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laurajaylive's review
5.0
The Weight of Stars and Suns makes you think about the possibilities outside of your small dot in space that we call earth. After humans explore all of space, they find a planet at the "edge" of the universe. Losing contact, Earth believes that the initial space travelers have perished. Years and generations later, we find that they are not deceased, and that is where the book picks up.
The characters' storylines are incredibly intricate and so much is told between the lines. The human "slaves" want to retreat from the planet they find themselves trapped on, or at least become citizens rather than servants. The aliens find that the humans owe them because they protected the humans when they arrived. This argument is what brings two characters together to work together to find a resolution. I loved the dynamic between these two characters, along with the struggle between father and daughter that also spins around the whole plotline. This is a great read!
I eagerly await the time that I can read book two, The Ashes of Hope and Hunger, because I really want to find out what happens to these characters!
The characters' storylines are incredibly intricate and so much is told between the lines. The human "slaves" want to retreat from the planet they find themselves trapped on, or at least become citizens rather than servants. The aliens find that the humans owe them because they protected the humans when they arrived. This argument is what brings two characters together to work together to find a resolution. I loved the dynamic between these two characters, along with the struggle between father and daughter that also spins around the whole plotline. This is a great read!
I eagerly await the time that I can read book two, The Ashes of Hope and Hunger, because I really want to find out what happens to these characters!
tabatha_shipley's review
4.0
What I Did Like:
+Those Romeo and Juliet vibes work for me. I love the epic tragedy of a star crossed love story and this one delivers. It’s a roller coaster of ups and down right from the start.
+The world building is beautiful. The details that went into the creation of this world with 36 suns was obvious and made the story a beautiful journey.
+Dameia is a solid character. She had layers of depth hiding under the face she presents to the people and I adored her for being real. The things she struggles with are relatable enough that you can connect to her despite her standing on Tav.
Who Should Read This One:
-If I said “Romeo and Juliet in space” and your interest was piqued … this is for you. You’re welcome.
-Also, if you are fans of my Kingdom of Fraun series, this is a good comp title. This is science fiction where Fraun is all fantasy but there’s a lot of similarities I think you’ll enjoy.
My Rating: 4 stars
Well written, great journey!
For Full Review: https://tabathashipleybooks.com/2022/11/15/2022-book-review-the-weight-of-stars-and-suns/
+Those Romeo and Juliet vibes work for me. I love the epic tragedy of a star crossed love story and this one delivers. It’s a roller coaster of ups and down right from the start.
+The world building is beautiful. The details that went into the creation of this world with 36 suns was obvious and made the story a beautiful journey.
+Dameia is a solid character. She had layers of depth hiding under the face she presents to the people and I adored her for being real. The things she struggles with are relatable enough that you can connect to her despite her standing on Tav.
Who Should Read This One:
-If I said “Romeo and Juliet in space” and your interest was piqued … this is for you. You’re welcome.
-Also, if you are fans of my Kingdom of Fraun series, this is a good comp title. This is science fiction where Fraun is all fantasy but there’s a lot of similarities I think you’ll enjoy.
My Rating: 4 stars
Well written, great journey!
For Full Review: https://tabathashipleybooks.com/2022/11/15/2022-book-review-the-weight-of-stars-and-suns/
ajohnson895's review
5.0
Why doesn’t this book have more reviews?!
THIS RIGHT HERE? This is where it's at.
Dawn has this exceptional way of creating depth and dimension even in third person. She manages to craft an entire world, politics, relationships, drama, gossip-- everything. It's perfectly rounded and beautifully immersive. I felt like I traveled to Tav in the week that I read this book, and I never regretted a moment of it. (As long as I was on that ship, lol)
I absolutely adore the world Dawn has created full of breathtaking characters and a romance to die for. She had my screaming and crying and laughing all within the week it took me to read this. Not only did I instantly start reading book 2, but I also picked up a paperback copy for myself. LOL
I think I’ve got a new favorite author, y’all. Lol
THIS RIGHT HERE? This is where it's at.
Dawn has this exceptional way of creating depth and dimension even in third person. She manages to craft an entire world, politics, relationships, drama, gossip-- everything. It's perfectly rounded and beautifully immersive. I felt like I traveled to Tav in the week that I read this book, and I never regretted a moment of it. (As long as I was on that ship, lol)
I absolutely adore the world Dawn has created full of breathtaking characters and a romance to die for. She had my screaming and crying and laughing all within the week it took me to read this. Not only did I instantly start reading book 2, but I also picked up a paperback copy for myself. LOL
I think I’ve got a new favorite author, y’all. Lol
iristhefae's review against another edition
4.0
When I heard this was finally getting published, I was ecstatic. I'm normally not one for sci-fi fantasy books, but the concept of a planet with thirty-six suns was too intriguing of a concept for me to pass up on--let alone pass up on reading about how the suns are beginning to burn out. I was excited to read how the main characters, the princess Dameia and the rebel Hyam, handle this situation on top of the politics taking place.
This book is really easy to read, and if it weren't for life things popping up throughout the month distracting me I would have been able to finished this within a week. The writing flows, and the voice is unique. A bit repetitive at times but nothing that detracts from the story nor the experience.
I was pleased, as well, by how much we get to learn about the world of Tav--both directly and indirectly. I haven't read many books so far this year that embrace its world building and I'm happy to find that The Weight Of Stars And Suns allows me to step my foot onto the sandy-dirt planet. It was nice, too, to be able to comprehend the culture without having every detail spelled out to me. Rather, letting me come to conclusions based off of the information given to me.
The characters are unique, as well, and I had a fun time getting to know about them as the story progressed. I do wish we had gotten some more time with some characters, such as Hyam and Matime. Getting a chance to explore them and their relationships more is something I found myself constantly craving. However, they never felt 2D or incomplete.
With that said, this is a book I'm happy to step out of my comfort zone for. I enjoyed my time with this book and am already looking forward to the next one to come from this series. Not many books can spark an emotional reaction out of me, and this one managed to get me to cry... twice.
This book is really easy to read, and if it weren't for life things popping up throughout the month distracting me I would have been able to finished this within a week. The writing flows, and the voice is unique. A bit repetitive at times but nothing that detracts from the story nor the experience.
I was pleased, as well, by how much we get to learn about the world of Tav--both directly and indirectly. I haven't read many books so far this year that embrace its world building and I'm happy to find that The Weight Of Stars And Suns allows me to step my foot onto the sandy-dirt planet. It was nice, too, to be able to comprehend the culture without having every detail spelled out to me. Rather, letting me come to conclusions based off of the information given to me.
The characters are unique, as well, and I had a fun time getting to know about them as the story progressed. I do wish we had gotten some more time with some characters, such as Hyam and Matime. Getting a chance to explore them and their relationships more is something I found myself constantly craving. However, they never felt 2D or incomplete.
With that said, this is a book I'm happy to step out of my comfort zone for. I enjoyed my time with this book and am already looking forward to the next one to come from this series. Not many books can spark an emotional reaction out of me, and this one managed to get me to cry... twice.
bookwormdanreviews's review
5.0
2021 reread: I loved this book even more the second time! The story and the characters are so original! I love this book so much! Please read it!!!
This was an amazing debut novel! With a story and characters that captivated me from the very beginning. I loved the characters of Dameia and Hyam. I loved their relationship and the ending that left me wanting more but no more pages to read.
This was an amazing debut novel! With a story and characters that captivated me from the very beginning. I loved the characters of Dameia and Hyam. I loved their relationship and the ending that left me wanting more but no more pages to read.
eb_brooks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5 stars, out of 5
--Setting/Concept: 1
--Characters: 1
--Plot: 1
--Style/Voice: 1
--Theme: 1
--Setting/Concept: 1
--Characters: 1
--Plot: 1
--Style/Voice: 1
--Theme: 1
TL;DR: The Weight of Stars and Suns delighted me with its singsong voice, whimsical space-opera setting, and heartwarming tale of two-worlds love. I was smiling through the entire book, and now I’m eager to read the rest of the series! Think Exodus x Disney’s Pocahontas for this one.
*** Possible Light Spoilers From Here On ***
When I first picked up The Weight of Stars and Suns, I had no clear expectations aside from some kind of romance, and maybe a planet that had a lot of suns. Ms. Jonckowski delivers nicely on both fronts. We immediately meet Dameia, the princess of the purple-skinned Tavarian people and heir apparent to the Chieftan, as she’s being served afternoon tea by her human slave under a whopping eighteen suns, strung across the sky. (The other eighteen are currently on the far side of the planet.) She’s stressing about becoming the first female Chieftan in Tav’s history, but when one of the suns suddenly goes dark, she knows she has bigger problems.
Her father, on the other hand, considers the upstart humans to be the more pressing issue, particularly the latest seditious organizers recently, ah, “hosted” in the Tavarian prisons. Sensing an opportunity to get his daughter some leadership experience and rid himself of a headache, he tasks her with interrogating the rebels to find out how to stop the next uprising in advance. Dameia promptly visits their leader, Hyam, and thus Ms. Jonckowski begins delivering the romance as the suns continue to blink out, promising doom—and a lot of extra work for Tav’s multitude of human slaves.
About that: in the past, Tav’s native people discovered forty human explorers who crash-landed on their planet, at a loss for how to survive on such a hot, bright world. With a technological (and cultural) level reminiscent of ancient Egypt, the Tavarians were all too quick to offer help—provided the humans promised themselves and all their descendants to serve them. Those humans, assuming rescue was coming any day, jumped at the chance, and their descendants are still justifiably salty about it, over a hundred years later, as they yearn for a home they never saw.
If “salty” seems like a glib way to describe generational slavery, I blame Ms. Jonckowski’s playful writing style. While the humans’ plight is indeed dire (ever more so, as the suns’ disappearance strains Tavarian society) and there are several scenes of emotional and/or physical abuse from their purple-skinned overlords, the humans take it with remarkable pragmatic verve. Indeed, every character in the book, from Dameia to Hyam to even the prison warden, delivers their lines and struggles against the odds with a glee that leaps off the page. Suffering is written into the story, but it’s constantly outshone by a wry, sarcastic wit that made it hard for me to worry about anyone. Which wasn’t a bad thing, in this case.
Overall, the story was a joy to read. The writing is clean (only the odd typo caught my eye); the voice is superb and playful, in the tongue-in-cheek manner of Tolkien with The Hobbit. The bad guys are bad (but not so bad as to be scary), the good guys are good, and the humans’ tenacious defiance is heartening. I won’t go into spoilers for the book’s resolution, other than to say that on the whole, the Tavarians are primed for some full-on karmic blowback by the end. The nods to Exodus are strong throughout, leaving me with an itch to watch The Prince of Egypt afterward, just for the resonant imagery. But ultimately, Stars and Suns is a tale of love crossing gulfs of culture and space, told in a whimsically fantastic setting that left me excited to read on in the series and get to know some of this universe’s other characters better.
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