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A review by vickycbooks
A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole
5.0
5 stars
Octavia's dream is to follow her parents' footsteps in becoming one of the esteemed whitecoats--the highest rank of scientists on the planet of Faloiv. She would be able to study the jungle's exotic plants and animals that are protected through the Council of N'Terra.
When the opportunity for an internship opens, Octavia is overjoyed until she learns of the extremist views of the new Council leader. He's growing in power, and when Octavia witnesses one of the indigenous people of Faloiv, the Faloii, being attacked by her kind, she knows there's more behind the Council than one might expect.
The shared planet has become a breeding down for political tension--one that might lead to a devastating war. With Rondo, a hacker boy she befriends, and Alma, her best friend, Octavia is going to discover the secrets behind their history, one that will reveal secrets about her own family as well.
This book was just so perfect. It was so well-written and balanced that I was astounded by the thought and skill that went into writing this book.
Although it was executed perfectly, I do know this won't be the book for some people. I personally enjoyed it very, very much, but others will feel differently.
This is a sci-fi novel that explores relationships between humans and other sentient beings on a foreign planet, the political relationships in a colony, imperialism, humane procedures for science, and many more subjects atypical to your regular fast-paced romantic space opera.
The pacing is definitely a lot slower at first, building the world and how people got there in a steady way without making it feel like an info dump. Eventually, at the end, things get a lot more heated and the novel ends almost abruptly with a big cliffhanger.
This novel is definitely partly a mystery, a large portion of it dedicated to solving the secrets the Council of N'Terra is hiding and what is happening to Octavia. She and her friends discovering the truth behind the lies helps reel you into the story, even if you're the type who likes a fast paced thriller.
I loved the characters--none of them seemed overly irrational and although all sorts of things were happening to Octavia, she was able to treat it with a level head. Her friends were all also extremely kind and helpful, even when they had their rough patches.
I also really liked the romance between Octavia and Rondo. It was very low-key and not plot inducing, which was very refreshing to read. They had a good relationship with respect and kindness (gasp!).
Also, the sheer amount of diversity in this novel was fantastic! A ton of people, including our MC, are people of color and it's generally embraced. This was really nice to see in the novel.
The actual plot and background to the novel was really interesting.I enjoyed learning about how they landed on Earth (with a spaceship away from the "Origin Planet") and how they wanted to leave.
The political subplot was super intriguing as well, both with the power dynamics and social hierarchy between the green and whitecoats and the science-focus on the planet as well as the relationship between humans and Faloii and the imperialism over the Faloii.
The plot twists were all adequately expected, although it was still a surprise to me because I doubted the validity of my assumptions.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable novel and I would recommend it to lovers of science fiction and mystery! Even though you might not like slower paced novels, I think this is definitely worth the read! I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.
Don't forget, you can preorder A Conspiracy of Stars now or find it at any major bookseller on January 2nd!
Thank you to Harper Teen and Edelweiss for providing me with a digital review copy!
Immediately after reading reaction:
WOW this is my kind of book. Politics, scientific discoveries, new species--I absolutely loved reading it! And that cliffhanger--eek! Full review to come!
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Octavia's dream is to follow her parents' footsteps in becoming one of the esteemed whitecoats--the highest rank of scientists on the planet of Faloiv. She would be able to study the jungle's exotic plants and animals that are protected through the Council of N'Terra.
When the opportunity for an internship opens, Octavia is overjoyed until she learns of the extremist views of the new Council leader. He's growing in power, and when Octavia witnesses one of the indigenous people of Faloiv, the Faloii, being attacked by her kind, she knows there's more behind the Council than one might expect.
The shared planet has become a breeding down for political tension--one that might lead to a devastating war. With Rondo, a hacker boy she befriends, and Alma, her best friend, Octavia is going to discover the secrets behind their history, one that will reveal secrets about her own family as well.
This book was just so perfect. It was so well-written and balanced that I was astounded by the thought and skill that went into writing this book.
Although it was executed perfectly, I do know this won't be the book for some people. I personally enjoyed it very, very much, but others will feel differently.
This is a sci-fi novel that explores relationships between humans and other sentient beings on a foreign planet, the political relationships in a colony, imperialism, humane procedures for science, and many more subjects atypical to your regular fast-paced romantic space opera.
The pacing is definitely a lot slower at first, building the world and how people got there in a steady way without making it feel like an info dump. Eventually, at the end, things get a lot more heated and the novel ends almost abruptly with a big cliffhanger.
This novel is definitely partly a mystery, a large portion of it dedicated to solving the secrets the Council of N'Terra is hiding and what is happening to Octavia. She and her friends discovering the truth behind the lies helps reel you into the story, even if you're the type who likes a fast paced thriller.
I loved the characters--none of them seemed overly irrational and although all sorts of things were happening to Octavia, she was able to treat it with a level head. Her friends were all also extremely kind and helpful, even when they had their rough patches.
I also really liked the romance between Octavia and Rondo. It was very low-key and not plot inducing, which was very refreshing to read. They had a good relationship with respect and kindness (gasp!).
Also, the sheer amount of diversity in this novel was fantastic! A ton of people, including our MC, are people of color and it's generally embraced. This was really nice to see in the novel.
The actual plot and background to the novel was really interesting.I enjoyed learning about how they landed on Earth (with a spaceship away from the "Origin Planet") and how they wanted to leave.
The political subplot was super intriguing as well, both with the power dynamics and social hierarchy between the green and whitecoats and the science-focus on the planet as well as the relationship between humans and Faloii and the imperialism over the Faloii.
The plot twists were all adequately expected, although it was still a surprise to me because I doubted the validity of my assumptions.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable novel and I would recommend it to lovers of science fiction and mystery! Even though you might not like slower paced novels, I think this is definitely worth the read! I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.
Don't forget, you can preorder A Conspiracy of Stars now or find it at any major bookseller on January 2nd!
Thank you to Harper Teen and Edelweiss for providing me with a digital review copy!
Immediately after reading reaction:
WOW this is my kind of book. Politics, scientific discoveries, new species--I absolutely loved reading it! And that cliffhanger--eek! Full review to come!
Blog | Instagram | Twitter