I generally prefer stories where the character building is as important as the plot, and unfortunately this one was so focused on moving the plot forward as fast as possible that we don't really get to know any of the characters other than Hwa Young.

THOUGHTS

What an upsetting read. I really wanted to like this. I've been craving some good sci-fi. And while this book definitely has the bones to set up something amazing, the execution leaves it far from satisfactory. I just felt deflated by the end.


PROS
Space Invaders: The one good thing about this book is that it is well and truly sci-fi. If you're on the lookout for epic space battles, Yoon Ha Lee definitely delivers on that front. And in a world with a definite lack of new science fiction, I really appreciate that.

Messy Loyalty: I really appreciate, too, the layers of complexity added by Hwa Young's messy identity. She's a clanner at heart. That's what she was raised to be. That's where her first loyalty can be found, but... She hasn't been a clanner in years. She was raised by the Empire to be a good and loyal soldier, and as much as she misses the family that was taken from her, she isn't unhappy in her new life. In fact, she wants to rise among the ranks, to prove herself in this new identity. And that sort of underlying tension, a clashing of who she was and who she wants to be, adds an essential element to this plot that would otherwise have been much more generic.

Good Ideas: Even though the ultimate execution here fell short for me, I do think some of the sci-fi elements are really cool ideas. I love the Empire's colony ships, ready and able to transform from space vessel to earthbound housing unit as quickly as possible. Of course a colonial empire would have nailed a deconstructive sort of technology like this. This and other elements really do come alive throughout the book, and I can appreciate that, at least: the elements here, the science and tech of it all, are really very cool.


CONS
Neo Trickery: I'm all for experimenting with neo pronouns. I think we need to test them out in fiction, after all, to figure out how they can and do work in language (or, conversely, how they don't work, given whatever scenario). So I appreciate Yoon Ha Lee's effort here to include neo pronouns in the worldbuilding, but... it didn't quite work for me. They're so abundant, first of all, that this representation felt a little over-represented. And sometimes the utilization felt grammatically inconsistent. I had to stumble over passages where the pronouns didn't actually make sense, and that's never a good thing. Of course, I read an uncorrected ARC, so things may change before final publication. I can only hope a layer of polish makes it to the page. In my ARC, it was a little difficult to read.

Repetition: This book isn't very long. Which isn't a problem in and of itself. But with the amount of narrative repetition that goes on here, it really felt excruciatingly short. There's a certain amount of trust authors and editors have to lend readers, and that trust was not extended here. I should be able to remember what happened in the first chapter well enough that I don't need a reminder in, you know, Chapter 2. In such a short novel, the rehashing of events was just too much. I know readers can get lost, but save that recollecting for the end of your epic tome, not chapter after chapter after chapter in your short sci-fi piece. Respect your readers more than that. They don't need their hands held.

Payoff Where?: With the length (and the repetition), this book really was too short for its own good. There just wasn't enough time for these characters to develop, to bond, to grow. I just didn't get to spend enough time with Hwa Young to really care about her. Which is super unfortunate, considering some of the major plot points at the climax of this book depend on readers actually caring about the main character(s). Because I didn't care--because I wasn't invested enough--this whole climax felt a little boring, to be honest. There wasn't enough history. There wasn't enough groundwork. I just couldn't be bothered to care.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐
3/10
Fans of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game will like the subtle machinations of these epic space battles. Those who enjoyed the science-fantasy blend found in N.E. Davenport's The Blood Trials will like this world of uncertain gravity and vitally-necessary imperial loyalty.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me. I found the prose on the clunky side, and felt like I was constantly being bombarded with names and information at rapid speed. I liked the concept of the story but found that I just couldn't get into it.

I don't generally like to leave reviews for books that I didn't finish, but I want to mention why I don't want to finish it and tell people why they may be interested in it.

So, I initially picked this up because I love mecha books. I loved Iron Widow and growing up I watched Gundam with a fervor that was probably unhealthy, however, this didn't quite recapture the magic of those moments for me as an adult and nothing probably ever will. This book I think is going to be excellent for young adult readers who love space operas and mecha like I did growing up, however, this is not going to be a crossover darling. The characters are not nuanced enough. Hwa Young is a fine protagonist, but I feel like she should be more conflicted from the very beginning of the story. I know the idea of survival and what you will do for it, but I still feel like she was old enough when she was orphaned that she should have a more rebellious streak. Bae felt very much just like a mean popular girl and most of the other characters felt quite flat.

However, one of the things that I think that Yoon Ha Lee does well is set up a world. I'm interested in the world and I want to know more, but I want to know about it in an adult science fiction type of way. I also want to give credit for Lee's queernormative worlds. Young non-binary readers will probably find some comfort here and in other works by Lee. Also, some of the non-binary characters use neopronouns, which are popping up more and more often in literature and that's great. It may take readers unfamiliar with them a little time, but this generally wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC of this novel, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thoughts when I first finished this book: Disappointed
Thoughts after about a week finishing this book: Still disappointed

The plot: an orphaned girl because of war that feels the need to prove herself to those who destroyed her home in a military/space academy, who becomes the "special" one. Also has a friend who comes from privilege and is a nerdy engineer. SHOCKER, there's a plot twist, that well read readers will most likely see coming a mile away. Oh yes, throw in enemies to friends, and a peer that they feel some type of undefined stirrings for.

When reviewing this book, I need to keep in mind that Moonstorm is considered Young Adult, and the level of reading and content is going to be different than Adult literature. I cannot recall immediately if there was a disclaimer about pronouns, but it took a while for this reader to get into the swing of the use of the pronouns used in the book. Don't get me wrong, use what pronouns you want, that's all fine and dandy. However, there were times where it felt stopped the flow of reading. I want to say there was something that I liked about this book, but it's hard to find anything. Ah, I will say that I did enjoy the descriptions of the fighting scenes. It ends right about there. It reminded me of The Poppy Wars LITE if it took place in space, minus the gore, sexual assault/rape, and make it PG.

Thank you to Netgalley, and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for allowing me to read this ARC for an honest review. I hope that the this series is successful.

This review will be shared on Goodreads, Instagram and Storygraph.

I really loved the sci-fi world-building of this book. I wanted a little bit more clarification toward the beginning - instead of the requisite information dump mistake that most other authors make, I felt that this book started without enough explanation of the world in the beginning. However, this issue did not impact my reading very much because I was able to figure things out later on; it was nice that the world-building was logical in that sense.

My favorite character was probably Bae, but I was left wanting some more depth from her characterization. I always appreciate some top-of-the-class queen-bee trope in any form, but I thought that there could have been a lot more emotional investment along the way. She felt too predictable at times, while other aspects felt completely glossed over. However, I can also see more characterization coming along in the sequel to this book, so I'm not entirely upset about the character depth as long as there is more as we go.

Overall, I enjoyed the way this book was written as a cultural and scientific blend; I could see Korean culture melding really well with the interplanetary world. My biggest issue was that, like with Bae's character, the book felt like it was building too much into a sequel; the cutoff of the book as a whole felt like it should have been the end of the first act of the story, rather than the entire story for the time being.

Embark on an exhilarating sci-fi adventure following the journey of a teenage girl, Hwa Young, determined to become an Imperial pilot. Formerly a resident of a rebel moon home, Hwa Young dreams of joining the elite group of warriors known as lancer pilots, who engage in battles using advanced technology. A sudden attack on their boarding school fast-tracks Hwa Young and her classmates into intensive lancer training, where amidst the chaos of combat preparations, layers of intrigue and secrets unravel.

As Hwa Young navigates this labyrinth of conspiracies, she becomes entangled in a web that threatens the stability of their entire civilization. The journey forces her to confront the remnants of her insurgent roots, weighing them against an empire whose loyalty she begins to question. This adrenaline-fueled story, perfect for readers of all ages, will captivate fans of "Iron Widow" and "Skyward."

My sincere thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of the book for an unbiased review.

In a world dominated by Imperial power, the central question emerges: conform or fight? In a captivating twist of the genre, Hwa Young, once born a rebel, now finds herself fighting for the Imperial forces. As she advances on her path to becoming a pilot, a startling truth threatens to upheave her entire life. Desperation guides Hwa Young's actions, yet the rebel-blooded girl is faced with unanswered questions that challenge her allegiance.

For those enchanted by galaxy-spanning battles for the greater good, coming-of-age narratives, and tales of rebellions, this is the book to delve into.

I deeply enjoyed this book! Moonstorm is a fantastic bit of Gaysian Mecha scifi, and does a fantastic job of setting up expectations and delivering on them. While I do wish it was longer and that we’d gotten more exploration of the world and story, what we were given was still excellently written and incredibly enjoyable. Furthermore, while I wish there had been more of it to read and wish the author had perhaps been more creative with some plot points, for the intended audience of middle-younger high schoolers this book is absolutely perfect. I recommend it for anyone.

The cover on this book is absolutely stunning--I really like it. I enjoyed the meat of the story, though I did have a couple of overarching issues with it. The world-building is really well done and I loved visualizing all of the factions and the planets. I do wish we got more time to stew in all of this awesome world-building, though--this is one of those rare reads where I honestly think the pacing could have applied the breaks a bit. I also was left wanting more from the characters. The characters all seemed to fill a specific character archetype, but didn't develop much past that. I also didn't really mesh with out main character so that probably made getting through the story a little harder. I'm all for flawed and unlikeable characters, but only if their motivations are really compelling or the story built around them is compelling/supports they moral greyness.

I still enjoyed this, though, but it definitely had it's flaws. I'm excited to get physical copies of this in at my library--I hope my patrons get sucked in by the cool cover and synopsis.

Yoon Ha Lee has written several amazing sci-fi/space opera series, so I was excited to give their newest book a try. While I didn't like it as much as his other series, it was fun to see a slightly different take, with a focus more on mechas and conspiracies. I liked the setup, the first chapter really grabbed me, but as the book goes on, I found the plot less and less compelling, until near the end when there was a bit of a twist. I did however, really like the characters, the mc is great and her relationships with other characters was interesting. The middle of the book tended to drag a bit, with a lot of the same happening and not much progress being made. However, the ending was great and i'm interested in reading a sequel if we get one.

2.75

I was super excited to dive into Moonstorm as it is in a genre that I don't tend to read much of and while I did enjoy my time with Moonstorm, many aspects of it were a letdown.

To get started, we are introduced to our main character Hwa Young as her home, a rebel clanner moon is getting attacked by the Empire. Left the sole survivor of this attack, Hwa Young is taken in by the Empire where she dreams of becoming Lancer pilot. We then follow Hwa Young as she takes steps to achieve this goal.

The world-building was my favorite part of the book. We are introduced to two opposing sides in this universe, the Empire and the rebels (clanners) who are at war. Since our main character lives with both sides at one point or another we get an inside look at each culture which I found super interesting. This left me wanting to know more about the technology and customs of the Empire and clanners.

Moonstorm is incredibly fast-paced. Once it got started it did not look back. While I am all for a fun fast-paced book, Moonstorm could have benefited from hitting the breaks every so often (especially the beginning).

My biggest problem with this book was the characters. I am a big fan of well developed characters and Moonstorm did not deliver in this aspect. The main cast of characters felt like character archetypes to me which fell flat. Hwa Young as the main character was not very likable albeit it is nice to see her being very flawed.

Overall it was a fun read, but did not leave a big impression on me. I probably won't be picking up the second book, but for those who like space operas and mecha, this is down your alley.

While I am, on the whole, a fan of fast-paced books, Moonstorm would have benefited from applying the brakes now and again.

Life in the Moonstorm is a chancy thing. Gravity is mercurial and the moons’ orbits erratic. It’s home to two very different groups: the Empire of New Joseon and the Clanners. New Joseon’s colonial ambitions threaten the autonomy of the various clans that remain outside of the imperial domain. The Empire and the clanners each have developed rituals to summon gravity. Imperial citizens pray to the Empress and generate gravity via their piety, while clanners … huh. Yeah, that’s one of the things that could have been more fully developed—how, exactly, do the clanners summon gravity?

Anyway! Hwa Young, born Hwajin, is the heart-daughter (clone) of Mother Aera, a clanners, and lives with her family on the moon of Carnelian. When she is ten years old, the Empire attacks the moon, disrupting gravity and killing the clanners. Hwa Young is the sole survivor, rescued by the pilot of one of the machines that orchestrated all of this destruction: a Lancer.

Lancers are mechas: machines piloted by humans via a neural bond. Each Lancer has a consciousness and a personality, and they select their human pilots. Ever since her rescue, Hwa Young has coveted the power that comes from being a Lancer pilot. Raised as a ward of the Empire, she’s striven to excel in every way so that she might be considered as a pilot candidate. She has a rival named Bae who is rich (of course), snobby (required), and beautiful (natch). Her only friend is the hacker Geum, and honestly, with what you see of Hwa Young’s personality? I’m shocked she has Geum.

There are unlikeable main characters and then there are unlikeably unlikeable main characters, and unfortunately Hwa Young is the latter. She ditches Geum and then gets mad that zie’s made new friends. She manipulates Geum into committing multiple crimes with little care for the consequences. She is repeatedly and willfully insubordinate, but then has the gall to be shocked that her superiors aren’t too pleased with her actions. That’s her whole personality. The book tries to set up an inner conflict between her loyalty to her clanner upbringing and her devotion to the Empire that took her in, but really, there’s never truly a question of which side she’ll choose.

The side characters are flat archetypes that add nothing to the story. We have Eun, the brooding and cold-hearted veteran Lancer pilot. Commander Ye Jun is the brilliant, renegade squadron leader with a penchant for unorthodox maneuvers. Seong Su is the kind-hearted giant. Bae is the snide and aloof nemesis. I pegged one of them instantly for “first squad mate to be killed off” and was vindicated about halfway through the book. Sigh.

The main missed opportunity here are the Lancers themselves. We get a brief description of them in the first chapter: three-story tall humanoids with armored plating in bright colors. Later, we learn that they choose their pilots and form a neural bond with them. Pilots physically reflect the characteristics of their Lancers. Hwa Young, for example, gets a cool white streak in her hair that’s mentioned once and then just … dropped. We hear snippets of her Lancer’s voice but it never becomes a true character. I can’t truly visualize how her Lancer works, how it moves in space, how it fights.

Don’t get me wrong—I did enjoy this. It’s a good book, but it could have been great had more time been taken fleshing out all of the characters and fine-tuning the world building.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

This story was so fast paced my head was spinning at certain points. However I am a sucker for Asian centered stories. This book was promising and I enjoyed reading it. But I felt that it could benefit from a slower pacing. The world building was rich and the characters well rounded. I just feel like I spent so much time trying to catch up to the pacing.

In a society where conformity is valued above all else, a teen girl training to become an Imperial pilot is forced to return to her rebel roots to save her world in this adrenaline-fueled sci-fi adventure—perfect for fans of Iron Widow and Skyward!

Fantastic Y.A. sci-fi that reminded me of Iron Widow in the best way. I felt very pumped up when I finished reading it.

Thank you to netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for allowing me to read this book. I'm not a big sci-fi fan but this book changed my mind.

I really enjoyed how good the sci-fi adventure was in this. The characters felt like they belonged in this world and going through the adventure. It had a strong overall feel and I enjoyed going on this adventure with them. Yoon Ha Lee writes a great story and I enjoyed everything overall. I enjoyed how good the cover worked with this story and glad I read this.

*An advanced digital copy was received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*

Preface: After reading a quick synopsis of this book, I was super excited to get a chance to read it early. A sci-fi based Korean society with giant mechs: it is a little outside of my comfort zone regarding genre, but I was pleasantly surprised with the book. I think this book is great for fans of Aurora Rising and Iron Widow.

Quick Synopsis: An orphaned teenage girl is training to fulfill her dream of becoming an Imperial pilot for the empire that took her in, but because of an unexpected attack on her academy, her world is uprooted. She is plunged back into the world of her rebel roots and unlocks secrets and hidden truths that puts the entire world at risk.

I want to start the review by saying that I think the world building is very strong and captivating. We start the book learning about the two sides of this world, the Imperials ruled by the Empress, and the rebels. Both sides do rituals that summon gravity, which is important because the gravity is unstable. Naturally, both sides can't mix (regarding their rituals), so the Imperials main aim was to replace the rebels (clanners') rituals with their own.
As the story progresses we also get to see more of how the technology works and adapts to each user. I think this is really quite interesting, and love how this sci-fi is society being mixed with Korean. There's still so much to explore, and I'm particularly interested in learning more about the Empress and New Joseon.

Characters:
The main character is Hwa Young, a sixteen year old girl. She is very ambitious in that her goal is to become a lancer pilot. Lance pilots are elite warriors who fly lancers - advanced technology in the form of giant martial robots. She doesn't want to be weak anymore and wants to be the strong one. As we progress with her through her adventure we really get the chance to see her relationships with other characters, and herself.

What I really liked about this book, was that it was written in her point of view, as a sixteen year old girl. She's not perfect, but rather is learning things just as we all had to do when we were that age. I think it was really refreshing to read a character that had flaws, and didn't completely know what she is doing. The cast of lancers really is a ragtag group trying to navigate how they work together all while trying to morally choose a side in the fight.

Strengths and Weaknesses:
I really think the characters and their development is the strongest aspect of this book, as well as the world building. The author had a very unique writing style, and stayed true to the main character's sixteen year old personality. The action sequences were really exciting to read and kept me on my toes.
One thing I do wish was that the book was a little slower paced at the beginning. There were the parallels between chapters 1 and 5, which gave us a great chance to see Hwa Young's ten year growth. However, it felt a bit too abrupt and perfect when she was selected to train as a lancer pilot. It just felt like the ball was rolling very quickly for me in those first few chapters.
I also think the book had some cliche elements that I've seen in other sci fi books and movies. Leaning more into the Korean culture might be a more interesting way to make this stand out a bit more.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, and felt refreshed with the author's writing and character building. It really is a perfect book if you're a fan of Iron Widow and the Aurora Rising series. Excited to see where the next book might go!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

In a world dominated by an Imperial power, would you conform or fight?

In a beautiful twist of the genre, main character Hwa Young, born a rebel, now fights for Imperial forces. As she continues her journey to becoming a pilot, she is faced with a truth that might upend her entire life. Desperation lines Hwa Young's actions, but is desperation enough for the rebel-blooded girl to ignore all of her questions that are going unanswered?

This is THE book to read if you're entranced with galaxy-level fights for the greater good, coming of age stories, and rebellions.