Here we go with another book that ensnared me with magic words like “art thief”, “stolen artifacts”, and “anthropology”. What can I say? I’m a sucker for thievery by academics…well, for thievery in general. If you add in outer space, it’s like book catnip! I blame Doctor Who.

Thanks to Bria Strothers at Flatiron Books, I was granted access to the eARC and sent a copy of the physical ARC of this book after my request had sat in NetGalley’s pending request pit forever, and I’m so grateful because I absolutely loved this book!

There’s a line deep into this book that is sticking with me. One could say it’s a throwaway line, but it speaks so much to the themes in this story: “Primitive is more permanent”. That is to say: The longer it took and the harder it was to create something, the more permanent it is. This is also applicable to everything from planets to moons to species: the longer they’ve been around and the more adversity they’ve seen, the more knowledge they’ve gathered and the more permanent their mark on the universe. There is no up and down in space. No time. There is only distance, and some things are too far away to ever be rescued or remembered. Who’s to know if it’s better that way or not?

In many ways, this book feels like a deep space “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. Maya has been longing to find the Stardust Grail for the sake of her best friend, Auncle, for a long time. Auncle shows up with a scrappy crew and picks up Maya, who has a lead, and they’re off to search for this artifact, which means one thing to Auncle and Maya and something else to the interstellar military officials that are hot on their tails and after the same thing they are. The groups cross paths several times. The book is quite fast-paced, but not to the point of frenetic, which is a good thing, because there are times when emotion and connection need to happen and be absorbed in order for this book to work on all levels.

The climactic scenes in this book are astoundingly well-written and choreographed. It’s a complicated scenario that had to be hard to keep track of and it was executed brilliantly. I was absolutely thrilled with the whole thing.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Science Fiction

Archives, space, heists— what more could you want?
For being Yume Kitasei’s sophomore novel, she really, truly hit it out of the park!
If this book never wins an award or some kind of accolade for the absolute craftsmanship, love, world building, and care that went into it, you’ll be hearing from me.
EASILY going on the list as one of my favorite reads of 2024.
The world of The Stardust Grail, despite being set in a futuristic, sci-fi world, felt incredibly real and fleshed out. The different species, the planets, nodal system, artifacts, and history all felt as if I was reading directly from the accounts of the people experiencing the story, and not just from the book.
The characters felt so real and fleshed out, even if they played a minor role in the grand scheme of things (like Pickle. I loved Pickle.) Not just the characters themselves but the dynamics each one found themselves a part of. Auncle and Maya, Maya and Liam, Medix and Wil, Medix and Maya, just to name a few of my favorites. The way each character clashed and meshed with each other made The Stardust Grail just that much better.
My only problems with the book were at times it felt a bit wordy, not purple prose-y, but hard to follow, and I wish we got some more information on the predominant illness.
Other than those minor issues I had, I can only applaud Kitasei for taking on the task of wearing as many hats as it takes to create such a thorough, thoughtful sci-fi novel. I could talk about this book all day long. It means so much to me. ENDLESS love for The Stardust Grail.
5/5

I was surprised by just how much I loved this book. It's an excellent sci-fi entry with fully-fleshed races and worlds. I truly hope this isn't a stand alone.

Though the story of The Deep Sky wasn't totally for me, I loved Yume Kitasei's writing. As for her second book, this was everything I've ever wanted. The characters, the story, the aliens, the thrills, the emotions! Ah! Reading The Stardust Grail was such a joy. I can't wait to add this to my bookshelf.
If you like The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, I think you'll really enjoy this. I loved getting to know this crew, laughing at their banter, and exploring moral quandaries'. This adventure is definitely not for the faint of heart, and I'm left with this open hearted feeling of how vast the universe is.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

This was a perfectly serviceable space opera. And that was what was disappointing about it - the Indiana Jones-esque space archeology and museum heist premise sounded AMAZING and just what I was looking for at the moment, but it all fell a bit flat for me. First off, the main character of Maya Hoshimoto was supposed to be a former thief who stole items from museums to return them back to their rightful cultures (awesome idea), but none of that gumption and bad-girl attitude was present in her character, at least not for me. She was honestly a bit of a boring POV to read from. I really liked the creativity with the alien culture and worldbuilding however, especially Maya's migraines and telepathy.

The main gripe I had with this book was the lack of good characterization and an attention-grabbing voice. I read my books for the characters, but if you are a more plot-driven reader, this would probably be a great read for you! I still had fun with it and I loved the sci-fi ideas.

This story seemingly lacked a sense of self. Unlike Kitasei’s debut, there wasn’t a clear and unique voice, the characters didn’t particularly stand out in the greater landscape of space opera stories, and it didn’t have a whole lot of tension. This felt like a commercially acceptable space opera. And after The Deep Sky, I found that kind of disappointing.

Where this story shines is in Maya’s sense of self, her attachment to and academic interest in “alien” cultures, and the way she views humans from earth. I would have loved to see a bit more of her pre-grad school days, particularly the time when she was gallivanting around with Uncle and getting up to criminal mischief.

We also don’t have particularly immersive language, which was something that really set The Deep Sky apart; a passage or moment would completely suck me in with its imagery and the immersiveness of it all. Here we spent too much time on dialogue that didn’t necessarily get us anywhere or merely traveling from one place to another.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for the eArc.

This book was fantastic! Some pacing issues early on knocked my review to 4 stars but once the story hit it's stride it was wonderful to read.

The characters in this book all have competing and constantly developing motives and opinions that make them feel real, even when we are talking about an alien of species that doesn't technically have a brain. The scifi elements of the world are built out well and allow you to get a feel for the world(s) that Kitasei created.

With only two books I think Yume Kitasei has carved herself a space as one of my favorite authors

5/5 Thank you to Netgalley and Flat Iron Books for a digital ARC!

Such an immersive and captivating story! I don't think I'll have the right words to properly convey how much I loved this book. Yume Kitasei packs in such complex world building and intricate characters in a relatively small page count. It's a high stakes space heist full of twists and turns! There's intergalactic gateways, spaceports with a vast variety of alien species, a battle, a heist, a killer planet, and the most lovely and wholesome friendships, this was so much fun!

There's found family vibes as you follow a ragtag group of indivdiuals hunting for the stardust grail, a mechanism of alien origin that has not been seen in hundreds of years. The earth humans need it to preserve their intergalactic connections to the other systems in the universe, the Frenro need it to enable them to reproduce and not die off. This definitely gave me SG-1 vibes, and I'm here for it!

I'm going to start with: I enjoyed this book more than "Deep Sky", which I really loved.

An adventure across the universe with kind, intelligent, complex characters. Trying to steal the stardust grail which might help a species survive, or it might repair the nodes that allow space travel, or it might just aid in the spread of a deadly virus. But it is important to a lot of people and Maya (human) and Auncle (Frenro) are after it. As are other species and other humans and the military. Action packed missions to get the grail, partnered with complex exploration of cross species friendships and our responsibilities to others. Kitasei seems to have a gift for writing characters with depth and warmth that make this adventure story sooo enjoyable.

For those of you, like me, who don't love detailed world building epics, this story focuses more on the action than lengthy description of aliens/worlds. It gives you just enough to think about the interesting differences without the, IMO 'boring', details. Again, Kitasei seems to know how much and where to put the writing focus.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for my ARC of The Stardust Grail! Extremely solid 4/5 for me. The actual heist section was a bit cliché and while there were a few hiccups, it still went pretty smooth, all things considered. What really set this apart was its characterizations and world building. I LOVED the world building. It describes a vast universe teaming with life but doesn't try to shove 10,000 species into your brain parts. It keeps the scope remarkably streamlined, giving you all the info you need without just dumping it, AND the knowledge and sense that even more lies in wait. It's not a negative for me, but it does fall into the current trend in Sci-Fi of "ocean" aliens. Jellyfish and squid like aliens have been popping up everywhere the last couple of years (at least for me). The characters are all unique and easily differentiated, which is great. Maya is likable and progressive with a strong moral compass, but still understands that not everything is easily achieved morally speaking. The last third of the book is fast-paced and has some of the most interesting aspects of the book/world, so I wish we got to spend a little more time in there but hey, so do the characters and I get it. I wish I felt like the characters were a little less safe. Which, I did briefly, but it felt to me like she was going to keep them relatively safe. The end is tied up in a quick, neat, positive bow that leaves a possibility for more. This is my first book by Yume Kitasei, and I really enjoyed her style. I'm def excited to read more.

Take Indiana Jones, give him a respect for indigenous cultures, then stick him in space and you've got The Stardust Grail. This book was just such a fun ride, and the world that Yume Kitasei has created was so fascinating to explore. The way the worldbuilding is crafted and slowly introduced to us kept me engaged without being overwhelmed by infodumping, and I loved the blend between humor and real emotional turmoil. This book was heartfelt and sincere in its messaging, and I can't wait to read everything else from Kitasei!

Yume Kitasei is so talented at writing sci-fi!! I loved the Deep Sky and so I obviously had to get my hands on this book. It is so different to the Deep Sky but I loved it just as much!

This caught my attention from the first page. The worldbuilding is done in a way that's informative without feeling info dumpy or overwhelming (which is hard to do imo). I love when scifi has nonhuman aliens and shows us their cultures, so this was right up my alley. This book was so interesting and unique.

The characters are interesting, distinct, and not always likable (which I think makes them more realistic). I enjoyed most of the main cast and really love how different they all were from one another.

I will say that the beginning ~65% or so of this was not as interesting as the ending section. The first 65% was still good and fun and a solid 3.5/4 star, but it just doesn't match up to the ending! The ending section was SO cool. I wanted more of it and wish this book were a bit longer because I wanted more exploration!!

I think my actual rating for this is a 4.5, but I'm rounding up because I had a lot of fun with it. I will definitely be recommending this to friends and will 100% pick up Kitasei's future books!

I won’t bury the lead: I haven’t had this much fun with sci-fi in a while.When it comes to sci-fi,

I mostly consume it via movies and TV. I’m a huge Star Trek fan and a Star Wars fan to a lesser extent. I love my sci-fi mixed with horror à la The X-Files and The Twilight Zone. I also get a kick out of Rick and Morty, Back to the Future, and a bunch of other sci-fi films and TV shows. But, when it comes to reading, my consumption of the genre is mostly limited to novels set in the world of Star Trek and the military/horror/sci-fi Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry.

Looking at my taste, however, it’s not surprising I enjoyed The Stardust Grail as much as I did. It’s not just a sci-fi novel. If I had to best describe this book, it’s Star Trek meets Star Wars meets the Indiana Jones franchise meets Ocean’s Eleven. This book has it all: action, adventure, space travel, alien species, and heists.

The story centers on Maya Hoshimoto, a young woman who group up on a human colony on a distant planet who was once the greatest thief in the galaxy. Maya has given up crime to move to Earth and study at university. But when her former partner, Auncle, a member of the alien species called the Frenro, shows up at Earth to enlist Maya’s help in getting back The Grail, a lost Frenro artifact that can save the species from extinction, Maya is pulled back in for one last job.

But wait! There’s more! The Frenro were once responsible for the building of the Intergalactic Web, a series of portals that makes space travel possible. Turns out, The Grail also helps them build those portals. And something is destroying the portals, threatening to cut humanity off from the rest of the galaxy. So, not only has Auncle asked Maya to help find The Grail, so has the Earth military, who want to keep the Grail themselves.

Besides the action and adventure, I really appreciated the depiction of Maya and Auncle’s friendship. The Frenro are one of the most alien extraterrestrial species I have seen depicted in a while. They aren’t humanoid. They have a very different society and culture than humans. One of the things I found interesting was the cross-species relationship, which was close and loving, but also difficult because of the differences.

The pace of the book is almost non-stop. Kitasei takes just the right amount of time to slow down for character moments to build the reader’s connection to the characters and their relationships to each other, but is quick to get back to the action. There are plenty of twists and surprises along the way as well, meaning the book never feels predictable.

While I am on the subject of twists and surprises, there is just one near the end that I didn’t like. It was a real “wait, what? Really?” moment. The good news is, it didn’t even put a dent in my overall enjoyment of the book. Neither did the very ending, which was very abrupt. I got to the last sentence and felt like there would be more, but there I was at the end. It threw me for a second.

I said it at the top of this review and I’ll repeat it here: this book is a blast. I didn’t want to put it down, even when I knew I had to get some sleep because I had to wake up early for work. Be sure to pick this one up when it comes out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of The Stardust Grail. Wow, it’s hard to find the words to describe this book. I never quite knew what was going to happen as I was reading this book, which I haven’t felt in a long time! While there were many elements of the novel that I enjoyed, I really loved how lived in the world felt. Though there was plenty of exposition, it was almost as if all the history and different aspects of the world extended far beyond that. Some additional background could have been helpful at times, but I enjoyed just how thought out everything was. I also loved the characters. It’s been a while since I’ve read a story whose characters feel like real people. One aspect I thought was brilliant was the unpredictably of their actions—the humanity of it all really shone through. Though sci-fi can sometimes feel overwhelming or unapproachable to me, I was able to sink in and thoroughly invest myself in this story, which was just such a lovely feeling. I would definitely recommend The Stardust Grail to anyone interested in a unique sci-fi/heist story!

I think a lot of readers are going to love this heist/space opera/found family book and I think it has a lot to offer. There are aliens, a good bit of action, characters that are quirky and loveable and stolen artifacts. All of this works well together and this is a fun book. I'm giving this 3 stars because I didn't love it but I definitely see the appeal and it is well written even if it wasn't a favorite for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Flatiron Books and Yume Kitasei for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a delightful, fun book. The worldbuilding was superb, and the characters are the kind you feel sad to leave when the book is over. I particularly loved the relationships developed between all the characters, especially Maya and Auncle. An excellent follow-up to The Deep Sky. Although this one does have a different tone than Kitasei's debut novel, I love the space opera adventure vibes so much.

I thought <i>The Deep Sky </i> was incredible, so I was very excited to receive an e-arc for <i>The Stardust Grail </i>.

Maya, now a PhD student at a very far in the future Princeton, spent the previous decade stealing back prized cultural treasures around the galaxy and returning them to their rightful owners. But, when she starts having odd visions, the missing journal of a famous space explorer/academic suddenly shows up at the university archive, and her closest friend Auncle (part of the species called Frenro) comes to invite her on one last heist, she knows she has to join. What follows is a rollicking and often truly unexpected adventure to find the Stardust Grail, an important Frenro artifact that has been missing for thousands of years.

As in her first book, Kitasei’s writing is impeccable in this second adventure. Futuristic Princeton and academia are fun, and Maya’s true enthusiasm for lost cultural treasures is an added joy in the reading experience. Maya’s world is nuanced and complicated, although sometimes overly so. The first quarter and last quarter were the most enjoyable for me, and the pacing was definitely funky throughout the story. The last part especially could have used some more pages. I have a lot of remaining questions.

Overall, still a lovely read from Kitasei! Sequel?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc.

A lot of telling and not showing made the writing feel very juvenile. It also makes the characterization feel very strange because we never see characters behaving the way we're told they are. The pacing for the novel was also very challenging. Nothing happens for a long time and then things feel rushed and disjointed.

THE STARDUST GRAIL is Yume Kitasei's sophomore novel, and as someone who thoroughly enjoyed and devoured her debut novel, THE DEEP SKY, I was thrilled to get my grubby little hands on an ARC of this book as well.

I love space operas. Space! Aliens! New cultures! Planets! This book is a great fit for fans of Mass Effect, Firefly, Star Wars, and also for fans of other novels like PORTRAIT OF A THIEF. I really appreciated the level of thought that went into the morality of "stealing" artefacts to return them to their home cultures.

I loved the world building, the different races that populate the universe, the history and culture that was evident behind each of them. My only problem is that I wanted more - I really hope there is a sequel one day and that it's not a standalone. I wanted to learn more about what happened in the near-past, and I definitely want to know what's going to happen immediately after the book ends.

I thought the pacing was a bit shaky - there were parts that, while never quite feeling slow or boring, did feel like they went on too long. There were some hard scene transitions that could've been slowed down so they weren't as abrupt, and some areas that went by in a blur. The last 25% of the book definitely felt like it should've been longer, more detailed. It felt rushed.

All of the characters were wonderful, with unique personalities, voices, and growth that made me just fall in love with all of them. Again, I really hope there is a sequel one day, because I'm not ready to leave them behind just yet.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC (and to my friend Kel for snagging me a physical ARC).

This book is a rollicking, fantastic ride through a universe full of aliens, mysterious artifacts, spaceships, all sorts of planets, space-archeology and also multiple high-stakes heists and battles out in the vast universe. It really does feel like a sci-fi twist on an Indiana Jones adventure, and I mean that as a big compliment. It has a real space-adventure feel to it, but there's also real depth here as various characters struggle with guilt and trauma, trust and betrayal. The relationships and the characters were given so much nuance and complexity, giving the book an emotional heft that I really appreciated.