Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - These Burning Stars

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs

4 reviews

avacadosocks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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entropyseeker's review

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adventurous dark slow-paced

3.75

This book was so immensely slow, I didn't start actually being interested in the book until 60% of the way in, though it is a sci-fi novel so that's usually the case. While the first half was confusing with all the time skips, and it was a lot of world building, gore, violence, the last quarter of the book was rather great and built up to quite a few surprising twists that left me gaping. Will still read the second part of the trilogy. Definitely read the content warnings. Not for the front of heart.

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bloggingwithdragons's review

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adventurous dark hopeful tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received this book for free from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ever since reading The Blighted Stars and its recent follow-up, The Fractured Dark, I have been determined to break out of my predilection for the fantasy genre and to try to read more science fiction. When I read the blurb for These Burning Stars, a science fiction novel centering on three very different women out for revenge, I knew I had found my next science fiction read. And boy, am I glad I picked up These Burning Stars—it's a fast paced, relentlessly intriguing science fiction novel, brimming with morally gray characters. And it comes with one hell of a twist.

"It began as revenge but…revenge was not enough.*"

Though These Burning Stars is author Bethany Jacobs's debut novel, it is incredibly polished and tightly edited. If I didn't already know this book was a debut novel, I honestly wouldn't have believed it. Jacobs does a phenomenal job throwing readers into the middle of her unique, religiously-ruled science fiction universe without overburdening her audience with too much information at any given time. She masterfully doles out just enough information about the world and the characters as the story progresses, to whet the interest of readers. I always felt like I had a few pieces of the whole puzzle and was desperate to snatch more to put it all together.

And though the novel isn't quite linear, with flashbacks to the past interspersed between the present chapters, I found I didn't mind! Normally I can't stand when a novel jumps all over the place in the timeline, but in These Burning Stars, I was so incredibly invested in every part of the story that I loved, and even looked forward to, these glimpses of the past. These flashbacks allowed me to make more informed guesses at what was truly going on in the present.

"In these star systems, power resided in the Hands of the Kindom, and it resided in the First Families. She was both."

And while my mind was racing trying to figure out the true motivations or loyalties of the characters (and how those tied in with the organizations at play and the multiple different quests for revenge), I also got to enjoy not one, but multiple morally gray main characters. I'm a huge fan of morally gray characters and Jacobs provides so many different shades of them in These Burning Stars. Upon first meeting with the absolutely despicable Esek Nightfoot, one of the most powerful women in the world and a cleric serving the Kindom, I hated her. But as time went on, and I read from Esek's point-of-view and from those who knew (and also hated) her, to my horror, I found that I actually liked the character, in spite of her horrific deeds and even worse personality! Trust me, it's a testament to the author's astounding talent that I could even fathom liking this character, who is toxic from the very first page.

Esek’s protege, Chono, is a great contrast to her master, and an all around conflicted and sympathetic character, who finds herself perpetually stuck in the middle. Though she was a little too devout and honorable to be my favorite, I never knew quite what decision she would make next, which made her not only formidable, but something of a wild card, which was very exciting. Rounding out the three main narrators is Jun Ironway, an elite hacker and con artist, who is probably the most relatable of all of the narrators, and has a lot more to her than meets the eye.

"But you know the truth now, don't you, Chono? The Kindom knew. The Kindom always knows….So a year ago, you did what I did: You took vengeance into your own hands. You decided your loyalty to the Kingdom…has limits. Like mine."

Each of these characters provide unique viewpoints due to their vastly different life experiences and positions. I was so incredibly compelled by all of these characters that I wasn't even sure who I wanted to come out on top in the multiple games of cat and mouse being played. Even the side characters are quite interesting, with one woman a feared defector of the assassin branch of the Kindom (who happens to be missing an arm and is still every bit as deadly), and another a former pirate who just happens to speak the rare language of the group of people who were almost completely wiped out in genocide.

If you're looking for an edge-of-your-seat science fiction novel rife with multiple strong, morally gray female characters, revenge, queer characters and romance, plus political and religious intrigue, and brewing rebellions, look no further than These Burning Stars. I'll definitely be reading the next book in this series as soon as humanly possible and I'll also be on the lookout for any and all future books written by author Bethany Jacobs.

*All quotes taken from an ARC and subject to change at time of publication.

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lktx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs is adult sci-fi following Jun, an occasional thief, that has gotten her hands on a secret that could destroy the Kingdom. Though it doesn’t start that way. It begins following clerics of the Righteous Hand of the Kingdom and continues weaving the past through the three different POVs: Esek Nightfoot, Cleric Chono and Jun. Esek and Chono’s storylines focus quite a bit on the mysterious Six, while Jun seems to be completely separate, but they quickly come together.

I don’t know if I can express how much I utterly enjoyed this book. To start, the title grabbed my attention and got me excited for the book. And let me tell you, I enjoyed this story SO much. All the characters were amazingly strong in their own ways and Jacobs had me invested in every single one of them. At one point I started questioning how the author had me rooting for Esek Nightfoot, it was done so masterfully. The reveals at the end are all fantastic, particularly the one that relates to the Wheel.

The world is well developed and feels real, the lore deep. Every place felt like a place I could touch. It was vivid and beautifully described.

I loved These Burning Stars and I can’t wait to read the second. I’ll be smashing that pre-order button when it’s available.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me to read this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pros:

- The characters are so good. All of them are distinct, with strong POVs and voices. I really like Chono a lot.

- The world is vibrant and beautiful, all the places were easy to visualize.

- I loved the world building around the Jeveni a ton.

- Fantastic story all around.

- Jun and Liis are fantastic together.

Cons:

- I could have done without the sex scene, but it didn’t ruin the story.

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