This was an extended preview of a book I am looking forward to reading. It’s a new series by Marie Lu. After reading the excerpt I am intrigued and look forward to reading more of Talin’s adventures in protecting her homeland.

It's only an excerpt but from what I have read... it's good. Loved Marie Lu's other books and this one is no exception. There's a lot of world building and characters so far. Looking forward to reading the rest of it.

I did not realize that this was only an excerpt so I can't give too much of an opinion, but these first few chapters definitely have me intrigued and wanting to read more.

This was a great extended excerpt! I am really excited to read the whole book!

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

Oh, I did not realize this was an excerpt only?

So far, what I can say is this: I like Marie Lu's writing and the story is giving me strong Attack On Titans vibes. And that is a good thing. Now that I've reas the first five chapters, I definitely want to read more. I want to know if she will continue to be accepted, or if she will have to go outside those walls and start over? And what about that prisoner? Genuinely intrigued.

Though only a sampler, this story totally drew me in! With a mute main character, I love this inclusion and representation - especially as someone who signs with loved ones who are mute/deaf! I can’t wait to jump into Marie Lu’s world of Mara when I read the full book soon!

As this is just a preview excerpt, I don't have many thoughts on what is happening. I will say I am DEEPLY interested in these characters and I desperately want to know what happens next!

I received this excerpt in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of Skyhunter really drew me in, and I appreciated reading about a mute character who signs to communicate. While I don't sign myself so I cannot speak to the representation I read, I do appreciate when books are inclusive, and the relationship between the MC's scarred throat, her trauma, and going mute was an interesting one, though once again, I cannot personally speak to the quality of this representation.

Where this excerpt fell short for me was in the building of this story. While there were interesting elements and certainly a few shocking events, it all felt like it was being told to me. When the MC experiences the loss of a loved one, it felt rather surface level; I didn't get to feel their relationship enough to share in her grief, and when she was grieving, I didn't really feel that either. The world-building, while fascinating, also struggled to ground me in any sense of space, and I had a hard time picturing the environment.

Altogether, this was an interesting read, but I'm not sure that I'll be picking up the book when it's released, as it just wasn't quite to my taste. There are a lot of points of interest though, so if you prefer more direct story-telling than I do, you may love the writing.

My review is related to the excerpt. The excerpt was 5 chapters long and made me want to know more about this book.

The story begins with a brief introduction to Mara, the only free nation in the world. They are threatened by the Federation, the enemy trying to occupy Mara. Our protagonist is a refugee in Mara. She is mute.
Refugees in Mara aren't welcomed easily, and Talin had to earn her place in Mara. Talin, a Striker ( Mara's Elite Fighting force), goes hunting the Ghosts–who are mutant humans– along with her Shield.

I enjoyed reading this sneak-peak. The writing is brilliant and very detail-oriented. The book is fast-paced, and I was left wanting more. Our protagonist is mute, and I'm happy to see this representation in this book.

I'm giving it 4 stars because Talin keeps mentioning her love for Basea, but she does elaborate on what and why she misses Basea. Besides that, this must be a good read if you like Dystopian YA books.

I’m so excited for this!! I want more from just this little sample. Marie Lu is fast becoming one of my all time favourite authors for sure!!

Thank you for this fantastic sampler, can't wait for the full release. The cover art is also amazing.

I can't wait for this book!! Marie Lu is one of my favorite authors and I've loved all her books, and this one promises to be just as great. It gave me Warcross vibes, and I loved it. I can't wait to read the rest of the story and be awed by her talent once more.

I read these 5 chapters of Skyhunter and already I’m hooked! I can’t wait for the book to come out so I can continue reading! Just in these first 5 chapters there was already action and surprising events that made me feel many emotions! I will definitely be buying this and continuing on September 29th!

After reading this excerpt, I am eagerly awaiting the release of this book. Marie Lu’s writing just drew me into this future world where civilization as we know it has long since vanished and the remaining humans are struggling to survive a brutal war against each other, as well as the monsters they have created.

The world is imaginative and dangerous and the characters are compelling. I can’t wait to read the full book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Marie Lu, and the publisher for this sneak peek.

I loved Marie lu’s legend series passionately. Once I discovered the series I devoured the entire thing within a week and a half. With that said, you can understand my excitement about anything new she releases! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one.
This book started out slightly slow for me, but that could be because of the book rut I’m currently in. Once I get into the characters I started flying through the story, only to realize this was an excerpt, not the entire book! Can’t wait to finish it now!

Marie Lu at its best - this book has everything that you expect to read, if you know her other novels (Legend or Warcross)

"A broken world.
An overwhelming evil.
A team of warriors ready to strike back."

In this novel, Talin, a refugee, has to fight for the only free nation in the world: Mara. She has to defend her home from war machines, and mutant beasts known as Ghosts.

Already in the brief excerpt I was provided with from Netgalley, the world building was astounding and I can imagine myself getting absorbed into the story more and more after reading more of the story.
The only thing that I could find myself criticising is that there are some common YA tropes in the story, which become evident even in the excerpt.

It's still a great read, so I will definitely pick up the rest of the novel!

So, first of all, Marie Lu is my favourite author. I'll read anything the incredible woman writes.

I'd read her shopping list if I could.

Now, I was lucky enough to receive an extended excerpt of this book, and considering it was only 5 chapters long, you'd not expect me to give it too high a rating.

But that's where you're wrong. Everything Marie Lu writes is consistently epic. Her writing isn't forced -it flows smoothly, and her openings always have you hooked and interested pretty much straight away.

Call me biased because I love her work, but this book honestly could be special. Obviously I haven't read the full thing yet (I will once it's released *wink*), but I'm already getting a vibe that this book will be massive.

For starters, the main character uses sign language -something I've barely seen in a fantasy/sci-fi book- and Marie Lu always writes these things well and shows good representation.

Second of all, from reading the description, I initially thought this book was going to be similar to Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, but from the excerpt, I didn't get that vibe at all!But if you do like Bardugo's writing and plots, maybe check this one out?

And finally... Marie Lu just keeps getting more popular, and is finally getting the well deserved acknowledgement and praise that she deserves.

To sum it up: READ THIS BOOK.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this excerpt to read and review. #netgalley

Wow wow wow! this is going to be a fantastic book! I loved this sneak peek and I can’t want to see how the story unfolds. I really like the premise of a main character who can’t speak, and I‘m really interested to see how that aspect will work in the full novel. Also, I love the inclusion of real world situations and current events — how Talin and her fellow Strikers experience oppression and cruelty from a fellow race of people, and that element will certainly give this book even more depth than it already has. I’ll certainly be preordering this beauty and I’ll be counting down the days until release.

Wow! This is a preview that will keep you on the edge of your seat. A mute protagonist, in a futuristic society, from a lowly family. Thrust into the fight of her life against an enemy foreign and domestic. I do not want to give much more than that away but Lu, does it again, her writing style, amazing world building, this all leaves you wanting more. I cannot wait for this book to release!

Marie Lu has done it again! This world sounds so interesting but also a bit dark. Talin our main character is one of the all important Ghost hunters. Ghost hunters protect her country of Mara from Ghosts which are humans modified into dangerous creatures. This excerpt leaves you on the edge of your set wanting to know what Talin is worried about. My only complaint is (I will preface that I only took one sign language class in college) that from what I remember in class is that facial expressions are also really important in sign language so the Ghost hunters wearing masks would make that not pretty difficult.