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magneticice's review against another edition
4.0
Let me start off by saying how much I like the cover. It grabbed me right away and then once I learned this was a retelling twist of Bonnie and Clyde in a sci-fi world, it did keep me hooked. I loved the fact we got many different perspectives of each of the characters. Plus each personality was vastly different from the other, you could not help but like some and truly hate others. Nearly everyone knows how Bonnie and Clyde in, so you go into the book thinking just that. Or at least I did. I did not hold me back at all from those characters, usually if I know if someone is gonna die and such I do not give the character there time. Though with how they were written it was fun to read about the journey of them and I am glad I did give it a chance. I was not disappointed in this story at all. I did truly enjoy it for what it was. It was not a hard one to follow at all.
hycinthos's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Made of Stars is marketed as space!Bonnie & Clyde (each part is even broken up with a quote from The Trail's End), but it's not. there's little to no romance and Shane and Ava aren't even a couple?
the pacing is also inconsistent. there's a time jump at about the 1/3 mark and now there are three new members of Shane's crew, no explanation given, and Cyrus is attracted to Lark. i swear i was so confused i though i might've snoozed on the last chapter and missed something. most of the high-stakes situations also happened off-page. how did an emaciated, injured Shane escape a max security prison? how did Ava steal a military ship?
i'm disappointed. i wanted to like Made of Stars, but it overall just fell flat.
the pacing is also inconsistent. there's a time jump at about the 1/3 mark and now there are three new members of Shane's crew, no explanation given, and Cyrus is attracted to Lark. i swear i was so confused i though i might've snoozed on the last chapter and missed something. most of the high-stakes situations also happened off-page. how did an emaciated, injured Shane escape a max security prison? how did Ava steal a military ship?
i'm disappointed. i wanted to like Made of Stars, but it overall just fell flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
jmillwrites's review against another edition
5.0
I'm obsessed with this book and have SO MANY FEELS after finishing. I'd kill for these characters. Best space book I've ever read!
zbrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Yes, it's a Bonnie & Clyde trope in outer space however, it's a SUPER long, drawn out story. I didn't feel like we learned enough about each character, it just jumps in. This one didn't grab me like some other scifi stories have. maybe not enough action for my taste.
shelvedthoughts's review against another edition
5.0
Reader’s Notes:
-this is told from Shane, Ava, & Cyrus’s points of view (+ one chapter is told from a random character’s point of view)
– there are about 6 curse words
– there are multiple mentions of blood, death/killing, fighting (& injuries), a character removing someone else’s finger (once), & cruel prison life (& bad dreams from experiencing it)
– there is a male/male romantic interest
– there is a fade to black scene
– there is no happily ever after
Review:
I really enjoyed this tale of right and wrong and the lengths people are willing to go in order to balance the scales. I’m still not really sure if I’m 100% happy with the fact that there wasn’t a happily ever after for the characters or not as the ending gave a feeling of things didn’t happen in vain sort of way. I really liked the dynamic between Shane and Ava and how their romance progressed throughout the story. I liked that they both could be a little reckless, but could also talk each other off a wall in some ways. I loved their first teammate Jared so much! He was such a sweetheart and I loved his ability to pop in and relieve some tension when things got tough. I also really loved Clara and how she was essentially Ava’s right hand woman. She was also fiercely loyal and I loved that about her. Cyrus was a fun perspective! I enjoyed getting to see what was happening from his point of view as it was not only showing what the government of this world was doing, but it also had a bit of a different spin on it than it would have been if we’d seen Lark go through the same things he did. Cyrus wasn’t sure who to trust or who was telling the truth and it could affect his decisions at times that were crucial to one side or the other.
Summary:
Shane and Ava are a team who do well at their job of stealing in order to get much needed money and supplies to sustain their families since the government isn’t doing a good job of it. But one day Shane gets caught and sent off to a prison that no one has escaped…until Ava’s plan gets him out. They plan one last heist before they’ll stop their thievery in order to just live life and hide far away from prying eyes that would send them back in a split second. They never expected to discover a plot so much bigger and more dangerous to their families in the middle of pulling it off. But they can’t stand by and watch as everything they love is destroyed.
Cyrus just graduated the top of his class and has started his life as a lieutenant. He has been given high honors and a position that most people would kill to have, but he’d also been raised to be wary of officers like himself. When he happens upon Shane and Ava in the capitol, he is unknowingly thrust into something that will test both his loyalty to the people in charge and his own personal sense of morality. What is really going on around him? Are the biggest outlaws of the galaxy telling the truth for their actions? Can he let them go on doing things the way they are doing them which results in the loss of lives? Or could there be secrets right in his own circle that are making everything so much worse?
-this is told from Shane, Ava, & Cyrus’s points of view (+ one chapter is told from a random character’s point of view)
– there are about 6 curse words
– there are multiple mentions of blood, death/killing, fighting (& injuries), a character removing someone else’s finger (once), & cruel prison life (& bad dreams from experiencing it)
– there is a male/male romantic interest
– there is a fade to black scene
– there is no happily ever after
Review:
I really enjoyed this tale of right and wrong and the lengths people are willing to go in order to balance the scales. I’m still not really sure if I’m 100% happy with the fact that there wasn’t a happily ever after for the characters or not as the ending gave a feeling of things didn’t happen in vain sort of way. I really liked the dynamic between Shane and Ava and how their romance progressed throughout the story. I liked that they both could be a little reckless, but could also talk each other off a wall in some ways. I loved their first teammate Jared so much! He was such a sweetheart and I loved his ability to pop in and relieve some tension when things got tough. I also really loved Clara and how she was essentially Ava’s right hand woman. She was also fiercely loyal and I loved that about her. Cyrus was a fun perspective! I enjoyed getting to see what was happening from his point of view as it was not only showing what the government of this world was doing, but it also had a bit of a different spin on it than it would have been if we’d seen Lark go through the same things he did. Cyrus wasn’t sure who to trust or who was telling the truth and it could affect his decisions at times that were crucial to one side or the other.
Summary:
Shane and Ava are a team who do well at their job of stealing in order to get much needed money and supplies to sustain their families since the government isn’t doing a good job of it. But one day Shane gets caught and sent off to a prison that no one has escaped…until Ava’s plan gets him out. They plan one last heist before they’ll stop their thievery in order to just live life and hide far away from prying eyes that would send them back in a split second. They never expected to discover a plot so much bigger and more dangerous to their families in the middle of pulling it off. But they can’t stand by and watch as everything they love is destroyed.
Cyrus just graduated the top of his class and has started his life as a lieutenant. He has been given high honors and a position that most people would kill to have, but he’d also been raised to be wary of officers like himself. When he happens upon Shane and Ava in the capitol, he is unknowingly thrust into something that will test both his loyalty to the people in charge and his own personal sense of morality. What is really going on around him? Are the biggest outlaws of the galaxy telling the truth for their actions? Can he let them go on doing things the way they are doing them which results in the loss of lives? Or could there be secrets right in his own circle that are making everything so much worse?
marielouise12's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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
z_brarian's review against another edition
3.0
Yes, it's a Bonnie & Clyde trope in outer space however, it's a SUPER long, drawn out story. I didn't feel like we learned enough about each character, it just jumps in. This one didn't grab me like some other scifi stories have. maybe not enough action for my taste.
_christinacreads's review against another edition
5.0
Actual Rating: 4.5 ★
I really really enjoyed Made of Stars by Jenna Voris! It feels like a wonderful Space Opera blend of Six of Crows, Robin Hood, and Bonnie and Clyde.
Did I like it? Yes. Absolutely. This was SO CLOSE to a 5-star read.
Shane and Ava are our Bonnie and Clyde duo who honestly remind me a lot more of Kaz and Inez from Six of Crows. We begin the book with Ava breaking Shane out of prison and carrying on with charming others and stealing ships.
We also follow Cyrus, a lowly boy who’s graduated top of his class from flight academy, the school for space cops, and he ends up in a position next to his main irritation and rival Lark.
Shane, Ava, and Cyrus end up crossing paths amidst a heist revealing a well-kept political secret that shakes the entirety of Cryus’ belief system.
We also meet Jared, the most adorable secondary character ever. I just want to give him a hug.
While I really enjoyed this a lot, I do think there is a lack of balance between the narration of the three main characters. I wished for a lot more of Shane, I feel like the discussions into his character and experiences were too sporadic to have much impact.
My suspension of disbelief was also sorely tested at some points cause this fell into the same trope that you find in Six Crimson Cranes where you have teenagers vs the world.
There’s so much intrigue, there’s a healthy balance of romance, drama, and intergalactic politics. It was action packed – though not exclusively in the air, which I wish there was more of – and there was a nice steady thrum of things happening throughout the book.
I knew the ending. And I was still heartbroken when it happened.
Do I need more? URGENTLY. The problem is I don’t see any indication anywhere that there’s going to be a sequel so I’m slowly dying inside. The ending is a little bit open ended so there is room for a sequel but it does come together nicely that I do think it can also just end there as well.
Overall, highly recommend, this was a blast to read! Thank you NetGalley, Jenna Voris, Penguin, and Viking Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.
I really really enjoyed Made of Stars by Jenna Voris! It feels like a wonderful Space Opera blend of Six of Crows, Robin Hood, and Bonnie and Clyde.
Did I like it? Yes. Absolutely. This was SO CLOSE to a 5-star read.
Shane and Ava are our Bonnie and Clyde duo who honestly remind me a lot more of Kaz and Inez from Six of Crows. We begin the book with Ava breaking Shane out of prison and carrying on with charming others and stealing ships.
We also follow Cyrus, a lowly boy who’s graduated top of his class from flight academy, the school for space cops, and he ends up in a position next to his main irritation and rival Lark.
Shane, Ava, and Cyrus end up crossing paths amidst a heist revealing a well-kept political secret that shakes the entirety of Cryus’ belief system.
We also meet Jared, the most adorable secondary character ever. I just want to give him a hug.
While I really enjoyed this a lot, I do think there is a lack of balance between the narration of the three main characters. I wished for a lot more of Shane, I feel like the discussions into his character and experiences were too sporadic to have much impact.
My suspension of disbelief was also sorely tested at some points cause this fell into the same trope that you find in Six Crimson Cranes where you have teenagers vs the world.
There’s so much intrigue, there’s a healthy balance of romance, drama, and intergalactic politics. It was action packed – though not exclusively in the air, which I wish there was more of – and there was a nice steady thrum of things happening throughout the book.
I knew the ending. And I was still heartbroken when it happened.
Do I need more? URGENTLY. The problem is I don’t see any indication anywhere that there’s going to be a sequel so I’m slowly dying inside. The ending is a little bit open ended so there is room for a sequel but it does come together nicely that I do think it can also just end there as well.
Overall, highly recommend, this was a blast to read! Thank you NetGalley, Jenna Voris, Penguin, and Viking Books for Young Readers for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.