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A review by reflowering
A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole
3.0
3.5/5 stars
k, so there was a lot of things i really liked in this, but some things brought it down for me.
1. the slow pacing.
i actually don’t mind slow pacing most of the time as it’s normally done in ways i like, so for example: in a way that allows the world building to develop, exploring characters as well as backstories and letting the plot kind of seamlessly work it’s way into that and letting it flourish into this beautiful story.
however sadly, that’s not what i felt here. it took me a really long time to get past the initial 50% but after that, it was thankfully pretty smooth sailing.
2. the romance.
insta love has always been a pet peeve of mine and this case is no different. it may
not be insta love to both characters as they have known each other for years, but it’s literally said that they barely talk and then all of a sudden they are in the like second chapter and sparks are flying, she’s noticing him more, he’s noticing her more, they’re running into each other and whatever and i get it. i do. but i felt like it was a bit too fast paced and so we as the audience couldn’t really tell the dynamics of their relationship well? idk. i just feel like he was just there to have octavia be attached to something because besides hacking he had no relevance to the plot.
3. the writing?
idk. maybe i’m dumb or maybe i skim read a lot unconsciously (probably both) but i found it pretty hard to imagine Faloiv at times and fully immerse myself in the setting. although i will say since this is set in a different world and it’s science fiction, it heightens those stakes of it being difficult to get into and hard to read. also this one isn’t really the author’s fault. this is just how i feel about it.
4. plot twists
we all love a good plot twist. and this book did have a few. first on the list would be jaquot dying, which to be honest i’m pISSED i didn’t see it coming. he was what in movie terms would be the “comic relief” and everyone knows those characters are basically the first to get killed off. so i was a bit salty about it, until i realised, he’s probably alive. why do you think that? you might ask. well it’s because a) no one sees him being killed b) which means there’s no body and just a bunch of blood which could literally mean aNYTHING c) did i mention no one sees him dying?? cause that’s really fishy to me. also i predict for the second instalment that jaqout is gonna be alive and well and he’s going to help octavia somehow. like him not dying has massive implications as he’s probably been taken in by the Faloii and who knows? maybe he’s also like octavia. or maybe he’s able to help her achieve a goal she wouldn’t have had without insider info. either way, i’m willing to bet my wallet that something else happened to jaqout.
as for other plot twists, i kNEW her grandparents were alive lol. it was so obvious to me how they just disappeared into the jungle and never returned. plus the thing about her mum dying was a cLASSIC. idk what it is about YA authors and killing off their protagonist’s parents, like not everything has to resolve in the death of a parent, but i get it. you want them to grow and it helps them figure out stuff on their own.
and now for positives!!!
you may think from reading all of that that i had no positives, but i did!!
1. representation
you know i love my black representation so of course, i was thrilled to learn that octavia is black!! and so are loads of her other classmates. yaya is described as being darker than all the other girls, but easily the prettiest in the room and i think her main hairstyle is dreadlocks? either way, we love to see it!! alma is another black character who liked to ask a lot of questions about their hairstyles (in particular that one scene she asked about cornrows) and it made my heart bounce seeing so many black characters!! rondo is also black which !!! hELLO DO U KNOW HOW MANY AUTHORS HAVE BLACK LOVE INTERESTS FOR BLACK CHARACTERS?? YEAH BARELY ANY. so thank u ms cole for giving us representation. i appreciated it very much.
2. the plot
the plot in this was super intriguing. getting to know more about Faloiv and the Faloii and the animals, just everything was very interesting and i loved how well it was developed.
3. villains
you know i love a good villain. so of course i loved to hate on both octavia’s dad and dr albatur because they’re both extremely wrong in their way of thinking and it’s interesting seeing one man’s selfishness and greed dictate the fate of a whole planet.
4. the characters
i really liked that they were all different and their different motivations for being where they were. it was just so real to me and it felt realistic so that was another thing i really enjoyed.
ok this might be the longest review i’ve ever written but in short: this book was great and i really liked most things about it.
k, so there was a lot of things i really liked in this, but some things brought it down for me.
1. the slow pacing.
i actually don’t mind slow pacing most of the time as it’s normally done in ways i like, so for example: in a way that allows the world building to develop, exploring characters as well as backstories and letting the plot kind of seamlessly work it’s way into that and letting it flourish into this beautiful story.
however sadly, that’s not what i felt here. it took me a really long time to get past the initial 50% but after that, it was thankfully pretty smooth sailing.
2. the romance.
insta love has always been a pet peeve of mine and this case is no different. it may
not be insta love to both characters as they have known each other for years, but it’s literally said that they barely talk and then all of a sudden they are in the like second chapter and sparks are flying, she’s noticing him more, he’s noticing her more, they’re running into each other and whatever and i get it. i do. but i felt like it was a bit too fast paced and so we as the audience couldn’t really tell the dynamics of their relationship well? idk. i just feel like he was just there to have octavia be attached to something because besides hacking he had no relevance to the plot.
3. the writing?
idk. maybe i’m dumb or maybe i skim read a lot unconsciously (probably both) but i found it pretty hard to imagine Faloiv at times and fully immerse myself in the setting. although i will say since this is set in a different world and it’s science fiction, it heightens those stakes of it being difficult to get into and hard to read. also this one isn’t really the author’s fault. this is just how i feel about it.
4. plot twists
we all love a good plot twist. and this book did have a few. first on the list would be jaquot dying, which to be honest i’m pISSED i didn’t see it coming. he was what in movie terms would be the “comic relief” and everyone knows those characters are basically the first to get killed off. so i was a bit salty about it, until i realised, he’s probably alive. why do you think that? you might ask. well it’s because a) no one sees him being killed b) which means there’s no body and just a bunch of blood which could literally mean aNYTHING c) did i mention no one sees him dying?? cause that’s really fishy to me. also i predict for the second instalment that jaqout is gonna be alive and well and he’s going to help octavia somehow. like him not dying has massive implications as he’s probably been taken in by the Faloii and who knows? maybe he’s also like octavia. or maybe he’s able to help her achieve a goal she wouldn’t have had without insider info. either way, i’m willing to bet my wallet that something else happened to jaqout.
as for other plot twists, i kNEW her grandparents were alive lol. it was so obvious to me how they just disappeared into the jungle and never returned. plus the thing about her mum dying was a cLASSIC. idk what it is about YA authors and killing off their protagonist’s parents, like not everything has to resolve in the death of a parent, but i get it. you want them to grow and it helps them figure out stuff on their own.
and now for positives!!!
you may think from reading all of that that i had no positives, but i did!!
1. representation
you know i love my black representation so of course, i was thrilled to learn that octavia is black!! and so are loads of her other classmates. yaya is described as being darker than all the other girls, but easily the prettiest in the room and i think her main hairstyle is dreadlocks? either way, we love to see it!! alma is another black character who liked to ask a lot of questions about their hairstyles (in particular that one scene she asked about cornrows) and it made my heart bounce seeing so many black characters!! rondo is also black which !!! hELLO DO U KNOW HOW MANY AUTHORS HAVE BLACK LOVE INTERESTS FOR BLACK CHARACTERS?? YEAH BARELY ANY. so thank u ms cole for giving us representation. i appreciated it very much.
2. the plot
the plot in this was super intriguing. getting to know more about Faloiv and the Faloii and the animals, just everything was very interesting and i loved how well it was developed.
3. villains
you know i love a good villain. so of course i loved to hate on both octavia’s dad and dr albatur because they’re both extremely wrong in their way of thinking and it’s interesting seeing one man’s selfishness and greed dictate the fate of a whole planet.
4. the characters
i really liked that they were all different and their different motivations for being where they were. it was just so real to me and it felt realistic so that was another thing i really enjoyed.
ok this might be the longest review i’ve ever written but in short: this book was great and i really liked most things about it.