I read this several years ago now, and cannot remember it exactly, but I do remember really enjoying it. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads at the time.

Sometimes I think it’s hard to find young adult science fiction, books with a broad appeal, but may eighth graders really enjoy this one.

This was good story. Not great, but good. I struggled a bit and I know this is a classic case of, “it’s not you, it’s me,” since everyone I know that read it, loved it.

This was really quite good! Noemi is from the planet Genesis and is on a mission when she ends up on an abandoned ship hoping to save her friend. There she finds Abel. Abel is a one-of-a-kind robot, known as a merc. He has been alone on that ship for the past 30 years and has evolved into something more during that time. They learn to work together and are able to form a bond. It doesn’t take long for Noemi to discover that Abel is more than a machine.

This story was incredibly exciting and I was really curious how things would work out. The characters were fantastic and I am still somewhat amazed by how much I loved a robot. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrators did a great job with the story which only added to my enjoyment.

I received a digital review copy of this book from the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

Noemi is on a trial run to prepare for a planned maneuver to stop Earth and it ruining other planets and inhabitants of those planets. She lives on Genesis and is willing to give her life to save it for others. While on maneuvers she follows a friend's spaceship that is slowly following another vessel. Her friend is
captured and seriously injured leading Noemi to board the vessel to find help.

Abel is a mech, an android made to look like a young man, that has been stuck on the vessel alone for thirty years. He does not trust Noemi and she definitely doesn't trust a mech. There is a flaw in his wiring that makes him devoted to the person on the ship with the highest authority, which happens to be Noemi. He has no choice but to follow her orders. Soon he is trapped and must help her get the parts she needs to repair her ship and return to Genesis to participate in her orders, that is- until he can find his maker and return to his "father."

I enjoyed their adventure and their learning to trust each other. She comes to find other cultures, other ways of thinking, and another way to possibly save Genesis.

I was given the opportunity to read this by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. Exciting and fast-paced with likable characters and a well-developed relationship to root for. I will be recommending this book!

Claudia Gray never disappoints and Defy the Stars is another success. I love a space book in general, but this had fantastic world building, great pacing, and a slow-burn romance. I can't wait for more.

I've had this book for a while. It was just sitting on my Kindle. Why? Because I'm a Kindle hoarder! I've read a couple books from Claudia Gray before but this one was easily my favorite so far. I really enjoyed the start of this series! I want more!

Noemi Vidal invades Abel ship and that is when the story gets really good (which ironically this happens right at the start of the novel). I was hooked from page one and just wanted more. I loved hearing about the different planets and how advanced technology can be. If you like Sci-Fi, YA, Romance, and Action, then you will enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for supplying me with a copy of this book on my Kindle to read and review.
I love sci fi. I always find it fun and entertaining. Plus, the idea of being able to be in the future, in space, is just fascinating to me. So this book really was right up my street with that.
The two points of view used by the author really offer unique insight into the universe she creates. Namoni is the human POV. She's emotional, super smart, and ready to die for her world. And most of all she's super brave. Willing to take whatever chances are needed to ensure she can keep her people safe. Abel, a mech, is just a machine. Though a sophisticated one, he's not suppose to be able to feel and have his own point of view. And yet, he does. But you can still tell Abel is more machine than human in the way he analyzes things and how technical he is. The contrast between their two characters is fun.
I did find the story line a bit slow. It was nice to see them travel through space, meet different people, find friends, make enemies, and work their way back to where they started. But I felt like some parts were a bit more drawn out than they needed to be.
The ending is well rounded but leaves room for future books (of which there are two). I'm not sure I feel the need to move on to the next story, But one never knows how I'll feel about reading just a bit more sci fi!

Defy the Stars is amazing! I don't often find myself in the mood for a good sci-fi novel, but when I do I gobble them up. This book is an exciting space adventure, and I loved it. Did I love it more than the Lunar Chronicles? Sadly, no, but that would be really hard to do. Those books mean so much to me. Defy the Stars, however, did make me fall in love with the genre again! I enjoyed the characters, the space travel, the suspense, Claudia's writing, everything. Highly recommended for people looking for more books like Marissa Meyer's.

I tried to read this one but just could not get into it. I ended up DNFing around 25%. I may try again another time

As I'm reconciling my Kindle books, I realized I ended up purchasing a copy of this book while waiting for my request to go through! It sounded so interesting to me that I had to have a copy to read!

A great story from Claudia Grey, I saw on the front cover it said for fans of Divergent. As such a fan how did not like the ending or Carve the Mark, this is a space story in the divergent style done right. The book is told from 2 perspectives Noemi and Able. I like the was Grey differentiates between the perspectives and the character development is great. I really prefer Greys style of story telling that the characters do not simply fall in love at first site each character has their moment to shine and they both earn each other's respect, as well as changing perceptions. none of the characters in the story are one dimensional. The only one thing I would have liked more of in this book is actions. A couple extra space battle or mech on mech combat would have made this would have made this perfect for me, however that is just me. Though I do understand this is more a story of self discovery for Noemi, seeing other cultures and how her planet is perceived from the outside, and for Able what it means to be human, and dealing with raw emotions Vs his programing.

This book took me a while to get to, but i finally did and i really enjoyed it. It is different enough from what out there in sci-fi we have space wars. death and androids. overall I'll keep this short and say i gave it 4 stars

Claudia Gray is a phenomenal storyteller. The various types of worlds she creates is nothing short of amazing and frankly she's underrated. Defy the Stars is sort of out of my typical element but it was such a colorful and expansive world that you enjoy going along with the journey and it makes for a fun reading experience.

I personally loved this book so much! I'm a sucker for science fiction and this book hit all the points for me. It reminds me of Star Trek with many aspects especially the space war. Overall a very good book and a fast read. The book kept my attention the entire way, I was always excited to find out what was going to happen next.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series to see where it goes from here, though I could just read it as a stand alone as it doesn't really leave you hanging at the end too much.

**Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **

In a distant time, war has been ongoing between Earth and other planets for freedom and survival among the stars. Soldier Noemi wants nothing more but to help her people of Genesis to be safe, even if that would costs her life. When she finds an abandoned ship while out on a mission, what is inside the ship may just be her answer. Abel has been trapped in the ship for the last 30 years, forgotten and alone, never did he expect his enemy to be his rescuer- or his new commander. What started as a scary accident may be just what the two regions need to stop the war.

I will admit that I had a very rough start with Defy the Stars, the beginning was somehow not engaging enough for me, including being incredibly emotional with characters I did not know in a world/setting I could not understand. To say the least, I was in over my head but I kept powering through. And I am ever so glad that I chose to keep reading (as if stopping is an option for me when I never give up on a book)! I was really surprised to see that Claudia was writing a sci-fy series when all her other books I would consider as fantasy (minus her Star Wars books), but she pulled this off spectacularly!

The story was dual narrated, alternating at chapters between Noemi and Abel. Noemi was a lost girl who just wanted to do the right thing, but was always struggling to know what was the right thing. She was a very good person, regardless of what she thought of herself. And then there was Abel, who was hands down my favorite part of the book, and not quite a person. He was a mech (aka android), an advanced prototype the only one of his kind. I loved watching him learn about his emotions and actions, and his random talk about sex and prostitution filled me with glee. He could be best described as an oddball, and I loved that about him.

Defy the Stars was the best example of an adventure filled, action packed science fiction story. Once the plot and the characters were set up, there was never a dull moment. There were all kinds of worlds, each with their own features, skills and populations and we got to visit so many of them in this story. And the cast of side characters the two main characters picked up along the way were the best bunch of quirky rebels a reader could ask for. Be it a violent terrorist, a doctor with a heart of gold to the super smart, very bored teenage hackers, I never knew what to expect next.

I really enjoyed this space adventure and I would love to see how the next book plays out! I just noticed that there will be at least three books in the series so I better get to reading. I can only imagine the trouble the crew will get into next.

This one caught me by surprise because I was a little unsure if I wanted to read a Claudia Gray book. I tried reading her Evernight series and basically hated the first book. But I knew it was time to give her a chance and I’m so glad I did! This sci-fi book takes place in outer space and follows to different perspectives, both very different characters who are forced to team to accomplish a mission. I was pulled in from the beginning and came to really like both characters, Naomi and Abel, and really wanted them to succeed and survive. The story is fast-paced and I look forward to continuing this series with the next book because I want to know what happens next asap!

I keep trying to finish this book and I can't seem to, Therefore I will leave the rating a 3 since it is a DNF.