Series: standalone
Author: Alexa Donne
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: February 4, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction Romance
Told: First Person (Leo), Past Tense
Content Rating: Older Teen (a few words of language, kissing and sensuality, attempted murder)
Format Read: ARC
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Azon | B&N | BookDepo | Indiebound
Summary:
Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, only has one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?
But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love Elliot returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one that got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now, he’s the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself failing for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.
* * *
I initially grabbed The Stars We Steal solely because it was set in space, my biggest weakness. When I later discovered it was touted as "The Bachelorette goes to space," as well as a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, I was equal parts wary (Bachelorette) and intrigued (Austen retelling). Bachelorette is not my kind of thing and I know little of it other than commercial snippets so I won't speak to its similarities, although I feel confident that Stars' heavy romantic drama would definitely interest a fan. But while I haven't yet read Persuasion, I have seen a movie or two and right from the start recognized the story of the poor rich girl struggling to keep her spendthrift family afloat and the poor jilted boy who returns rich and falls back in love.
With its love/hate/love romance and onset-predictable twists the story was somewhat of a cringer for me, but the writing was strong and the dark intrigue engaging. The plot was heavily focused on drama and romance with very little action which is usually a strike against for me, but the story actually worked well without it and held my interest. Confined to little more than a few luxury ships the space setting could've just as easily taken place on a planet so I wasn't overly impressed, but I appreciated the familiar story's change of scenery and time. While I wasn't that crazy about Elliot (although he did wear glasses, props for that), Leo was strong and smart and worth rooting for, and she had a fun and diverse group of friends and family that brightened the otherwise shadowed story. The climax got rather intense after the otherwise low-key tale but the end was sweet and romantic, and although the book stands very well alone I wouldn't be averse to a sequel exploring more of the struggling ships and sparking rebellion.
Conclusion: Was I glad I gave it a read? With its strong writing and engaging intrigue, yes. Would I recommend it? If you love intense drama and romance-focused stories, definitely. And, of course, if you love Persuasion, Jane Austen retellings in general, and/or The Bachelorette.
STRENGTHS:
✔ Ace rep!! Ace me highly approved. (What happened to him romantically, not so much.)
✔ Glasses rep
✔ Strong writing
✔ Engaging intrigue
WEAKNESSES:
✘ Predictable twists
✘ Very little action (but it really wasn't an action kind of story so that's my personal problem)
✘ Space setting was a little weak
✘ Love to hate to love romance (again, personal dislike)
For Fans Of: The Bachelorette, Jane Austen (especially Persuasion)
Scribble Rating:
3.5 of 5 Scribbles
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