DNF at 3%. I really loved the premise of a Les Mis SF retelling, but wasn't feeling the writing style even this early on. It wasn't the right fit for me, but I'm sure many others will really love it.

I received this eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest book review.
In all honesty, I am not really into rebellion type book plots or anything too high-tech sci-fi, however, this book somehow managed to keep me interested and in the end, love this book. Although, this book is monstrous and it took me a while to finally get through the book, the whole love triangle thing going on kept me on my toes and kept me up all night. As most of the book reviews say, it is indeed Les Mis meets Lunar Chronicles.
I also adore the cover title for this book!

I read the synopsis of a Sky WIthout Stars and was intrigued.  I also saw that it was compared to the Lunar Chronicles series. Sky Without Stars is a dark, beautifully written retelling of Les Miserables with a science fiction twist!  I thought the pace of the story was nice. The world building was great! This book does have multiple points of view and I didn't mind. Sometimes that bothers me but in this case, it didn't. I think it actually lets us know more about the characters. I thought the characters were interesting. I really enjoyed this story and I'm excited to read book 2!

Sky Without Stars is the first installment of the System Divine series written by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell. This debut novel is a Young Adult (YA) sci-fi retelling of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. This book is set to be released on March 26. I received this Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I’m also part of the Book Tour through Fantastic Flying Book Club. This is a spoiler-free review.

I requested this book because I grew up reading French classics, and Les Misérables is one of my favorite novels. When I read the description of this book, my curiosity was piqued. A sci-fi twist to Les Misérables: I’ll admit I was truly intrigued. The book cover is really pretty as well, and I can say it fits well the story.

After reading the story, I can say that the authors did an amazing job. The sci-fi world is well thought out and created in a way that respects the original story, while adding a whole new dimension.

The characters are very interesting, especially Chatine. She is the most interesting character. Marcellus was too but should be more interesting in the next installment. I enjoy reading about his struggles. As for Alouette, she sounds a little clueless at times (through no fault of the authors. She was also in the original novel). But the authors managed to make her sound better in this story. In the original story, I didn’t like this character so much. In this new series, it sounds like this character will have a little more substance/backbone, which is promising. 

You don’t need to have read Les Misérables to enjoy the story. Actually, I would say that you might enjoy it more if you haven’t. Let me explain. There are a few things in the backstory that the authors overlooked. The book is already longer than average novels, so I understand that you can’t have everything, but at times I felt that the lack of backstory truly changed the nature of the story. For example, some of the characters’ motives are harder to understand. They sound plain evil when they’re not. An antagonist isn’t necessarily evil but his or her values/motives can go against the protagonist. It sounds vague, but if you read it, you might understand what I’m saying. Trying to stay away from spoilers. 

What I truly enjoy about the story is how fast-paced it is. There’s no time to get bored despite the length of the book.

Overall, this story was fun to read. I rated it four out of five stars for a few reasons. Alouette (could still work), but especially Paresse, were a terrible name choice and distracted me while reading. It’s hard to take a story seriously when the authors use names taken straight out of a kid’s book. I’m not sure if the authors were aware of it when they picked it. I wouldn’t call a character Dr. Seuss or Sponge Bob in a YA novel (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but not by much). This is a personal opinion and mostly due to the fact I grew up in France. Most US readers may not even realize it. All of my negative comments about the book are really minor.

If you enjoy retellings and sci-fi, this book is a must-read. I’ve often heard it compared to The Lunar Chronicles, which is true to some extent. To sum this up, this book has great pacing, interesting characters, and easy-to-read writing. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars

Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables is a favorite of mine – I’ve read the book, seen the movie adaptations, and I’ve watched the Broadway show. I’m also a big sci-fi fan so I when I heard that Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell is a retelling of Les Miserables set in outer space, it immediately became a must-read for me.

Sky Without Stars is a dark and intense story of oppression, rebellion, and revolution. It features three main characters – a thief, an officer, and a young woman who is guardian to the last surviving library. These three seemingly unrelated characters will find their lives unexpectedly intertwined as the poor and oppressed citizen of the planet Laterre threaten to rise up against those who would keep them down.

In an atmosphere filled with danger and destruction, who will survive?

The worldbuilding in Sky Without Stars is top notch. The story is set in outer space on the fictional planet of Laterre. The authors did a brilliant job of reimaging the tense social climate in France at the time of the French Revolution, the way the filthy rich and the authorities built themselves up on the backs of the poor, while at the same time, turning their backs on them and letting them live in slums or starve in the streets. The descriptions were so vivid that it was easy to imagine the horrid conditions the poor were stuck in while the rich lived in their opulent homes. They also added in lots of futuristic gadgets and weapons, including a modernized version of a guillotine that reminded me a lot of a Star Wars lightsaber.

Chatine was my favorite character. She’s street smart and feisty, and all about doing whatever she has to do in order to survive. Disguising herself as a boy, Chatine works as a thief, picking pockets all day. She lives with her con artist family, but there’s no love lost there so Chatine is trying to thieve her way into getting enough money to buy her way onto a better planet. I live for a good underdog, so I was cheering Chatine on every step of the way.

Marcellus was another interesting character. He’s a military officer who is in training to take over leadership of the military. He begins to question his loyalty to the government, however, after receiving a cryptic message from his father, that implores him to go and visit an old friend – an old friend who happens to be suspected of being one of the masterminds behind a rebel faction hiding amongst them. It was interesting to watch how complicated things got for Marcellus as he struggled to figure out if his loyalties should lie with the government he works for or with the people, who are clearly suffering.

Alouette is the third voice we hear in the story and like, Chatine and Marcellus, she is an easy character to sympathize with. At first I’ll admit that I found her a little dull compared to the other two characters, but once she is confronted with the fact that her whole life has been a lie, she gets a lot more interesting.

There is also a secondary character that I fell in love with, a young boy named Roche. He’s a little thief like Chatine, but he has more personality in his body than all of the other characters added together. He’s clearly modeled after Gavroche, who stole the show in the original story.

The main issue I had with Sky Without Stars was that I found myself constantly comparing it to Les Miserables. I kept trying to match up every character in the retelling with who they were inspired by in the original and it actually started to get very distracting, especially if I thought the new character fell short of the original, case in point Alouette as Cosette and Marcellus as Marius. Although I liked both Alouette and Marcellus overall, I just found them a little flat if I thought of them in relation to Cosette and Marius too much.

I also found myself missing characters like Fantine and Valjean, one who was not included in the retelling at all and one who seemed severely underused, even though I considered their roles to be pretty vital in the original.

It can be hard to measure up to a beloved classic, but I think Sky Without Stars stands on its own as a pretty exciting space opera. I actually think I would have enjoyed it even more than I did if I had been less familiar with the original Les Miserables. I guess what I’m trying to say there is I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys science fiction, even if you’re not at all familiar with the original classic.

I really thought the concept behind a <i>Sky Without Stars </i> sounded really awesome. I like both Les Misérables and the Lunar Chronicles, so I was really excited to read it!

I must confess that there were parts of the book that I was really into and other parts that I had to stop myself from skimming through. There wasn't really anything that I disliked about the book, but there really wasn't anything that I loved about the book either. It was the same with the three main characters, too. There just wasn't anyone I gravitated towards, but there also wasn't anyone that I was desperately rooting against.

Overall, the book was interesting but not completely captivating.

Sadly I tried to read this book for a blog tour. I was supposed to review it but I couldn't get into it. I truly believe the book just isn't for me. I struggled with a lot of the terms used in the first few pages and realized I would be doing a disservice to myself and the book if I continued. I can see how some people will love it. Sadly it was a DNF for me. Thanks for giving the chance to read it. Sorry it was a case of 'It's not you, it's me".

Sky Without Stars is so captivating. I found myself completely immersed in the world of Laterre.Told from the point of view of three different characters (Marcellus, Chatine, and Alouette), it's interesting to see how the characters' stories eventually weave together.

Chatine is the daughter of a family of cons. She herself is a con, and disguises herself as male when she is out of her house. Her family was awful, except for her sister Azelle, who is about as opposite her family as they come. 

Marcellus is the grandson of the general. He's pretty sheltered about the reality of the world, and when he meets Chatine (under the name Theo), he starts to realize that what he's been taught about the world is wrong. I felt for him when his world started falling apart.

 Alouette is the third character and she is pretty mysterious for most of the novel. She lives in seclusion with the other Sisters and her father. She doesn't remember life before her life with the SIsters and it's quite a journey unraveling her world. 

I found myself guessing (and finding myself being wrong) about what was going to happen. There's only one sub-plot I guessed correctly, but it isn't a huge part of the story, so I wasn't too concerned that I figured it out right away. 

This story is based on Les Miserables, and it's been a long time since I've watched/read it. I remember loving it however, just as I love this retelling. I did go look up the plot of Les Miserables after finishing this novel though, just to brush up my memory of it. 

I think of the three characters, Chatine is my favorite so far. She's tough, she's strong, and her end goal is to escape her poverty-ridden life to live a better one. She may not do things in the honest way, but considering her childhood and life isn't built upon being honest, it's hard to fault her for that. She's the result of her world.

This is the first book in a series, and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book. I'm most interested to see Alouette's character development in the next book.

I received a free copy of this book through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I still can't decide on the star rating, so I think 3.5.
It's a very unique mix of historical fiction (French revolution) and science fiction. And it was pretty good mix. We're following three main characters from three completely different backgrounds.
Chatine who comes from a very poor low class community. She pretends to be a boy to escape the horrible things that people do to lower class young girls. She is incredibly smart and strong but she is definitely not flawless. She is quite selfish and weirdly I liked that about her. She wants to leave this planet and her sister behind. And I'm so glad Chatine is not another mother Theresa like character who would sacrifice everything for others. She is not a bad person but she would save herself first.
Next we have Marcellus. I did not like his character. He is just a spoiled rich boy who expects everyone to help him all the time. He uses Chatine to get information and doesn't think about consequences.
Alouette is our final main protagonist and gosh she is so clueless and boring. That's all I have to say about her. <spoiler> and I still don't understand why is she so important? She is supposed to lead the rebellion? How? She spent her entire life locked up and thinking she is a part of a religious group! Everyone is calling her little lark and it just reminds me of Katniss and not in a good way <spoiler>.
I really liked the writing style. It's written by two authors but their styles mix so well together that I would've never guessed it's cowritten. Since it takes place in the French settlement on this planet Laterre, authors used a lot of French words but they also subtly explained their meanings which I really appreciate. So, even if you don't know French you won't get confused.
I loved the world building part of this story. Authors did such a great job blending science fiction and history. And I wish the book focused more on the world and not the teenage drama. The romance subplot ruined everything. We don't need romance in every single YA book! I know it may come as a shock but a book would do fine without it!
Overall, I enjoyed reading this story and getting to know all the characters and their world. It was a bit slow paced at times and didn't need to be this long. But if you liked the Lunar Chronicles, this one would be a good fit for you.

I've been a Les Miserables fan since the seventh grade when we read an abridged version and went to see the musical as part of a special school reading group. I never actually finished reading the full version, and the musical is more firmly cemented in my mind than the book; but I did remember enough that I was far from a blank slate when I started reading. Honestly, I was so excited when I saw this book existed, and I was not the least bit disappointed.

The comparisons to the Lunar Chronicles are apt, and Sky Without Stars is more Les Mis inspired than adapted. And that's a good thing. Les Mis covers a lot of territory, and Brody and Rendell were wise to pare it down. Think of this as the begining-ish part of the Paris story line. Kind of. In a lot of ways, it's really just the Eponine, Marius, and Cosette characters relocated to a new story with special cameos by Gavroche, the Thenardiers, Jean Val Jean, and a character who is supposed to be Javert. With some of the Les Mis story beats thrown into the mix. But it works. There's no Enjolras or Les Amis, but I am hoping they show up in the next book. (If they don't, I will riot! You hear! I will riot!) I'd also like to see some Val Jean and/or Fantine flashbacks. And I'm also curious to see where they do take the ultimate plot. (I'm rather hoping for a more successful uprising.)

The writing is solid, and I really loved the setting. I'm sure there's some astrophysical quibbles to be had, but full respect to the authors for solving the problem of having to world-build an entire planet by giving it only one landmass. (I'm always bothered by entire planets in the Star Wars movies seeming to be so homogeneous when ours is so diverse.)

As a Les Mis fan, I spent most the of the beginning of the book enjoying matching up the various bits of the two books, so I'm not sure how quickly it'll suck in the uninitiated. You certainly don't need to read Les Mis to enjoy this story, and I'm inclined to think the initial action is enough to intrigue. The middle was slower and bogged down by what I suppose was relationship building. But then the end, oh the end, was so good! The threads of the plot start coming together, and Brody and Rendell break free and really start to do more of their own thing. It's so, so worth the ride, and I can't wait to see where it leads. I need the next book now!

All of that said, I do want to take a moment to address the love triangle. I've seen a couple of other reviews mention insta-love, but I really don't see it. It's certainly less insta-love than the source material. If anything, it's instant attraction which seemed completely normal and natural considering the circumstances. And no one has declared to be in love with anyone, sooo I guess I'm disagreeing with that criticism. For the most part, I thought it was really well done and a nice improvement. And I didn't find any of the fledgling romance(s) to detract from the overall story being told.

All in all, a success!

It'll be a cold day in hell when I say 'no' to a Les Mis retelling, and Sky Without Stars was true to the original (the musical at least, I haven't read the 1,000-page novel). All of the characters were there including a version of Jean Valjean, Inspecteur Javert, and the Thénardiers. Because this is a Young Adult retelling, the focuses were the characters inspired by Marius, Eponine, and Cosette (with a guest appearance from Gavroche). The overall story was intriguing; a undercover rebellion group was identified for the murder of a royal family member with a brewing class war. Chatine, who played our Eponine character, was the most compelling of the three characters because she had a lot of anger and was in a dangerous game of betraying a lot of people. Marcellus was interesting but had a lot of growth (he really needs an Enjolras in his life), and much like Cosette, Alouette was just there. The one thing this book was missing was the presence of the ABC, so I can't wait to see how the story expands in book 2.

I received an advanced reader's copy from Simon Pulse through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As I sat down to read this book, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. I noticed quickly that the tone felt a great deal like the Lunar Chronicles due to the technology involved and the way it was woven into the story. The similarity in tone between Sky Without Stars and the Lunar Chronicles series most likely stems from the fact that both stories are based on older texts that are transformed into a modern tale.

There are many ways that telling the story of Les Miserables from the perspective of the younger characters works. Chatine, Marcellus, and Alouette stand in for Eponine, Marius, and Cosette, respectively, and function as the narrators to the escalation of unrest seen in the Third Estate on the planet Laterre. Chatine certainly has the most satisfying character arc as a "Fret rat" who is always out for a deal but still manages to keep her humanity and morals when it matters most. As a member of the Third Estate, Chatine is grossly aware of the way the First and Second Estate lord their power over those deemed less. Marcellus begins as a sheltered member of the Second Estate in line to be the next commander, yet he finds himself in situations that make him question everything he knows about Laterre. Rounding out the cast of narrators, Alouette is the most sheltered with a mysterious background that pushes her to find answers throughout the novel. All of these stories intersect in ways that are meaningful and push the characters to grow through their interactions with each other and the section of the world that they inhabit.

However, the story does lose some of it's power by cutting off the first part of Hugo's novel, specifically Fantine. Though since this is a series, there is a possibility that we may still learn this tale and have that emotional weight in future installments.

Since this is adapted for a YA audience, there are tropes, such as coming of age, a love triangle, and instant love. However, anyone familiar with the original character arcs from Les Miserables should not be surprised by this. I'm also not sure what the end game is in terms of resolving the love triangle. A strong part of me hopes that the authors Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell do justice to Chatine and rewrite her ending, bucking the mold upon which her character was set (Eponine).

As a whole, this was a satisfying read. A few times the pacing was a bit slow, but the world building and character development made up for these moments. I know that I will surely be checking out the next installment in the future to see how the powder keg ignites as the revolution begins. Vive Laterre!

When is the next book in this series coming out? I have to read it! That was my first reaction to finishing Sky Without Stars.

Sky Without Stars follows three POV characters: Chatine, a poor thief posing to be a boy, Marcellus, the son of a traitor and grandson of a powerful military leader, and Alouette, a girl who lives in an underground library. In this book, their stories interact while they slowly discover the truth about the world in which they live... and have to make difficult choices for good or evil that could change their lives forever.

I absolutely love this book. I loved the interactions between Chatine and Marcellus. They're both such good-hearted characters, even though they don't always make the right choices and haven't had the best cards dealt to them. I liked Alouette too, just not as much. The worldbuilding was excellent, and I could just imagine the land in my head, without looking at the map provided.

This book is described as Les Miserables meets The Lunar Chronicles, and after reading this book, I want to go and read both of the comp books (even though that's a lot of pages). Then I want to go and read some of Jessica Brody's other books.

I loved how this book incorporated a whole French Revolution vibe to it. There are a lot of French terms in this book (even though I understand quite a bit of French, it's not necessary to reading this book)., they have a guillotine-like object, and the royal family is a lot like the French Royal family prior to the Revolution. There were a couple of references to famous paintings that I thought were pretty fun too.

Sky Without Stars is likely to be a book that I'll fangirl over all year. If you like books where the peasantry join with the privileged to fight off a corrupt government, and perhaps an enemies-to-lovers kind of story (too early to tell this last one yet, gotta read the next book) then I highly recommend this book.

Sky Without Stars is the first book in a new YA science fiction series retelling the famous story of Les Misérables. The main location is centered on a planet called Laterre, a planet long ago colonized by French descendant from Earth where our protagonists Chatine lives as a thief.

Equal parts space adventure and slow-burn romance, Defy the Stars was an entertaining sci-fi romp from start to finish. I really liked how this book was an adventure story at its heart, and with Jessica Brody, you can always trust her to keep things exciting and fast-paced. this author has got a fine talent for writing stories about characters on opposite sides who have to put aside their differences to work towards a common goal. The science fiction elements was admittedly a bit light, but I found I could easily overlook this minor flaw in a Young Adult novel which is clearly more concerned with telling a good story rather than get bogged down by the little details. I also loved the overall premise as well as the protagonist’s origin story.

On the whole I found the story engaging and thoroughly satisfying. If you’re a YA fan who enjoys science fiction and stories set in space, this fun and fast-paced adventure among the stars could be exactly what you’re looking for.

It has been 500 years since Laterre was colonized and it is time for a revolution. It turns out that the planet wasn’t as perfect as excepted and the wealthy are living the extravagant life while the lower classes barely stay alive. It doesn’t help that the world is twenty-five years into an eclipse that has them in perpetual night. Chatine would do anything to leave her situation, including spying on a boy who has only shown her kindness. Marcellus is the grandson of the general and also the son a very famous traitor. Alouette fled underground with her father many years ago and has been trained to protect the secret library. These three young people have an unexpected role to play in this upcoming revolution. Will they have what it takes to stand their ground? What will they learn about themselves along the way?

Sky Without Stars is the first book in the System Divine series. This science fiction novel takes place on a distant planet in a distant future, yet the issues that are expressed are mirrored in society today. Brody has taken a timeless storyline and brought it to an audience that will enjoy this new spin. The story is told in the alternating voices of the three protagonists and readers will be blessed with the additional insight into the narrative. I recommend Sky Without Stars for all young adult science fiction fans and maybe even those who aren’t usually into young adult fiction. It is a real page-turner.

The rain falls as crooked as the people in the marsh. Hunger brings out the con artist in people.Chatine hates how feminine she has started to look. She chooses to pass herself off as a boy named theo.t
The capital city is vallony ,the rich live on a biodome shielded from the rain.a rich man from the second estate comes to the marsh with his trinkets . Chatine must steal and plan in order to eat and not get caught at any cost. Thiefs rot on the moon.there was a rebellion 17 years ago for better wages but it didn't amount to anything

This book felt like it was 897465 pages long. I felt every single page. I AM EXHAUSTED EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY.

The synopsis says this book is a mixture of The Lunar Chronicles and Les Miserables, and I think that's an excellent way to describe it. It's not nearly as good as either of those books in my opinion. Which breaks my heart completely.

I do think other people are going to love this, though. There are multiple POVs, lots of action scenes, and your standard YA plot + characters. The writing style feels like about a bajillion other YA books I've read. So, if you're generally into (((slightly generic)))) YA science fiction/fantasy, then this book will for sure be enjoyable for you!!!!!

Full review to come on my blog part of blog tour!

I was provided with a copy of an eARC in exchange for a fair review.
This was such a fun book! I will admit that I have never read Les Miserables, nor have I seen the movie, so I did a quick wiki search to familiarize myself with it, and found myself loving this “Le Mis in Space” story. The characters were super interesting and well fleshed out. Chatine annoyed me a little bit - she kept getting so jealous of Marcellus’ infatuation with Alouette, and yet she did everything she could to masquerade as a boy. Marcellus took some time for me to understand, but once we learned more about the dynamic with his grandfather, everything made so much sense. Alouette was my favorite for sure, and her story was the one I most enjoyed! We left off with a good cliffhanger, and I look forward to the next book!

I just finished reading an ARC of this book....it was fantastic! I've never watched Les Miserable so I had no reference going in but I enjoyed the story all the same. The struggles of the lowest class while the higher classes use them to continue to live lavish lives. Rebellion brewing, intrigue, corruption, the lives of three individuals who end up being connected in ways they would not have imagined. Such a great story! I anxiously await what happens in the next story!!

I quiet literally read this whole book in one sitting. I can see why people who love the lunar chronicles would love this book as well it’s honestly amazingly written i thought the pace of the book was perfect. It’s hard to creat such a big world that was written in this book without just rambling on about the smallest things but this two wonderful authors found a way to do it and I’m honestly so mind blown can I please have book two now????