This book was teetering between whether I liked it or not. It being an audiobook and the narrator himself is what made it even better and more immersive for me.

The Brighter the Stars takes place almost two hundred years in the future and it's a story of loss and revenge, but also of love and redemption. It's a class A space adventure, one I was pulled into right from the beginning.

The story follows Jake Saunders, eight years after he witnessed his uncle's murder. He is now one of the best and brightest members of The Legion and together with his best friend Cal, they're sent to escort Earth's new ambassador on a mission. Said ambassador is not only Cal's sister, but also Jake's love interest, Diane.
Things get complicated quickly, as the three get in the middle of a big conspiracy that might lead to our planet's destruction.

I thoroughly enjoyed the world building and the adventurous narrative, as well as Prosek's way of handling the technology/science aspects in the story. Would recommend to sci-fi fans of all ages.

This book reads like a movie. In some instances, that's a positive thing, but not always. In the beginning of the book, there is a lot of jumping around that can be hard to keep up with. I kept waiting for one of the mysterious characters to be explained, but he never was, which was kind of a let down. Overall though, I enjoyed this book and the positive far outweighed the negative.

I really enjoyed the story and thought it was exciting. The characters are well developed and likeable. I think its great for a YA audience. I was especially surprised by how much I enjoyed it as I would never say it's my favourite genre.

My one comment would be that I found the narrator a bit hard going for my preferences. Some parts were super animated however in other parts it seemed a bit robotic.

From the beginning, I thought that this book was going to be about Sloane and I am glad that it is not. I loved the motivation that Jake had to train to be the best that the Legion has to offer, even though the events that precede are incredibly tragic. It is mostly a plan for revenge, fought in space, while the main characters are on the run from the law. It was interesting to see how the characters dealt with issues of morality and what they could do to save the people that they loved. I wished the blind man had been in the story a little bit more, like showing up around the time of the big climax of the story. I feel like he could have played a bigger role. I could see a lot of change in the characters throughout the book, it was nice to see them think instead of being crazy and doing whatever they wanted. It was a different kind of sci fi and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audiobook.

This was good, I just didn't get into it as much as I thought I would. Some nice world building, but it felt crammed in at the beginning. The characters were mostly well written, with only a few moments that annoyed me. The narrator did a good job. I would be willing to read more to see what happens!

The Brighter the Stars
by Bryan K. Prosek

This is a great story about the human nature and the stars. Jake Saunders is a loyal soldier who finds that his grief has colored the lines of his life. He wants to avenge his uncles death, that by circumstance he watched unable to help. The mystery of the attack on Earth, taking a crystal of great power, has put Earth in trouble. Saunders is assigned to aid his oldest friend as his hearts desire is assigned as a emissary. This brings to light the plot that not only caused his uncles death, but also the risk to Earth. Looking at human nature, how would you respond to similar circumstance?

I loved this audio book and can’t wait for the sequel this fall. Jake is a private on a mission and trying to figure out who and what are out to get him makes this a fun YA space adventure!