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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting look at what makes us human and the ethical exploration of AI all in a future space setting. Fun and not super intense or deep.
i've been reading LoveBot on Webtoon recently and was wanting romance in a similar vein—sci-fi, love with a robot—especially after the misery of [b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446469353l/22822858._SY75_.jpg|42375710].
it's one of the better romance novels i've read. maybe one of the best? following Abel as he slowly became more human was fantastic. that it tackled colonization, free will, and other things was a welcome surprise, but really i should've known this wouldn't just be a simple romance set in space in the future.
i kinda wish Noemi's chapters were more distinctive from Abel's in the prose since they were pretty similar. not a big deal though, still greattttt and i will be reading the sequels thank you very much
it's one of the better romance novels i've read. maybe one of the best? following Abel as he slowly became more human was fantastic. that it tackled colonization, free will, and other things was a welcome surprise, but really i should've known this wouldn't just be a simple romance set in space in the future.
i kinda wish Noemi's chapters were more distinctive from Abel's in the prose since they were pretty similar. not a big deal though, still greattttt and i will be reading the sequels thank you very much
It is T minus 20 days till Noemi will sacrifice her life to protect her home planet, Genesis. She has been training to fight the machines that Earth is sending to attack them. Abel is one of the machines. He has been alone in space for three decades and during this time his programming has slowly evolved. When the two are put into a confrontational situation, the outcome is not what either of them expected. They both want the fighting to stop, even if that means working with the enemy.
Defy the Stars is the first book in a new series with the same title. Gray has created two main characters that are easy to relate to and situations that are easy to understand. It is hard to believe that a story about a human and a machine (in space) can be such an attention grabber. Abel spends a bit of his time evaluating himself and discovering he is more than the sum of his parts. Noemi learns that she doesn’t know everything about the machines and that she must reevaluate what she thought was fact. Defy the Stars is a strong science fiction read that will be enjoyable even if readers don’t normally try that genre.
Defy the Stars is the first book in a new series with the same title. Gray has created two main characters that are easy to relate to and situations that are easy to understand. It is hard to believe that a story about a human and a machine (in space) can be such an attention grabber. Abel spends a bit of his time evaluating himself and discovering he is more than the sum of his parts. Noemi learns that she doesn’t know everything about the machines and that she must reevaluate what she thought was fact. Defy the Stars is a strong science fiction read that will be enjoyable even if readers don’t normally try that genre.
I really enjoyed this.
Ever since I read “Illuminae,” I’ve wanted to read a hate-to-love romance about a human and an AI falling in love because the concept has always intrigued me.
While that does occur in this book, the execution was a little disappointing. I wanted more hate, more angst, more love, but this was still super cute.
I was actually surprised to find myself more intrigued by aspects outside of the romance like the history of the world, the various planets and sub-cultures the characters explored along their journeys, the people they met along the way, and the obstacles the two had to face to solve the over-arcing plot. Really cool stuff! I wish this was made into a movie because it played out so easily in my head.
Ever since I read “Illuminae,” I’ve wanted to read a hate-to-love romance about a human and an AI falling in love because the concept has always intrigued me.
While that does occur in this book, the execution was a little disappointing. I wanted more hate, more angst, more love, but this was still super cute.
I was actually surprised to find myself more intrigued by aspects outside of the romance like the history of the world, the various planets and sub-cultures the characters explored along their journeys, the people they met along the way, and the obstacles the two had to face to solve the over-arcing plot. Really cool stuff! I wish this was made into a movie because it played out so easily in my head.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I enjoyed this book. My main reason to pick up this book was the AI character Abel, and I'm happy about they turned out. The world building is nice, the pacing is good. I liked the interaction between Abel and Noemi.
I was hooked on the Abels and Naomi's love story. I'm so sad they're still separated :(
An adventurous YA sci-fi where Noemi is a military flyer and warrior for the planet Genesis who is at war with Earth. Genesis doesn't want Earth to migrate to their planet. She ends up finding Abel who's a machine and they both go on a journey to find a way to save Genesis. It started out as Abel only taking orders to finding free will a d making his own decisions. He's finally found by his Creator and is brought back to Earth. Noemi also has a change of heart after seeing the rest of the Galaxy and finding that Genesis could have potential allies. The ending was unexpected and I really enjoyed reading the book. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
What constitutes a soul? How do you decide who is worthy of saving & who should not be? Some of the deeply soul-searching questions this book will make you think about over the course of reading it, & long after you’ve finished it.
This book intrigued me from the moment I saw the beautiful covers (I’m a sucker for a beautiful cover) but then I read the blurb & knew I would be hooked. Earth being the bad guys? A colony planet fighting for independence, so Earth doesn’t pollute & destroy their world? Big gates capable of instant interstellar travel just like one of my favourite shows Stargate? Sentient ‘mech’ (android) discovering his personality with the help of a fiery & courageous young woman who will do anything to save her world? Honestly what’s not to love!
The whole book was so beautifully written (although I expected nothing less from this wonderful author), the characters were compelling & you really felt invested in their journeys. Noemi’s strength, bravery, resourcefulness, empathy & kindness made me love her quickly, & that’s not even getting into her wonderful wittiness, sarcasm & ability to see beyond someone’s exterior & see into their soul.
Abel was a refreshing change in the genre, the most advanced, one of a kind ‘mech’ in the galaxy who was mistakenly stranded for 30 years until Noemi came along, freed him & then went on an epic journey with him across solar systems & worlds in an effort to protect & save her home world, all while knowing his loyalty to Noemi may end in his destruction. His discovery of emotions & feelings over the course of different interactions with different people from different worlds was such a fascinating journey to read, being able to read chapters from his point of view was a great way to really humanise him & empathise with his evolution.
Abel and Noemi’s interactions & banter were brilliantly written, often sharp witted, snarky, amusing & made you think deeply about the moral implications behind the themes they discussed & their adventure together.
It is a fast-paced, deeply meaningful, and captivating sci-fi story. At its very core it is a story about what it means to be human, deciding what you truly believe in, & about finding your place in a universe that wants you to only be what they deem you should be.
This book intrigued me from the moment I saw the beautiful covers (I’m a sucker for a beautiful cover) but then I read the blurb & knew I would be hooked. Earth being the bad guys? A colony planet fighting for independence, so Earth doesn’t pollute & destroy their world? Big gates capable of instant interstellar travel just like one of my favourite shows Stargate? Sentient ‘mech’ (android) discovering his personality with the help of a fiery & courageous young woman who will do anything to save her world? Honestly what’s not to love!
The whole book was so beautifully written (although I expected nothing less from this wonderful author), the characters were compelling & you really felt invested in their journeys. Noemi’s strength, bravery, resourcefulness, empathy & kindness made me love her quickly, & that’s not even getting into her wonderful wittiness, sarcasm & ability to see beyond someone’s exterior & see into their soul.
Abel was a refreshing change in the genre, the most advanced, one of a kind ‘mech’ in the galaxy who was mistakenly stranded for 30 years until Noemi came along, freed him & then went on an epic journey with him across solar systems & worlds in an effort to protect & save her home world, all while knowing his loyalty to Noemi may end in his destruction. His discovery of emotions & feelings over the course of different interactions with different people from different worlds was such a fascinating journey to read, being able to read chapters from his point of view was a great way to really humanise him & empathise with his evolution.
Abel and Noemi’s interactions & banter were brilliantly written, often sharp witted, snarky, amusing & made you think deeply about the moral implications behind the themes they discussed & their adventure together.
It is a fast-paced, deeply meaningful, and captivating sci-fi story. At its very core it is a story about what it means to be human, deciding what you truly believe in, & about finding your place in a universe that wants you to only be what they deem you should be.
3.5 stars
I kind of loved this book. I did find the plot somewhat confusing so that is why this book only gets 3.5 stars from me. However, the writing was just excellent.
Generally I prefer realistic fiction to sci-fi books but the cover on this one is just amazing and drew me in. Main character, Naomi is this snarky badass and Abel is a know it all who somehow manages to be charmingly hilarious. I just loved both of them from the start.
This book was action packed and of course had a little romance mixed in too. I already can't wait to read the second book!
~ARC provided by NetGalley and Little Brown Books in exchange for an honest review.
I kind of loved this book. I did find the plot somewhat confusing so that is why this book only gets 3.5 stars from me. However, the writing was just excellent.
Generally I prefer realistic fiction to sci-fi books but the cover on this one is just amazing and drew me in. Main character, Naomi is this snarky badass and Abel is a know it all who somehow manages to be charmingly hilarious. I just loved both of them from the start.
This book was action packed and of course had a little romance mixed in too. I already can't wait to read the second book!
~ARC provided by NetGalley and Little Brown Books in exchange for an honest review.
Ich bin noch ein wenig sprachlos. Ehrlich. Ich hatte so viele Theorien, wohin sich die Geschichte entwickeln würde oder was passieren könnte und wurde in jedem einzelnen Kapitel überrascht. Dieses Buch strotzt vor Ideen, Wendungen, guten Charakteren, Action und einer unglaublichen Story. Alle die Sci-Fi mögen, werden hier auf ihre Kosten kommen. Ich kann immer noch nicht glauben, wie viele neue Welten ich in so kurzer Zeit entdeckt habe.
Aber sprechen wir mal über den besten Charakter des Buches: Abel. Er hat absolut mein Herz gewonnen und ich konnte so stark mit ihm mitfühlen. Zwischen ihm und Noemi bildet sich eine so starke Spannung, dass mich allein dieser Punkt zum weiterlesen bewegt hat. Abel ist in seiner kühlen Überlegenheit und seinem Verhalten so oft einfach nur ungewollt witzig. Seine kalte Logik hat zu zahlreichen lustigen Situationen geführt:
„Abel, ich werde nicht zulassen, dass du... deinen Körper verkaufst.“
„Die Transaktion gleicht eher einer Vermietung.“
Einzig Neomi blieb für mich etwas unnahbar. Sie war manchmal eine ziemliche Mary Sue für mich. Darüber hinaus gab es noch diese spontanen Rettungen in letzter Sekunde, die vielleicht eeeetwas zu viel waren.
Davon abgesehen: Absolut coole, spannende und kreative Geschichte!! Ich freue mich auf Teil 2
Aber sprechen wir mal über den besten Charakter des Buches: Abel. Er hat absolut mein Herz gewonnen und ich konnte so stark mit ihm mitfühlen. Zwischen ihm und Noemi bildet sich eine so starke Spannung, dass mich allein dieser Punkt zum weiterlesen bewegt hat. Abel ist in seiner kühlen Überlegenheit und seinem Verhalten so oft einfach nur ungewollt witzig. Seine kalte Logik hat zu zahlreichen lustigen Situationen geführt:
„Abel, ich werde nicht zulassen, dass du... deinen Körper verkaufst.“
„Die Transaktion gleicht eher einer Vermietung.“
Einzig Neomi blieb für mich etwas unnahbar. Sie war manchmal eine ziemliche Mary Sue für mich. Darüber hinaus gab es noch diese spontanen Rettungen in letzter Sekunde, die vielleicht eeeetwas zu viel waren.
Davon abgesehen: Absolut coole, spannende und kreative Geschichte!! Ich freue mich auf Teil 2