Isabella Rogge's Blog: The Redhead Writer, page 290
September 5, 2015
booksaroundtheworld:
Fire in the Stars by Mitchell Thomas Kazanjian and Isabella Rogge
4 STARS
I...
Fire in the Stars by Mitchell Thomas Kazanjian and Isabella Rogge
4 STARS
I don’t know exactly what I was expecting when I picked up Fire in the Stars, but this was not it. I guess I thought this book would be something along the lines of “girl meets asshole boy and instantly feels a connection. they eventually fall in love and the boy becomes less of an asshole. with a dystopian backdrop”. NOT EVEN FUCKING CLOSE.
Fire in the Stars opens up with one of our main characters, Harper Jones, en route to a prison island full of criminals called Penance as punishment for stabbing someone. From the beginning we can tell that this isn’t going to go well - we all know what happened in Lord of the Flies, after all. And we’re right. Penance is not a place you want to go. Rogge and Kazajian did a pretty good job with Penance, making it seem as gritty, dark, and disturbing as you would expect. Throughout this book, Harper does her best to stay alive and protect the people that she comes to care about.
The other main character, Clint, has the same agenda, but executes it in a very different way. Clint is a ruthless assassin working for Esme, the “Queen of Penance”. Flat out - I didn’t like Clint. He was a very interesting character, and had depth, but was too sadistic. Fire in the Stars eventually sent him on a redemption arc, but I felt like he didn’t deserve it. I have a limit when it comes to forgiving people, and Clint’s actions (the torturing, the constant murdering) surpassed that limit. Harper, on the other hand, was a very relatable character. She was smart and logical, and loyal to those who deserved it. Another character that stood out to me was Gage. I actually kind of shipped him and Harper in the beginning (the scene where Harper tied him up was giving me massive Captain Swan flashbacks), but him being asexual turned out to be better, because REPRESENTATION. The other characters - Hazel, Sawyer, Sofia, Frank, Camila, etc. - were engaging enough, although I do wish they were fleshed out a little more. They all seemed kind of flat to me.
The main problem I had with Fire in the Stars was the pacing. It was moving too fast in the beginning, too slow in the middle, and then the end was just plan chaotic. Too much shit was happening, and it felt rushed. That being said, I did like how the story ended and it wrapped everything up fairly well. I could have done with more world building in the beginning and explanation in the end, but I wasn’t left with too many questions unanswered.
Fire in the Stars was also very well-written. Except for the weird monologues from Frank that frankly (see what I did there) felt out of place, it flowed nicely. The dual POV also worked well in this instance because we got to see from two completely different perspectives, which gave us a more well-rounded image of what was happening.
Finally, I’d just like to thank the authors for not adding romance because it would have just felt out of place. It always annoys me how in books where the characters are in danger of dying every second they have to fall in love as well.
Overall, Fire in the Stars was an extremely refreshing read with a captivating, action-packed story-line, and interesting characters. Put aside any reservations you may have about this book, be it the relatively unknown authors or the cover (which does not adequately capture the awesome that is this book) and READ IT!
fireinthestars-book:
FITS Virtual Book Tour: Day 9
REVIEW by...
FITS Virtual Book Tour: Day 9
REVIEW by booksaroundtheworld
Fire in the Stars opens up with one of our main characters, Harper Jones, en route to a prison island full of criminals called Penance as punishment for stabbing someone. From the beginning we can tell that this isn’t going to go well - we all know what happened in Lord of the Flies, after all. And we’re right. Penance is not a place you want to go. Rogge and Kazajian did a pretty good job with Penance, making it seem as gritty, dark, and disturbing as you would expect. Throughout this book, Harper does her best to stay alive and protect the people that she comes to care about.
The other main character, Clint, has the same agenda, but executes it in a very different way. Clint is a ruthless assassin working for Esme, the “Queen of Penance”. Flat out - I didn’t like Clint. He was a very interesting character, and had depth, but was too sadistic. Fire in the Stars eventually sent him on a redemption arc, but I felt like he didn’t deserve it. I have a limit when it comes to forgiving people, and Clint’s actions (the torturing, the constant murdering) surpassed that limit. Harper, on the other hand, was a very relatable character. She was smart and logical, and loyal to those who deserved it. Another character that stood out to me was Gage. I actually kind of shipped him and Harper in the beginning (the scene where Harper tied him up was giving me massive Captain Swan flashbacks), but him being asexual turned out to be better, because REPRESENTATION.
Read full review here
One of my favorite reviews yet ^_^ ((http://goo.gl/u7pqHA for review))
September 4, 2015
knitnerdnoms:
I felt like animating for the first time in a...
I felt like animating for the first time in a long time… so for all you Adultbooklrs, for books and tea.
tilly-and-her-books:
The other half of my library :) It’s a big...
The other half of my library :) It’s a big mix of everything from kids books to cooking to sport.
thegreenwolf:
jdjdgray:
smile
Still one of my favorite...
smile
Still one of my favorite photosets in the world. I always hope these two were as happy in life as they look in these photos.
