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A review by brinley
Star Spark by Day Leitao
3.0
I don't know how I feel about this book, I liked the plot, it was interesting and fun, but some elements of it were a mess.
Worldbuilding
This was really the deal breaker for me. This book was set in space, so sure, there are a lot of planets and explaining that needs to be done. However, only one planet and two moons are mentioned. We have no idea how settlers got to the moon, and the enmity between the moon and planet is a mess. The reason for this enmity (the moon though it had a right to every moon in the galaxy) made no sense, as I don't see any government ever thinking that. Also, who are the Terens?? We're told that there are multiple groups, but I'm just guessing that they are people with magic. It also makes no sense that the planet had very few spaceships, and that the moon had more. I was confused as to why the planet couldn't just manufacture more. In general, the setting of this book was confusing.
Plot
I really liked the plot of this book. The expeditions to the planet to get water were a super unique concept, and they were fun to read. At times, the plot got slow, especially when the romance got involved. The ending felt super rushed, and a bit too much like Star Wars for my tastes. I mean come on, you had all the little fighter ships swarming the destroyer. It just conjured one of the scenes from the movies to me.
Characters
This book had a large cast of characters, and they were hard for me to keep straight, simply because only a few of them were developed. I liked Dess and Marcus, their friendly banter was super funny to read. Saytera irritated me. This was mainly because of her obliviousness. When every single gun she touched died, she just denied the fact that she had something to do with it. I also didn't like how we were drawn into the book by a promise of her discovering her destiny, but it was barely mentioned. The rest of the characters felt like paper cut-outs, and could have easily been replaced by each other.
Romance
The romance was super hard for me to read. I didn't like one of the characters in it, so that drove the whole thing down. I also felt like it was a bit insta-lovey, and wasn't necessary.
Representation
There was one queer character in this book, and that was good to see. However, it could have been done better, considering she dates one of the other characters, hoping he could make her straight.
Overall
This book was an enjoyable read, I just found some of the problems a bit too hard to ignore. I might have enjoyed it more if I liked sci-fi as a genre more, but I just struggled with bits of the book.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Worldbuilding
This was really the deal breaker for me. This book was set in space, so sure, there are a lot of planets and explaining that needs to be done. However, only one planet and two moons are mentioned. We have no idea how settlers got to the moon, and the enmity between the moon and planet is a mess. The reason for this enmity (the moon though it had a right to every moon in the galaxy) made no sense, as I don't see any government ever thinking that. Also, who are the Terens?? We're told that there are multiple groups, but I'm just guessing that they are people with magic. It also makes no sense that the planet had very few spaceships, and that the moon had more. I was confused as to why the planet couldn't just manufacture more. In general, the setting of this book was confusing.
Plot
I really liked the plot of this book. The expeditions to the planet to get water were a super unique concept, and they were fun to read. At times, the plot got slow, especially when the romance got involved. The ending felt super rushed, and a bit too much like Star Wars for my tastes.
Characters
This book had a large cast of characters, and they were hard for me to keep straight, simply because only a few of them were developed. I liked Dess and Marcus, their friendly banter was super funny to read. Saytera irritated me.
Romance
The romance was super hard for me to read. I didn't like one of the characters in it, so that drove the whole thing down. I also felt like it was a bit insta-lovey, and wasn't necessary.
Representation
There was one queer character in this book, and that was good to see. However, it could have been done better, considering she dates one of the other characters, hoping he could make her straight.
Overall
This book was an enjoyable read, I just found some of the problems a bit too hard to ignore. I might have enjoyed it more if I liked sci-fi as a genre more, but I just struggled with bits of the book.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.