Scardust

by Xan van Rooyen

A new adult gay romance from Entangled's Embrace imprint...

Sometimes answers fall from the sky...

Dead Rock, Texas, 2037

Raleigh Williams made a promise to his brother before he died, that he'd scatter his ashes on Mars. Desperate to leave a life of bad memories behind and start over in the Martian colony, Raleigh fully intends to keep that promise. But his plans are thwarted when a meteor near-misses him in the desert, and Raleigh finds in its crater not debris or even a spacecraft, but a man covered in swirling scars and with no memory of who he is. At least he looks like a man—a man Raleigh can't seem to keep his eyes off of—but whenever they touch it ignites a memory swap between them.

Raleigh agrees to help Meteor Man piece together his life through their cosmic connection. But the memory share goes both ways, and Raleigh becomes inexplicably entangled with a guy who is everything he needs—everything good that Raleigh is not—but might not even be human. As their minds and worlds collide, reality unravels and Raleigh must face a painful truth, one that could shatter his dreams of finding love, reaching Mars, and fulfilling his brother's last wish.

Genres: Science Fiction, New Adult, M M Romance, LGBT, Romance, Queer, Aliens

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2016

About the author

I'm an autistic non-binary author with a penchant for the dark and strange. I primarily write SFF but enjoy literary writing as well. (Pronouns: they/them)

When not writing, I teach music at an international school, climb, eat anything involving peanut butter, and serve the whims of my shiba inu.

Reviews

[Julio Genao]

stay cool, julio. stay cool.



this book really upset me, but after aggressively slurping a cuppa tay, i was sufficiently calm enough to work out why.

the things that killed me in the face are mostly things that only appear to plague people who spend all day nerding-out about colloquial syntax and raging about people who use the word whack (to strike) when they really mean wack (to be inferior).

in other words, most of you won't be driven to distraction by what made my eyes bleed up in hurr, so who am i helping by listing all thirty of my ragey notes through 33 percent?

nobody, that's who.

so i decided not to chop this book up.

you know. with the embarrassing quotes and the vicious gifs and whatnot.

suffice to say that i found the premise and plot interesting; raleigh's decision-making conveniently stupid; the sex work issue awkwardly handled and needlessly demonized; the similes tortured and nonsensical; the side characters promisingly multidimensional; the barely subtle fat-shaming completely unnecessary; the language bizarrely puritanical, even with liberal use of the aforementioned deranged similes.

again—mostly things that annoy me disproportionately.

so i figure—hear me out, here—if you like the sound of that blurb, you should hunnet puhcent check this bad-boy out.

because i seriously doubt a ten minute image processing scene complete with a progress bar in the year 2037 despite google reverse image search being able to tell you where a picture came from in .2 seconds since at least 2012 will drive you anywhere near as insane as it did me.

because i am crazy, and i NO CAN.

but you? you are not crazy.

you are nice.

godspeed, friends!

[Crina | booktwist_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

OHMYGOSH! <3 *giggle happilly and dances around with the kindle* This was a-ma-zing! Plot, characters, relationship, emotions, twists and the ending. I think I'm in love! : )) Please read it! If you like awesome and unique and original books, hell of a ride and MM romance.

Original post on Reading Addict

Holly Freaking Mother of Awesome Books! *smiles like crazy, while jumps and dances with the chair, crazy hugging the kindle and droolling over it*
So, I will try to make this review as coherent as possible and not present myself yelling and blabblering, while throwing the book at your and mumbling and blabblering and threathening your life if you don't do it. : ))

THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ THIS YEAR SO FAR! I was expecting to enjoy it, to love it, to be a never-ending ride, because the cover made my eyeballs explode and fell in love *with the cover not with one another* and the synopsis and the synopsis sounded very very intriguing, original and hot as hell, because me loves some cute guys, which can be cute with one another. BUT HELL, BECAUSE THIS BLEW MY MIND! And with each chapter and each twist I found myself breathing harder and gasping and being so shocked, because this was getting fucking good and awesome!

I won't speak about the plot, the ending or the middle of the novel, because you have to read it and enjoy it on your own. And trust me, you won't regret it. You'll devour this is no time and you'll be like a blabbering, uncoherent, drooling and post mind orgasm mess when you finish it. And you'll want more! This plot was amazing and everything was done so well! I loved the action, the suspense, the twists and turns, the epilogue, everything.

Also the writing style is very beautiful and engaging and emotional, and gripping. It's been a long time since I was so attached to the characters and I really wanted them to be good and be happy and all the bad guys to die and leave them alone. It's been a long time since I felt so much and I missed this feeling. And I loved it!

And Raleigh and Crow... *deep siiigh* oh man! These people are amazing individually but when you put them together the earth and the entire solar system starts spinning in a different direction. They felt SO real and I cared so much for them, and I was so eager for them to know each other more and be friends and... more. And Hell, I even had butterflies, because of the chemistry and all the dialogues and touches and whispers and glimpses and.... and everything. They are so real to me now and I'm so happy that they are happy. Even though at some point when... you know if you've read the book. I almost had a heart attack and I wanted to cry. But them BAM! My heart jumped back in my throat and I was crying and laughing and smiling like a crazy in love reader and idiot.

THIS BOOK IS SO REAL. SO SPECIAL. It's full of suspense and action, love and emotions of different kinds. It's about people with people and oh, what people can and would do for their loved ones. It's a book that shatters you, kills you and breaks you apart. And you let it. Because then, when you're put back together, the feeling is so amazing and surreal! I can't have enough words.

JUST READ THIS BOOK AND FEEL! FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM, WATCH THEM FALLING AND DON'T FAINT! This book is able to give you heart attacks. But good ones. And be careful! DON'T DROOL OVER YOUR KINDLE.

EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!

[Xan Rooyen]

Dear Readers,

Greetings from the author! *waves*

A huge thank you to all those who have already added Scardust to their shelves! I cannot wait for you to meet Raleigh and Crow.

If you want to know more about what inspired this story, you can check out its Pinterest board here.

[Joana · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** SPOILERS ***

I really, really enjoyed this book.
After I finished I'd found myself thinking about it.

At first, the way the story was going, I was enjoying it and I couldn't stop reading but there was something that seemed to off... Like I dunno... there was just something that seemed odd and not making sense. Like Mars, to me it made no sense that travels to Mars was being part of the story, it just didn't seem to fit. But then that twist in the story... Amazing. Made everything go into their right places and everything made sense and I loved it.

The whole simulation thing.. I loved it. The characters were also good, with pretty sweet and sexy scenes.

I'm really satisfied.


*** This title was kindly provided by Entangled Publishing, LLC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ***

[Elaine - Splashes Into Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very different story in many ways. Set in the future, with Raleigh Williams starring as he endeavours to travel to Mars to scatter his brother’s ashes and so fulfil his brother’s last wish. For me it wasn’t an easy read, and to be quite honest it wasn't a page turner for me, either. You think you’ve sorted some aspect out and understand what’s happening and why only for another diversion to side track you again! It is full of surprises along the way and especially towards the end when you find out just what it was all about. It does contain some traumatic events and isn’t for the prudish or homophobic. I suspect it is one of those books that you'll either love or not be of real interest, for me it was an ok read, one that I started and left a few times before finishing as I didn't find it really engaging, hence the rating. So, all that taken into consideration, this is a surprising science fiction novel with developed characters, a MM romance, together with a plot that’s full of unexpected events and a final twist.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scardust!!! First things first: I received this ARC through NetGalley.
The book comes out next monday, february 8th. Go check it out!!!
 
I really really enjoyed this book. I loved the whole idea behind the book, Raleigh went through some really bad stuff in his past, his brother died and his last wish was for Raleigh to spread his ashes on Mars. So now he's doing everything he can to get to Mars. One night everything changes for him when a dude, they later call Crow, literally falls out of the sky. He doesn't remember anything. But when they touch they share memories.
 
SO I LOVE THAT IDEA. The futuristic setting was so cool. And I think the mystery was really well done. Like, who the heck is Crow? Where is he coming from? Why has no one else seen the meteor that "dropped" Crown off? Why the memory exchange? Is he human? Is he an alien? So yeah, there were lots of questions and without spoiling anything, I LOVE how everything was revealed at the end.
 
I love how the backstory of the two characters was told through the memory share. It felt new, since I haven't read anything like that before.
 
The characters were really complex and there were a lot of layers to them. I didn't necessarily connect with them but I really cared about them and really wanted to know more about them and I really wanted to see were things would be going for them.
 
I also really loved the relationship between Raleigh and Crow, from strangers, to 'we have to figure this out together', to friends and lastly to 'you know all my deepest darkest secrets and you are still falling in love with me'. I loved that.
 
The writing was easy to read and just really good. I enjoyed little details like the memories being written in cursive. Or when Crow heard the voices they were written in bold. I also loved the little codes that were written after Crow heard the voices.
 

[1-Click Addict Support Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books. The kind of book where you just know, by halfway through, that any review you give it just isn't going to do it justice. It was impossible to really describe, impossible to figure out, impossible to judge, and completely impossible to put down.

It was a slow burn of simmering passions. The connection between Raleigh and the mysterious Crow. The slow slips of memories and information. The intrigue of mystery, and the suspense of the danger. It gave you scarred individuals, with damage and flaws that were so raw and traumatic. Then it slowly, sneakily revealed their inner workings and somewhere along the line drew you in until you were in love with not only who they were, but who they had the potential to be.

It was a sci-fi novel, with that intense passion simmering underneath its technical and fantastical mystery. There was so much going on, but it never quite let you forget the relationship these two poor souls wanted, deserved. The twists and turns left the mind reeling, and gasping at the revelations. Such a twist in a twist, the first suspected, the second only desperately hoped for.

It was not even remotely what I expected it to be, but it was beyond a doubt so much more than I could have hoped for. Beautiful. Intense. Raw and powerful. It left me with the worst kind of hangover, thirsty for more. ~ George, 5 stars

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 STARS
OK, SO INITIALLY the first half of this book comes across as a total clusterfuck. To me however it was not, it was very smart. This is not for light reading and you need to give it 100% of your undivided attention, especially for the first third.

[Gwennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scardust had a very interesting plot. I read it pretty quickly, and I was fully engaged the entire time. It’s just odd because all the reasons I have for liking the story are also all the same reasons I had for not liking the story. It feels like some strange paradox. The other interesting thing about Scardust is how to review it without discussing key aspects of the story, which are exactly what I need to discuss! They are the reasons I both liked and disliked the book in the first place.

Basically the story is about Raleigh, or Raw as his friends call him, and the messed up life he’s had. His life long dream is to work as an astronaut on Mars, getting away from his past. He finds Crow (Meteor Man) in the desert, devoid of any memories prior to Raleigh finding him, and their two lives become intertwined.

Scardust works hard to remind you that it’s very likely Crow isn’t even human. From the indigo hair that grows that way from the root, to the swirly scars covering his body, you’re never able to forget there’s just something not right about him. It doesn’t stop you from liking him, or liking the way that Crow is with Raleigh. It gets even harder to keep your emotional distance after they begin sharing memories. Through those flashbacks not only do you get the sordid history of Raw’s life in Dead Rock, you also get glimpses of what we believe is likely Crow’s prior life.

I liked that! I liked that we can’t forget. These weird things keep happening to Crow and you’re so worried as you read, wondering how in the world this is going to work out for everyone. It’s not just Crow either, it’s all the trauma that happens after Raleigh and Crow are united. So, I liked it, but at the same time I didn’t like it. It felt real, and then it also didn’t feel real. Sometimes it was just too perfect, their relationship worked out too well. I don’t know, it’s very hard to describe.

And the end, that was even more of a mindf*ck. On one hand, I actually really liked the twist toward the end. It was one answer that, maybe it’s just me, I totally didn’t see it coming. It wasn’t anything at all that I would have guessed. It was intriguing, and clever. I liked the resolution after the twist too. It was sweet. Yet, underneath all that I was also really sad because of what was lost. It was the sacrifice of something sweet, for the possibility of something sweet. A paradox.

See, this is so hard to review without giving anything away. There’s a mystery at the core of the story, and overall I’m very glad I read it.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Read this review, and others like it, at Badass Book Reviews!

[Nina Rossing · Rating 4 out of 5]

The protagonist we meet first in this book, Raleigh, is a compelling, flawed and still likable character that I got a lot of sympathy for. There's nothing like an underdog unfairly treated but chasing his dream :)
I liked how this book made its readers want to read on to find out what was really up with the other main character, Crow. I was very intrigued by him, and I think the author showed great skill in leaving clever clues as the plot progressed. The relationship between Raleigh and Crow turned very interesting because of all the questions I had about who Crow was, and I think the revelation about him quite late in the book was great.

[Melanie McFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This intense sci-fi comes with prose as dark and poetic as only a futuristic Texas can be, where a boy who waters a roadkill garden hopes to escape his messed up life and run away to Mars. Suzanne van Rooyen draws us in to the world of Raleigh and Crow, and their attempts to find answers to Crow's past. Through tiny flashbacks we're shown each character's past struggles to find where they fit in this world, and watch as they grow together. But in a twist as good as an Orson Scott Card plot, accepting change may be as harder than overcoming Raleigh's old life. A great read.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set a couple of decades in the future, Scardust is an intriguingly unique, intensely captivating sci-fi romance that is all kinds of perfect and full of unexpected twists that screw with your mind. Suzanne van Rooyen truly has a way with words, bringing the bleak setting, the characters and their thoughts and emotions expertly to life. I enjoyed both her writing and the novel itself immensely and will surely be reading more of her works in future.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scardust! <3 I had the pleasure of beta-reading this book and I LOVED IT. It's so unique and action-packed, and it kept me guessing at every single turn. Raleigh and Crow's story is raw and heart-wrenching and exciting and awesome. The voice of this novel-- specifically the two *distinct* POVs-- blew me away. 5/5 stars to this amazing NA story!

[Wortmagie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich habe wenig Erfahrung mit LSBTTIQ-Literatur. Um die Gay Romance habe ich bisher einen großen Bogen gemacht, weil ich – wie ihr mittlerweile wissen dürftet – kein Fan von Liebesgeschichten bin. Ich weiß, dass sich dieses spezielle Genre eines stetigen wachsenden Publikums erfreut, mir war allerdings nicht klar, dass die Kategorisierung als Gay Romance nicht zwangsläufig bedeutet, dass das entsprechende Buch als klassischer Liebesroman betitelt werden kann. Jede Genre-Kombination ist erlaubt. Ich bin daher sehr froh, dass mir Suzanne van Rooyens Science-Fiction-Roman „Scardust“ bei Netgalley begegnete und mir die Augen öffnete.

Raleigh Williams will die Erde verlassen. Was hält ihn schon in Dead Rock, Texas? Eine traumatische Vergangenheit voller schlechter Erinnerungen? Nein, Raleigh ist entschlossen, Teil der Marskolonie zu werden, koste es, was es wolle. Als eines Nachts jedoch ein Meteor in der texanischen Wüste einschlägt, werden all seine Pläne auf den Kopf gestellt. Im Krater findet er einen mit Narben übersäten, unverschämt gutaussehenden Mann ohne Gedächtnis, der weder weiß, wer er ist, noch wie er den Einschlag überleben konnte oder wieso er überhaupt als Meteor auf die Erde stürzte. Genau genommen ist nicht mal sicher, ob der Fremde ein Mensch ist. Der einzige Anhaltspunkt sind die Erinnerungsfetzen, die die beiden austauschen, wann immer sie sich berühren. Raleigh erklärt sich bereit, Meteor-Mann zu helfen. Eine folgenschwere Entscheidung, denn schon bald sind ihnen krude Regierungsbeamte auf den Fersen. Auf ihrer Flucht erforschen sie gemeinsam die Erinnerungen des jeweils anderen und kommen sich dabei beständig näher. Doch je mehr Antworten sie erhalten, desto unklarer wird das Gesamtbild, bis die Grenzen von Realität und Einbildung verschwimmen.

Ich fand „Scardust“ toll. Mir ist selbstverständlich bewusst, dass das Buch nicht perfekt ist und einige verbesserungswürdige Aspekte enthält, wie zum Beispiel die Objektifizierung der Hauptfiguren durch die zwanghafte Darstellung ihrer körperlichen Attraktivität oder der beschämende Umgang mit dem Thema Prostitution, aber die Lektüre bereitete mir so viel Freude, dass ich darüber hinwegsehen wollte und konnte. Vielleicht sollten mir diese Stolpersteine mehr ausmachen, doch ich hatte einfach Spaß beim Lesen. Dieses Gefühl überstrahlt jegliche Kritik, die die kleine nörgelnde Stimme in meinem Kopf geltend machen möchte. Meiner Meinung nach überzeugt dieser SciFi-Roman vor allem durch die Protagonisten, die in abwechselnder Ich-Perspektive nicht nur äußerst glaubwürdig und realistisch ausgearbeitet, sondern auch schlicht und ergreifend unheimlich sympathisch sind. Raleigh ist ein traumatisierter junger Mann, der aus einer zerrütteten Familie stammt und bisher nicht viel Glück hatte. Seine sexuelle Orientierung brandmarkte ihn stets als „anders“, was in einem kleinen texanischen Kaff natürlich schwierig ist. In seiner Vergangenheit liegt so manches dunkles Geheimnis, das ihn bis heute verfolgt. Suzanne van Rooyen integrierte Raleighs Trauma hervorragend in ihre Geschichte, ohne seine Persönlichkeit schwach wirken zu lassen. Ich fand es vollkommen verständlich, dass er seinem seelischen Ballast zu entkommen versucht und dafür den radikalsten Weg wählt, der ihm einfällt: ein Leben auf dem Mars. Als ihm der Meteor-Mann begegnet, den er kurzerhand Crow tauft, geraten diese Pläne allerdings heftig ins Stolpern. Sein Entschluss, Crow zu helfen, bringt ihn und alle, die ihm nahestehen, in Gefahr. Plötzlich wird er gejagt und bedroht, ohne zu wissen, wieso. Den Mann ohne Gedächtnis umgibt ein haarsträubendes Rätsel, das ich überaus spannend fand. Ich begriff nicht, was mit Crow nicht stimmt und wollte unbedingt herausfinden, was die scheinbar nicht-menschlichen, etwas übertrieben heftigen Symptome, die er durchleidet, zu bedeuten haben. Crow ist ein extrem unterstützender, toleranter Charakter, der Raleigh trotz seiner fragwürdigen Vergangenheit nimmt, wie er ist, ohne ihn zu verurteilen, da er durch ihre geteilten Erinnerungen buchstäblich in seiner Haut steckte. Die sich rasch entwickelnden Gefühle zwischen den beiden erschienen mir daher durchaus nachvollziehbar. Sie verbindet eine sehr intime Beziehung, die sich mit jeder Berührung weiter intensiviert. Ist es da verwunderlich, dass sie sich schnell ineinander verlieben? Sie lernen sich auf einer Ebene kennen, für die andere Menschen Jahre brauchen. Es gibt zwischen ihnen keine Lügen, Schmeicheleien oder Geheimnisse, nur reine, echte Nähe, die sogar Raleighs sorgsam errichteten emotionalen Schutzwall durchbricht, weil Crow ihm all das bietet, wonach er sich insgeheim sehnt. Ich fand ihre Beziehung entzückend und bangte der niederschmetternden Auflösung, wer Crow ist, entgegen. Diese Wendung der Geschichte kann ich nur als abgefahren bezeichnen. Meine Kinnlade rauschte zu Boden. Ich sehe zwar ein paar kleinere Probleme hinsichtlich der Plausibilität dieses Erklärungsansatzes, kann aber nicht leugnen, dass mich dessen Originalität beeindruckte. Ich war wie vom Donner gerührt und hätte niemals erwartet, dass Suzanne van Rooyen mit dermaßen futuristischen Ideen aufwartet.

„Scardust“ ist ein Science-Fiction-Roman aus der Gay Romance voller Action und glaubhaften Emotionen. Suzanne van Rooyen bietet einige interessante Denkanstöße bezüglich der Zukunft und spricht erstaunlich viele Tabuthemen an, ohne jemals die Handlung ihrer Geschichte aus den Augen zu verlieren. Das Buch enthält zwar den einen oder anderen Mangel, doch unterm Strich war die Lektüre unterhaltsam und mitreißend, was meines Erachtens nach stets schwerer wiegt als jeder Kritikpunkt. Es wundert mich nicht, dass „Scardust“ im Rahmen der Rainbow Awards 2016 ausgezeichnet wurde. Raleighs und Crows Geschichte ist eine bezaubernde Mischung aus Herz und Köpfchen, die ich euch guten Gewissens weiterempfehlen kann.

Vielen Dank an den Verlag Entangled Embrace für die Bereitstellung dieses Rezensionsexemplars via Netgalley im Austausch für eine ehrliche Rezension!

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 this-book-is-a-UFO stars

*clearing throat*

Right so what did I just read ?!

This incredible story was kindly provided as an ARC by Entangled Publishing through NetGalley.

And incredible is the word because what you believe, or not, and how it affects the way you act is key to this book as indicated by Herbert's quote right at the start "Whether a thought is spoken or not, it is a real thing and has powers of reality". But I won't dwell on this because there's no way I want to spoil the journey for other readers.

But let's come back to my earlier question : what did I just read ? NetGalley had this book under the romance tag. Reading the blurb clearly indicated it was also science fiction or at least anticipation (set in 2037).
So the question is which is it mainly : romance or sci-fi. ?

The romance is there indeed , slow building and therefore so much more believable. The twist of having the two MCs getting to know each other from their day to day interactions but also through sharing their memories makes the relation building so much more intense. If you were not sure what someone could learn about your past and your feelings just by holding your hand, how would you feel ?

Sci-fi, definitely, as the main underlying structure of the whole plot. And again, I don't want to spoil, but it is good.

But to me the book was so much more. It really was about acceptance (of others ... but also of yourself) and choice.
It did touch on a number of rather heavy topics : homophobia vs tolerance seems an obvious one, but also domestic violence vs unconditional love (whether Madison's, and even Dales's, or Crow's parents), abuse (from others or self-inflicted), brotherhood , the choices and responsibilities we all have in life often without us acknowledging.

All this with sharp words and punchy sentences. I loved the dialog between Abi and Raleigh about life being full of choices ... but again, too many spoilers in there to quote it here, so I'll settle on :
"Dad didn't understand that being a pacifist didn't mean West was a coward. My brother was the brave one. It's easier to do the punching than take the beating."

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt a little bit guilty when I started reading Scardust, because I took it on straight after Anansi Boys and didn't feel like I was giving the author a fair chance to shine, what with having to follow Gaiman. Being a new Suzanne van Rooyen reader (now fan), I couldn't have known that she is a masterful storyteller in her own right and I needn't have worried.
Scardust is the enthralling tale of Raleigh and Crow, two young men on very different missions, who get entirely entangled in each others lives, through their swapped memories. A little bit of sci-fi, a little bit of romance and a whole lot of intrigue, Scardust is a great read. Van Rooyen creates layered characters that you can't help but feel for. I was excited for them, sad for them, hopeful for them. The story itself keep pulling you deeper, and kind of reminded me of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (in style and intrigue, not storyline).
As I final note, I'm not generally a fan of LGBT, because regardless of what the story is, the writer tends to make the book all about that one element, rather than just telling the story. Van Rooyen, however, writes characters that just happen to be gay in a fully realised story. She deals with their issues, but allows them other character traits too. She doesn't harp on homosexuality, nor does she ignore it. She doesn't allow her character's orientation to distract her from the story. It is masterfully done and she should give lessons.
I highly, highly, highly recommend this book!

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
This book wasn't what I was expecting (I was expecting it to be darker or more twisted), but that's on me. The book was a little slow to start, but overall it was good, and really I can't say anything bad about it. It was mysterious, but in the end it was all explained and made sense, so you don't have to worry about it being confusing or about not getting answers. I think I recall seeing some reviews that mentioned it being shocking or mindfuck-y, but I didn't think it was, although that could be because I figured out the general gist of what was going on around the 43% mark and then pretty much figured out the rest also before it was revealed. *SPOILER (I'm going to say whether it had a happy or unhappy ending, but no details)* It also turned out to have a sweet, happy ending, which was nice because Raleigh deserved it after all he'd been through. *END SPOILER* And getting to understand Raleigh and why he did the things he did gave me new insight into someone I might've judged in real life if I didn't know his story. So overall, it wasn't quite what I wanted but was still enjoyable.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


This novel took me by surprise and completely blew me away! A psychological science fiction novel set in small-town Texas, SCARDUST has everything I could hope for: a compelling mystery, complex characters, a gorgeous slow-build romance, and underlying themes of reaching for your dreams and refusing to settle for less.

Read the review on Just Love Romance!

[Jude Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. LOVE. IN LOVE. Okay, so the grown up portion of the review:

Based on the blurb I was hesitant -- it sounded intriguing but also wasn't generally something I'd read. I am so freaking glad that I decided to buy this.

a) the story felt so unique and sucked me right in
b) the pacing was perfect. I was captivated from the start and at no point did I feel like it slowed down or my interest waned.
c) the thing. THE THING. Word building. God is this prose GORGEOUS. Just so imaginative and creative and unique! I *aspire* to write this kind of prose.

[Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A copy of this novel was provided by Entangled Publishing for review via Net Galley.

There are mainly four reasons why Scardust is four stars, and because I am kind I am going to outline them right now. Just for you. Here you go:

1) Scardust is New Adult, sci-fi, and LGBTQIA+. This is a pretty darn rare occurrence, because almost all of the books I’ve read/seen in the New Adult genre are contemporary. And most of the LGBTQIA+ books that I read in general (including NA) are contemporary. So not only does Scardust break out of the contemporary confines of NA, it also breaks out of the LGBTQIA+ contemporary confines. JUST ALL THE YES TO THIS. We need more books that do this. Please, and thank you.

2) The plot. There was so much mystery. A lot of Scardust is clouded in mystery, and practically nothing is revealed until the very end. This totally did my head in, but it was also pretty enjoyable at the same time. I wanted to know everything that was happening, and all the secrets, which was an incentive to keep reading.

Aside from the mystery, there are familial relationships that are explored really well, as well as connections between bully and victim, person and pet, human and machine. There were a lot of topics covered in Scardust without being an overload. It never felt like there was too much going on, or too many things happening at once.

Another aspect of the plot I loved was the ship. The ship was incredibly shippable, and I most definitely wanted a happily ever after for Crow and Raleigh. They suited each other so well, and I absolutely loved their interactions. Everything about this ship was on point.

3) Crow. Crow was a precious pancake, and I adored him. I absolutely loved him. His vulnerability, his feelings for Raleigh, his confusion. Literally everything about Crow was loveable. I especially liked the descriptions of him – purple hair was bright green eyes and weird scars all over his body. I could picture Crow so clearly in my head and it was wonderful. Crow is one of my most recent favourite characters, and I know I won’t be forgetting him any time soon.

4) The ending. Which reminded me of a certain movie that I really love (but if I mentioned which movie it would kind of ruin the ending of this book). While I would have been happier with a certain different ending, I still really liked this one. It was cute, and I was pleased that it was, overall, a happy ending. Even if I am still a little sad.

~

So, if you’re looking for a New Adult novel that isn’t contemporary, or an LGBTQIA+ novel that isn’t contemporary, or perhaps both a NA book and an LGBTQIA+ book that isn’t contemporary then Scardust is for you. Especially because of Crow.

© 2016, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity . All rights reserved.

trigger warning: rape, physical assault, animal cruelty, domestic abuse, self harm, suicide, death by car accident, harassment, and bullying in this novel

[Caro [The Book Rogue] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why I picked this story up:

I need a bit of m/m romance in my life every once in a while, and this just sounded totally amazing. Add to that the intriguing Sci-Fi concept, memory sharing, and a town called Dead Rock to underline just how badly Raleigh needs to get out of there... *gabby hands*

What I found:

Incredible strength. Survivor. Raleigh owns those words, and love -- for his dead brother and his strange meteor man -- is his driving force. At every bad turn, he amazed me a bit more and he just... stole my heart. He's exactly the kind of YA/NA hero I love most, from his background to the depths of his big heart. So of course I'm overjoyed he found his perfect match, because he deserved it. They deserved it; to find each other, to find such love... Those two just belong together, period.

Plotwise, I really don't want to reveal any details, because it'd ruin the whole experience. It starts quite normally, I'd say, but gets more and more interesting later on. The whole memory swap and flashback-storytelling was just the way I love it. There were a few real cruel blows in there, but also some stuff that was on the edge of being too cliche that turned me off a bit, so it was not enough to leave me totally in tears. It also got a bit predictable, but I still liked how the details turned out, and that it didn't end with that one major revelation, but carried on into the framework afterwards. And I'd love to know how their story goes on!

For an NA story, it could've done with a bit more heat. I felt all the love, but with two guys like this... yep, definitvely missing a big chunk of lust to go with their personalities. Draw it out a bit more, too.

Area Scan: Idea: 5/5 -- Style/Vocab: 5/5 -- Plot: 5/5 -- Heroes: 5/5 -- Hearts: 5/5 -- Tears: 5/5 -- Heat: 2.5/5 -- Thrills: 3/5 -- Laughs: 3/5
Overall: 4.5/5

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Scardust, even though one of my biggest pet peeves was in it. TWICE. (Raleigh "looked through is eyelashes" - I hate that phrase with a passion. Because - HOW?! How do you look through your lashes?!)

The relationship was also a bit sudden. Raleigh and Crow fell in love in a matter of days. So yeah, that was a bit of insta-love in this book.

The sci-fi parts of the story, especially towards the end were fascinating and beautifully written - I could imagine everything very well.

Do it totally buy into the story? No. Was it an interesting and easy read? Yes. I really haven´t read a story like this before and that was refreshing for me.

[Mare SLiTsReaD Reviews]

DNF @ 31%

Maybe I'll go back but at this point nothing is holding me down to want to finsh....

[J.S. Meresmaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very lovely YA sci-fi romance.

[theStorykeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

all of the content warnings and all of the feels

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Rape
Domestic abuse
Suicide
Self harm
Car accident
Bullying
Animal cruelty

[Jacque · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is going to be a tough review to write. Not because the book was bad, far from it. Scardust was a very interesting book. It completely took me by surprise. It was filled with so many surprises and, at times gut retching sadness, as Raleigh struggles to fulfill his promise to his brother as he tries to move on with his life. It's all the unexpected, the sharp curves thrown at Raleigh, and not giving any of it away, that is the tough part. Suzanne van Rooyen has created quite the roller coaster ride.

A quick rundown of what Scardust is about. The year is 2037 and the city is Dead Rock, Texas. Raleigh is desperately trying to get money for tuition so that he can go to school and eventually be part of the MarsLife colony. Escaping to Mars would fulfill the promise he made to his dead brother as well as get him away from the hellhole of his current life. Selling his bone jewelry and working for his brother-in-law isn’t cutting it so sells his body as well. There’s a lot of self-loathing and shame involved but in his mind, the end justifies the means. All this changes when Raleigh witnesses what he thinks is a meteor crashing in the desert. Instead of finding a meteor, he finds a naked man covered in blood, bruises, strange swirling scars and no memory of who he is. Raleigh and agrees to help him and calls him Crow. Every time they touch, they see each other’s memories and it becomes harder to resist their growing attraction. There are things Raleigh is hiding and won’t even admit to himself and unless he does, he may lose it all.

Let me start with I did struggle with this book in the beginning. I spent a bit of it head scratching trying to figure out where it was going. I got Crow was a mystery to the story and his side was going to take a while to unravel, Raleigh was a bit of a conundrum. I didn't immediately warm up to Raleigh because at times I felt I was missing something. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. The introduction of Crow and his interactions with Raleigh eventually had me changing my mind. Secrets started to come out and it finally hit me. This dark strange story actually had rhyme and reason to it and just like that, I was hooked. My problem was I just wasn’t patient enough but once I pushed through I found myself quickly getting sucked into the story. There’s a slow build up between Crow and Raleigh, as they experience each other’s memories. It was a completely new experience for me to get to learn characters this way. But as much as I got sucked into the story, I was completely unprepared for everything that happened in the last half of the book. Wow!

I think back and revisit all that has happened; pushing through my initial my doubts, growing into the characters, and I realize that Scardust was worth it. I doubt there will be a second book for Raleigh and Crow but if there was, I would be at the front of the line to get myself a copy. Will read anything else by Suzanne van Rooyen? Most definitely. Read Scardust and discover its mysteries for yourself.


I received this book from the JeepDiva for the express purposes of an honest review. The opinions and rating of this review are solely mine and in no way was I compensated.
Stars - 4, Flames - 2.5

[Book Gannet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is kind of hard to talk about without giving things away. I actually find it tricky to talk about at all, because it wasn’t quite what I expected and I’m still not sure what I think about it. It is well enough written and the overall plot is clever, but for the most part this is a story set in small town Texas, where terrible things have happened to Raleigh and his life is pretty much hopeless. It’s kind of dark and dreary, and even when things happen with him and Crow it’s all still tinged with hopelessness.

Alternating between Raleigh and Crow (Meteor Man) in first person perspective, you definitely get a chance to get inside both characters’ heads. And yet, I never really connected to either of them. Raleigh is an interesting character, but years of abuse – from others as well as himself – have worn him down. He’s not completely broken, but he is definitely battered, and all he wants is to go to Mars. That’s really all there is to Raleigh, his feelings of shame towards his background and his desperation to leave. Yet he’s mostly treading water, trapped in his hopeless life.

Then along comes Crow, the stranger with no memory of who he is or where he’s from. He’s a powerful mystery and an attraction Raleigh struggles to resist. I did like the way the relationship grows between them, but somehow it never quite drew me in the way I had hoped. Because Crow gets to see all the bad, defining moments of Raleigh’s life, their closeness is a touch artificial, leaving only their physical attraction behind. Which I would have expected to have been more of an issue for Raleigh, considering his past.

The story is clever, but it does take its time to get anywhere. The vast majority takes place in Dead Rock, and without the Mars mentions and Crow’s mystery, it could have been a contemporary tale. The sci-fi elements do ramp up towards the end, but though I wanted to know what happened, I wasn’t that bothered about either Raleigh or Crow. As for the last 20% or so, while I enjoyed the extra sci-fi stuff, everything else felt far too rushed.

Which all leaves me feeling torn. It’s a good story, quite well told, but prepare for dark and bleak at times, with bullying, domestic and sexual abuse all playing a part. The characters are interesting, and once the tale finally gets moving it is compelling, with an intriguing mystery. If you’re looking for a solid sci-fi novel about space colonisation, you won’t find it here. If you prefer your sci-fi to take place in a world that really isn’t all that different to our current one, then this might be more your thing. Overall I’m glad I read the whole thing, but I neither loved nor hated it.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead Rock, Texas, 2037. Raleigh Williams’ dream is to go to Mars; for himself, and also to dispose of his late brother’s ashes on the planet. Raleigh works at a job at minimum wage, he has been to juvie, he also prostitutes himself, all this to be able, one day, to afford to go to Mars. One evening while going home from an encounter with an unsavoury client, what seems like a meteor crashes. After the shock, Raleigh notices there’s a naked man lying, inert, bruised and bloodied. He phones his sister and takes the man home, where Raleigh lives with his sister Madison and her husband Dale, and their little son Nash. “Meteor Man”, whom they now call Crow because of a crow’s feather Raleigh found, is exactly Raleigh’s type, but the stranger is a bit odd, he’s kind to Raleigh, which is nice for a change, and good-looking, but he’s different…

I am not a habitual reader of SciFi, so it may influence my review. I thought the premise original, given that SCARDUST is a male/male romance, and readers not used to it need not worry, most of the sex is merely implied, and there’s nothing really graphic. SCARDUST is told from alternate POVs, and I found fascinating that the voices of Raleigh and the stranger are entirely different in tone: Crow is more refined, whereas Raleigh far from being an ignoramus, is definitely unpolished. While I really liked Crow, I did not like Raleigh very much, and this is a personal issue: Raleigh is quite prone to violence. He has a violent past, and while I understand where he’s coming from, I’m not too keen on that kind of hero. However, I liked their camaraderie, how their relationship develops; Raleigh is 19, and the character behaves and sounds like it.

I like how the suspense about Crow slowly builds up as more things become known, and which we learn at the same time as the characters do, which I always think is better. SCARDUST works very well as a SciFi novel, it all sounds very plausible, and it’s quite exciting as well. It also works very well as a mystery, because I did not know how things were going to turn out neither where the relationship is concerned nor as to regarding Crow. Everything concludes satisfactorily; I thought the ending was absolutely marvellous!


I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Aldii - perfectioninbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry, made me wonder,made me smile and made me happy.

The Writing:
I loved the writing. I opened the book and I was in that world. Just loved it.
We read from two POVs: Raleigh and Crow.
It’s great to see these two POVs because these characters are different but they understand each other and in a way, they have similar things too.

The Story:
Loved it.
From the beginning until the end.
When you start reading this book you don’t understand anything and you won’t understand anything until the end. And that’s one of the things that made this book so great for me. I enjoyed all the mystery involving this story and Crow. It’s like all the time you have this ‘?’ in your head and things just get stranger as you keep reading.
But this book it’s not just about the mysterty, and I would say that the main thing in this book is about healing, about facing your demons, accepting who you are and love others. Leave the past where it is and move forward, which is easy to say but not to do. And I feel this story is all about that and the way to get that.
As I said in the first sentence of this review, it made me cry,wonder,smile,laugh, and made me happy. It was all these emotions while reading.
The romance here is so great. They start knowing each other in this weird situation and then, they build this relationship that is just about them caring and looking for each other.
The plot twist in this. I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t expect it and it was so good!
At the end, this broke my heart in a way and at the same time it restored it.

The Characters:
Raleigh: He was such a complicate character. I love complicate characters. Raleigh is a survivor. He has been trough a lot, and the people that cared about him made some wounds too. I felt so sorry for him, but at the same time I admired him and his personality. One of the main things that I loved about him is that he had his dream and he would do it.
Crow: He was so sweet and caring. I loved him too but he was kind of a mystery.
I felt like these two complemented each other so well, and I loved them together. All their words, touches, everything was so sweet.

I definitely recommend this. It has some sexual content but it’s definitely not the main thing and they are just a few scenes.

Amazing story, unexpected twists, complicated but sweet characters plus the feelings this gives.