I've been in a sci-fi mood lately and this one did not disappoint. It was fast-paced, had a dash of romance, and was a really enjoyable read.

This was a fantastic mix of Cinder and Firefly, so if like either one of those things, I would recommend picking it up. In a war between humans and the robot companions they created, the humans are losing. Princess Talia Starchaser wakes up after 100 years floating through space and finds herself in the company of a motley crew with a half human, half robot captain. They end up being chased around the galaxy for a bit, before an explosive, if not a little predictable ending. If I give you much more of the plot, I think we're in to spoiler territory. Our Dark Stars is a fast paced, engaging Sci-Fi novel. I'm not sure if this is a standalone or a series, but I would be willing to read more!

Our Dark Stars by authors Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade is a thrilling and explosive sci-fi tale in the vein of novels such as the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and the Starbound Trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner and is perfect for readers who love their novels exhilarating and adventurous with just the perfect sprinkling of romance.

In a world where humans own and employ droids built with artificial intelligence known as mocks, on the outside eighteen year old Princess Talia Starchaser seems to have it all. Wealth, status, beauty, but as a member of the infamous Starchaser Dynasty there are difficulties that come with it, including being betrothed to a man she doesn’t know and being forced to publicly humiliate her best friend, a companion mock who has been by her side since she was born. Trying to save someone she loves sees Talia set into motion events that will see the enslavement of the human race and Talia floating through space cryogenically frozen.

One hundred years later, half human, half mock captain Will Perrault is leading a group of ragtag scavengers when they stumble across Talia’s floating device, unaware it contains the very future of the human Alliance. When Talia emerges from the device to a world controlled by mocks, Will is sure this stubborn and infuriating human is the key to regaining control of his old military regiment. Determined to present her to the mock Queen and hoping to be reinstated to his former glory, Will’s plans for recognition quickly derail and when it becomes clear he and Talia are going to have to work together to ensure the crew make it out alive, will these two enemies find common ground? Or will their prides see them bring destruction to more than just themselves?

Having read and loved Audrey Grey’s other books in the past, I was beyond stoked to discover she had a new novel coming out and was completely smitten with the beautiful cover as soon as I saw it. I knew I had to read this and it was suffice to say I had big expectations for Our Dark Stars. So in saying that, I’m thrilled that Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade not only delivered but then some! I honestly adored this novel and am still thinking about this exhilarating story even after I have finished it.

Our Dark Stars introduces readers to a very well-constructed and realised sci-fi world. Gritty but fascinating, I admit the storyline was somewhat predictable for me, but I still enjoyed seeing everything unfold as authors Audrey Grey and Krystal Wade wove together different elements to bring the story together beautifully. The action, humour, danger, chemistry and perfect amount of a developing connection and potential romance between the main characters helped me to perfectly envision this futuristic world.

I appreciated seeing Our Dark Stars through both Talia and Will’s eyes. Not only did this assist with the back and forth chapters through time, but made me really care for both of the main characters and see where they were coming from. Talia was a strong female lead who was kind but fiery while Will was truly complex, born human but altered as a child to become part mock. I think they were great to follow, had real personality and shared a very promising chemistry together. Their dynamic was addicting and even though the romance was really kept to a minimal, I loved seeing them interact.

I also very much enjoyed seeing the juxtaposition between the world our heroine Talia once inhabited and the one hero Will calls home one hundred years later. It’s basically a role reversal between the humans and the mocks, something that makes you think about the possibilities in our own futures and how something such as this could happen. Personally I would have loved to see more about how the mocks came to be in control and how the humans adjusted to their revered positions, but at this point in time the novel doesn’t allow for this.

Our Dark Stars will take you on an intergalactic journey you won’t want to end. I’m very hopeful there will be a sequel even though I can see the novel being a standalone story. There is still so much that Grey and Wade could explore further, including the romance between Talia and Will. I’m hopeful we will see a sequel in the future and will be keeping my eyes peeled for the possibility of more from this very thrilling world!

<i>All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!</i>

”Never forget that, Talia. You are a Starchaser, descendant of the first explorers.”

I almost DNF’d this read at a little under halfway through. I decided to stick with it because the plot became more complicated right at the moments I thought I was going to call it quits. While certain traits were intriguing, in the end, the book was too predictable and lacked the individuality I was hoping for.

World Building

Our Dark Stars is set in outer space, in various settings. It varies between onboard spaceships, and travels from planet to planet, following in the wake of the characters. The story jumps between 3731 AD and 3631 AD, then remains in 3731 for the remainder of the book.

Society is comprised of a mixture of humans and droids–the droids having different variations within their category (i.e. Ender, Permanent) signifying their ability to jump from one body to another, essentially living forever. Everything is very scientifically inclined, as no religions are identified.

Pacing & Readability

The pacing remains steady and rather fast. The only instances it lulled was when Talia first awoke on the Odysseus. Otherwise, it was an easy and quick to read.

Point-Of-View & Characters

The point-of-view not only shifts between Will and Talia’s characters, it also shifts between past and present time frames. Will Perrault is one of the main characters but starts out as an antagonist to Talia. With the relations between Fleshers and Mocks being strained for years, the two don’t know what to think of one another until the truth is uncovered.

”But don’t forget what your kind did. When I found you tossed into the mines like a piece of trash, skull split open, you were half-dead. That’s what the fleshers did to you. They’re savage, cruel beasts. It was us who took you in, who made you one of our own to save your life.”

Will’s character holds the most complexity, as his human and droid counterparts are constantly warring against one another. This aspect comes out more and more as the plot moves on, and he begins to develop feelings for Talia. He constantly tries to deny his human origins and emotions, trying to prove that he is a Mock. It is through Will that his rag-tag diverse crew of scavengers, including Lux, Leo, Jane, and Dorian are introduced.

Talia Starchaser grew up in a life of privilege. The next in line to the Starchaser dynasty, the princess is made into a makeshift scape-goat for the Starchaser family to patch up their reputation with the rest of the royals. Her abusive grandmother makes Talia’s position very clear and is part of the reason why Talia decides to betray her best friend, even though she doesn’t want to. Talia’s character acts privileged, and this is clear when she meets Will and his crew. It is a trait that makes her rather unlikeable, as she comes across as snobby.

Major Themes

⇒ Diversity

Diversity plays a large role in the casting specifically in race and sexual orientation. In general, the plot rotates around the idea of station-reversal between the Fleshers and Mocks, ultimately driving them to work with one another in the end.

⇒ “What goes around comes back around.”

This was the aspect of this book that I disliked the most. The way this book ended was so disappointing. I was hoping for the moment for reconciliation between Ailat and Talia, but it never happens. Ailat’s character becomes unredeemable, which I don’t think is a great message to enlist. Yes, Talia did Ailat wrong. In turn, Ailat did Talia wrong as well by killing the rest of her family. Talia still went through lengths to find Ailat after the incident at the gathering. While what happened to Ailat after she became a fugitive was tragic, she never gave Talia the chance to explain her side. Both parties were are fault here. Yet, neither of them fully humbled themselves before the other in order to understand and forgive, resulting in this “payback” mentality (mostly seen from Ailat’s character.) It made the ending feel incomplete and somewhat unjust for me. I get that this is Sci-Fi, and disagreements are often settled by battles, but I hoped for more from these characters.

Overall Feelings

Things that I liked:

⇒ The layout of the book, and how it alternated point-of-views between Talia and Will in the different eras.
⇒ While the romance between Will and Talia is obvious (immediately when he says that Talia isn’t his “type” I knew they’d end up together), it managed to be realistic and not over-the-top. It didn’t take away from the main focus of the plot and helped to give further incentive to the characters’ decisions.
⇒ Will’s character overall, mainly with how he is both a Mock and a Flesher.

Things that I didn’t like:

⇒ This book felt like any other Young Adult Sci-Fi. There wasn’t anything that set it apart.
⇒ The brashness of some of the characters, and the overall sexually-charged interactions. Personally, this aspect made this another reason why this may be a read more appropriate for the New Adult genre.
⇒ The “what goes around comes back around” mentality. Payback over reconciliation.

Overall, Our Dark Stars didn’t really impress me. While there were some elements that I enjoyed, there was nothing that made it distinguishable from its genre. It felt like a mix of Heart of Iron with a dash of The Hunger Games towards the end.

Vulgarity: Moderate. I counted 50 words total.
Sexual content: While there’s nothing explicit, some characters were crude with making sexual remarks. There’s also a scene in a strip club, and mention of brothels and escorts.
Violence: Mild-moderate.

My Rating: ★★

This book to me had the makings of a good book, but because of the brevity of the novel, I felt like the multiple unexplored elements stopped the book from being able to delve in deeper.
Character development was very weak and the relationships in the book were not well built or put together well so it all seemed very fake and not very in depth. Not only that but the main female protagonist to me was very annoying and didn’t really have any redeeming traits except for her entitled attitude.
Not only that but there wasn’t really a well built up conflict and it appeared and was resolved very quickly (and very cheesily) so I was left feeling quite unsatisfied with the novel. If the author had taken time to make sure to fully develop the story and the characters it would have gone a lot better for me.
I received this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Okay, so once I got over the fact that this book was basically the idea I had for my own science fiction novel after I finished writing The Sanctuary, I truly enjoyed this book. I think they did a fantastic job with a concept that I’ve been interested in for awhile now and honestly, by the end of the book, I felt MORE inspired to write my own idea later, instead of feeling discouraged.

I loved that it gave me so many vibes from other stories, all mixed together to make a great story. It felt like an episode of Firefly or like they were inspired by Melissa Landers (who is a HUGE inspiration for me, for sure). It had a great mix of fantasy and science fiction, friendship, action and romance. It was a great story from beginning to end and I’m actually really sad that there won’t be more. There’s so much that could happen in this galaxy and I think that was one of the best parts. Audrey and Krystal write just one book but their world building is so great that I want to know more and learn more.

I love the dynamic of Will and Talia. Part of them reminded me of Mal and Inara from Firefly but they also reminded me of a sort of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy dynamic as well. Their relationship turned reluctant friendship turned romance was great, genuine and not forced, not rushed, not insta-love, which is a huge turn off for me. They had a very believable relationship and I was so glad that it went the way it did. I loved every member of the crew, especially Lux, who just seemed like she’d be an awesome person to be in a crew with.

This was my first book by both of these authors and I’m so glad that I downloaded the ARC. It was a fun read, with incredibly real characters and a well built sci-fi fantasy world and I wish there was more! That being said, I definitely can’t wait to read more from these two!

This book was soo good. It reminded me a bit of the serie These broken stars but it was unique on it´s own way.

Our Dark Stars sounded like the perfect space opera read. I was very excited to get the ARC copy. I really liked this read. It took me a while to get through but at no fault of the book just fault of my life. I enjoyed the main characters and the story. I feel this is not a stand alone but a series. At least I hope so. I really want to read more of this world and I feel like the story was just beginning.

Talia is a princess. She is doomed I mean betrothed to marry a prince that is just crap.Talia's best friend is her junior mock Ailat. Recent behavior of mocks due to a virus has caused some uprising and now people are scared of mocks. The prince, being a douche bag that he is orders Talia to kill Ailat. I know so wrong... Well Talia finds a way to get out of destroying her best friend and things happen a series of hailstorms and oh craps that lead to Talia being sent away from the ship in a pod.. A hundred years fast forward and things have totally changed in the world. This is where Will comes in. He is half human half mock. The mocks run the world and own the humans like slaves. How the humans allowed this to happen no clue but apparently the mocks are smart and fast and strong and are able to dominate the world and space. Will has a hard time fitting in because he is half human and that is just disgusting. He is the captain of a crazy crew of your basic scavengers and they happen upon a pod one day. The pod that sleeping beauty Princess Talia is in. She wakes up to a whole new world and of course the crew and Will has no idea who she is but it all plays out and there are battles and lies and secrets and rebellions and an evil queen and all that good stuff that makes an awesome space opera.


Well I very much liked this book. There were so many good things that were intertwined with this story. What is right what is wrong, abuse and racism among them. I really really enjoyed the story. I had a little bit of a hard time with the half human half mock thing. I had a bit of hard time believing mocks could take over but it all fit well into the story and made for some good times. So I enjoyed it very much.

I really liked the two main characters, Talia and Will. I also very much liked Will's crew. I felt all the characters were developed quite nicely and I just felt like I knew each and every one of them on a personal level. Talia was strong, independent, headstrong and a little naive. But she was growing into herself before everything went to hell in a hand basket. I mean she was about to marry the prince of cruel and conceited to save the world basically and when it came down to doing something she didn't want to do, she refused. Not in a way that I liked but in a way to stop something awful from happening. Of course in the end something awful still happened but that is what makes this a story.
Will was funny but he was also a bit emotional. Not to much. I did want to slap him at time because he thought being part human made him week and didn't see that it gave him humanity. When his humanity finally shown through I was totally team Will.

The romance was slow and really hardly there. There were just moments here and there where you could see things changing just a bit. At first the two had nothing in common. Will confused Talia and Talia was hated by Will. But slowly things change and it was sweet at the end. There was never any passion or heat or swoon moments. Just sweetness.

The book was action packed and I liked that. There was a lot going in and I wasn't surprised when the big was revealed but that was okay. I liked I figured it out and I was correct and it didn't take away from the story at all.

So the ending well wasn't much of an ending. It was good and definitely went somewhere but I need more. I need to see how it plays out and I need to see how the romance flourishes. There is no mention of a sequel but I am crossing my fingers for one.





Really really enjoyed it and I am begging for more. Really I need more. http://jennreneeread.blogspot.com/2018/03/review-our-dark-stars-by-audrey-grey.html

The Starchasers have a long and established dynasty, all the way from when humans first reached out to the stars to escape their dying Earth. Talia is the latest in that line, princess and soon to be Junior Sovereign, next in line to the throne. From here on out, everything will change, including her betrothal to a prince to form an alliance. The war between human and mocks is raging on, as the virus causes the mocks to turn against their masters. This causes trouble for Talia, whose best friend is a mock. She's also being basically sold off to some jerk prince who will take her away from her home and family.
I truly love the plot of this book and the world. While this doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of my favourite YA sci-fi series of all time, it’s still a damn good read. You learn how humans came to live amongst the stars and why Talia’s family is so important. It subtly fits in backstory and world building without dumping it all on you. The mock/human tension can be quite intense at times. The hatred and prejudice rings a bit too close to home occasionally. But the diversity and issues in this book is another thing I love about it and think it’s really well done.

And now I’m going to talk about the thing I didn’t like.

There are two main characters. I’ve only talked about one. I’m not a big fan of Will as you can guess. Yes, he’s not all bad. Yes, he does save and help Talia. Yep, loves his crew, blah blah. But he’s too much of a jerk for my liking. I have a strict No YA Jerks policy. And I’m afraid that a lot of the time his actions made me really, really dislike him.
But the romance doesn't overpower the book and most of it is spent on 'hey, gotta save the world' stuff. I do love Talia and a lot of the secondary characters. The villain and Leo were two standouts for me.
This book gets a 4.5 rating and I will definitely buy the book. I hope very much that there's a sequel.

Our Dark Stars was a good science-fiction and fantasy book with romance and twists in the story but it was just good for me and it didn’t exceed my expectations. This book seemed to have so many high points and chances to really thrive but after the initial introduction in the world, I was more pushing myself alongside it than eagerly chasing the story. I didn’t think it was a bad story at all, honestly, it was a great YA book for eager readers and the only issue I had was that I wasn’t obsessed with it so I had to remind myself to read it and finish it especially in the middle when it lulled a little for me.

Occasionally, I’ll read a book and actually think, this would make a better movie, and I felt that way about this book. When the detail isn’t completely mindblowing and the action is fuller like it was in this book I can just imagine how fantastic it would look on the big screen. I feel like my mind didn’t do the descriptions of the events in this book justice with all the thrilling fights and mysteries. This book actually really reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy, I, Robot and even a little of Jupiter Ascending but more so the look of that movie and not the questionable movie itself.

The thing that actually drew me to this book was the remarkable likeness of cover and similar likeness to the plot that Our Dark Stars had to Their Fractured Light from another writing duo and the whole Starbound series. Whoever was in charge of designing the cover thought they could get more people interested in having such a similar look to find people that would enjoy it the most so it worked because this cover definitely grabbed my interest when I might have just gone past it or just put it onto my neverending TBR.

This book reminded me of a lot of great science fiction and fantasy books but there was some good originality in the way this book discussed their form of racism (humans vs robotics/mock), the wealthy vs the poor and the mistakes a person can make. I really enjoyed reading about the differences between humans and mocks. Especially since we were able to see what the world looked like with both sides in power, therefore, giving you a look into each side of the story that wasn’t as biased as stories with only one side in an uprising. Overall, this was a solid, imaginative story with high stakes action and heart-stopping surprises that I would recommend to YA readers with a love for sci-fi!

I don't read a lot of ya anymore, but this book really captured my attention - in a good way!
Princess Talia has been asleep for a hundred years, until she's awakened by a rescuer in the form of not-quite-reluctant hero Will. But - this is all in space! The "magic sleep" is a cryo-locker designed to save her life, and our hero is the leader of a ragtag spaceship crew (who may or may not be honest folk).
The story itself wraps up within the book - hallelujah for stand-alone novels! Even if it is eventually part of a series, a book in a series should still stand alone and this one solidly does.
A really enjoyable and entertaining read - this is clearly a collaboration that's brought out the best in both writers.

SO SO SO GOOD. Top book of the year so far. I really really really hope there’s more. It’s totally Firefly-ish and Lunar Chronicles-ish. I loved all the characters and the whole story. Talia and Will were amazing together and the ending! I loved how everything wrapped up, it was so well done! LOVED Leo and Lux! Huge fan of this book!!! I would recommend it to everyone!

Happy Publication day to this awesome intergalactic read 🌚

I’m not a huge Sci Fi fan but I absolutely loved this captivating read! It was so refreshing from any book I’ve read before and I love the forbidden romance it started with. Perfect blend of romance, action and female heroism.

I liked that Will and Talia had different POVs during the book, it was lovely to read and know their thoughts especially about each other. This book was so good and had such an easy quick flow that I read it in just a few hours and didn’t want it to end. I look forward to reading more books from these authors.

Thank you NetGalley and Blaze publishing for approving me to read this ARC.

This book alternates between two protagonists. Will and Talia. Let me just day that the descriptive writing in this story is amazing. I read this book in one sitting because it was so good. From the start you are connected to these two characters. You can almost feel their emotions through the authors wonderful writing. With androids and space how can you go wrong? I don't want to spoil this book too much for anyone so I won't say much else about the story. Only that I hope we get to hear more about will and Talia' S lives after this first novel. I am curious to see what happens in this war between what's left of humanity and revenge obsessed droids.

On her eighteenth birthday, Princess Talia Starchaser’s freedom is finally coming to an end. She can no longer spend time with her best friend, Aliat, or fly spacecrafts. Instead, Talia is doomed to marry a man she does not love, and face the burden of ruling over the seven planets.
One hundred years later, Will Perrault finds a crypt floating in space. After searching through space for valuable treasure to buy back his freedom, Will believes he has finally hit the jackpot. But this crypt is not what it seems…
In Talia and Will’s universe, there is a long-raging war between humans and mocks. Mocks are life-like robots who are designed to serve humans. But, mocks are more intelligent than humans, as well as stronger and faster. In Talia’s era, mocks are merely servants who have started to rebel against their masters. In Will’s era (100 years later), mocks have taken over the galaxy and have forced humans into slavery. Humans are considered to be imperfect creatures whose emotions make them dangerous and in need of being subdued.
When I first began this novel, I was utterly confused about mocks. It was only until I was about a quarter into Our Dark Stars that I realized mocks are basically humanoid robots. As much as I love science fiction novels, I found this one very alienating. The story is told in third person with alternating perspectives between Will and Talia. The third-person perspective hindered my ability to fully grasp Talia and Will’s personality. It was as if I were trying to understand who they were by looking through a darkened screen.
Although I had an extremely difficult time getting into this novel, as I read on, I enjoyed the complexities in the relationships between humans and mocks. The political dynamic between the two groups was really intriguing (especially for a young adult novel). If there is one thing I love about the Our Dark Stars universe, it is highly imaginative along the lines of Star Wars with lots of action.

Sci fi at it's best. This sleeping beauty retelling really has it all. The description of Firefly meets sleeping beauty is completely accurate. The fast paced novel jets us into space and gives us an action packed story where love isn't the main focus. The evil queen is the most relatable character for me.
The only downside is the main characters kind of get on your nerves with how immature and obnoxious they base their decisions on. The back and forth to the two times and perspectives really gives you a good storyline to fall into. You may be able to guess what will happen but you will keep reading anyway just because it's a beautifully written story.

I love a good space opera that dances into the realm of a fairy-tale retelling. It's a very specific type of book but it is my aesthetic. This has its weaknesses - the beginning is a little hard to get into, but the story and romance and granularity of the world make up for it. I'm impressed and ready to read more :)

I got the ebook copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Our Dark Stars is the first sci-fi book that doesn't make me bored with the descriptions (unlike the last sci-fi book I read, I decided to take a break from that book. I might continue reading that later). I love the writing style. Also, I was surprised that this book wasn't like what I thought. I like this book!

This book is written from Will's and Talia's POV. Talia is a 18 human princess and Will is a half human and half mock captain of a starship called Odysseus. The story followed Talia's story and Will's story accross the galaxy and all the problems around them that were chasing them. The story is fast paced without trying too hard to be fast. The conflicts make me can't stop reading it. Make me go faster and faster.

Also, Will and Talia annoyed me since the first page. Yet I love them. They have their own flaws and pluses. Besides, we need to know more about the minor characters.

This book could be longer but with only just one book, the authors can cover the story. I need more of sci-fi books like this. ❤

Thanks for writing this book!

I loved this!

The story line was interesting with a princess waking up from her cryosleep a hundred years later in a ship with a crew of criminal mocks and a captain who was once a flesher (human) but is now all metal and wires. The world building is intriguing in itself and though humans vs machines has often been seen as an idea, this was different. Here, the story doesn’t get biased and doesn’t right tick humanity. There’s a well built plot to reach a time when things change and if it isn’t already evident, I’m trying really hard to apprise without giving away spoilers. Regardless of whatever turns the story brings, it doesn’t let you down, basically.

Let’s talks about something non-spoilery: the characters. I absolutely loved them! Will, the seems-to-be-a-jerk captain of the spaceship, and Talia, the princess who wakes up, are not only well developed but they also made it to my list of instantaneously-fell-in-love-with characters. I don’t recall trying too hard to care for them (or all the supporting ones, too) because I just found myself rooting for everyone at around one-fourth of the story.

Starting with Will who has been added to my list of book boyfriends too—I loved him from the first few pages of his introductory scene where the crew votes against his impending move as a pilot, to which he shrugs off and says, “I am reasonable […] And I don’t know why you believe this ship operates on democracy. Your votes mean nothing.” Contrary to which, he actually proves to be a great captain and friend and just an overall amazing person. Oh, and his specialities include flaunting a half-smirk at times and I don’t know about you but I can fall for those any day. Will kinda reminded me of Jack Sparrow but a little better version because he’s not a complete jerk and neither is he trying to be.

Then comes Talia who was a strong female protagonist and a feminine one at that. What I mean is, she has pretty auburn hair and loves jewelled colour tones and she is ‘technically’ only eighteen but her personality is that of someone who believes in herself and understands the role she can play in bettering this society and ugh, I loved her! Just like Will, I fell in love with her within a few pages itself when she calls the law senseless and stupid for deeming a prince higher than a princess. But she didn’t stop right there. She believed the mocks to be as important as humans are and tried to save her best friend who was a mock herself. Basically, she made a great main character.

The supporting characters were as good as the main ones. The crew, particularly, was exceptional with their diverse personalities. Everyone had a role to play and their lives at stake in this space but they stuck together and trusted their captain who had not only bailed them from jail (or their past, worse, life) but also gave them more than they ever expected. There’s even a hologram projected woman who made me smile so much by her programmed personality.

If you can’t already guess, a romance develops between Will and Talia and I shipped them right from the moment they met. It was the opposites attract trope but they eventually founded a lot of similarities and that made me happy! I even liked how their romance didn’t take a front seat anywhere and the plot was always given more importance than their relationship; it really kept me focused on the story itself, hehe. This would be hard to mention without giving away spoilers but I’ll try my best: toward the end, things get worse (duh!) and the climax doesn’t play out in a i’ll-save-this-person-because-i-love-them attitude. In fact, it’s more of a i-need-to-save-myself-you-and-the-world kinda manner and I loved it for that because truth be told, we have to think of ourselves too in the middle of life-threatening situations. Essentially, they were perfect together.

The pacing is yet another amazing aspect of the story. It’s fast, thrilling, and just the perfect speed that a sci-fi adventure should ride on. I feel the writing has to be given immense credit. The story is narrated by alternate POVs of Will and Talia, and the wonderful imagery, cut-short sentences during action sequences, and subtle revelations worked in favour. Also, a few twists and turns are guarding the end, and though I usually get a sense of what may be disclosed later in the book or what would finally happen, I couldn’t guess much of this. It was pleasantly surprising. In addition to all these amazing factors, there’s a bigger message across the book based on hope and humanity which definitely struck a chord.

I recommend this to all those who love a good science-fiction being played by characters they would love sooner or later, and a pacing that would throw you into a rollercoaster.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where to begin? I don't even know! This book, ya'll this book was amazing! I will be the first to admit that I'm a sucker for ya sci-fi. I don't even need a synopsis, it's an instant buy, every.time. So I read alot of this genre; but this book still managed to keep me up half the night, needing to know what happened, loving all the twist and turns.

I really enjoyed the sleeping beauty element. As well as the unique language of the characters. The world is ruled by cyborgs but in this story they are called "mocks." Another unique element was the passage of time. The story begins with humans ruling/owning mocks and then in the span of a hundred years, (while Talia sleeps) the humans become the oppressed and enslaved. It made for a slightly traumatizing moment when Talia realizes this world is much different from one she left.

This book also has the sweetest, slow-burn, beautiful to watch romance. BEAUTIFUL.

I loved it! Go read it and enjoy it!