Name: Moxie Minion's review of Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody
Item: Sky Without Stars
Rating: 4
Author: Moxie Minion

Jessica Brody

Joanne Rendell

Deluxe edition with special embellishments on first printing only “Not to be missed!” —Marissa Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles “An explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution.” —Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series In the tradition of The Lunar Chronicles, this sweeping reimagining of Les Misérables tells the story of three teens from very different backgrounds who are thrown together amidst the looming threat of revolution on the French planet of Laterre. A thief. An officer. A guardian. Three strangers, one shared destiny… When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing. Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes… Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spy on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet. Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a renowned traitor. In training to take command of the military, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when his father dies and leaves behind a cryptic message that only one person can read: a girl named Alouette. Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos. All three have a role to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet. Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Misérables.

Sky Without Stars

Mikayla

Moxie Minion

Ok so I started this book before reading the reviews. I read some about, 20 to 30 pages in... and was worried I was going to hate this book. I am happy to report I indeed do not hate this book, and worry that the ones writing the reviews, didn't get it.

This is a YA retelling of Les Misérables. I don't know if any of the folx have read the original but let me fill you in as someone who has read it in English and in French... It gets boring! Victor Hugo, was long winded as heck, but it is still a great book. It has inspired so many great things, and this book being one of them.

I really enjoyed getting to know these versions of the characters, set in a different solar system, and a different time. They still have the charm, and sparkle that they did in the original. Did I enjoy the over use of the words stupeed? No, but it isn't a reason to hate on the whole book. 

So if you are into YA, and like Les Mis (I am looking at you, theater kids) it is a good read.

“Not to be missed!” —Marissa Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lunar Chronicles “An explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution.” —Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series In the tradition of The Lunar Chronicles, this sweeping reimagining of Les Misérables tells the story of three teens from very different backgrounds who are thrown together amidst the looming threat of revolution on the French planet of Laterre. A thief. An officer. A guardian. Three strangers, one shared destiny… When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. A new life for a wealthy French family and their descendants. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing. Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes… Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spy on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet. Marcellus is an officer—and the son of an infamous traitor. In training to take command of the military, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when his father dies and leaves behind a cryptic message that only one person can read: a girl named Alouette. Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos. All three have a role to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.

Gillian Rose

3.75 stars

This is another one that I think I read at the wrong time. It's Les Miz with robots and it's definitely inventive and fun. But my brain was unable to fully connect to it. I will be reading the sequel though, but LES MIZ WITH ROBOTS.

Nicole Dykeman

2.5. It was fine. I love the Les Mis inspired plot/characters, but it didn’t need to be as long as the brick itself.

jess

As a huge, huge Les Misérables fan, this book was such a relief compared to the other retellings I've read. Sky Without Stars takes the plot of Les Mis and hurls it into space. Literally. Weirdly enough, the drastic changes in setting, plot, and character Sky Without Stars made to Les Mis was what made me enjoy it so much more--I wasn't hung up on all the inaccuracies and deviations; I was just interested how the characters of Éponine, Cosette, and Marius translated to Chatine, Alouette, and Marcellus, and excited to find out what happened next.

I definitely feel like the authors are Éponine fans because Chatine was the centre of the book. I definitely liked Chatine, and her portrayal is so much closer to the Brick's than the musical's was. Chatine is hardened and desperate for an escape from the planet of Laterre, and she's so badass. Chatine knows what she wants and how she's going to get it, except when it comes to Marcellus - which is pretty much how she is in the original book. I admit her behaviour annoyed me sometimes with her "not like other girls" attitude and how much she hated Alouette for most of the book. I was shocked when Chatine called Alouette a "bimbo," because, uh, COME ON? I don't think even book!Éponine was that hateful towards Cosette. And I wish that Chatine's internalized misogyny was addressed more.

With Marcellus, I was really interested in how his storyline was based on his relationship with his grandfather, which is fairly accurate to the book. Marius finds out secrets about his father and splits with Gillenormand because of political differences, which is more or less what happens with Marcellus and General Bonnefaçon. I'm not sure how I feel about Marcellus's characterization--I think if I wasn't comparing him to Marius, I would have enjoyed Marcellus's character a lot more. Marcellus was so well-developed and I really liked him.

Alouette was actually my favourite, which makes sense, because I adore Cosette. Alouette was inquisitive and intelligent and confident in herself, which is basically everything I love in a good Cosette characterization. I also loved her father a lot and how the whole story of Les Misérables was incorporated into this book, because so many retellings focused on 1832-era characters tend to leave out Fantine, Valjean, and Javert. Alouette and Hugo's relationship was precious and endearing, but Alouette is definitely struggling for more independence and answers. And the authors kept Cosette's nickname as "Little Lark," which made me so happy. It really shows attention to detail to the original book. Both Alouette and Chatine's characters didn't change much from the original Brick, which I really loved - Hugo's women are, generally, so fully fleshed-out, autonomous characters, that there doesn't need to be a lot of modernizing.

One of the new additions to the story of Les Mis was the Vangarde. I suppose in some ways it could be compared to Les Amis de l'ABC, but I didn't see it; the Vangarde is an entirely new identity. It was fascinating to have something new to figure out, especially since a lot of the plot twists were lost on me because I know the original book so well. However, I really wanted to see Les Amis de l'ABC. I hope they'll make an appearance in the next book, because they're some of my favourite characters--I would absolutely love for them to be women, and this book has such potential to put Les Amis in as an all-girl revolutionary team. I was really glad for some of the side characters--Azelle, Chatine's sister, stands in for Azelma, who is cut from a lot of adaptations. Roche was ... so precious. I loved him so much, and I'm happy that Chatine will get to know him in the sequel.

As far as the worldbuilding went, it was fairly typical for YA sci-fi--lots of capitalized words to indicate significance, for instance. Much of the book mixed in a lot of gratuitous French with the English--or English words that sounded like French. Honestly, I thought a lot of it was unnecessary: substituting "métré" for "meter," or "stupide" for "stupid." It threw me off a bit and sometimes came off as quite awkward, especially when there were words that could have been French-ified--like Citizen Rosseau could have been Citoyen Rosseau and gotten the point across just the same. I believe there are some translations that leave instances of "citoyen" untranslated, especially when Enjolras goes off about how his mother is the Republic, etc. I appreciated all the references to both the book and the musical--an inn called the Jondrette, and little nudges like calling Mme. Renard the "master of the house." I'm not usually fond of musical references, but these ones were generally unobtrusive.

All in all, I really enjoyed Sky Without Stars and can say it's my favourite retelling of Les Misérables. Which is high praise, coming from me. Chatine, Alouette, and Marcellus were a delight to read about, and I'm really interested in picking up the next book.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

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Julie Janis

Reread:

Just as amazing as the first time I read this. Fantastic plot, incredible character development, well-crafted world. I love this story and these characters. I love all the nods to the Les Miserables story. Such an amazing ending!

Steph L 

Les Miserables in Space

For those wondering, yes you can read this book without reading the original work. This was such a fun, wild, and dense story but I enjoyed the ride. If you enjoy SciFi you will most likely enjoy this book. If you like massive plots, characters who aren’t real but they seem real, or world building you will enjoy this book.

Livia

The thing is, I haven't read Les Miserables, so I can't make the connection between this book and that. I was intrigued by the premise.

Chatine is truly the star of this book. Without her there, I wouldn't be as invested as I am, even though she's a dumbo sometimes and act impulsively. Marcellus is just a meh character, he's like your typical "guy following the rules until he knows shit and he didn't follow the rules anymore" male protagonist. It is interesting to see him developed towards the end. Alouette, she just didn't vibe with me. Yes, she's the quiet, reserved kind of heroine that people loved to see in books, but I don't like it when being reserved is equal to being naive. She is incredibly naive and gullible, to the point where it irks me. Her character gets a bit better, but I still wasn't a fan of her.

The love triangle is just a no no. Marcellus met Alouette when he was injured, and with the magic of perfect hair, doe-like eyes, incredibly beautiful face, and a mysterious aura, BOOM, Marcellus is whipped at first sight. Not to mention the way he just dismissed everything when she's concerned. Seriously, the boy is so easily swayed like that. And Chatine is all tough and gung-ho until it concerned Marcellus. Both Alouette and Chatine would be better off without Marcellus.

The book, honest to god, drags a lot to me in the middle. The last 20% is honestly the saving grace. And I just know that I need to pick up the next one just because of the ending

Cynthi

2/5 stars

I walked into this book expecting more.
I mean I live for romance. When I want to.
The romance in this book felt so forced.
The world-building great. There was so much potential but it fell flat because they were forcing the romance too much.

The beginning was great yknow I was so ready to get my world rocked by this book but it wasn't.
I wanted to DNF so many times.

Okay but the last few chapters were great and leave off on cliffhangers so now I wanna read the 2nd book but I also don't. 
I can already tell my expectations are too high.
Because the potential is so high so I hope it reaches it in the next book.

Taylor Embrey

Love Les Mis in space!

I am just familiar enough with the plot of Les Mis that I probably would have picked up a YA retelling regardless of genre, but the sci-fi setting sold this before I even opened it. At first, I had a hard time because I was comparing characters and action to the source material trying to match it up, but once I gave that up, I was HOOKED. 

The world building for Laterre and the rest of the System Divine was fascinating to me and I loved the contrast of the futuristic technology with the conditions survived by the Third Estate. The characters, especially Chatine, are well fleshed out and complex and don't feel stale as can sometimes happen in a retelling. This book is a long haul, but I didn't want to put it down.

Sheila Goicea

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!



All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. 

Content Warning: Violence, Torture, Death/Execution, Persecution, Prejudice, Murder, Oppression, Gangs, Abuse

Les Miserables is a massive book. It’s an even larger task to unpack everything within its text. I can’t even fathom what it would be like to try and create a retelling of this classical tale. Yet, authors Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell did it. And, they did a heck of a job at it! Just to emphasize their accomplishment a bit further---they wrote a retelling of one of the most iconic classical tales, and set it in space, while still keeping true to the original story.

You guys, I won’t be able to get over this book for a while. Thank goodness it’s a part of a series, so I don’t have to completely die...yet...from book hangover! Probably one of the biggest issues I have with the Young Adult genre is that there isn’t an overabundance of quality writing. You know, like with actual world building, setting description, and, for the love of all things good, further rendering of a character beyond their hair and eye color! The characters of Sky Without Stars are made of flesh and bone, sinew and blood. They have personalities with depth and harbor layers of emotion. The best part about these characters is that nothing is easy. Each and every character has a life full of raw, merciless experience---a true reflection of what Les Miserables aims to portray. 

At first, I actually was trying to figure out which character represented who. It didn’t take too long to figure it out, but I relished the “revelations” when they occurred. I don’t even want to share who is who because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, so I won’t. 

  The System Divine offered hope. Hope to the inhabitants of a dying world. With its three beautiful Sols and twelve habitable planets, the miraculous system would become a new home. A new start. A place where twelve powerful families could begin again.

The world-building, I do want to unpack a bit. Set in a dystopian time long after Earth was left behind by mankind, this story takes place on Laterre, a rainy planet within the System Divine. The three Sols (suns) have been invisible behind grey rain clouds for years, making the place dismal, to say the least. The inhabitants are split up into three factions--estates.

  "Every estate has its place and purpose. The First Estate rules us, like the brain governing the body. We, the Second Estate, are the heart, providing the power and pulse. While the Third Estate are the legs on which we all stand.”
 
While the Third Estate are intended to be the working class, poverty, starvation, violence, and gangs run rampant among its participants. The Third Estate is no class to be envious of. “Lucky” for them, the annual Ascension is the event to look forward to. If one remains a good and faithful laborer, they are entered into a drawing to become part of the elite class and win a new life. The Ascension resembles the selection that takes place in The Hunger Games, and serves a similar, yet different role. This chance of escape isn’t an encouragment for all, though, as a life of crime serves to be more enduring for some. 

  ”Laterre is the envy of the System Divine because of how well our beautiful body functions.”

While crime runs rampant, the Second Estate, the “policemen” if you will, are comprised of men, cyborgs, and robots. They serve to root out the fallen, and protect the system in place. When whispers of the Vanguard returning begin to surface of their attempts to overthrow it, the two upper estates dole out cruelty and force to keep the massive Third Estate at bay. 

As the three main characters, (along with many other prominent ones) live out their lives, their stories become intricately woven together. Chatain, Marcellus, and Alouette, by chance, experience the unpleasantness of life more together than apart. While Chatain and Alouette are very solid characters, I felt Marcellus blundered around a bit. I love seeing strong male characters, and wished he had fit that bill instead of playing the naive. I get why his character is this way, due to his father’s history and Marcellus’ elaborate upbringing, but I felt he should have been more vigorous that he was. 

Lastly, I just want to say that this book has been compared to The Lunar Chronicles. Yes, there are some similarities---limited to the fact that this is a retelling set in space. That’s where the line ends. This book surpasses The Lunar Chronicles by far in every aspect, but especially in overall quality, character development, and plot ingenuity. This is one of the best Young Adult books that I’ve read in a long time, as well as a new favorite, for certain. I can’t wait to read the sequel, which I hope is coming sooner than later!

Vulgarity: Minimal.
Sexual content: Minimal.
Violence: Quite a bit. 

My Rating: ★★★★★

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Story Eater

Reminiscent of so many after-Earth re-establishment civilizations such as Battlestar Galactica , Sky Without Stars places the reader on a planet that is marginally uninhabitable by humanity, where society is divided into 3 distinct classes and those in the bottom dregs of society, or the Third Estate, are in extreme poverty and survive through selling their own bodily resources, criminal activity, or die of starvation. The working class is reminiscent of communism, where all jobs are assigned by the government in places owned by the government. The only chance of getting ahead is if one “ascends,” which is a lottery of sorts where one person a year gets to move up and live with the “middle class.” 

I don’t see much in common with Les Miserables aside from the French vocabulary, extraordinary length, and slow-moving nature of the plot. While some of the characters resemble Valjean, Cosette, Eponine, Javert (I liked this juxtaposition), and Marius, there is some variation to keep the book from being an exact copy of Les Mis with some technological upgrades, though it is extremely derivative.

 True to Hugo’s devices, Brody and Rendell take their time introducing us to each character. At about 30% of the way through this gigantic tome, three plot points have occurred outside of character introductions. While that may be okay for some readers, others of this audience (which generally publishes novels of 400 pages or less) may find it daunting. 600 pages is quite an investment for such a slowly paced book; however, what the book lacks in pace it makes up for with a lack of vulgarity and vapid sexual situations that seem to plague “YA” novels today.

Many thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC, for which I give my own opinion.

Elizabeth Raines

PROS
-Characters were very well written.
-Good writing.
-Love the idea of Les Mis in space.

CONS
- I wish there was more world building.

4.5 out of 5 stars!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I bought this book! Support your authors!

Book: Sky Without Stars

Author: Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

Book Series: System Divine Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: March 26, 2019

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: 16+ (prostitution mentioned, abuse)

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 582

Amazon Link

Synopsis: A thief. An officer. A guardian.

Three strangers. One shared destiny . . .

When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.

Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…

Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spying on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.

Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a traitor. Groomed to command by his legendary grandfather, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when he discovers a cryptic message that only one person, a girl named Alouette, can read.

Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.

All three have roles to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.

Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece Les Misérables.

Review: The book was good for the most part. I loved the sci-fi elements and I thought the world building was well done. The character development was also well done. I really did like how they took a story like Les Mis and set it in space and spun the story on its head.

However, I did think that the pacing was slow and the plot was slow as well. I honestly got bored of reading this book at times, it just felt like there were a lot of unnecessary fillers.

Verdict: A well done sci-fi!

Gaelle claeys

Shirley Krijnen

Veeeeery interesting. I can definitely tell it's a reimagining of les misérables, but it stands very good on it's own. Definitely a sci-fi version of le mis. I'm very curious too see what the next book brings.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell, Sky Without Stars follows three young adults, Chatine (Theo) who is a thief trying to earn her way off of the planet, Marcellus the grandson of the general and son of a traitor, and Alouette a girl who has spent the last twelve years underground.

Let’s do this review a bit systematically. The writing was wonderful and did a great job of immersing you in the world, with the use of a few French terms that were consistent along the way, and the depth of the characters that were written.

Characters, Chatine was amazing. Honestly amazing. And, while this novel is based off of Les Mis, I don’t think this character bares as much resemblance to her counterpart as the other two characters do. I actually really, really liked her. And if her story ends the same way that it did in the original, I for one will not be happy.

Marcellus was a really great foil to, everyone really. He was kind, with a reputation he hadn’t earned, and he really cared. The protective streak that he has is wonderful to see in a character.

I don’t like Alouette. Just don’t. I’m not a big fan of her character. Not a big fan of the love triangle that forms between the three of them. Just, didn’t like it.

The concept as well is interesting – 12 worlds of humans, and in this one the written word has been lost. And the tier system. Just, it was really well done and very believable.

Who would like this? Fans of action, mystery, rebels, and even a touch of romance I think would enjoy this. Post-apocalyptic fans would also enjoy this, though it isn’t really post-apocalyptic. It is just more… time. Time changes things.

If you really, REALLY hate science fiction, then you probably won’t like this book. Those are really the only folks who I think wouldn’t like it based on the premise/story. Now, everyone is different, but the writing was good and the story interesting. There were times when the plot was a bit annoying, but it is a lot to take in.

Jessica Nottingham

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.

Kaylee Z

I had such a fun time reading this one. I feel like I just completely powered through it within a day or two. (Which I just confirmed, it actually was 2 days haha)

When I first heard about this book when it was first announced, I immediately put it on my Goodreads TBR because how could I not be interested in a Les Mis retelling?? I admit I’m not the biggest fan of sci-fi but this was a definite must-read for me. Ages and ages ago I read the book and when I was about 8 or 9 one of my childhood best friends and I loved the play so all of the nods to the original material was not lost on me and I could really tell how much Body & Rendell appreciated the source material. I kind of wish I would give myself the time to meticulously note all of the Easter eggs!

With my love of Eponine, it comes as no surprise that Chatine was my favourite POV chapters. She is such a strong, independent female in this world who has flaws but is fiercely determined to reach her goals no matter what but she still has a moral compass. Marcellus had me loving him at times and hating him at times but it is all because I can see the potential of his character arc that they have prepared for him and I cannot wait to see where he goes. Alouette is partly a wide-eyed innocent but with some pretty impressive hacking skills considering her upbringing. If their stories follow even slightly along the same lines of the original, I feel like this is going to be a roller-coaster of a series.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that this is a series written with dual authors and there are only a couple of author pairings that come to mind who I’ve enjoyed and these two have made the list. I honestly could not tell who wrote what POVs or sequences or whatnot and I think that really shows the talent and skill that they have working together. They are a really good writing team. 

In this first installment alone, we have had the start of a revolution, murder, subterfuge, secret identities, hidden motives, details on the history of the world and hints at the greater planet systems, action, revenge and oh so much more! I cannot wait to see how these characters' stories play out.

Lauren James

Review also on my blog, Storied Adventures

Story/Plot: The premise of the story and plot were A . I mean, a retelling of Les Miserables?! I LOVE that play (I know it's based off of the book, I've just never read it.)! Plus it's a retelling in space!  That's right up my alley! And that's about all I liked of the book. 

Writing: I did like the writing. It wasn't anything fancy or my favorite writing ever, but it was good. It was easy to follow along and I never got lost in the story. 

Characters: Here we go. Here's the big one. I literally didn't like anyone. Chantine was the only one that I liked SOMETIMES. Marcellou and Allouette were SO BORING! I didn't care if they lived or died. Marcellou was all over the place. One minute he wanted to follow his Grandfather, the next he hated him. Even at the end of the book, I was like where are we at here, Marcellou? I also just saw him as a weak character and didn't understand his charm. Allouette was just kind of a wuss most of the time. I guess she picked up at the end but she was so boring to read about. Chantine whined a lot but she had reason to. She literally had no one. And she was poor and starving. She has a really tough life. Hers was the only story line I was mildly interested in. She was feisty and she did literally whatever she had to to survive. My suggestion to her, forget about Marcellou. You don't need him. Although,  if you know the Les Miserables story, she's supposed to be Eponine, so it doesn't really end well for her anyway. I could have done without the romance in this story, and usually I'm all about those ships!

FInal Thoughts: A 2 star rating for me means I finished the book but it was hard to get through. I won't be picking up the second in the series. I will say that this might be someone's cup of tea, just not mine.

Mikayla &
Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody

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