Starwswept by Mary Fan is a romance science-fiction that blew me away and stole my heart. It is not without its weaknesses; however, there are numerous strengths found in the author's characters as well as her world-building that more than make up for them.

Iris Lei, in particular, is the heart of this story. She is a young violist who holds a deep love for the arts. Music is her passion and despite the restrictive laws of Papilio (the performing arts school in which she resides), Iris finds great joy in creating music with her prized instrument. Iris is a fantastic character in the way she holds the performing arts in such high regard and also how she allows music to be an integral part of her identity. She is also a hopeless romantic and her fancies are both innocent and naïve, though she frequently acknowledges this.

In my opinion, Iris is very relatable as a young protagonist and is also very self-aware. She knows when she is being foolish and she also knows when she is in the right. Despite being fairly perceptive, she still makes mistakes and can be quite reckless in her actions. A few of her decisions were frustrating and impractical, but I suppose that can be a testament to her personality type. By the end, she proves to be extremely courageous and I very much appreciate how much her character evolves and changes for the better throughout the story. 

Despite Iris and her amazing character, I wasn't fully accepting of the romance, mostly because the love interest, Dámiul, is absent (in body) for the majority of the story. And when he was present (holographically present) he displayed traits that were quintessentially nice and well-meaning. Even though we see more of Dámiul in the end, I'm not sure he completely stands out as a character. Because of this, I can't really understand Iris's infatuation with him. Also, their love story is along the lines of insta-love, which usually bothers me; but because their developing relationship is so sweet and beautifully written, I could almost forgive an instant connection this time around.

While the romantic relationship between an Earthling and an Adryil is the main focus of the story, Fan also touches on various political topics concerning governmental control and international (or intergalactic) relations, as well as human trafficking and slavery. The story delves into something much more dark and serious as the story goes on, and the author does well to build up this tension and suspense, which eventually leads to a heavy moment of realization for Iris. 

As for the writing itself, Mary Fan skillfully demonstrates her knowledge of music through her lyrical descriptions and fluid prose. Instrumental music and dance are forms of non-verbal expression and the author manages to capture the essence of music through enchanting passages and vivid details. Her world-building is fairly strong, especially in her descriptions of Adrye; however, the setting felt somewhat limited. I really wanted to see more of future Earth. The first part of the story takes place in Papilio and the surrounding neighborhood, but not much else helps me to believe there is anything else outside of that little area. 

Besides those few issues, I greatly enjoyed this book. The romance was sweet if not a bit immediate, Iris Lei was a fantastic female protagonist, the writing and world-building were strong, and the political aspect of the story was well-developed. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger in that it didn't really resolve any problems other than Iris and Dámiul's relationship, but at least the ending implies that something much more dangerous is about to take place. I can't wait to see how this story ends.

The concept of an interstellar connection is a fascinating one. What would happen if Earth made contact with some alien race? To be honest, I don't think it would go all that well and, behind the facade of Papilio, it looks like I would be right in this futuristic world.

I wanted to like this story and for a little while I did, but the inconsistent pacing made it difficult to truly connect with any of the characters. The first quarter of the book was alright, if a bit bland. Between it and the second quarter of the book, there were things happening that I could tell were meant to be suspenseful, but actually reading it never gave me that feeling.

The second half of the book, when things finally did start happening, felt convoluted and dull. I thought that being introduced to the alien world that everyone on Iris's Earth aspires to go to, Andrye, would be interesting, but it wasn't really delved into. There was enough description to place the reader alongside Iris, but aside from a view descriptions of ornate clothes and buildings, I didn't find anything special about this world. To me it lacked development.

There were some story points that weren't resolved that frustrated me. I could've seen if the resolution was put off until the end, but once I finished the book and found myself without answers, I was annoyed. For instance, when the story beings Estelle is a violist who is much higher ranked than Iris, yet seems to view her as a threat. This wasn't really explained, except for some other characters saying Iris was able to turn her personal feelings into musical arrangements. Her low ranking and this potential never meshed for me, nor did Estelle's suspicion of her.

Then there is the incident that catapults Iris into the sight of the Andrye citizens that become her patrons. The only reason she was able to perform a solo on that crucial night was because the person intended for it, Estelle, was poisoned and couldn't perform. However, the identity of the person that did this is never confirmed. Iris suspects that Estelle choked, but given what was revealed about her previously, I find that hard to believe. This whole occurrence felt like a deus ex-machina.

Once Iris is on the ship to Andrye, I noticed some inconsistencies with the telepathy that they're able to use. They should have been able to read a person's mind without question and yet before Iris puts up the mental block, the Andrye pilot can't figure out how she knows about the mechanics of their telepathy. It didn't make sense to me and made me question what were the real "rules" of this ability.

The love story components were dissatisfying. Iris reveals herself to be in love with Damiuel. This borderlines insta-love because they only communicated a dozen or so times before meeting in person and I never understood where her strong emotion or connection came it. It rang false; her friendship with Milo, someone she's know her whole life, would've made more sense despite her telling Damiuel she regarded him as a brother. Her actions said otherwise, hence my apprehension about her declaration to Damiuel.

The book ends on a cliffhanger of sorts. I don't think this book was billed as the first in a series of any length, so if it is indeed a standalone, I dislike the ending because there's a lot left open. The underground movement, for example, is still around. What happens to them? To their plans?

This book might satisfy those that enjoy a slower paced novel with a rather quickly developed love story. I personally didn't care for the mish-mosh of pacing, cardboard characters, and unanswered questions without indication of resolution.

4% (according to my kindle app)

Like: The setting being a music school in space

Why DNF? The info dump was heavy and I just was not engaged by it.

I just love reading SciFi novels. This is the first book by Mary Fan that I have read and I really liked her characters and her writing style. It feels as if this book needs a sequel so fingers crossed. I enjoyed imagining how the earth and all the "tech" stuff looked like.
If you are into SciFi please don't hesitate to read this book.
Thanks to Snowy Wings Publishing via Netgalley for the copy

Starswept by Mary Fan entices the reader into a world where questions are piled upon questions until they are finally answered. Sometimes all at once, sometimes through little inklings of Information.

The description included in the book details Starswept as "In 2157, the Adryil—an advanced race of telepathic humanoids—contacted Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. Born penniless, Iris’s one shot at a better life is to attract an Adryil patron. But only the best get hired, and competition is fierce.


A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but after the authorities arrest him for trespassing, the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her.


When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane. Then, she discovers that her visions of him are real—by way of telepathy—and soon finds herself lost in the kind of impossible love she depicts in her music.


But even as their bond deepens, Iris realizes that he’s hiding something from her—and it’s dangerous. Her quest for answers leads her past her sheltered world to a strange planet lightyears away, where she uncovers secrets about Earth’s alien allies that shatter everything she knows."

A chance encounter introduces Iris, a student at the Papilio School to Daimiul, an alien from the planet Adrye. Fan drags the reader in a confused journey with the main protagonist to figure out who this strange story, where he is from and whether he can be trusted at all.

A compelling read and a must-have for any science fiction lover!

Four Stars/Five Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some melodies reach across the stars.

In 2157, the Adryil—an advanced race of telepathic humanoids—contacted Earth. A century later, 15-year-old violist Iris Lei considers herself lucky to attend Papilio, a prestigious performing arts school powered by their technology. Born penniless, Iris’s one shot at a better life is to attract an Adryil patron. But only the best get hired, and competition is fierce.

A sudden encounter with an Adryil boy upends her world. Iris longs to learn about him and his faraway realm, but after the authorities arrest him for trespassing, the only evidence she has of his existence is the mysterious alien device he slipped to her.

When she starts hearing his voice in her head, she wonders if her world of backstabbing artists and pressure for perfection is driving her insane. Then, she discovers that her visions of him are real—by way of telepathy—and soon finds herself lost in the kind of impossible love she depicts in her music.

But even as their bond deepens, Iris realizes that he’s hiding something from her—and it’s dangerous. Her quest for answers leads her past her sheltered world to a strange planet lightyears away, where she uncovers secrets about Earth’s alien allies that shatter everything she knows.

I was blown away by this book. It started very slowly and I did wonder whether I was going to like it or not. But that soon changed. I loved Iris. She was able to look innocent and get away with things others couldn’t. I also loved Damiul. In fact I thought all the characters were very good – even the bad and not so good ones. Very well written and I was taken to new places (planets). I will recommend this book to everyone. 5*

I did not finish this book. The world building was pretty terrible, I was bored with the characters, and every time the MC talked about how hot her LI was (and it was a lot), I rolled my eyes. Not for me.

ARC Copy for review...Along for me it felt slow and dragging to start but when the actual truth is revealed "oh this is going to tense-interesting" Liken the arts motif and the premise of exploitation of the arts, and the artists themselves. The alien species themselves and their culture are intriguing. Including a language guide helps with the alien culture depth too.

Starswept Review: Get Swept Away Into A Romance Spanning the Stars

STARSWEPT is a romantic science fiction set in the distant future where aliens known as Adryil have communicated with Earth and are beginning steady relations with each other. Told from the first person present perspective of Iris Lei, a young violist who just wants to succeed and see her family together, STARSWEPT was an enjoyable read despite the familiar tropes that the story utilizes. The world-building is certainly very interesting, and I liked the way the author explores the competitive nature of Papilio School, where Iris attends, and the way it pits budding musicians and other performing artists against each other. The latter half of the story is much more action-packed than the first, as Iris has a chance to go on Adrye and discover that what she grew up believing in may not be as clear cut as she expected.

“It’s more than a school – it’s a nebula. Where stars form from undisciplined dust, where talented children transform into performers the Adryil fly across the unverse to see.”

In the beginning of the book, we’re introduced to Iris and her best friend, Milo, who is a dancer at Papilio School as well. I was a bit weary of the set-up of competitiveness at the performing arts school. Artists set out to be the highest ranked so they can be hired by an Adryil family who they will perform for the next couple of decades of their life. If they’re not ranked high enough and subsequently not hired, they fall down to the bottom of the hierarchy and live in lower socio-economic conditions. Iris is desperate to pull a stunt that’ll make her rank higher so she gets hired and can reunite with her mother on Adrye. Sure enough, this stunt happens and the second half of the book transports readers to another planet.

Iris’s stunning performance of the violin piece, Butterfly's Lament, that lands her a trip to Adrye is galvanized by her developing feelings of a mysterious Adryil boy, Dámiul, who she befriends through a device that makes him appear as a hologram. A big focus of the story, other than the story, is about their romance, but I couldn’t really get on board. There’s definitely an insta-attraction feeling with Iris, but she starts developing feelings for Dámiul as they start interacting with each other more and more. The only problem is that despite Dámiul’s interest to be with her, there are so many parts of his character that she doesn’t know about. He remains a mysterious and elusive alien while she reconciles her developing feelings with their hopeless situation.

“For some reason, I want to protect him. I don’t know him, yet I can’t bear the idea of those heartless machines taking him away.”

There are many familiar concepts that Fan utilizes in this book: forbidden romance, going against the system, a hidden rebellion, the Chosen One, among a few. But I think she tied in these elements nicely within STARSWEPT. The plot was constantly moving as Iris navigates her constantly changing life. While she is loyal and naïve at first, I felt like some things were handed to her too easily. She is talented with the violin but it isn’t until her feelings with Dámiul develops when she gives a stellar performance. At Adrye, she is guided and given an info-dump explanation through dialogue of the atrocities that are actually happening behind the scenes. There isn’t even a mention of her family after arriving on the planet. What I liked about the world the most is the fact that Iris grows to challenge the competitive system that she was born into and wants to do something about it. Other than that, it really blends in with many other secretive governments whose details are skimmed through on a superficial level.

“‘Papilians are obsessed with standing out, and in their efforts to be unique, they blend into each other. I want the same things as they do, but… I often feel like I don’t belong, either.’”

I think the reason why I just wasn’t on board with the romance is because I didn’t really see much of Dámiul as a character. Readers only get Iris’s point of view with him, so we see him either as a hologram with sweet actions or a small glimpse in the latter half of the story. Because he felt more cardboard than character, I didn’t really share Iris’s infatuated feelings. But I thought it was cute, nonetheless.

Overall, I liked STARSWEPT but it does carry familiar elements throughout the story. The ending only provides a resolution for Iris and her relationship with Dámiul, but not much else within the world or for the other characters. I’m pretty satisfied with it though, since I liken this more to a romantic science-fiction than anything else. I would say fans of stories with intergalactic romances like ALIENATED by Marissa Landers and AMID STARS AND DARKNESS by Chani Lynn Feener will enjoy this one as well! The overall plot and world is very easy to follow, and Iris’s adventure was a fun one to read. While I myself wasn’t a fan of the romance, I do think it would be great reading material nonetheless.

Starswept is a novel that should have blown me away: an East Asian protagonist, a far-flung future where humans and aliens co-exist, a tale about art and the people who are consumed by them. The book itself had a lot of potential, and I found the premise and world-building very interesting. Unfortunately, the execution of the plot left me largely dissatisfied, as it was weighed down by many tropes I personally dislike.

Iris Lei is a student of the prestigious performing arts academy, Papilio. In this alternate future, human artists have become highly sought after by an advanced race of sentient beings, the Adryil. While the Adryil have telepathic abilities and technological advances beyond humanity’s wildest imaginings, their people lacked the capacity to create. Papilio academy produces some of mankind’s most talented performers, and artists who manages to secure an Adryil patrons are rewarded with fame and riches. The trade-off is a militant and highly competitive environment within Papilio, where students alternate between fear and envy, or arrogance and self-doubt.

I found the book’s world building strongest while it remained within Papilio. I enjoyed seeing the interactions between the different students, along with the ingenious public ranking system through which they are graded. The book explored the student’s debts to the school in interesting ways, especially through stories of those who have either failed to obtain patrons or have simply surrendered against the exhausting routine of Papilio. Iris’s characterisation was also the most distinctive while she was in Papilio, the portrayal her constant insecurity and paranoia was particularly excellent.

What I disliked within the Papilio setting was the girl-on-girl antagonism. Although Papilio had students of all genders, Iris seemed to establish internal and external rivalry with only female characters. In one paragraph, she described a group of ballet dancers as ‘not quite human’ because of their thin physique. Her main rival at Papilio is a fellow viola player, Estelle – a ‘mean girl’ archetype with little depth. I wish the depiction of the rivalry within the school was a little more nuanced.

The weakest point of the novel lies within the book’s romantic plot. While I certainly understand the appeal of fictional beautiful and inhuman strangers, I felt detached from the romance between Iris and Damuil. Iris quickly became infatuated by him, and the text is littered with clichéd descriptors of his captivating eyes or sharp features. Their relationship is stilted and imbalanced. Like other Adryil, Damuil has the capability to read Iris’s mind as well as influence her thoughts and emotions. Within one of their first few encounters, he puts this ability to use – and while I found this as a gross invasion of her privacy and agency, the book was quick to excuse his actions. Given the true nature of the relationship between humans and Adryil, their romance made me incredibly uncomfortable, especially because the text did not explore the implication of this power imbalance.

I found that Starswept improved in the latter half of the novel, where the internal narration became less repetitive and the book tackled larger themes. There were also introduction of new female characters who were portrayed in positive light – and while their characterisation were underdeveloped – they were leagues ahead of the ‘mean girl’ trope employed earlier in the novel. The ending felt a little rushed and anticlimactic, but I found myself wanting to return to the world of Starswept.

In terms of diversity, I am glad to see a scifi with so much racial diversity. There is also a gay couple within this story, although they’re so peripheral to the plot it’s a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ inclusion. I found it odd that the aliens within this world, despite their technological advances and vastly different values, still upheld very traditional and outdated gender binary.

Overall, I felt Starswept had a lot of potential, and it is a universe that I would be happy to return to with future expansion on this book. However, this particular novel contained a few too many of my least favourite tropes for me to truly enjoy.

Maybe I'm feeling extra contemplative today, but Starswept is an incredibly deep book. I'm still kind of in post-exceptional-read shock, so I'm going to just give a summary of sorts of all that went on in these 400 pages of absolute genius.

Iris, our beloved MC earthling, lives for playing music. Without it, her life would be a heck of a lot harder, since the alien-but-human-like Adriyl value the arts so much that the music and dancing of Earth pave the way to success in life for humans, and success being an actual life. But only if you're insanely talented. If you can't claw your way to the best of the best, you're more or less screwed and in debt forever. She meets her first Adriyl, Dámiul, a charming but secretive teenage guy, who, via hologram, teaches her more than a couple of things, all while she fights her peers musically. Part II of the book, things spiral and Iris's world takes a bit of an 180. Classic "my life is a lie" stuff.

But back to the absolute genius part, because I'm not quite over it.

If I'm being honest, science fiction, although incredibly fascinating, isn't exactly my go-to genre, just because sometimes new worlds can give me a toned-down version of sensory overload. Starswept was absolutely worth it. I didn't get too caught up in trying to absorb all the politics of this fictional world, and the plot was irresistible.

PLOT. There was so much going on, particularly in the latter half of the book, and although I was marginally satisfied for select portions while reading, I kept on my toes. Insert other words that I can't seem to form because wow.

Character-wise, looking back, a lot of them had personality, but weren't all that complex. Even Iris. I do love my complicated characters, so it's a tad disappointing. The actual things happening did detract from them, and I guess it doesn't bother me too much because I got really involved in the plot.

Another abnormal thing is, I normally don't think too much about the deeper meanings of books I read for leisure for reasons I'd rather not dive into, but wow this book resonates with a deeper part of me, and I really didn't expect that it would.

The horrible things that the societies or subgroups accepted are absolutely terrifying and I feel like I'm more open-minded toward all that is going on in our world as well. Not to say that I'm more cynical, of course, because that's already a thing, but it's a little scary how much we don't know. How much people could be hiding. How much we could be missing. Hmmm.

Anywho, Starswept was the best read I've had in a while, so lots of thanks to Snowy Wings Publishing and Netgalley of course!

So, in the future, super hot aliens who look and are exactly like humans except for having telepathy and being super hot have made contact. They don't have Art (capital A) so they swap technology for human artists. This means that any potential Artists are inducted into schools to train and compete and hopefully with the patronage of a super hot alien. Failure to do so before your 21st birthday, means that you get sent away to live in poverty, washed up by the age at which some people are finally legally allowed to drink. Hmmm.

Protagonist, the requisite super shy, super talented, super doesn't know she's super pretty 15 (ugh) year old, meets super hot alien teen with a big secret and super hijinks ensue.

I have to admit that this one gave me a little trouble. There was so much potential in it, but it just lacked gracefulness. I was quite convinced that I was reading someone's first novel, until I noticed the sheer amount that Mary Fan has published.

For a while I wondered if I had finally outgrown YA. The fact that I spent half the book grumbling about the idiocy of 15 year olds making life changing, and (supposedly) society changing decisions. The fact that the Artists (capital A) in the book are expected to marry and have children BEFORE they turn 21 just makes me shake my head. Really? Like, really, really? Especially when the circumstances of their lives force them to leave behind children and spouses.

Then I remembered that while I am a grown ass woman, I am a grown ass woman who pre-orders and gets super excited about YA fiction.

There are interesting things to say about art, sorry Art, freedom, choice, etc, but clumsy writing, dropped subplots, and quite a bit of cheesiness let's Starswept down.

Reaching the end of the book and wondering where the rest of the story disappeared to was a bad sign.

It's okay, decent for what it is, which is a cheesy, romantic brain lolly. I'd read a sequel, but I wouldn't write the release date into my diary, and I'd wait for a library copy.