completely swept up in the story by the first page, and I finished the entire book in one shot.  The story is unique, and the characters are as relatable as they are lovable. I instantly fell in love them (even though Lilac did irk me a little bit in the beginning).

If you're looking for a little sci-fi & romance, and a lot of sarcasm, you need to pick this book up!

Find more information on Goodreads or Amazon.

Inherit the Stars | Review

Info:

Book 1 in series

Copy- provided by Running Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Publication- December 8th 2015 by Running Press Kids

Synopsis:

Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren's life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?

Author Tessa Elwood's debut series is an epic romance at heart, set against a mine field of political machinations, space adventure, and deep-seeded family loyalties.