This is your typical YA dystopian novel packaged in a new and interesting setting. As usual, the adults in the book are untrustworthy and it is up to the teenagers to save the day. I liked the book.

In a post-apocalyptic, science-fiction-esque fantasy world, the nation of Mara is the only free country still resisting the tyrannical spread of the Karensa Federation. Our FMC, Talin, is one of the warriors who fights to keep the country free, watching the border for the monstrous Ghosts: humans turned into monsters for the Federation’s forces. Talin has it rougher than most because she’s a refugee from a neighboring country, and she’s been mute ever since her and her mother had to flee. Although the rest of her nation looks down on her, the Striker forces are the one place where her disability becomes a weapon, since the Ghosts hunt by sound. But she still has to be better than everyone else to stay a Striker, which is why it stuns everyone - even her - when she disrupts the public execution of a prisoner of war. But she knows something’s different about him - something that could finally change the tides of the war in their favor.

This series!!!!! Guys, I put off reading Skyhunter for ages, even though I knew I would love it. I finally got over myself and started it, and I was HOOKED. These have all the book-drugs of the early YA era, and I am an ADDICT. There’s action, a bit of romantic tension, rebellion. Talin is an absolutely bada** main character, and I love the relationship she develops with the prisoner of war (I will avoid saying more for spoilers). Her mutism is handled so amazingly, and Marie Lu uses it in a way that honors her experiences as someone who is mute and who is a refugee in a nation that’s hostile to her people. This series has depth and complexity along with its various tropes, and I am obsessed. GAH I don’t know what else to say, but I loved this duology. If you like Hunger Games-esque fantasy-sci-fi, look no further!

Thank you NetGalley


I couldn't connect with the story. I love Marie Lu in Legend and Kingdom of the back but there0s just so much sci fi and dystopian that is not my type of genre anymore.

Big fan of this Author. Have not been able to put this book down. If you want something that’s well written, adventurous, funny and has fantasy, this is your book. Would thoroughly recommend!!!

Talin has lived many lives in her short time in the world, but has grown to be a legendary Striker, fighting for a country she might not love, but they did shelter her and her mother when they fled their homeland. When a new type of fighter no one has ever seen is captured, a bond forms between Red, the Skyhunter, and Talin. A deadly quest finds them in enemy territory, and Talin, Red, and their best friends must try to find a way to save their nation.

Marie Lu is such an engrossing and fantastic author. She brings this world to life with great storybuilding, and then with great character development, sucks in in to the story. While the story could be considered to some a bit formulaic, I found the emotion captured in the characters was enough to overlook that. I can't wait to continue on with this series.

This book! I love the world of Skyhunter so much. The story hooked me immediately and I can't wait to read the sequel.

Absolutely loved this book. Picked it up and didn't want to put it down. It's definitely responsible for some late night reading sessions

"But conquering people is easy. You break past their defenses, seize their cities, burn their world to the ground. To annihilate us, though, is impossible. A seed will survive."

I remember reading about this book shortly after I had finished reading [book:Warcross|41014903] and [book:Wildcard|29386918]. I was immediately hooked by author [author:Marie Lu|4342215] but also the beautiful cover of this book. I didn't know anything about the story but I immediately requested an arc. In true Danielle fashion, I made no effort to read this book and when I found out it was a duology, I decided to wait until both books were out before I started this story. I'm glad I did that because it was nice to read a duology back to back so the characters and plot were fresh in my mind. I will say, science fiction has always been a challenging genre for me where I find I either love the story and the characters or I have a difficult time connecting with them. Unfortunately, Skyhunter falls in the latter category and I found myself struggling to get through this book, especially as the story wore on.

In this world, there is an evil government called the Karensa Federation. They have conquered country after country in their reign. For Talin, she and her mother were forced from her childhood country and relocated to the country of Mara. Talin has lost the ability to speak so she is forced to communicate through sign language. Now Mara is about to be taken over by the Karensa Federation and it's all hands on deck to ensure Mara stays a free country. The Federation also has these creatures called Ghosts that are mutant war beasts and known as being worse than death. For those willing to stand up to the Federation, there is a growing number of Strikers, who fight Ghosts and the Federation. When the Federation's new weapon, a human with steel wings, lands in Mara, it is up to Talin and her friends to figure out if Red can be trusted or not.

I found this book and world difficult to follow. If I'm going to spend time reading sci-fi, dystopian, or fantasy, I need the worldbuilding to be very clear and done well. I didn't feel like that was done in this book and I was expected to fill in some of the gaps in how this world worked. I didn't appreciate that and it actually made the book more difficult for me to follow. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and I found that I wasn't overly invested in the plot. There's nothing wrong with this book, but it's clear this book was not the book for me.

TW: Violence (including knife and gun violence), death (including child death and death of a parent), racism, blood, war, torture, medical experimentation, murder, refugee experiences & displacement, grief, suicidal thoughts

**Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Roaring Brook Press for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great book! I enjoyed reading this one so much! I highly recommend this book. Side note: the cover!!!! Also: the audiobook is great!!!

Based on the excerpt this seems like a solid YA book. An interesting world but the main character seems very similar to lots of other YA main characters.

Omg wow this book is amazing it's full of twists and turns it will keep you up all night I really enjoyed this book

I enjoyed this YA fantasy and look forward to reading its sequel.

Talin is a refugee forced to flee her home with her mother as the Federation destroyed it. Even though she’s an outsider, she becomes a talented member of the elite Striker military force in her new homeland of Mara and fights to keep it safe. Red is a prisoner from the Federation who was engineered to be a weapon of war against Mara along with “ghosts” (humans turned into monsters similar to zombies). Red and Talin are able to forge a mind bond and become Striker partners in the war to save Mara.

There’s great world building here, strong, likable characters and enough action and evil to keep things interesting. Also, a lot to be said about racial and social discrimination, power-mongering, war-waging in general and exploitation/manipulation of the masses. Ends on a cliffhanger so I’m looking forward to the conclusion.

This book was really refreshing compared to the onslaught of other YA fantasy/sci-fi I've been reading. The flow was easy to follow and the writing was simple enough for anyone to understand. The worst thing is when worldbuilding does too much all at once but this book integrated it really well! I also loved to see the disability representation! Can't wait to read the next one.

Reminded me of a mix between Dark Angel and Walking Dead. The premise and setting intrigued me, the world drew me in and I stayed for the romance between Red and Talin.

Firm 4 star review for me. The signing, the characters, the intrigue and the tech were on point. However, some of the world building and some of the character development caused it to fall short of a 5 star read.

I am unsure when this ARC hit my kindle. I read this in January of 2021. Thank you for the electronic copy!

I was really into this book for like the first 30-40%, but after that I just didn't see where it was going. I just didn't feel it build a momentum. I will try this again at a different time because sometimes it's my mental space. I just was disappointed because the concept seemed interesting. And the cover is stunning! It wasn't bad, but it was just lackluster for me.

Oh wow can I say this book to me by surprise. I've not read one Marie lu books before .but been told so many times to read her books . I'm so glad I got picked to read this .Her writing is phenomenal her character building is absolutely fantastic. The story is so easy to follow and I really couldn't put my phone down while I was reading this . I think I've now found a new favourite author

Another great book by Marie Lu. She knows how to build a dystopian world that is believable and engaging. You'll root for Talin and Red all the way. This is a cliff hanger but the good news is that the second book STEELSTRIKER is out so that you can finish this fantastic duology.

I've enjoyed Marie Lu's other books, so I was excited for this one. It did not disappoint.

Lu once again does a great job fleshing out characters and the world.

My copy here was just a few pages of the book but I had the book as well and loved it. Ot gave me the same feeling I had when I was reading Legend. Marie Lu writes stories that are gripping and memorable!

I recieved a excerpt of this book, and I really enjoyed the part I read. I now have to get my hand on the book to actually continue it. It's really exciting, and a bit diffrent for the typical dystopic books as far as I could read.
I like the character, and wonder how her story will progress.