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3.5*
Indian Jones in space is a very good description of this story, with the added caveat that it takes a while for it to get actiony.
While I enjoyed this story (YA sci-fi! YAY!), I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to want to reread it, which is usually my litmus test for rating a book higher. I'm glad I got this as a library check-out, and I'll wait for the sequel to see if I want to buy the series. In fact, my feelings about this book align with my feelings about [b:Defy the Stars|31423196|Defy the Stars (Constellation, #1)|Claudia Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484967166s/31423196.jpg|47841519].
I didn't mind the initial slow pace, which fits for about the first third of the book. I thought it allowed for a really good exploration of both of our main characters, both of whom I enjoyed. I didn't fall in love with either of them, and neither really jumped off of the page, but I like their individual characterizations and their more platonic interactions. The ones that veered more toward romance I wasn't quite as fond of, but I appreciated it more than other YA stories. The authors went out of their way to have the characters acknowledge, on multiple occasions, how absurd it is to be so attracted to someone else while on an alien planet, to the point that it at times overrides the survival instinct.
Additionally, aspects of the world-building and Mia and Jules' personal motivations were laid out multiple times. Sometimes the story began to feel a bit repetitive because we would get the same nugget of information a handful of times and that, coupled with chapters that featured long, internal monologues that delivered this information, helped drag down the page a little too much and led to me knocking my rating down.
The other reason this is a 3.5 is the plot, and the fact that I knew most of the twists were coming from the very beginning. I can't really think of anything else to add to that because I still enjoyed the plot!
tl;dr: While the plot isn't as twisty-turny as it thinks it is, I enjoyed the characters, their romance didn't bother me that much, and I will definitely read the sequel.
Indian Jones in space is a very good description of this story, with the added caveat that it takes a while for it to get actiony.
While I enjoyed this story (YA sci-fi! YAY!), I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to want to reread it, which is usually my litmus test for rating a book higher. I'm glad I got this as a library check-out, and I'll wait for the sequel to see if I want to buy the series. In fact, my feelings about this book align with my feelings about [b:Defy the Stars|31423196|Defy the Stars (Constellation, #1)|Claudia Gray|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484967166s/31423196.jpg|47841519].
I didn't mind the initial slow pace, which fits for about the first third of the book. I thought it allowed for a really good exploration of both of our main characters, both of whom I enjoyed. I didn't fall in love with either of them, and neither really jumped off of the page, but I like their individual characterizations and their more platonic interactions. The ones that veered more toward romance I wasn't quite as fond of, but I appreciated it more than other YA stories. The authors went out of their way to have the characters acknowledge, on multiple occasions, how absurd it is to be so attracted to someone else while on an alien planet, to the point that it at times overrides the survival instinct.
Additionally, aspects of the world-building and Mia and Jules' personal motivations were laid out multiple times. Sometimes the story began to feel a bit repetitive because we would get the same nugget of information a handful of times and that, coupled with chapters that featured long, internal monologues that delivered this information, helped drag down the page a little too much and led to me knocking my rating down.
The other reason this is a 3.5 is the plot, and the fact that I knew most of the twists were coming from the very beginning. I can't really think of anything else to add to that because I still enjoyed the plot!
tl;dr: While the plot isn't as twisty-turny as it thinks it is, I enjoyed the characters, their romance didn't bother me that much, and I will definitely read the sequel.