Monday, January 25, 2016

Starflight by Melissa Landers

Title: Starflight
Author: Melissa Landers
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication date: February 2, 2016
Pages: 320
Source/format: e-ARC/Netgalley

Rating: ☆☆☆1/2

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She's so desperate to reach the realm that she's willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he's been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world--and each other--the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe...



My Thoughts

"He wanted her to be the Solara he'd come to know--his Solara." - ARC

Starflight is an intergalactic space travel journey like no other. The two main characters are total opposites from each other. Solara Brooks is a hardworking mechanic trying to find a way to the lawless outer realm but has a felony conviction. She is so desperate to aboard Spaceliner Zenith, she agrees to be Doran Spaulding's indentured servant for passage on the Zenith. Doran, heir to the galaxy's largest fuel corporation, was a varsity football star back when Solar and Doran were at the academy together. He ridicules her when they were in school and still does today. Unexpected circumstances occur and the duo end up on Banshee running away from the law. A vessel of misfits end up bonding over secrets and past lives while encountering space pirates!

The novel is written in dual POV. The writing is fabulous and mesmerizing. Melissa Landers does a fantastic job with character development with not only the main characters but also with the secondary characters. Landers is able to capture sci-fi perfectly in Starflight. Solara is witty, independent and knows what she wants. Doran, on the other hand, is a spoiled, rich jerk. Despite their differences, they learn to become civil toward each other. Landers has done an incredible job with the slow burning romance. However, I found it interesting when Doran isn't super mad when he bumped into someone unexpected at the end of the novel. He is upset at first but then he bonds with that person like nothing ever happened. I would think Doran would hold a grudge a bit longer since it took forever for him to warm up to Solara.

I highly recommend Starflight to readers who like adventure and sci-fi. I can't wait to read the companion novel to Starflight about Cassia and and Kane.

2 comments:

  1. I always think I like sci-fi but wind up being underwhelmed when I try to read sci-fi with a few exceptions. That said, your glowing review may have convinced me to check this one out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention Nicole!

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    Replies
    1. I know a lot of books that are marketed as sci-fi are usually light on the sci-fi and it's a secondary genre. It's nice to see titles with heavier sci-fi topics.

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