Genre: Young-Adult, Science-Fiction, Romance
Pages: 362
Series: Starflight #1
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
I posted the review of this book about a year and a half ago, but I reread it two days ago and wasn’t very happy with my older review. So I rewrote it.
The book follows Solara and Doran. She’s looking for a new life for herself. She needs to go to the outer realms of the galaxy to get a job and the only way she can do that is by serving a passenger of the spaceliner Zenith for the duration of the trip. But due to her felony tattoos, the only passenger willing to take her along is Doran, her highschool bully. And he does not go easy on her. Then something happens and they both end up on the ship Banshee. There, not only are they surrounded by a crew of people running from the law, they themselves seem to be running from the law.
Very Firefly, isn’t it? If the synopsis doesn’t seem that way, the book definitely will. With the addition of a romance. Though I’ll be honest, in the beginning, I highly doubted the romance would work. Doran and Solara really hated each other. Solara would have happily strangled him if she didn’t need his help. And I wouldn’t have blamed her. Doran was an asshole.
Solara wasn’t my favourite either. She did some dubious stuff. But she was okay. She deserved some revenge after what Doran put her through. I liked her a lot more as the book went on. And, surprisingly, I also really liked Doran. He somehow managed to redeem himself And the romance that initially seemed far-fetched, became a reality. n a very believable way. Almost can’t believe it Melissa Landers pulled it off. And in such a fun way too. The banter between Doran and Solara was hilarious.
The rest of the characters were really funny too. I loved the crew of the Banshee. They all had their own stories and reasons for being on the ship. The relationship between the characters, their interactions, the camaraderie, definitely made the book for me.
The pace was fantastic too. This isn’t a very big novel and yet so much happens. And it all happens at the right, natural, pace. Another great thing was that the romantic plot was resolved at the 80% point. Usually, we’re still wondering, till the end, whether the protagonists will tell each other how they feel and if they even want be together. This time, that conflict was resolved before shit hit the fan for the they’re-all-gonna-die climax.
Honesty, this is a great book. It’s funny, it’s sweet and it’s entertaining. We’ve got a great set of characters, good writing and an engaging story. It’s definitely a book that you find yourself rereading often. Hell, I’ve read it at least four times.
If I had one complaint, it’s that I would’ve like some more depth with the world-building. It was good for the most part. I especially loved the touch about there being a painful and expensive procedure that can make your sweat smell good. Like, humanity may never find the cure for cancer, but I can be sure that that is totally happening. Still, would’ve liked more political and geological details.
Overall, great book, highly recommend. Just read it.
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