A Wilderness of Stars is a young adult fantasy that can’t be jumped into lightly. The world building is incredible! In a world where society is slowly dying at the hands of an incurable illness, the last astronomer, Vega, and the last architect must find the other in order to cure and save humanity. The stars have aligned to help them find another and guide them along their journey to their destination. The romance in a Wilderness of Stars had me swooning and outright sobbing. The ending was unexpected. It left me breathless! I hope 🤞 there is a sequel.

I liked a lot of things about this book. The writing is really cool. It’s a little bit artistic, but not so flowery that the story doesn’t feel real, if that makes any sense. It has a post-apocalyptic feel that reminded me a little of THE BALLAD OF DINAH CALDWELL.

The characters sometimes tripped me up, though. At one point, two girls are running from a group of men who seem intent on severely harming them, and they keep passing a bottle of liquor back and forth between them and drinking it. I was confused because it didn’t seem like something that someone in fear of their life would do. Drinking is going to dehydrate you and slow you down, which both seem like bad things?? So I was confused.

There’s also a thing about Vega’s tattoos needing to be covered. She decides to leave her hair down and move carefully so that her hair doesn’t expose her tattoo. I kept thinking she should use a scarf or something more reliable. She believes her life is in danger, and she’s trusting her hair not to move? That seemed a little strange to me. If she explained that she couldn’t wear a scarf without calling more attention to herself or arousing suspicion, that would have made more sense. She’s in several dangerous situations where she depends only on her hair, so I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I will say that the way the story unfolds was really cool. There were things I looked forward to happening, and when they did, that was super satisfying. There were other things I did not predict that kind of blew my mind.

All in all, I would say I still enjoyed the book. I wish some of the little things were explained better or made more sense, but on the whole, I loved Vega, Noah, and Cricket so much. And I loved the directions the overall story went, too.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Any book that can make me cry is an automatic 5 star 😭💜 And boy did this one bring the tears.

This is my 4th book by Shea Ernshaw and this is my 3rd time giving her book 5 stars. So I think it's safe to say she is an all time favorite author.

There is something about her writing that just completely captivates me. Her prose is stunning, her worlds are lush and immersive, and her characters are always so easy to connect with.

This is a book that, on paper, shouldn't have been a favorite. I am an adult romance reader to loves and HEA. While this is a YA sci-fi with no guarantee of a happy ending.

But somehow it all worked.

One of the most impressive things about this book in my opinion, was Shea Ernshaw's way of leading you to believe you understood the story you were reading. Only to pull the rug from under you at the reveal. She did the same thing in A History of Wild Places and I think achieving that is extremely impressive.

I loved this story. I never knew where it was heading. And once I figured it out and that moment of - I should have seen this coming. But because I was so wrapped up in the world and plot, I did not.

I can't wait to see what Shea Ernshaw writes next. No matter the genre, age range, or synopsis, it will definitely be on my most anticipated list for the year.

This is a bit of a tough review to write because I’m still puzzled by this book a few days after finishing it. I think it's going to get a lot of polarized reviews, and I’m very interested to hear what others think. Shea Ernshaw is so talented and the writing is absolutely gorgeous, but she took some risks with the story that just didn’t work for me.

I love stories rooted in folklore and I really enjoyed the legend that Ernshaw creates of the Astronomer and the Architect. The atmosphere was haunting and vivid, but I was perplexed throughout most of the book about what was going on in this world! There are some historical references and it has a dark, dystopian West World vibe, but we don’t get much about why things are the way they are until the end. We know Vega has secrets, but as we follow her on this long journey she only gives the reader a few bread crumbs, and even those get a bit repetitive. This frustrated me because I enjoy a good mystery, but there is not much to solve because I didn’t really understand the end goal.

This book is marketed as YA Fantasy with some romance, and I don’t think that’s accurate and may disappoint some readers. This is a pretty heavy read with more sci-fi than fantasy (there is no magic at all) and a romance that never really felt authentic to me. The ending was unfulfilling and also a bit confusing (is this really the end)?

While this wasn’t a winner for me, I do think I would pick up a second book, if there is one, because now I have a better idea of the “why” and would love a different ending. 3.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC!

Shea Earnshaw writes in such a magically beautiful way! This story was just what I needed and I highly recommend it. It's got magic, witches, and so much that my fantasy heart, just loves!

What I liked:
A dystopian fiction story with elements of sci-fi mixed in that has a world plagued by sickness, and the answers are in the stars. Vega and her mother live in a secluded valley, and her mother tells her stories about the stars and the dangers beyond the valley. Vega also has unique tattoos and is on the watch for some sister stars in the sky. Finally, the sign is time to set out and find the mysterious architect. Unfortunately, her mother is very sick with a consumption-type sickness. When she dies, Vega conspires to go with her father into the dangerous world to find this mysterious architect.
Final Verdict:
The world hinges on Vega finding this architect and keeping her tattoos hidden. She is recused by two intense characters who help her on her quest. The stakes are high, and the writing is wonderfully crafted, creating a unique sci-fi, dystopian tale.
2 likes

This book in 3 words: Outstanding. Magical. Captivating. 

Vega has spent her life in a secluded valley, with her mother, harboring the secret that she's the Last Astronomer. Once her mother dies, and an event happens in the sky, Vega knows it's time to adventure out and find the Last Architect. She ventures out to a land where a sickness is taking entire cities, and people are looking for her, thinking she has the cure. 

I loved this story. I'm still thinking about it days later; if that's not the mark of a good book, I don't know what is. 
All it took was a couple of pages and I knew I had my hands on something different. A Wilderness of Stars is a patient but heavy story, where the stakes are high, the world-building is tangible and robust, and the emotions freely flow. The writing is incredible. This book has the kind of lines where you read them... you pause... and read them again. 

I loved how this story was a bit slower than most. It won't be for everyone, but the delicate pacing and melancholy tone of the pages pulled me in and really delivered with a punch. I think this story is quite an anomaly with strong fantasy and dystopian vibes, with romance and coming-of-age strong throughout. The romance piece of it felt natural, original, and so swoon.

Vega has been raised by her mother in a secluded valley. The two are completely isolated from the rest of their society, except for occasional visits from Pa, a medicine man, who travels around selling tonics and tinctures. Her mother has warned her about the many dangers that lurk outside their safe haven. A rapid illness is sweeping the land, making people desperate, scared and fierce.

One night Vega sees an omen in the skies. It matches a legend she has been told; a prophecy of sorts. It calls for her to leave their valley. Unfortunately, Vega's mother is very ill. She cannot travel and Vega refuses to leave her behind. Vega's Mom knows what the message of the skies means though, she knows Vega's time is limited, she must leave. So, her Mom dies. Problem solved.

Officially on her own for the first time, Vega, secretly the Last Astronomer, knows what she must do. She needs to travel to the sea, a place neither she, nor her ancestors have ever been and she needs to find The Architect.
Within the two, the cure to their world's ills may be found. Hopefully. Vega knows her position is precarious, so keeping her identity secret is of the utmost importance.

This story follows Vega on her journey. There are a lot of obstacles standing in her way, but along with a couple of strong allies, she's hoping she can get to the sea. If she does though, what will happen once she gets there? It's hard to decipher from the legends. All Vega knows is that the fate of her world rests in her hands. No pressure.

Objectively, I know that A Wilderness of Stars is a good, creative story with fantastic writing. However, it just was not for me. It hurts my heart to write this, but honestly, I was bored throughout the entirety of the book. I didn't like the characters, I found the setting to be lackluster and I wasn't sold on the romance in the slightest.

It felt very low stakes and unengaging. I know you might be asking, how can the entire fate of the world being in one girl's little hands not be high stakes? And to that I will just say, I gave zero poops about the world. It could've burned out in a blaze of glory for all I cared.

I have read other reviews and I know that I am definitely in the minority opinion on this and that's okay. The writing is very lyrical and I know a lot of Readers love that. For me, the essence of the story sort of got overshadowed by all that beautiful writing. Like, where you at plot, all I see is beautiful words...

With this being said, this is 100% personal opinion. I know the majority of people are going to read this and love it. It just wasn't suited to my tastes. There's a book for every Reader and a Reader for every book. If the synopsis sound intriguing to you, absolutely give it a go. It could be a new favorite for you.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I really appreciate the opportunity. Although this wasn't my favorite, I still love Shea Ernshaw so much and will continue to pick up anything and everything she writes!

In A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw our teen heroine, Vega, is the Last Astronomer. Generations have carried down to her the knowledge of the starts. Her world is raveged by a mysterious illness and Vega must follow the star path is she wants to save the world. But sheltered her entire life in the Valley, Vega quickly runs into the dangers her mother warns her about. She's saved by a girl named Cricket and a boy named Noah. Together the trio will transverse the land, dodging danger and racing against time if they want to save all they know.

I loved this book! I started reading Ernshaw's novels after Long Live the Pumpkin Queen and this novel does not disappoint! A Wilderness of Stars is breathtakingly imagative, painting the picture of a world ravaged by a wicked disease. Vega's knowledge of the stars is the only shining light towards a cure.

Ernshaw has a way with writing that connects you with the main character. I loved journeying with Vega through her tale. I also loved the other two characters in our trio, Cricket and Noah!

Something else I also loved about this book were some hard-hitting lines: "Don't look back; you're not going that way." I always end Ernshaw's books with many passages highlighted.

A Wilderness of Stars is an amazing science fiction read and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves books of that genre.

An ominous prologue piqued my interest. Vega is with her fatally ill mother when she sees twin stars in the sky. Her mother has taught her to watch for these stars that only show up every one hundred years and when they appear, Vega needs to find The Architect for information on how to travel to the sea. Soon after her mother passes away, Pa shows up. He’s not Vega’s father but a family friend. She goes with him when he leaves so she can get started on her journey. They travel to a town and sell Pa’s cure-all tonic as three men watch them from afar. Later, these men and more find Pa and Vega and steal his horse and the supplies he has for making his tonic. Now he has nothing left for the future. They move on, finding a deserted farmhouse set in an orchard. They rest and head to the next town. Vega keeps asking around for The Architect even though her mother warned her to be discreet. That evening, Vega decides to head out on her own, leaving Pa behind. She enters a saloon and soon after four thieves enter also and demand money from the bartender for protection. A fight erupts. Vega gets knocked down and her constellation tattoo is revealed when her hair falls out of the way. Everyone is curious and wants to see her mark when a girl saves her, taking her out of the saloon. This girl, Cricket, takes Vega to The Architect and soon after the group is attacked and he’s killed. Noah then becomes The Architect and vows to help Vega get to the sea. Cricket, Noah and Vega travel together as a team to complete the mission of generations of astronomers and architects. They meet danger and adventure at every turn and have to fight for their lives. Sci-fi fantasy, 4 stars!

Likes/dislikes:
I would have liked to have more insight into Noah’s thoughts and point of view. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the blackness in the sky and the information passed down through generations of astronomers and architects. The bond between Noah and Vega is endearing.
I enjoyed the Old West setting and the mixed ethnicities.

Language: R for 31 swears and 4 f-bombs
Mature Content: PG-13 for saloon visit and kissing
Violence: PG-13 for Outlaws stealing, bloody stabbing and shooting

WOW. I am just 🤩🥰🤧🥺🧐😇 after finishing this!! I can't stop thinking about it.

"Without gravity, we'd all float up into the stars light as dove feathers."

A Wilderness of Stars is the story of Vega, the last astronomer. She holds secrets that no one else knows and that others would do anything to find out. Hidden away for all her life, she's been protected from the illness cursing the land and people, and only ventures out into the wilderness when an ancestral sign appears in the sky. She hopes her search of the stars' message will help save them all, but she's running out of time and she'll have to fight not only the elements, but a company of outlaws hot on her trail.

Filled with exploration and adventure, romance and friendship, and a breathtaking mystery that's out of this world, I was enraptured from the very beginning! This story just lit me up from the inside out. Shea's writing sucked me right in and left me mesmerized. The little clues and quiet mentions of what seems like a bygone age had my brain firing on all cylinders trying to come up with the right theory about where the story was headed. And I still didn't guess it! Overall, this book just spoke to me a soul deep level and I honestly hope we get more of this story.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
💫 stars x constellations
🪢 mother-daughter bonds
🗣️ folktales and folklore
🐎 outlaws and bandits
💜 star-crossed lovers
💥 a spreading sickness
🧭 exploration x adventure

And seriously, THE PLOT TWIST. Such a great one that I so want to say more on and make movie references to but won't so I don't spoil anything! 🤩✨😅

"The sky belongs to you now."

Shea Ernshaw is an auto-read for me. I usually love her writing, the atmospheres she creates, and her characters. Unfortunately, A Wilderness of Stars is my least favorite book she has written. While the concept and setting were interesting at first, I felt as though she was trying to mesh too many genres into one. This book contained fantasy, dystopian, western, and science fiction elements as well as some romance sprinkled in. I enjoy all of these genres and think they have the potential to work well together, for me they just didn’t in this book. I felt like the pacing of this book was also very slow and stayed slow until about 3/4 of the way through. Once things did start to pick up I just didn’t feel like it blended well together.

Thank you to Shea Ernshaw and Netgalley for the ebook ARC! I have read all of Shea’s books and they’re so unlike anything else I’ve read! They’re YA, but they’re so atmospheric and beautiful.

Sure this book is heavily focused on astronomy, but it’s also gut wrenching and heartbreaking. It’s set in a time with an illness killing off much of the population, and Vega and some unexpecting companions may have the cure. There’s so much loss and devastation, but it’s tackled in such a way that you feel hopeful and on the edge of your seat the whole time, rather than in the depths of sorrow.

I really had to sit with my thoughts after reading this one, because it’s so heavy. This melancholy story might not be everyone’s vibe, but I absolutely loved it. I don’t really do star ratings, but because this one is literally written about stars…ALL OF THEM. All of the stars, Shea.

I went in completely blind and was blindsided, had my heart ripped out, and still came out loving it.

Read this book.

Shea Ernshaw's books have been automatic reads for me every since I picked up The Wicked Deep. Yet, I'm so sad to say that I could only force myself to skim read this book (even though I wanted to DNF). I couldn't wrap my mind around the story world--a little bit western, a little bit fantasy, a little bit sci-fi--and Ernshaw's absolutely gorgeous prose just didn't seem to fit this story.

I felt very little attachment to Vega and Noah and just couldn't bring myself to care what happened to them. This book just wasn't for me at all.

A Wilderness of Stars Review

Shea Ernshaw redefines space western in her newest novel, A Wilderness of Stars. Vega, the last Astronomer, spends her nights studying the stars and her days avoiding the wasting sickness that’s killing the population. When she spots a sign in the heavens, Vega knows she must join forces with the mythical Architect to locate the cure. With a gang of outlaws pursuing her closely and forced to choose between her duty and her heart, Vega finds herself on a seemingly impossible mission to save her world.

Shea Ernshaw’s storytelling is the highlight of A Wilderness of Stars. When she writes, she only gives you just enough information so that you can follow along with the scene, dropping innocuous facts along the way. The reader arrives at the end feeling as though they’d been studying a close-up of a photograph, trying to discern what it is, when the camera finally zooms out and you can see the whole picture.

As such, I couldn’t put this book down. I found myself flipping page after page after page, developing my own (incorrect) theories as I read the text. It was like a compulsion–I simply couldn’t put this story down.

I will just say that this is not the ending I wanted. Without giving too much away, I felt shattered when I turned the last page. Despite this, A Wilderness of Stars has quickly found its way onto my favorites list. Though the ending was heart wrenching, Vega’s story came to a satisfying conclusion that honored all of the characters.

Regardless, I still wept like a baby. I immediately connected with Vega, and rooted for her from the first page. She’s such a loving, selfless, caring character–but one who doesn’t take any shit. This impulsiveness certainly gets her in trouble from time to time, but she never does anything with bad intent. Her relationships were so sweet and filled me with emotion.

A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw is a wonderful book, but I don’t recommend this for the romance girlies. It has a tender, romantic subplot, but I’m not sure this story will give you what you’re looking for. This book is for fans of post-apocalyptic stories, Westerns, and the found family trope.

Loved the direction this book took! While I would have loved it for the characters and the story, the twists sealed the deal for me!

Deeply immersive, atmospheric, and mysterious, A Wilderness of Stars maps a story written in the stars of interconnected paths and intertwined destinies as one girl races against time to save her people.

Raised by her mother in an isolated valley, Vega keeps a heavily guarded secret—a secret so dangerous and deadly that in the outside world, her life is constantly at risk. When she is suddenly forced to leave the only home she’s known, Vega begins a mission to find the missing pieces of a long-awaited puzzle that leads her to another anomaly like her. But can she trust her new acquaintances, or will they be her demise?

Right from the beginning, the overall mystery and puzzling enigma surrounding Vega and her history hooked me in. I loved how Ernshaw wove in myths and records about the stars, constellations, and the meanings behind them and how we saw them connect effortlessly to Vega and her uphill journey.

I absolutely ADORED the addition of the star-crossed, fated romance to the story. It was such an intriguing and conflicting element to the overall plot, making you as a reader be constantly on your toes in anticipation of where the characters would go next and what awaited them. The connection between the two was very sweet, and I loved that they had such a great partnership!

Overall, if you love Ernshaw’s signature eerie, suspenseful narratives with a touch of heartfelt romance, this is another novel that fits perfectly in her brand of imaginative storytelling.

3.5/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I am a fan of this book, full stop. When I started to read, I wasn't sure if it was going to be a fantasy revolving around stars, or if it was going to go in a different direction. I really hoped for the "different direction", and I was not let down. That is really all I can say about that, for your obvious spoiler reasons, so I will have to just convince you to read this based on other stuff!

I really enjoyed the journey with main character Vega. She's lived most of her life in solitude with her mother, who dies very early in the book. She knows that it is now time to fulfill the mission her mother spent her life preparing her for, so she sets out into the perilous wilderness. Everyone is dying of an uncontrollable illness, and not everyone is as certain about Vega's plans as she is. So she is facing some very big threats at every turn.

The stakes are really high, which I love, and Vega has to make a ton of impossible choices, which I also love. I really enjoyed many of the characters she ended up meeting along the way, too. And let's be real, I am always a huge sucker for a survival trip! I wish I could tell you more about my other favorite aspects of the story, but you'll have to trust me that the story pays off! The chapters were on the long side, which is not really my favorite, but the story was so engrossing that it wasn't a huge deal.

I can't seem to tell for sure if there will be a follow up to this, but it certainly lends itself for one, and I personally would be all in!

Bottom Line: Loved the direction this book took! While I would have loved it for the characters and the story, the twists sealed the deal for me!

A Wilderness of Stars has fallen into a weird category for me: I found the concept fascinating and Ernshaw’s writing is absolutely lovely…and yet, I found myself skimming through this book quite a bit and struggling to really care about the characters.

Vega’s destiny is written in the stars; she comes from a like of women called the Astronomers, and they are tasked with reading the skies in order to know when it’s time to find the Architect. As a reader, you spend basically the entire book knowing almost nothing about the world Vega lives in. Mystery shrouds every single plot detail. We know there’s an illness called consumption that is slowly killing everybody. We know she needs to get to the sea, but we don’t really know why. And we know there was a world “before” that had things like aspirin and the Eiffel Tower…but it appears that now things are much more rudimentary. A mysterious world can work really well, but in this case it just left me feeling irritated because Vega had all the answers the entire time. I would have found the plot so much more engaging if I had just been let in a little sooner (we don’t find out the key details of the world until the last 10% of the book!!)

Vega herself was kind of annoying. Most of the major conflicts were caused by her making bad decisions; and not bad decisions in a fun way…just straight up dumb decisions, then she always seemed surprised at the outcome. There’s also a romance that seemed really quick…it had potential, but ultimately I did not feel like I understood why they liked each other because we didn’t see many conversations between them.

Lastly, the chapters were extremely long and I feel like it threw off the pacing. I think breaking those up into shorter moments would breathe some energy into an otherwise relatively slow moving plot.

Overall, this book has shining moments but ultimately missed the mark for me. Emphasizing again, though, that the concept (once revealed) is really cool AND Shea Ernshaw is a lovely writer.

Shea Ernshaw yet again demonstrates how masterfully an atmospheric book can be done. From the first chapter alone, you are thrown into the darkness that is Vega’s world. She lives with her mother, isolated, because the world beyond will hunt her. Her mother teaches her how to follow the stars until the day she dies, which is coincidentally when Vega sees the stars she’s been waiting for and begins her long, arduous journey to rescue the very people who are hunting her.

I found myself completely immersed in this book at times. It’s incredibly balanced between the atmosphere, the emotion, the depth of the characters, and driving the plot.

Eerie, desolate but with a dash of hope, this is a book you’ll want to read this winter.

Thank you to @simonandschuster and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. The review expresses my own opinions.