A review by anaisniz
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

 πŸŒ  Plot: 6.0 /10
❄️ Setting: 8.0 /10
🌟 Characters: 6.0 /10
✍ Writing (style): Excellent.

πŸ“š Would I recommend it? Yes, but read Book of the Ancestor series first (It's also what other people suggest).



β€œMany babies have killed, but it is very rare that the victim is not their mother.”



❀️ Up's:

1) Amazing & creative world/worldbuilding
2) Interesting and promising plot
3) Good pace
4) Writing

1: This cruel survival world feels so intimidating and yet beautiful. Everything felt unlimited.

2: I love the idea of getting rid of the children who are weaker, because it's impossible to take care of them in this cold world. How the plot moved was also interesting and fun.

3 & 4: First time reading Mark Lawrence and I love his style. He goes straight to the point, but in the same time has fun with descriptions and details. He has a good balance between slow and fast pace. Also, in general the chapters are short, so it made the book easier to read. There were times I had a hard time understanding lines and I was rereading them (Note: English is not my first language, so that doesn't help).


πŸ’” Down's:

1) Messy
2) Many characters and lack of connection with them
3) Too much YA

1: I wanted to start a Mark Lawrence book and so, I picked this one - It was a more recent trilogy and is a YA, which I thought would help me get closer to Mark's style and I wanted something icy. Plus, people said it wasn't necessary to read Book of the Ancestor before this one. But I couldn't really keep up, I felt lost most of the times and confused. The magic system was vague, the whole void thing and the city was confusing. I know this is only the first book, but I need to understand a little more to enjoy and keep up with the story.

2: When it comes to the characters, this book was "quantity over quality". There was so many characters and kept appearing more and more. We spend way to much time in Yaz's head and exploring this icy world that there's no room to connect with the rest of the characters. They all were enjoyable but hard to connect with. Aside from Thurin, who we know much about.
Another thing, I wish there was more moments of Yaz with her brother, like flashbacks of them. I needed this to root more for her.
Even after she saves him, they barely talk


3: I know it's ironic, but hear me out. One of the reasons I picked this was because it's a YA, I wanted something simple to start Lawrence's books. But I have to agree with readers who dislike the YA aspect of this book - "The chosen one" and "love triangle/square - I really hated this tropes here, they just didn't work quite well with the "mature" narrative and world. I hate how Yaz just could use her magic so easily and how everyone felt in love with her immediately. She was always the center of attention without being much.


✨ Final thoughts:

I am a bit disappointed, I though I would like this more.
I hate leaving trilogies unfinished (unless I despise the 1 book). I heard that the 2nd and 3rd book get much better, so maybe I will pick them up. But I admit I'm much interested in reading the Book of the Ancestor series instead.