A review by goodeyreads
Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

medium-paced

4.0

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

LIKED BY THE END.

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This wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The Hating Game tagline felt like a misnomer (so if someone can point out where that was, please let me know). But the Mission Impossible vibes were there at least! I like this trend of a more romantic comedy + suspense. It’s a mood I am here for.

There wasn’t as much romance as I was hoping for. Though the second half did a better job of adding to those elements. I would have loved to have seen them be able to connect more and not just about the job they were on. I liked both Sydney and Winter as standalone characters. There were some flashbacks that helped flesh out their personalities and I think there’s going to be some great development in book two for both of them.

The antagonist was painfully obvious so don’t expect to be surprised by necessarily that piece. Action wise, I definitely enjoyed those scenes. High intensity, not quite sure what was going to happen. Waiting for the next page kind of on edge.

I do have plans to read the next book and I’m curious to see what the next adventure will bring!

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romantic Suspense
- Language: very little
- Romance: make-outs
- Violence: med-high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: near death experiences, gun violence, kidnapping, poisoning, loss of a parent