Our Dark Stars was written beautifully; there's no doubt about that. It isn't necessarily in my wheelhouse as much as I thought it might be, but I still really enjoyed the story overall. The plot, storyline, world building, and pacing is all pretty spot on. Anyone who loves SciFi fantasy will adore this book. I'm more Science Fiction, less fantasy, so that is where the disconnect was for me. But seriously brilliant writing.

3.75/5 stars! I definitely enjoyed reading Our Dark Stars - the premise intrigued me when I first came across it and the story did not disappoint. Science fiction and fantasy are two of my favourite genres and Our Dark Stars was a perfect mix of the two. The world building was mind blowing and totally perfect for me as I love to read about stories with interactions between humans and robots! There's royalty, rebellion, artificial intelligence and a hate to love romance which just completes the picture. I loved the characters and the fast pace of this story - I was never bored and finished the whole book in the matter of three hours because I could not stop turning the pages! I would have liked more romance and for the story to be slightly longer as I found that it ended too soon. I also wish the antagonist would have been introduced earlier as well to introduce more conflict and drama as that would have made the plot more thrilling in my opinion. Regardless, I would recommend this book to all readers if this sounds like your cup of tea :)

DNF at maybe 10 percent. I just thought this book was really boring and I couldn't get it. I don't know, there was something about it that just made me want to put it down.

I didn't absolutely love this book, but I didn't not like it either.

I'm going to try to break this down to explain my thoughts better because overall, I thought there was potential to do something really great here but it missed out on a little bit in the end which resulted in a bit of a superficial overlay for the entire story.

Our main character, Princess Talia Starchaser, is the future Sovereign of the Seven and has been given everything for the 18 years of her life. And I mean everything. She keeps mentioning in the beginning how she was safe from the media because of her age (she said it maybe 3 times in the first few chapters – oh how I hate senseless repetition) but is now being pawned off to marry one Prince Cassius, who is cruel and ruthless and if this guy had had one of those epic villainous story arcs, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot better but alas, no. And you wanna know why? Because upon Talia's daring act of betrayal (honestly, for someone who is so unsure about how she's acting, she can act pretty convincingly – so convincingly, in fact, that her family is killed because of it) she miraculously escapes the attack and spends a century in an elegant pod that no one has ever detected?

In this futuristic world, every person (it seems) is given a mock – basically a more high-tech Star Wars droid/cyborg – to be a companion. Well, a companion for those who treat them right; Talia thinks of her mock as her best friend, while others in the book think of them as nothing more than slaves. You see, mocks are unable to say no to a direct command of those of a higher rank (basically, you could tell it to injure itself and it would without hesitation.) This is where our story picks up; of course, in a world like this, there's a rebellion – between humanity and mocks (but only mocks who have the "virus" – or the ability to think for themselves and evolve based on their experiences). Talia publicly humiliates her family when her "future husband" tells her to make her mock, Ailat, to kill herself – Talia does such a great job at acting that not even the mock who grew up with her and knows her better than anyone can tell she's faking it.

And this is just Talia's chapters, mind you.

We still have Will Perrault to discuss.
For the main male character, you'd think I'd immediately like him. He was going to be the one to bring the romance into the story. Instead, I just got a lot of woeful "I want the Athena back," and "I'm a mock, not a flesher" (flesher = human, just a century after we first meet Talia, where the roles have reversed and humans are the ones auctioned off instead of mocks). But basically, Will is a flesher born, mock-made man and is basically just in denial for a lot of the book and then at the last second realises he's made a mistake. (Oh wow. How shocking.)

Honestly, I tried really hard to like both our main characters so much. I really, really did – but Talia was annoying, and wow I get it, you didn't really want to be a princess, you wanted to fly spaceships, but there was no real development. There was Talia A, at the beginning, and then Talia B, at the end. She'd lost her whole family and it only really impacted her a handful of times in the entire book and there was just a really sudden and jarring change within her that I didn't like. (Not a plot twist, because I knew it was coming as soon as I reached halfway and realised nothing else was really happening). And Will, I like guys named Will too, but ugh not this one apparently. His backstory was interesting, but it was surface stuff – I found him very 2 dimensional and honestly, if we weren't going to get more in-depth stuff about him, I would have rathered a bit more of the other characters.

Leo, for instance, was interesting! I would have loved more about him. He's one of those pinnacle characters with Talia, but I felt the opportunity to use him for more character development of Talia went amiss. There was a great potential there. And of the entire book, Leo was really the only plot twist that I didn't see coming. Everything else was predictable and I wasn't really impressed by it.

Okay, on to more things I liked.

The world building! It wasn't immaculate, but really, I don't think there's ever going to be perfect world building, especially with science fiction. It's mostly because in the author's head, the already know everything about the world they are writing and sometimes don't know when to include the random bits of information to give better context (or the other way around, when they don't know when to stop) – here, there's a pretty good balance. We see the world of Talia before she's thrown across space and time and there are explanations about her little slice of the universe, and a glimpse of the other side (with the arrival of Prince Cassius) and that I found interesting. It gave way to a good contrast to how quickly history can change in 100 years – we see more of the rebellious side of the world in the main part of the book though, with glimpses of the injustice (the other side of the spectrum, where mocks control fleshers rather than the other way around) and I think this was important for the reader, and the main point of Talia's goal – to bring equality between mock and flesher.

I also thought the pace was good. It did slow down a lot in the beginning, but this was mostly due to the fact that world building was more necessary than the storyline. It was good to start slow so that those foundations could be properly built and set the scene for the rest of the book. Once things began happening, they kind of rolled over into the next action and kept the whole book moving a lot faster than I thought it would, especially for a science fiction.
The writing was great, I thought. The descriptions were good, and the author was able to properly set the tone for scenes through actions of characters and dialogue – though, again, specific characters may have benefited from more (or even less) time in the limelight.


•

3.5/5

•

This book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I must say that the main thing that drew me to this book was the beautiful cover. Those colours are just stunning! Then the synopsis drew me in even further.

It wasn’t until I was nearly half-way through this book that I heard from another book blogger that this is meant to be a loose sci-fi retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I must say that this makes a lot of sense. Although there are definitely no dwarves running around and magical kisses to re-awaken the princess.

I will admit that the first half of this book was very slow for me and I was ready to put it down and pick up something else but I’m glad I stuck with it, because once Talia and Will met and their different fates were thrown together, I flew through this story. I didn’t find it particularly surprising and I was able to foresee a number of different things that happened – except for the amount of time that Talia was in cryo-sleep – but what it lacked in suspense it certainly made up for with action. Once Talia met Will and his crew, the action was practically non-stop and the pacing picked up dramatically.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the character development in this story, particularly that of Will. He moved from a strong hatred of humans (even though he is half-human, half-mock) to falling in love with Talia, the human princess. What I really enjoyed about this romance was that it wasn’t insta-love, and instead had a slow burn and gradual growth that felt much more realistic.

The action was also really engaging and I found myself stuck with my nose pressed against my phone screen during theses scenes. I loved that Talia got to be a bit of a hero herself and didn’t have to rely on Will to save them or fight for them all the time.

The other appealing aspect to this story was the friendship and comradery that all of the crew had with one another. The bickering, fighting and sly looks all made for an entertaining read when they were all together. The ultimate show of friendship occurred during one of the final fights against the Queen and was quite the heart-wrenching scene to read, but you’ll have to dive into this book to find out more!

4 stars!

I really enjoyed this sci-fi space young adult adventure. It kind of felt like a fairy tale retelling, set in space that straddles the young adult/new adult genre line with royal intrigue and betrayal. The cover is so freakin gorgeous!

Talia is a princess and next in line for the throne. She is everything you expect from a princess stereotype. She is entitled, adored, pampered. So when her grandmother tells her what she expects from her Talia does something rash. She betrays her best friend Ailat, an android/Mock who has been by Talia's side her whole life. Ailat takes revenge and Talia is put into a coffin and sent floating in space. The reign of humans is over.

Will is half human and half android/Mock. He is on the space crew that finds Talia's coffin a hundred years later. Possibly a Sleeping Beauty moment? He thinks he may be able to use Talia for his own personal gain and manipulates her. Eventually Will becomes interested in Talia for more than high standing, he wants romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair and ho eat review.

Science-fiction, space, romance, cyborgs, and an absolutely beautiful cover. Our Dark Stars was a very enjoyable read from start to finish! And honestly, I just cannot get over the cover. It was slightly confusing for a bit and I almost wanted to put it down, but it eventually picked up and I'm so glad I stuck with it! Definitely on my list of favorite sci-fi books of 2018!

I’ve been on a sci-fi kick lately and this one is now in my coveted Top List! What an action packed thrill ride that made me sad when it was over.

The main thing that stood out to me about this was the characters, particularly with the way they were introduced. Grey and Wade made the introductions feel fluid. I cannot say that about a lot of stories I’ve read, especially sci-fi. Usually character introductions within a space story can be choppy at best, but not here. I will say that while I enjoyed the heck out of this story, it was not without some flaws, which is normal, right? I wish the side characters had a wee bit more face time and were flushed out a little more but that wasn’t a strong enough factor to make me dislike the story at all. It’s just an observation and I may be alone with that.

The plot, pacing, and story itself is wonderfully packed into a mere 300 pages. It can be considered short for a story like this but Grey and Wade did a great job of making those 300 pages count! And rest assured that there is no instalove so WOOHOO to that! {insert happy dance here} The only small thing I would say is that I could have handled the story if it had been a wee bit longer only to help develop the story and characters a smidge more. Bottom line though, this was a great read. I really enjoyed it and believe people should add this to their TBR now.

DNF. Reminded me a bit too much of THESE BROKEN STARS.

I received an ARC for an honest review
I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. The characters are so real seeming and all of them have growth. There is a nice twist but if I’m being honest I knew what was going to happen before it did. I wish I had been surprised. I really liked Talia and Will they both had complex emotions and things to work through and deal with. I would for sure recommend.

This book caught my attention from the synopsis, I wasn’t very disappointed. I will say the only downfall was the predictablity of the storyline but all in all it was an enjoyable read. I would recommend to those who like sci-fi/ fantasy ya.

Thanks to Netgalley and Blaze Publishing for giving me this book to review

Our Dark Stars is an OK sci-fi story which was fun, but it was predictable and not really that unique. Will is reckless and ambitious but also the most complex character as his mock side fights with his human half. Talia in the past was obviously caring and kind but for the majority of the book she acts so privileged and unlikeable. While not a bad book and certainly fun, it didn’t click with me, but I would recommend Our Dark Stars to fans of YA sci-fi novels.

I was intrigued when I read the blurb for Our Dark Stars and I was not disappointed! This is the first book I read from the writing duo Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade, and I want to delve into their backlists!

Our Dark Stars is fast-paced and full or epic space battles! I kid you not! I was not expecting this at all! The characters are also very interesting, and I just want to spend time with the crew of the Odysseus!

Talia is a Starchaser, a descendant of the first humans who left earth to colonize planets in the galaxy, and she is about to wed a Prince from an ore mining planet. Unfortunately, there is also a war brewing between humans and Mocks (highly intelligent robots), and her ship is attacked! Talia barely escapes with her life and manages to hide in a steel (?) coffin and gets shot out in space, in a frozen cryosleep, and forgotten for 100 years. She is found by a mock captain, Will who used to be a flesher (human).

Why I Enjoyed Our Dark Stars
Epic Space Battles. This book is full of action! And I was really surprised - in a good way!

Mocks and Fleshers. I LOVE that in this world, the humans are now treated as objects and are the sub-species, while the androids were the superior species. This felt so fresh and very interesting. It really reminded me of The Planet of the Apes, only with highly advanced AI.

Princess who kicks ass. I know YA always has this princess character that kicks ass, but Talia reminded me of Princess Leia. She was a princess who defied tradition.

Tearjerker. I did not expect to cry. SERIOUSLY. But I did! It was definitely Will who tugged at my heartstrings, though!

Will. Will. and more Will. This character is sooo dreamy! Okay, I had to fangirl and add him to my book boyfriend list because he is everything that I love in a male character! Also, I love the name Will. Fangirling aside, I love Will's complex character. I love his dilemma between his feelings from being a "half-breed."

The crew of the Odyssey. OMG! This is such an amazing crew of very interesting characters and I so want to hang out with them! The crew reminded me of the awesome camaraderie in the crew of The Banshee from Starflight by Melissa Landers. I WANT to read more about this crew!

Our Dark Stars was too Predictable
The Villain. Meh. I KNEW who the villain was 10% in. I mean, it was tooooo obvious who it was. 100 years later, they called her the Queen and never mentioned her name, but I knew who it was.

Is there a sequel? The ending was... interesting. I'm not sure if there is even a sequel but WE. NEED. A. SEQUEL. Or a trilogy! I want more Will and Talia. And I want the villain to do more EVIL things. I still have a lot of questions, too!

Recommendations
If you are a fan of YA Sci-Fi, definitely pick up this book! I know it was a little bit predictable, but overall I gave it 4/5 hearts because the action had me at the edge of my seat!

It's been too long since I read some science fiction that I actually liked, so I'm glad this book crossed my path.

Pay attention to the chapter titles, my dear readers. The first several chapters alternate between Will and Talia...100 years apart. Eventually, they simply alternate between the two...in Will's time. In Talia's time, the kingdom is threatened with a robot uprising, and Talia is used as a bargaining chip to get a rich planet to chip in more with the fight. In Will's time, the robots have won, and humans are considered "savage, cruel beasts". (Treat your AI nicely, guys.)

Will and his crew started the show, and for some reason, I automatically thought of Firefly. I loved Firefly. (Why did it have to end??????) Will was a confident but not overly cocky sort, taking charge without throwing his weight around. His background was filled with conflict. Born a human, he was granted mock parts, but mocks were still suspicious of his human side. I don't completely understand how his personality carried over to his mock-ified body, but I was able to ignore that little bit of detail.

Talia was equally torn between two sides. Human but raised alongside a mock she considered a friend, she was forced to choose between this friendship and her duty as future Sovereign. Despite making some mistakes, she really did have impossible choices, so I felt for her. She cared, moreso than others of nobility might. I loved how she learned to believe in herself and not just do what was expected of her. She showed what being human was all about.

Let's talk about cruelty... on both sides. First, Cassius. Do not get me started on that guy. Where Will was quietly calculating, Cassius was a brute. But really, what did I expect? Of course, he would be a controlling, misogynistic, condescending pig. I appreciated how Talia tried to fight back, but she was held back by the expectations of her family, and the fact that she had to behave 'properly' at all times, with everything televised. And what he made her do? Cruel. I hated him, and that was just from the first page of his introduction! But then, some mocks weren't all that better. For all the talk of mocks having control over their emotions, they could become upset...and they could enjoy torturing those in less fortunate circumstances, like Xander, or the Collector.

Anyway, moving on...

The concept of humans ("fleshers") and androids ("mocks") was interesting and weighed into the debate over AI. It showed how we can try to control robots and AI, programming in loyalty and obedience, but there is always a risk that something or someone could override this programming through a virus. It definitely made me a little more worried.

Plus, it also made me think about sentience and sapience, and at what point robots should be considered beings. I personally felt like the mocks introduced in this book could be considered human, and should have been treated with respect. (I'm always telling off the Boyfriend for being rude to Alexa... I want to be safe when AI takes over!) But more than that, it provided a way to explore slavery in a safer way; if mocks are robots, then is owning them considered slavery? What happens when they become intelligent enough to think for themselves and to feel.

Plot-wise, this was an exciting and oftentimes amusing story, with an endearing cast of characters. It made me think about bigger things whilst also entertaining me, and I believe good stories should help you to explore ideas in a safe arena. I don't think the big reveal towards the end was all that surprising; in fact, a big hint was dropped early on. But I still really enjoyed this, and it makes me think I need to get hold of some more sci-fi soon. (Maybe I should read Illuminae next month...)

PS – I love the colours in the cover, but shouldn't the model have auburn hair???

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’ve ever read the original story behind Sleeping Beauty (The Sun, the Moon and Talia) you will know what a deeply disturbing fairytale it is. (Newsflash fellow readers – when someone in a fairy tale falls asleep and is woken by a kiss…let’s just say that’s not how that shit went down, ok?). Happily while Our Dark Stars is a loose reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, it is also an enthralling space adventure story with a winning cast and a tough, intelligent heroine. The authors have paid attention to issues of the moment – race, diversity, equality, sexism – and woven these themes in without ever preaching at the reader. I thought Anna Sheehan’s A Long Long Sleep was the definitive reimaging of Sleeping Beauty but it will now have to share the podium. Best of all, no insta love here – an acknowledged attraction growing realistically to something more. I really enjoyed this epic space fantasy. Perhaps not one for hard SF fans but easily one of the most fun books I’ve read in a while.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm giving this one 3.5 stars. Better than a 3, but not quite a 4 for me. I really enjoyed the major plotline: humans vs. "mocks." Mocks are people that are created and programmed by humans. I wouldn't call them robots though because they have feelings, aspirations, and plans. After being created by humans and then treated like garbage, they fight back against their oppressors.

The catch is, not all humans treat mocks poorly, and our heroine gets caught making a poor decision regarding her best friend (who is a mock) and pays for it in the future. Emphasis on the word "future."

I enjoyed Talia's and Ailat's character work, but I felt as though there were pieces missing with Will, Leo, and Lux. I also wanted to find out more about Talia's brother because I was unclear about his fate. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just leave off there.

In regards to Talia and Will's relationship, I thought it happened too quickly and didn't seem to have much substance. They found each other hot and then suddenly it was love. I don't know. That was just a letdown.

The best thing about this book was the relationship and background between Talia and Ailat. It made me think about Cinder and Iko from The Lunar Chronicles and what could have happened had things gone horribly wrong between them.

All in all, I thought this book was good for a one time read. It held my attention and gave me something new. It posed an interesting perspective of what could happen should we create beings that are more intelligent than us and how we might be the orchestrators of our own downfall.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2324947549

I am Talia Starchaser. I fear nothing. I own the stars and the planets and the galaxies, and I am not afraid of you, Queen.

This book is written in a dual-perspective, following two characters, Talia Starchaser and Will Perrault. It initially spans two time periods. In 3631 AD, Talia is a human princess, whose family dynasty has ruled a galaxy for centuries, on the verge of her coronation. The story has a touch of Sleeping Beauty (In Space) to its narrative, where Talia is suddenly forced into a period of cryo-hibernation. One hundred years later, Will Perrault, half-mock, is a disgraced captain scavenging the outer reaches of space when he comes upon Talia’s coffin/chamber. She wakes in the year 3731 AD, to a world that is drastically different. Although this isn’t something she realises till nearly ¾ through the book, which I feel affects how much the authors could do with the story and its deeper points.

This book is well-written. It was something I was initially surprised by, as I didn’t know what to expect from the book, but that quality is there from the start. There are some really lovely moments with imagery that really pull the book together for me and bump its rating.

… hunched over the piano as if it were a piece of driftwood and all the world around him a raging sea. Perhaps, up here, the last vestiges of his humanity still lingered inside. A shadow of the flesh-and-blood boy he once was.

The issue for me lies in the two main characters and the depth of the novel. There were so many points and moments that were great opportunities to distinguish the story, but they simply weren’t taken advantage of. Everything felt quite superficial, and surface level, and needed to be explored more for this to be a stand-out novel.

The primary dynamic in the book is between humanity and mocks – AI robots who initially serve under humans as indentured slaves. In Will’s time, this social order has flipped – with mocks on top, and humans at the bottom. I made a note at a certain point that the barbarism of the social order was still the same, it had just switched. I was pleased to see that this point was touched on by one of the side characters in the book, but didn’t really feel like it was examined enough. I would have liked more to be made of certain character’s realisations of the world they lived in, and their choices to change that. Both societies seemed to condone slavery without much care either way, unless it affected them. I didn’t feel that Will or Talia’s sudden flip to ‘Fight the Power’ had anything really to do with the actual mistreatment of either race.

What frustrated me the most about this book was how typical our two main characters felt. Will was far less predictable. As a half-mock, he was born human but underwent life-saving surgery to be transformed into a mock. Because of this, his ‘rational’ mock side and more ‘chaotic’ human side are at war with one another. I liked this internal conflict, and felt it was probably the best part about Will as a character. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard to connect with either character.

I was so angered by the obsession with appearance in this book – that I would say it’s one of the worst things about it. Both Talia and Will are those ridiculously good-looking, out-of-this-world (literally) hot and gorgeous YA characters. They’re the most beautiful people in any room, and the book doesn’t let you forget it. Talia suffers the most from this (yay sexism). From her first few pages there is a HUGE obsession surrounding her, although she is already naturally slender and stunning, skinniness – and her need to be thin and skinny. This wasn’t just a minor mention, as it continues through the book.

It was obvious before I even read the book that Will and Talia would begin a relationship, but most of their relationship is based around how they look. He can’t help his sudden sexual desire at seeing her, and she – despite having nearly drowned – has to focus on his abs. It was so typical YA heroine and hero. You can have good-looking characters and you can have them attracted to one another, but it has to be done right. This wasn’t. It was the average, which I have become increasingly unaccepting of.

Personality wise, I didn’t really feel that either of them had something unique which characterised them. The potential was there, but it remained unplumbed. It is obvious from the beginning that Talia is reasonably spoiled and rather proud. I would have loved for her pride to have been embellished on. For Will’s anger to have been brought out more. Will had more of a journey as a character, but I think that neither his nor Talia’s eventual reckoning and epiphanies felt very natural. Will and Talia had the opportunity to be more, they had distinguishing characteristics that could have been focused on and brought out, but instead they felt glossed over, and flattened. It was disappointing.

I felt that the relationship between Talia and Ailat was the most important relationship in the story, but it was almost completely ignored. I was just waiting for them to have a proper confrontation, but we never got one. Ailat had such potential as a character, and I wanted her to be given a chance for redemption, but she kind of became a cookie-cutter character. The ending felt rushed, and I honestly had no idea if this would be a standalone or a sequel – and I wasn’t sure which I wanted it to be.

I did feel that the book’s diversity was done quite well, and the casual representation felt natural in a futuristic world. SPOILER The only beat that seemed slightly off was Will’s mention that he doesn’t mind Leo having a boyfriend, as that hints at a potential societal homophobia that still persists in this futuristic space where most people are robots. But it could simply be based on the fact, which Will acknowledges, that Leo pretended he was a womaniser. Again, the consideration of bisexuality wasn’t mentioned which is frustrating. However this is all after-thought analysis, but those few lines just read slightly funny to me. I did like the sassy space crew and was concerned that all these side-characters which kept popping up in the first few pages wouldn’t get developed at all. I don’t believe they were developed enough (the issue with superficiality and connection issues continuing here), but some of the nicest moments in the book happened because of them. I really liked a small moment when you would expect Will to follow Talia, but he instead sends Lux – a young woman who’s a devil with a blaster. This small interaction with the two of them not only hit the Bechdel test, but was one of the best parts of the book.

It felt very standard sci-fi YA, and is a good read for those looking for a light sci-fi read and haven’t read too much YA. I’m a fan of lighter sci-fi, but unfortunately have read too much YA, and this just didn’t feel very original. It felt predictable, and I didn’t fully connect with any of the characters. It introduces and touches on so many right beats, but it doesn’t delve into the important things enough to really become great.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review! ♥

An Incredibly Entertaining and Fascinating Read

So head over heels in love with this book! I love science fiction and fantasy movies and T.V. shows. There’s just something incredibly fascinating and exhilarating about sci-fi fantasy. However, when it comes to reading books in that genres, I’m quite picky and would usually choose stories with a bit of romance. Well, Our Dark Stars by Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade surely had some romance, but it’s definitely the gorgeous writing, awesome world-building, fantastically thrilling plot, and quirky lovable characters that won my heart. I love this book so much it’s already made my Top 5 Favorite Reads in 2018.

Princess Talia Starchaser and the future Sovereign of the Seven Planets has been taught that to become a great ruler, she must endure whatever comes her way with a smile on her face. On her 18th birthday, Talia is being married off to cold-hearted prince just to secure an alliance. As if things aren’t bad enough, she’s suddenly forced to publicly betray her mock best friend. Unbeknownst to Talia, her actions on that very moment would bring about the downfall of mankind — leaving her alone, frozen, and floating through space.

100 years later, droids have taken over the universe and ruling over humans. Half-mock captain, Will Perrault, is searching for something that would appease the mock queen when he and his crew of misfits discover a unique coffin-like pod – a pod that holds the human princess and the last Starchaser throughout the galaxies.

Not wanting to do anything with each other, the lost princess and the reckless, but charming half-mock captain must learn to trust and work together if they want to survive and save their people.

You guys… this book was such a breathtaking and enjoyable read! I know the concept of the story has been done before and I did get some Lunar Chronicles vibe – BUT, it was different and unique enough that I was enthralled throughout the entire time. Not to mention the story development was so incredibly well-written. With dual POVs that alternated from past to present in the beginning chapters, the authors amazingly created a sense of suspense that kept me on my toes. Even when I figured out a major part of the story, I still could not stop reading and was curious to see how everything would unfold. I also thought the world-building was creative and absolutely fascinating. The plot was fast-paced, humorous, and so exciting that I never wanted the story to end. Oh and the chemistry between Talia and Will… electrifying! Seriously so much out of this world awesomeness in this book that you need to read to experience it for yourself.

Talia was an awesome heroine and I absolutely adored her. She’s strong, determined, and most importantly kind. Will was impulsive, cocky, and a bit selfish, but his flaws made him more relatable and lovable. Being half mock, Will’s emotions conflicted with each other and I couldn’t help but feel for him. The side characters were great too! They’re obviously not perfect and had their own baggage, but that’s what I liked about them. Totally LOVEEEE complex and flawed characters…don’t you?

Overall, Our Dark Stars was such a blast and delightful read! There’s plenty of action, drama, conflict, and a cute swoony romance that had me completely glued to the pages. I really wish this was series because I want more and I do think there could be another book or two… but the ending was more than satisfying and definitely left a huge smile on my face.

If you’re looking for a thrilling Sci-Fi adventure, then you need to check this book out.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Rock Star Book Tours and the Publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received this book for the blog tour.

So I was really excited about this book. Been meaning to read it for some time so imagine my delight when I spotted the blog tour and the chance to review it before it came out! I just had to take it! And in the end I quite loved this book, I flew through it. There were some parts that I didn’t quite like, but for most the good parts won.

We have two characters; Will and Talia. Will’s parts take place in the now, a world ruled by mocks. Talia’s parts first take place in the past, a world that was at war, a world where mocks were servants or looked at with distrust. Later on it merges with Will’s timeline. And that is when the true fun and excitement starts.

I was a bit confused by Talia’s behaviour. In the past parts we can clearly see that she is a princess, but she isn’t treating anyone wrongly (like so many others do). She is actually pretty fun, kick-ass, and I loved her there. I loved how she was kind towards mocks, Ailat especially. How she actually didn’t feel like being a princess that much, how she just wants to hug or talk to her dad normally. She was just a teenage girl with a crown. Plus I loved the fact that she could fly a figher plane with ease. My heart broke when she had to do that to her best friend. I wish that she could have whispered something to her friend, told her it wasn’t meant to be like this. That she was doing it to save Ailat.
However, the Talia in the now was just a totally different girl. I get that what happened traumatised her, but for some reason she started to also act like your stereotypical princess girl. Asking the mocks (Will and his crew) for all sorts of things (sandwiches and such), being disgusted that she had to help out, being a total bitch towards the crew. And also making so many stupid mistakes that almost cost them all their lives. It was like during that time she was frozen she also lost a few of her precious kick-ass braincells. I just found it such a shame as I really loved Talia of the before. 🙁
Thankfully, around the middle/near the end she slowly started to show more of those kick-assness again, and I saw that she was caring for the crew, for Will especially. The ending it was just the old Talia again, and I was so happy, so delighted. Welcome back, don’t leave us again!

Will was just a delightful character. He also didn’t have a good past, so where Talia is distrustful of mocks, he is distrustful of humans. I loved Will from the start, he was interesting, plus I was curious to see how he would grow. Would he be able to stand up for himself? Would he tell his brother and father to stuff it? And what about his growing attraction to Talia? Would something bloom between them? Sure, he made some stupid mistakes, but I can forgive him. There is so much manipulation, so many lies, it is hard to see what is good and what is the truth. Plus he just wanted something better for him and his crew.

Then there is the crew. At first I didn’t like Lux, but that girl just grew on me until she was one of my favourite characters. Followed by Tandy (I get that she was a holo, but dang that girl is just too awesome and feisty, I wish we could get a book about her), and then Leo and Jane.

Who the Queen was? Gee, I knew from the start who that was. Though I was also secretly hoping there would be a twist, something different from all the other books with the same idea. But no, so in the end I probably startled my neighbours when I shouted: “I KNEWWWWWWWW ITTTTTTT!!” when the “revelation” was there.

I did like the mocks and the fact they could jump out of their bodies into a new one. That must be pretty awesome, though I am not too sure if I am into living forever.

Big plus points to the cover, I just adore it to bits, it is so gorgeous.

There is tons of action, and the book is really fast-paced. You won’t be bored one moment while reading.

I would definitely recommend this book to all.

I went into this one hoping that I’d get something as amazing as some of the other YA sci-fi that I’ve read, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me but it was still an enjoyable read.

This was a fast paced and well written book that really focused on the characters and how they were trying to find their place in the universe. I liked that it was obviously a sci-fi novel but we weren’t thrown in the deep end with information, there’s definitely enough info to vividly picture the world without it being overwhelming. And I did really like the world, all the different planets with different resources and climates were fun to read about! I also loved the way that space itself was described, it had a magical feeling to it for me. The characters were also fairly well rounded, I feel like I got to know them pretty well and although I’d definitely like to know more about some of them I’m happy with what I got.

I think one of the main issues with this book was that it probably could have been a series, or even just a longer book. I think that some of the issues could have been expanded and talked about more, the way it was done wasn’t bad, I just wanted a bit more. I also found a lot of the plot lines in here to be very predictable, which isn’t usually something that bothers me, but it was just a bit too obvious how things would go at times. I also found that the ending felt really rushed. There was so much happening throughout the book and there was so much at stake that I just thought it was odd how quickly and easily it all wrapped up.

Overall I did really enjoy this book, it was a fast paced sci-fi novel that kept me interested. I’d say check it out if you’re looking for a quick and easy read, but maybe not if you don’t like predictable YA books with not fully developed characters. I would definitely read more by these authors though, especially if there was more to come in this series.