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A review by sdloomer
Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
4.0
--4.25/5 stars--
I finished this book in about 4 and a half hours, give or take some minutes (with a lunch break cause even I'm not that baller). That should tell you how much I enjoyed it.
First, this entire novel is one big slow burn. And one that is done very correctly. I think it's clear from the blurb that everyone should expect a relationship of some sort between our two main characters and Ms. Gray did not disappoint.
Second, the most fascinating element, obviously, is Abel: a fully realized AI housed in a robotic, warm, delicious, sexy human body. Talk about having different, er, preferences. I'm just kidding. Sort of. But I did get a little hot when he took his shirt off.
ANYWAY, Ms. Gray does a fantastic job of consistently reminding us that Abel is still not human throughout the book, without completely dehumanizing him. Of course, that takes the form of Noemi Vidal, our soldier heroine, who is all too eager to point out his robotic tendencies at any time. Yes, she's prejudiced. Yes, she's sheltered. But she's still not dumb enough to open herself to brand new experiences and viewpoints and maybe consider that maybe she shouldn't be following her orders blindly and maybe Abel isn't out to kill her 24/7. Now this is something I can get behind: a female MC who isn't single-minded and actually has the depth of character to change some of her beliefs. *Cue fist-pump.
And the spark is there. You'd think it'd be weird falling in love with a mech. Ms. Gray proves this otherwise. Although Abel has unintentionally evolved his programming to transcend into unknowns, like dreaming and the capability of certain emotions, he hasn't done so enough to be deluded. (I guess everyone has their limits.) He still understands that he's not human, but he knows that he's enough for Noemi and she's enough for him, and my brain goes all fuzzy when I think about how beautiful that is. Because some humans can't even comprehend that.
The only reason why I didn't rate this as five stars is the writing. Most of the time it's well-written, but during some chapters, most notably Noemi's, there seems to be a hiccup in expressing emotions. During a few vital scenes, I wasn't particularly sure what in the world she was feeling beyond physical conditions, and I felt we could have used a little extra detail.
Other than that, I'm placing this on my favorites shelf, because I'd like to have an Abel of my own someday.
I finished this book in about 4 and a half hours, give or take some minutes (with a lunch break cause even I'm not that baller). That should tell you how much I enjoyed it.
First, this entire novel is one big slow burn. And one that is done very correctly. I think it's clear from the blurb that everyone should expect a relationship of some sort between our two main characters and Ms. Gray did not disappoint.
Second, the most fascinating element, obviously, is Abel: a fully realized AI housed in a robotic, warm, delicious, sexy human body. Talk about having different, er, preferences. I'm just kidding. Sort of. But I did get a little hot when he took his shirt off.
ANYWAY, Ms. Gray does a fantastic job of consistently reminding us that Abel is still not human throughout the book, without completely dehumanizing him. Of course, that takes the form of Noemi Vidal, our soldier heroine, who is all too eager to point out his robotic tendencies at any time. Yes, she's prejudiced. Yes, she's sheltered. But she's still not dumb enough to open herself to brand new experiences and viewpoints and maybe consider that maybe she shouldn't be following her orders blindly and maybe Abel isn't out to kill her 24/7. Now this is something I can get behind: a female MC who isn't single-minded and actually has the depth of character to change some of her beliefs. *Cue fist-pump.
And the spark is there. You'd think it'd be weird falling in love with a mech. Ms. Gray proves this otherwise. Although Abel has unintentionally evolved his programming to transcend into unknowns, like dreaming and the capability of certain emotions, he hasn't done so enough to be deluded. (I guess everyone has their limits.) He still understands that he's not human, but he knows that he's enough for Noemi and she's enough for him, and my brain goes all fuzzy when I think about how beautiful that is. Because some humans can't even comprehend that.
The only reason why I didn't rate this as five stars is the writing. Most of the time it's well-written, but during some chapters, most notably Noemi's, there seems to be a hiccup in expressing emotions. During a few vital scenes, I wasn't particularly sure what in the world she was feeling beyond physical conditions, and I felt we could have used a little extra detail.
Other than that, I'm placing this on my favorites shelf, because I'd like to have an Abel of my own someday.