3.5/5 stars!

I will read absolutely anything by Marie Lu and as soon as I heard she was coming out with a new book I instantly had to get my hands on it!! Although this wasn't my favorite book by her I had so much fun reading it. A global teenage pop star and spy team up to save the world?? Count me in. This book was incredibly easy to read and super fast paced. I devoured the book in one sitting. I really liked the idea of the plot and the mission, although I felt the execution in certain parts fell a little flat. I also did enjoy the characters and think they hold a lot of potential for growth in the next book, however wished I got to see a little more chemistry and banter between the two. Having more of a connection with these characters would have made me feel more connected to the story and allowed the stakes to feel higher. All in all though I had a very fun time reading this book and I definitely have high hopes for the next one!

I was excited about this book the moment I heard about it. I have read most of Marie Lu's novels, and have enjoyed them all, so I had very high expectations of this one. It did not disappoint. Lu has a way of weaving romantic tropes into the story without them being too sweet and overpowering, and I loved that about this book. The secret agent/spy recruits a superstar to help with a mission aspect was super fun, and I enjoyed every second of this story. Forever waiting for the next Marie Lu book to add to my collection of favorites.

3.5 ⭐️

This was a fun concept a famous pop star Winter being thrown into a spy situation with a true spy Sidney.

It was a fast easy read and for YA I think it was perfect. This will be a fun one for younger audiences. The plot itself and how it was executed fell a bit flat for me. I found it to be repetitive at times. However there were definitely other points where it was edge of my seat.

I struggled with the characters and the matching in this book, I appreciate that the intended audience will enjoy the romance aspect of this book and I was looking forward to it as well. But for some reason I just couldn't get into this one. There were points of chemistry but then lost steam here and there,

I would recommend this book for highschool age and up. I think teens will love this book, it's fun spy undercover with low stakes.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites closer to Publishing date.

I adored this book! I loved Marie Lu's Legend series (and this is a great reminder to me to read her other series). I'm obsessed with Sydney & Winter and can't wait for book 2!

This was such a fun sci-fi novel. Often these dystopian novels can be great yet heavy and this was delightfully light while being action-packed.

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Press for letting me read this early.


You know when you consistently read an authors book and you’ve read everything that they have out. But the writing doesn’t change, the tropes are the same. This book was so frustrating, granted I know I’m not in the age demographic for this book and I know people will enjoy this but the writing was so cheesy and the main character was so flat and boring. I’m sorry an angsty teenage pop star? No thank you.

Fun, action-packed and romantic. A totally enjoyable spy/celebrity book. It will have your heart pumping, swooning and stressed. Winter Young is the type of tortured celebrity that I melt over and Sydney is resilient as the come. Together these two make a great duo and I am excited to see what missions they will go on next. If you are looking for a fast paced YA romantic thriller with a main character that will remind you of a cast member from BTS then strap in for a great ride. A fun-tastic book!

*3.75*

The plot of this book was actually really great and I was invested in it but I didn’t really feel for the characters. Them separately I think they were pretty good, Winter being my favorite. But them together I just thought “meh”. The writing is simple yet beautiful as always, that’s one thing I love about Marie Lu. Whenever I read one of her books I know I’ll enjoy that aspect of it.

3.5-4 stars. It took me a little bit to get into to the story, but then I was hooked. This was a good solid read with a little of everything--action, betrayel, romance. The plot was intriguing and played out well. I enjoyed the main characters and the depth, and even growth we see in them. I was wishing for a little more "together time" for Winter and Sydney. The story wrapped up nicely and left me happily anticipating book 2.

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu, the first novel in a new series, is a thrilling, action-packed, young adult novel. It’s a Mission: Impossible meets Hannah Montana story in all the best ways possible.

Superstar Winter Young has been recruited by The Panacea Group to help collect evidence to put away a notorious and brutal smuggler. He’s been paired with the bristly Agent Sydney Cossette in accomplishing the covert ruse. What danger will they encounter along the way? Was it a terrible idea to enlist a superstar rookie?

This novel was a thrill of a ride that I couldn’t put down. It’s quick paced and intriguing that will keep you guessing. The characters are complex and I think it will be very interesting to see it unfold in future books. Lu writes from both Sydney and Winter’s point of views. She also utilizes flashbacks to slowly unwind their pasts, which I thought paired well with the plot. The seemingly inevitable romance storyline in the novel was a delightful slow-burn.

Overall, I give this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Roaring Book Press (Macmillan) for providing this arc.

Winter and Sydney 🤩
Honestly, I loved the concept for this book - the premise of a spyXpopstar was intriguing and I loved both of the main characters interactions with one another
The plot was great - the twists throughout the story shocked me!
However, I do feel as though the blurb was slightly misleading as Winter and Sydney clearly had tension with each other from the start 🤐
Overall an entertaining story, would recommend it to those that enjoy a fast-paced read

Fun and quick YA read about celebrities and spies. Nothing about this book was surprising, but the ride was still entertaining. It's perfect for a low-stakes action read where you're fairly certain nothing too bad is going to happen -- that's the magic of YA, right?

The premise, pairing up a young spy with a teen idol, piqued my interest. I didn't see how that was really going to work with the story, but eventually it made sense. I loved the action sequences in this, especially toward the end, but the relationship between the two leads and all the band members were sorta so-so. I dunno, something about the interaction between all the characters felt off. Even the initial animosity between Sydney and Winter was both too cliched and resolved too easily. When their relationship started picking up steam, I wanted to shake them and yell, "Think about the mission!"

I don't want to spoil the ending, but I really like how it ended. The author could have gone the easy way with the ending, but I'm glad she didn't and that she ended it how she did. It felt more respectful to the characters.

This was my first Marie Lu and I was not disappointed! The vibe of this book was definitely The Bodyguard by Katherine Center with spies, and I absolutely ate every second of it up. I enjoyed that the majority of the book was from Winter's pov and that Winter was the stereotypical annoying celebrities that I feel like a lot of books do at first, and Sydney was so funny. BUT THE PINNING FOR EACH OTHER OMG. What truly kills me is that I'm going to have to wait over a year for the sequel. Thank you so much Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an ARC copy in exchange of an honest review.

Marie Lu took a new change of pace with this new novel, and I enjoyed it!

This is a spy novel with a romance mixed into the mix. Winter is a dynamic character. He is a pop star known and loved across the world. He is intelligent, gorgeous, and a perfect spy. I wish there had been more development about him learning his spy skills, but alas, the plot had to keep moving.

Speaking of the plot, it was okay. This is why I gave it a 3 star review. I enjoyed the thoughts and ideas of this book more than the actual book itself. The characters were great! The idea and concept is great! It will be a fun and effective series for young adult readers as well as adults, but the plot was just okay. I think Lu incorporated too many background pieces into the novel. I see these playing out over a series of books, but the reveal and plot of this one had a lot to be desired.

The romance was also a little meh. It wasn't really a will they, won't they, but more of when will they? It was a little spicier most young adult novels, but it was also not very spicy in the romance genre sense of the term.

Ultimately, it was a great premise, but had a lot to be desired.

I wanted to enjoy this but overall found the story, characters, and plot to be something not what I was longing for or one that I would pick back up.

This is why I have read every single book that Marie Lu has written. They are all just so damn good.

Stars and Smoke is the spy thriller we all need right now. Pulse-pounding escape. Layered exploration of childhood and family trauma. That made me cry. On more than one occasion. And one of the scariest villains in YA lit. Right up there with King Lek. And so many plot twists. One I saw coming. One I *definitely* did not. Whoo boy.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to review a digital copy of Stars and Smoke.
This was my first Marie Lu book, and I was interested in the summary after seeing it's a mix of The Hating Game and Mission Impossible. While I definitely got the Mission Impossible vibes while reading, unfortunately I don't see any similarities to The Hating Game...besides the 2 main characters working together loosely.
However, I did really enjoy the book and the Mission Impossible/secret agent vibes. Winter and Sydney/Ashley were complicated characters; I would not say they were likeable but they both had emotional backstories that drew me in and invested in them resolving their issues. I did not see all of the plot twists coming which I loved, but I guess looking back were kind of obvious. There was not a lot of romance to the story, and the characters do not have a HEA together, but the resolution was perfect and realistic.
I've seen there may be more books following Winter and Sydney on missions, and I would be interested in reading more, mainly for the mission than necessarily the characters.

I just reviewed Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu. #StarsandSmoke #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book, Marie Lu did a great job!

**Review will be published March 23rd on my site and socials**

LIKED BY THE END.

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The Hating Game tagline felt like a misnomer (so if someone can point out where that was, please let me know). But the Mission Impossible vibes were there at least! I like this trend of a more romantic comedy + suspense. It’s a mood I am here for.

There wasn’t as much romance as I was hoping for. Though the second half did a better job of adding to those elements. I would have loved to have seen them be able to connect more and not just about the job they were on. I liked both Sydney and Winter as standalone characters. There were some flashbacks that helped flesh out their personalities and I think there’s going to be some great development in book two for both of them.

The antagonist was painfully obvious so don’t expect to be surprised by necessarily that piece. Action wise, I definitely enjoyed those scenes. High intensity, not quite sure what was going to happen. Waiting for the next page kind of on edge.

I do have plans to read the next book and I’m curious to see what the next adventure will bring!

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romantic Suspense
- Language: very little
- Romance: make-outs
- Violence: med-high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: near death experiences, gun violence, kidnapping, poisoning, loss of a parent

An incredibly popular author but this book was accessible for those new to her work. Definitely YA Romance more than adult romance but there’s a need for stories like this

Marie Lu’s spy romance is thrilling and impossible to put down!

Lu gets creative with “Stars and Smoke,” drawing inspiration from famous celebrity secret agents throughout American history. In her fictional world, Winter Young is a global pop phenomenon that has been breaking records left and right. His rising star status catches the eye of the Panacea group—a private company hired out by the CIA to infiltrate criminal tycoon Eli Morrison’s security. Sydney Cossette, Panacea’s youngest spy, is chosen to be Winter’s partner while he charm’s Morrison’s daughter at her birthday party. She reluctantly shows him the ropes while pretending to be his bodyguard. But when things go wrong and their target becomes the lesser of two evils, they realize that something far more sinister is at play.

Lu goes to great lengths to immerse the reader in the high stakes environment associated with the Panacea group, which I appreciated. She creates cool gadgets for her characters, going into detail about what role they play in their mission, and walks the reader through Winter and Sydney’s necessary training.

I also absolutely loved being able to read from alternating perspectives! Winter and Sydney’s backstories made my heart ache, though I should have anticipated the feeling because Lu’s words often bring tears to my eyes. In Winter’s case, all he wants is to be loved after living his whole life believing that he is unwanted. Sydney wants to put the years of abuse behind her and find the place where she belongs. Both characters seemed to be lost souls unsure of their place in the world until they met each other. I loved watching the two barely tolerate each other at the beginning of the novel, bickering the first chance they could get. However, the more they fought, the harder they fell for each other and their forbidden romance tugged at my heartstrings.

I cannot wait for Sydney and Winter to reunite in the next serial standalone!