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tatyanavogt's review against another edition
5.0
Sadly I wrote a full review on this only to have lost it all with a computer restart. Oh well.
The gist of it, is that I didn't know what to expect. This is a book that has been on my bookshelf for many years at this point and I frankly wasn't excited about reading it at all. But it fit with this months #buzzwordathon prompt of a book with space/star themed words in the title and since I had access to the audio book I decided to give it a listen while I worked on some chores...
BOY was this way more enjoyable than I expected it to be. I loved it. There is friendships, epic space battles, robots, romance and much more. I enjoyed the commentary on what it means to be human and questionings ones beliefs after experiencing new things.
The book is set in a world where the humans of earth have been destroying the world (too real) and are now at the tail end of of the planets life. There are humans who have found different worlds to live on but none have been the complete answer that billions of humans still on earth need.
Genesis, being the best option has decided not to allow earth to take it over for fear that they will kill it the same way they are killing earth. One of our main characters is a fighter of Genesis actively protecting the portal between Genesis and Earth and the story starts with a battle between the two planets where she finds an unexpected bot that had been forgotten in the wreckage of war.
MY only complaint so far is that the main character is so young, and I would have preferred her to be older, but in general I'm not the biggest fan of YA anymore because of that. So I just pretend she is older in my head which isnt that hard to do based off of the general story.
The gist of it, is that I didn't know what to expect. This is a book that has been on my bookshelf for many years at this point and I frankly wasn't excited about reading it at all. But it fit with this months #buzzwordathon prompt of a book with space/star themed words in the title and since I had access to the audio book I decided to give it a listen while I worked on some chores...
BOY was this way more enjoyable than I expected it to be. I loved it. There is friendships, epic space battles, robots, romance and much more. I enjoyed the commentary on what it means to be human and questionings ones beliefs after experiencing new things.
The book is set in a world where the humans of earth have been destroying the world (too real) and are now at the tail end of of the planets life. There are humans who have found different worlds to live on but none have been the complete answer that billions of humans still on earth need.
Genesis, being the best option has decided not to allow earth to take it over for fear that they will kill it the same way they are killing earth. One of our main characters is a fighter of Genesis actively protecting the portal between Genesis and Earth and the story starts with a battle between the two planets where she finds an unexpected bot that had been forgotten in the wreckage of war.
MY only complaint so far is that the main character is so young, and I would have preferred her to be older, but in general I'm not the biggest fan of YA anymore because of that. So I just pretend she is older in my head which isnt that hard to do based off of the general story.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes it happens. You're walking through a bookstore and there is this one book that catches your attention. It's misplaced on the shelves, it has this attractive cover, it just begs you to buy it and take it home. And so I did. I, the girl who barely reads sci-fi and is not a huge fan of sappy love stories, bought a book about a robot in space and a girl and love being the ultimate rebellion. But I most of all bought a Claudia Gray.
And I didn't regret it. This story was lovely. It was wonderful from start to finish and it was a true page turner from the very first page. First of all, the worlds Claudia Gray created in this book were wonderful. I loved how well thought out everything was, how detailed and yet not boringly descriptive it was. I loved the eye for detail, the complicated society and universe and how each world was presented.
Secondly, I really loved the characters. Noemi is everything Abel believes her to be and not just because he says so, but also because she proves and shows it time after time again. She's interesting, intelligent, brave and real. Abel himself is also really fascinating. I loved the balance between his mechanic side, how he was programmed, and his soul, slowly developing with every new experience he encountered. It was quite easily to fall in love with him.
And thirdly I loved the plot. I have to admit I was expecting a sappy love story, but to market it as such is not doing the complexity and brilliancy of the story justice. This is not about love. It's about a war and a girl trying to save her friends and planet and a boy trying to help her to do so.
And I didn't regret it. This story was lovely. It was wonderful from start to finish and it was a true page turner from the very first page. First of all, the worlds Claudia Gray created in this book were wonderful. I loved how well thought out everything was, how detailed and yet not boringly descriptive it was. I loved the eye for detail, the complicated society and universe and how each world was presented.
Secondly, I really loved the characters. Noemi is everything Abel believes her to be and not just because he says so, but also because she proves and shows it time after time again. She's interesting, intelligent, brave and real. Abel himself is also really fascinating. I loved the balance between his mechanic side, how he was programmed, and his soul, slowly developing with every new experience he encountered. It was quite easily to fall in love with him.
And thirdly I loved the plot. I have to admit I was expecting a sappy love story, but to market it as such is not doing the complexity and brilliancy of the story justice. This is not about love. It's about a war and a girl trying to save her friends and planet and a boy trying to help her to do so.
curlyc90's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this Sci-Fi novel. It reminded me of a couple that I've read before buuuut it was definitely it's own. I appreciate that the romance wasn't the center of the novel although I wish the realization of being in love would've came sooner. Both characters had great character development and I think this was a prime example of diversity in learning about others.
4/5 Stars ✨
4/5 Stars ✨
jenreadalot's review
4.0
A robot abandoned in a spacecraft for 30 years is advanced enough to have feelings when an enemy boards his ship and Noemi and Abel go on an adventure to save her planet.
I really enjoyed this! Certain parts were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and others could have had more detail.
Abel was my favorite and how he grows is wonderful. Noemi is one of those characters who doesn't realize they love the other character but the reader knows and agh her The ending was satisfactory, and left we wanting more. I would recommend this to fans of Illuminae and Gemina. The cover is gorgeous and I could totally see this being made into a movie in the future.
I really enjoyed this! Certain parts were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and others could have had more detail.
Abel was my favorite and how he grows is wonderful. Noemi is one of those characters who doesn't realize they love the other character but the reader knows and agh her The ending was satisfactory, and left we wanting more. I would recommend this to fans of Illuminae and Gemina. The cover is gorgeous and I could totally see this being made into a movie in the future.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
3.0
3.5/5
It has been so long I’ve forgotten what some of these books plots were about. With this one i knew it was about a robot and a soldier. I ended up liking the plot at most because I felt the author crammed so much plot into the book. After stepping back and looking at the bigger picture it makes sense. Somewhat.
It has been so long I’ve forgotten what some of these books plots were about. With this one i knew it was about a robot and a soldier. I ended up liking the plot at most because I felt the author crammed so much plot into the book. After stepping back and looking at the bigger picture it makes sense. Somewhat.
sdloomer's review
4.0
--4.25/5 stars--
I finished this book in about 4 and a half hours, give or take some minutes (with a lunch break cause even I'm not that baller). That should tell you how much I enjoyed it.
First, this entire novel is one big slow burn. And one that is done very correctly. I think it's clear from the blurb that everyone should expect a relationship of some sort between our two main characters and Ms. Gray did not disappoint.
Second, the most fascinating element, obviously, is Abel: a fully realized AI housed in a robotic, warm, delicious, sexy human body. Talk about having different, er, preferences. I'm just kidding. Sort of. But I did get a little hot when he took his shirt off.
ANYWAY, Ms. Gray does a fantastic job of consistently reminding us that Abel is still not human throughout the book, without completely dehumanizing him. Of course, that takes the form of Noemi Vidal, our soldier heroine, who is all too eager to point out his robotic tendencies at any time. Yes, she's prejudiced. Yes, she's sheltered. But she's still not dumb enough to open herself to brand new experiences and viewpoints and maybe consider that maybe she shouldn't be following her orders blindly and maybe Abel isn't out to kill her 24/7. Now this is something I can get behind: a female MC who isn't single-minded and actually has the depth of character to change some of her beliefs. *Cue fist-pump.
And the spark is there. You'd think it'd be weird falling in love with a mech. Ms. Gray proves this otherwise. Although Abel has unintentionally evolved his programming to transcend into unknowns, like dreaming and the capability of certain emotions, he hasn't done so enough to be deluded. (I guess everyone has their limits.) He still understands that he's not human, but he knows that he's enough for Noemi and she's enough for him, and my brain goes all fuzzy when I think about how beautiful that is. Because some humans can't even comprehend that.
The only reason why I didn't rate this as five stars is the writing. Most of the time it's well-written, but during some chapters, most notably Noemi's, there seems to be a hiccup in expressing emotions. During a few vital scenes, I wasn't particularly sure what in the world she was feeling beyond physical conditions, and I felt we could have used a little extra detail.
Other than that, I'm placing this on my favorites shelf, because I'd like to have an Abel of my own someday.
I finished this book in about 4 and a half hours, give or take some minutes (with a lunch break cause even I'm not that baller). That should tell you how much I enjoyed it.
First, this entire novel is one big slow burn. And one that is done very correctly. I think it's clear from the blurb that everyone should expect a relationship of some sort between our two main characters and Ms. Gray did not disappoint.
Second, the most fascinating element, obviously, is Abel: a fully realized AI housed in a robotic, warm, delicious, sexy human body. Talk about having different, er, preferences. I'm just kidding. Sort of. But I did get a little hot when he took his shirt off.
ANYWAY, Ms. Gray does a fantastic job of consistently reminding us that Abel is still not human throughout the book, without completely dehumanizing him. Of course, that takes the form of Noemi Vidal, our soldier heroine, who is all too eager to point out his robotic tendencies at any time. Yes, she's prejudiced. Yes, she's sheltered. But she's still not dumb enough to open herself to brand new experiences and viewpoints and maybe consider that maybe she shouldn't be following her orders blindly and maybe Abel isn't out to kill her 24/7. Now this is something I can get behind: a female MC who isn't single-minded and actually has the depth of character to change some of her beliefs. *Cue fist-pump.
And the spark is there. You'd think it'd be weird falling in love with a mech. Ms. Gray proves this otherwise. Although Abel has unintentionally evolved his programming to transcend into unknowns, like dreaming and the capability of certain emotions, he hasn't done so enough to be deluded. (I guess everyone has their limits.) He still understands that he's not human, but he knows that he's enough for Noemi and she's enough for him, and my brain goes all fuzzy when I think about how beautiful that is. Because some humans can't even comprehend that.
The only reason why I didn't rate this as five stars is the writing. Most of the time it's well-written, but during some chapters, most notably Noemi's, there seems to be a hiccup in expressing emotions. During a few vital scenes, I wasn't particularly sure what in the world she was feeling beyond physical conditions, and I felt we could have used a little extra detail.
Other than that, I'm placing this on my favorites shelf, because I'd like to have an Abel of my own someday.
mea9an's review
4.0
Defy the Stars is a story about a girl named Noemi about to embark on a suicide mission for her home world, Genesis in a battle against Earth. During a practice mission, Noemi stumbles across a line ship with a mech, or artificial intelligence in a human-like body who she joins up with in an attempt to put a pause on the current war against Earth.
I will say that the romance in this book is a lot better than that in Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy. The romance in this story is a more natural, slow burn romance that progresses over the course of the book and never takes precedent over the plot of the novel. The characters are snarky, but each have their own personalities and the dialogue keeps the story interesting without being too much.
The character development was probably one of the stronger suits of the book. It had a lot of depth and each of the characters that were introduced had a strong beginning, middle, and end to their story. While the end up taking extremely different paths, I think it really fit each character specifically with who they were and just what they were meant to be doing.
One thing I did notice was that Gray writes each chapter in an episodic way. Similarly to FanFiction, Gray’s book reads as though each chapter has just come out weekly and if something isn’t happening by the end of the chapter, than something has to come out of nowhere and create drama or a side plot. In a way, it was nice to have this because it kept the pace moving consistently, but it also was very jarring to read at points. It’s almost as if Gray didn’t want to have any point in the book where there wasn’t something going on.
I was really excited going into this book, because Claudia Gray is one of my favorite authors and I was really happy to see her write another sci-fi series as I believe it is her strong suit. One thing I think needed to be expanded on is her world-building in the early stage in the novel. It begins with Noemi, an older teen of the planet, Genesis, attempting to pray to God. Although it was later explained how people on another planet would have the same religion, in the beginning it had me very confused and took me out of the narrative until it was fully explained.
Despite its minor flaws, Defy The Stars is a good book that I would recommend. The characters are slightly older and there are adult themes such as mechs that basically act like prostitutes mentioned many time, so I would suggest this be listed as more New Adult, rather than Young Adult, but it truly depends on the readers. If you’re looking for a thoughtful story about war, space, and interesting characters, I would suggest giving this book a try.
I will say that the romance in this book is a lot better than that in Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy. The romance in this story is a more natural, slow burn romance that progresses over the course of the book and never takes precedent over the plot of the novel. The characters are snarky, but each have their own personalities and the dialogue keeps the story interesting without being too much.
The character development was probably one of the stronger suits of the book. It had a lot of depth and each of the characters that were introduced had a strong beginning, middle, and end to their story. While the end up taking extremely different paths, I think it really fit each character specifically with who they were and just what they were meant to be doing.
One thing I did notice was that Gray writes each chapter in an episodic way. Similarly to FanFiction, Gray’s book reads as though each chapter has just come out weekly and if something isn’t happening by the end of the chapter, than something has to come out of nowhere and create drama or a side plot. In a way, it was nice to have this because it kept the pace moving consistently, but it also was very jarring to read at points. It’s almost as if Gray didn’t want to have any point in the book where there wasn’t something going on.
I was really excited going into this book, because Claudia Gray is one of my favorite authors and I was really happy to see her write another sci-fi series as I believe it is her strong suit. One thing I think needed to be expanded on is her world-building in the early stage in the novel. It begins with Noemi, an older teen of the planet, Genesis, attempting to pray to God. Although it was later explained how people on another planet would have the same religion, in the beginning it had me very confused and took me out of the narrative until it was fully explained.
Despite its minor flaws, Defy The Stars is a good book that I would recommend. The characters are slightly older and there are adult themes such as mechs that basically act like prostitutes mentioned many time, so I would suggest this be listed as more New Adult, rather than Young Adult, but it truly depends on the readers. If you’re looking for a thoughtful story about war, space, and interesting characters, I would suggest giving this book a try.
mortaldivergence's review against another edition
5.0
I don't normally read a lot of science fiction, but I truly loved this book! I couldn't put the second half of the book down!
shelbybrinley's review
4.0
I loved this book so much! I’m normally not super into sci-fi but this book might have changed my mind. I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. The romance is “muah*chef’s kiss*”
I love Abel and his sass. Noemi and her determination. And just literally everything about this book.
I love Abel and his sass. Noemi and her determination. And just literally everything about this book.