Reviews

Devil In The Device by Lora Beth Johnson

*Spoiler free*

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Thank you so much to Razorbill and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Zhade’s power might be going to his head. He’s still getting used to wearing Maret’s face, but he can’t deny that the influence it affords him has its perks. But when the magic of Eerensed starts to turn deadly, Zhade must master the Crown if he’s going to save his people, and Tsurina’s destructive plans for Eerensed aren’t going to make that easy. Worse, he’s starting to see her point. Meanwhile, Andra is in hiding. Assumed dead by the people of Eerensed, she must stay underground if she’s going to live long enough to build the rocket that will finally save the colonists from this dying planet. But when Andra hears voices urging her to destroy everything, she starts to dig deeper into her subconcious. What she finds leads her to question whether she’s destined to be a savior after all. Battling the dangerous forces buried within their minds, can Andra and Zhade truly decide their own fates? They must find a way to work together before two power-hungry leaders and a deadly swarm of rogue technology destroy humanity for good.

It’s no secret that I am a huge, huge fan of Goddess In The Machine. It even became one of my favorite books. So, of course I was looking forward to the sequel. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I wanted to know what new twists there would be. I wanted to know how this story was going to end. Trigger warnings: grief, alcohol

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Reviews

A Conspiracy Of Stars by Olivia A. Cole

*Spoiler free*

Octavia has only ever had one goal: to follow in the footsteps of her parents and become a prestigious whitecoat, one of the scientists who study the natural wonders of Faloiv. The secrets of the jungle’s exotic plants and animals are protected fiercely in the labs by the Council of N’Terra, so when the rules suddenly change, allowing students inside, Octavia should be overjoyed. But something isn’t right. The newly elected leader of the Council has some extremist views about the way he believes N’Terra should be run, and he’s influencing others to follow him. When Octavia witnesses one of the Faloii—the indigenous people of Faloiv—attacked in front of her in the dark of night, she knows the Council is hiding something. They are living in separate worlds on a shared planet, and their fragile peace may soon turn into an all-out war. With the help of Rondo, a quiet boy in class with a skill for hacking, and her inquisitive best friend, Alma, Octavia is set on a collision course to discover the secrets behind the history she’s been taught, the science she’s lived by, and the truth about her family.


I discovered this book by the cover of the sequel. Yes, I know that’s weird, but sequel cover just has something about it that draws me in. So, of course I wanted to check out the first book. On top of that, one of my friends absolutely raves about this book, and I trust her judgment. And it’s about a girl wanting to follow in her parents footsteps: become a scientist and discover more about the planet she lives on. A planet full of exotic plans and animals. But, people in charge have dangerous ideas about how the world should run. And those ideas turn into dangerous actions. It sounded incredible intriguing and I was eager to see what it was all about!

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Reviews

The One’s We’re Meant To Find by Joan He

*Spoiler free*

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Thank you so much to Roaring Brook Press and Edelweiss for the e-ARC!

Cee awoke on an abandoned island three years ago. With no idea of how she was marooned, she only has a rickety house, an old android, and a single memory: she has a sister, and Cee needs to find her. STEM prodigy Kasey wants escape from the science and home she once trusted. The eco-cities—Earth’s last unpolluted place—are meant to be sanctuary for those committed to planetary protection, but they’re populated by people willing to do anything for refuge, even lie. Now, she’ll have to decide if she’s ready to use science to help humanity, even though it failed the people who mattered most.

I mean, is anybody surprised that I was looking forward to this book with bated breath before I even knew it existed, basically the second I finished Descendent Of The Crane? It’s a Joan He book, of course I am going to want to read it. And the synopsis only heightened my urge to read it. One sister wakes on an abandoned island, and the other is a STEM prodigy living in a eco-city, one of the last unpolluted places on Earth. Cee needs to find Kasey, and Kasey wants to escape the city she is stuck in. I was very much looking forward to seeing what this book was all about. Trigger warnings: terminal illness, suicide, violence, death, death of parent (off page), vomiting, large scale natural disasters and mass casualties, some gore

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Reviews

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

*Spoiler free*

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Thank you so much to Feiwel Friends and Edelweiss for the e-ARC!

The shadow of Godolia’s tyrannical rule is spreading, aided by their giant mechanized weapons known as Windups. War and oppression are everyday constants for the people of the Badlands, who live under the thumb of their cruel Godolia overlords. Eris Shindanai is a Gearbreaker, a brash young rebel who specializes in taking down Windups from the inside. When one of her missions goes awry and she finds herself in a Godolia prison, Eris meets Sona Steelcrest, a cybernetically enhanced Windup pilot. At first Eris sees Sona as her mortal enemy, but Sona has a secret: She has intentionally infiltrated the Windup program to destroy Godolia from within. As the clock ticks down to their deadliest mission yet, a direct attack to end Godolia’s reign once and for all, Eris and Sona grow closer—as comrades, friends, and perhaps something more…

I mean, a sci-fi with a title like Gearbreakers was enough to rope me in and shoot this book straight up my list of anticipated list. Plus, the author seems totally badass, so I was incredibly intrigued to see what kinds of book she would produce. Giant robots, rebels, taking down a tyrannical rule from the inside. Oh yeah, that sounded like a book I wanted to read. Trigger warnings: torture, grief, blood

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Reviews

Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer

*Spoiler free*

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Thank you so much to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for the e-ARC!

Alyssa Farshot has spent her whole life trying to outrun her family legacy. Her mother sacrificed everything to bring peace to the quadrant, and her uncle has successfully ruled as emperor for decades. But the last thing Alyssa wants is to follow in their footsteps as the next in line for the throne. Why would she choose to be trapped in a palace when she could be having wild adventures exploring a thousand-and-one planets in her own ship? But when Alyssa’s uncle becomes gravely ill, his dying wish surprises the entire galaxy. Instead of naming her as his successor, he calls for a crownchase, the first in seven centuries. Representatives from each of the empire’s prime families—including Alyssa—are thrown into a race to find the royal seal, which has been hidden somewhere in the empire. The first to find the seal wins the throne. Alyssa’s experience as an explorer makes her the favorite to win the crown she never wanted. And though she doesn’t want to be empress, her duty to her uncle compels her to participate in this one last epic adventure. But when the chase turns deadly, it’s clear that more than just the fate of the empire is at stake. Alyssa is on her most important quest yet—and only time will tell if she’ll survive it.

A sci-fi book with a race that spans across its galaxy. Once again, I was drawn to a book simply by a few key things. But seriously, this book is about a reluctant girl competing in a race through the cosmos to find a seal on one planet out of 1,001. And the winner is crowned Emperor. Oh, the race also turns deadly. My sci-fi loving heart was ready for this book. Trigger warnings: alcohol use, blood/gore, death/loss of a loved one, emotional withholding from a parental figure, murder, guilt and trauma, science fiction-related violence (i.e., blasters, spaceship battles, etc.)

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Reviews

Goddess In The Machine by Lora Beth Johnson

*Spoiler free*

When Andra wakes up, she’s drowning. Not only that, but she’s in a hot, dirty cave, it’s the year 3102, and everyone keeps calling her Goddess. When Andra went into a cryonic sleep for a trip across the galaxy, she expected to wake up in a hundred years, not a thousand. Worst of all, the rest of the colonists–including her family and friends–are dead. They died centuries ago, and for some reason, their descendants think Andra’s a deity. She knows she’s nothing special, but she’ll play along if it means she can figure out why she was left in stasis and how to get back to Earth. Zhade, the exiled bastard prince of Eerensed, has other plans. Four years ago, the sleeping Goddess’s glass coffin disappeared from the palace, and Zhade devoted himself to finding it. Now he’s hoping the Goddess will be the key to taking his rightful place on the throne–if he can get her to play her part, that is. Because if his people realize she doesn’t actually have the power to save their dying planet, they’ll kill her. With a vicious monarch on the throne and a city tearing apart at the seams, Zhade and Andra might never be able to unlock the mystery of her fate, let alone find a way to unseat the king, especially since Zhade hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with Andra. And a thousand years from home, is there any way of knowing that Earth is better than the planet she’s woken to?

When I heard about a book where a girl wakes up 1,000 years late and she’s considered a goddess by the civilization around her. Technology is now considered magic and she’s be killed if the vicious ruler finds out she’s not actually a goddess. I sounded like a fantastic sci-fi book and I couldn’t wait to read it!

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Reviews

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

*Spoiler free, but spoilers for Aurora Rising*

First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first. Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces. And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri. Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted. When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV. Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.

I liked Aurora Rising a lot more than I thought I would. It had a fantastic rag tag crew dynamic. I managed to make that trope seem fresh and new through humor and characters you can’t help but fall hopelessly in love with. Plus, the plot was explosive and a lot creepier than I thought it was going to be. It had this darkness to it that I really liked. All this to say, I was definitely looking forward to the sequel! To see the characters again and to see where this world is going to go.

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Reviews

Eclipse The Skies by Maura Milan

*Spoiler free, but spoilers for Ignite The Stars*

Ia Cōcha never thought she’d be working for the Olympus Commonwealth. But that was before she found out her trusted brother Einn was trying to tear apart the universe. Now, Ia, the Blood Wolf of the Skies, has agreed to help the Royal Star Force on one condition: when she finds him, she gets to kill Einn herself. Brinn Tarver has just come to terms with her Tawny identity when the public lashes out against her people, crushing her family. At her breaking point, she starts to question everything she believes in—including Ia. After the death of his mentor, Knives Adams is doing his best to live up to a role he didn’t ask for as Aphelion’s new headmaster. Still, with each new step deeper into war, he feels torn between his duties and the pull of Ia’s radical—sometimes criminal—ideas. As they fight to keep darkness from eclipsing the skies, their unpredictable choices launch this breathtaking sequel to explosive new heights

Wow. I’ve been looking forward to this book since I finished Ignite The Stars. I loved Ignite The Stars a whole lot and I was really looking forward to seeing what path the sequel would take. It seemed like it could go in any direction. Maura has talked a lot about how it’s a lot darker than the first, and she definitely wasn’t lying. It’s very different from the first book, but no less fantastic.

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Reviews

Soul Of Stars by Ashley Poston

*Spoiler free, but spoilers Heart Of Iron*

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Once, Ana was an orphaned space outlaw. Then she was the Empress of the Iron Kingdom. Now, thought dead by most of the galaxy after she escaped from the dark AI program called the HIVE, Ana is desperate for a way to save Di from the HIVE’s evil clutches and take back her kingdom. Ana’s only option is to find Starbright, the one person who has hacked into the HIVE and lived to tell the tale. But when Ana’s desperation costs the crew of the Dossier a terrible price, Ana and her friends are sent spiraling through the most perilous reaches of the Iron Kingdom to stop the true arbiter of evil in her world: an ancient world-ending deity called the Great Dark. Their journey will take the sharp-witted pilot, Jax, to the home he never wanted to return to, and the dangerous fate he left behind. And when Robb finds out who Jax really is, he must contend with his own feelings for the boy he barely knows, and whether he truly belongs with this group of outcasts. When facing the worst odds, can Ana and her crew of misfits find a way to stop the Great Dark once and for all?

I can’t believe I got to read this book. Heart Of Iron became one of my favorite books when I read it. It’s a Anastasia retelling in space with robots and queer characters and such fantastic writing. My heart is basically bursting with love for this duology.

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Reviews

Tarnished Are The Stars by Rosiee Thor

*Spoiler free*

A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher’s chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog — donning the moniker Technician — to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner’s tyrannical laws. Nathaniel Fremont, the Commissioner’s son, has never had to fear the law. Determined to earn his father’s respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father’s elusive affection is worth chasing at all. Their game of cat and mouse takes an abrupt turn when Eliza, a skilled assassin and spy, arrives. Her mission is to learn the Commissioner’s secrets at any cost — even if it means betraying her own heart. When these uneasy allies discover the most dangerous secret of all, they must work together despite their differences and put an end to a deadly epidemic — before the Commissioner ends them first.

I’d seen the title of this book around before the cover was released and a lot of people seemed really excited for it. I didn’t know what it was about at all, so I sort of just let it sit on the outskirts of my radar. Then, my friends knocked some sense into me and made me find out what it’s actually about. Secret mechanical hearts, with queer characters sounded absolutely incredible and I definitely wanted to give it a shot. Trigger warnings: emotional and physical parental abuse, violence, blood

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