Sky Without Stars

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
DNF @ 11%

I tried. I really tried to read this one, but for some reason it just isn't holding my attention. I like when main characters are thieves. I like when characters are in disguise. I liked the atmosphere. The story... it just felt a little slow and nothing about the plot anymore felt interesting. Yet, there are so many things that should be interesting – which is why the 3 star review.

I'll probably recommend this one to people who like drama and sci-fi.

Les Mis plus Lunar Chronicles is a good way to describe this

I know the Les Mis story well, but this retelling changes enough that I'm still left guessing what will happen

It's pretty fast paced, but also focuses on the characters enough to really understand motivations behind each character's actions

I listened to the audiobook, and I'm basically obsessed. It's been a while since a book has captured my attention so thoroughly. Fantastically told story

unfortunately ends in a pretty big cliff hanger. I have a pretty big dislike for those when they feel tacked on unnecessarily, but this one isn't bad because it feels like the story is just too big for one book and the three books are all one continuous story

I also had book two ready to dive into immediately, which helped too

Perfect series to binge read

Not my style at all. The characters and the writing was both too formal and too unbelievable.

Settle in friends, because this is going to be a fairly long review. I was deeply excited for Sky Without Stars, since Les Miserables is one of my favorite stories of all time. While there were a lot of portions of this story that caught me up in their magic, there were also a fair amount of issues I had that kept me from really loving story. Once again, I find myself with a book that has me sitting right on that proverbial fence. So bear with me while I sort it all out.

First, let's talk setting. Laterre is an an absolutely fascinating setting for this story to talk place. Imagine the dregs of a world that was supposed to be a new start for the masses. A place that promises a fair chance for fair work, but in reality just enslaves over half of its population for the benefit of the wealthy. That on its own is already an amazing setting for a retelling of this nature, but add in the fact that there are science fiction elements galore and you have a space that truly amazed me. Les Miserables in space is a perfect description, and you're in for a treat when you visit Laterre.

In terms of the story line, it actually sticks fairly closely to the original subject matter that it is pulling from. Of course there are differences, since this is a YA book that is set in space, but I enjoyed the fact that Brody and Rendell honored the original story so well. You can see glimpses of Jean Valjean, Eponine, and Inspector Javert. I could see the story unfolding in a similar manner to the original story. A revolt. A rebellion. Unfolding love. Terrible tragedies.

So what made this a three star read? First off, the characters were rough to love. While I saw their counterparts firmly in my head, all of them but Chatine had no depth for me. Marcellus is frustratingly unsure of himself throughout this whole book. Alouette is just that lost little girl who needs people to save her over and over again. I found myself skimming their chapters because they were just so slow. If this whole book had revolved around Chatine (which yes, I know it wouldn't make any sense that way) I would have loved it. She was the fierce peasant, the wily street rat. In other words, my favorite kind of character. Her chapters are what helped me make it through this story.

Which leads to the fact that, yes, this story is lengthy. While the writing is well done, and not too flowery, there are definite portions that felt like they dragged well beyond what they needed to be. This is a tome, to be honest. I completely understand that the source material is also this long, having read both the book and watched the musical, but there's something that's a bit lost in translation in Sky Without Stars. It doesn't feel like the length adds to anything, but more tends to slowly pull the reader out of the story being laid out in front of them. I think if this book had been just a little shorter, focusing more on character development, I would have loved it that much more.

As it stands, I rate this a solid three star read. It wasn't my favorite book, but it does have potential. Since this is the first in a series, I'll probably pick up the next book to see how things evolve. Perhaps my characters will pick themselves up a bit, and things will move along at a quicker pace.