While sci-fi is not my go-to genre, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I found this book to be a fantastic read. As previous reviews may have mentioned, fans of Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles will certainly find an appreciation for this story in not only the riveting storytelling, but the representation reflected in it as well.

Fantastic YA sci-fi - great premise with flawed characters (in a good way!) with loads of action and adventure. Highly recommended if you like YA like The Lunar Chronicles.

This is a space adventure packed with action, tension, mystery, intrigue and a main character who packs a huge punch. In other words, this was a thrill to read!

Ia Coche is the most feared name in the galaxy, one everyone knows and fears. When Ia Coche is finally captured, no one can believe the most dangerous rebel is a seventeen-year-old girl. The Commonwealth gives her two options: life-long sentence in a hellish prison or enrollment at the highly elicit Military Academy. When she walks into the academy, no one is ready for her, but then, she isn't there to deal with any of them. Determined to escape, she starts to work on a plan, but as the layers of intrigue behind her capture, and the real reason she's been enrolled into the school unfold, everything she ever believed comes into question. Still, she is Ia Coche, and all who stand against her will learn the real meaning of fear.

This book captures and shoots off with pure adventure into the stars. Ia Coche is a true space rogue and adventurer. She is tough and will not let anyone get in her way. Her past is violent, and she has tons of blood on her hands. But even in the first chapter it's clear, she's fighting a war for those who can't fight on their own. This lone hero against all odds makes her very easy to cheer for and like, although her personality definitely has its fill of rough edges.

While this story centers around Ia Coche, the other characters have their own personal tales, challenges, desires and obstacles. The books is written from several points of view, allowing each of these subplots to mold and develop as they carefully weave with Ia Coche's. There are characters to love, some to hate, and some who rock back and forth. It gives the story richness and depth, making each character grow on the reader along the way.

Action is key followed closely by intrigue. Ia Coche is a teenager placed in an academy, but this is not the average teenage drama tale. There are friendships, a very light dusting of something which might be considered romance, and rivalries, but this only helps to make the academy scene more realistic. Ia Coche's battle to discover her true enemies and uncover a web of intrigue, while fighting for her freedom remain at the center of the tale—bright and clear. There are emotional moments, ones which get under the skin and make Ia Coche and the others more realistic, but they perfectly balance with high tension and exciting scenes. There is never a boring or slow moment in these pages.

Summed up, this is a fantastic science fiction read with a heroine to root for. Friends of space adventure, tension, political intrigue, evil plots and a heroine to take on all of them, are going to enjoy this one from beginning to end.

Can we please appreciate the cover first? Because not only do I really like it colour-wise, but there is a POC on the cover. All the thumbs up for that.
But now, let’s get to the story. Even though I needed quite a long time to get into it, I just read 3/4 of the book in one sitting because… wow. What took me so long in the beginning was that the story is told in three POVs and that each chapter is another character. That made it hard for me to get really into that character in the beginning. But the more the plot developed, the more I got to know the characters and because they all interacted with each other, it was then easy to follow their stories.

Ia certainly is one fierce character. Even though she is never described as being of Asian heritage (at least I think so?), I always imagined her that way, thanks to the cover. In the beginning we already get to know her as a killer with a good heart, even though most people only see the killer and not the good heart. When she is captured and brought to Aphelion, her enemies’ military academy, she tries everything to escape at first. But her brother convinces her to stay and get informations. So she stays but things do not go as planned: she finds friendship and also something more.
What I liked about Ia’s chapters was her development and how she herself felt it and described it. How she went from not-caring to caring-very-much. But she stays herself through it all: sassy and brave, smart and quick.

The second POV is from Brinn, Ia’s roommate in Aphelion. She is not exactly happy about this, but she soon finds, that it isn’t all that bad, especially when Ia discovers Brinn’s secret. Slowly trust and friendship blossom between the two girls and even though this friendship has its ups and downs, it is a wonderful one. Brinn is extremely clever and so the two make a great team: Brinn the mind, Ia the fighter. Where Ia is hotheaded and talks with fists rather than her mouth, Brinn is more calm and analytical.
Brinn also gets a great character development: from being insecure, she learns and accepts who she is.

The third protagonist is knives, the Flight Master of the academy and son to a powerful General. Who is also the general who captured Ia. He does not take any shit from Ia and knows just as well where to put a fist, if necessary. Even though the two of them are constantly at each other’s throats, they too, slowly grow together. I liked his character instantly because I liked the way he thinks and the motives that get him going.

But not only the characters were amazing, the plot was as well. Even though I still have not completely understood why Ia has to attend Aphelion, I am glad she did. Because so many components come together to form their story around Ia and her associates. And those plot twists? Damn. They really got to me.
The whole book was fast paced, but especially the last 100 pages were intense and I could not get my eyes away from the pages. So much happened. I just wish I could read how the story goes on right now.

The only thing I would have liked to see more of is the general world building. The essentials were there, but I would really like to know more about how the Commonwealth works, how they treat their colonies, who and what the slaver nations are and who exactly are the criminal associates of Ia’s? And how Dark Space and normal space are interwined and work together or not?

Apart from this, I just loved everything. Even though this is a debut, it did not feel like it. The writing was great and easy to read and understand. The characters were wonderful and so was the plot. What a furious debut. Just… give me more of this.

Sigh. This book...my feelings are still sort of mixed on it. I think the reason for that is the whole time I was reading it felt more like I was reading a middle novel, not a starter book. So I wanted to know and love these characters and this world but I kept getting the sense like I was already supposed to know them, as if I was missing something. This book had so much potential, I just feel it didn't quite live up to it.

The world the author was trying to create is an intriguing one, and I wish that I would've been able to imagine it, but honestly the descriptions were sorely lacking. I felt lost a lot of the time, trying to grasp a hold of time, place and setting not really getting where or what all was going on. Again, I think it's because the whole book read like a middle piece and not like a beginning. There was no exposition. No setting up of the initial story or how this world came to be. You get the impression this is a future version of our current world but no real idea of how it got that way, how the new politics work, the new culture, the language idioms. Things are mixed together in a way that just don't quite fit. I did enjoy the futuristic space/greco-roman vibe everything had going, but would've loved more depth to it all so I could understand it.

The characters had the same problem, not enough depth. There were glimpses but not enough exploration. No true delving into backstories at all. Again, it seemed like you were already supposed to know them from the get-go. And I can officially say that Ia is the first heroine I've read who I've hated and rooted for at the same time. While I wanted her to succeed at certain points because I admired her tenacity and unwilingness to give up, I also disliked her mean-sprited, self-absorbed personality that near the end was bordering on psychotic with her willingness to harm others. Plus, the idea that as 17-year-old girl she could battle and kill so many people almost singlehandedly seemed beyond even fantastical stretching. She is not an easy to like heroine to say the least. Honestly I would call Brinn more of the heroine for this book than Ia. She had more of a transformation and growth process, along with a defined personality change that was meaningful. And her romantic plot-line was very sweet and understated.

The romance in this book isn't the main focus, but I liked it that way. This book seemed to focus more on the bonds of genuine relationship and trust, which Ia had never experienced and so her relationship with Brinn as a friend took more focus than her romantic relationship. But the chemistry between Ia and Knives develops slowly in the moments they do share together, leading to a romance that could be a really good one if it gets even more development. Knives (despite his unfortunate name) was a good character on his own, although sometimes the way he talked about his sister made me cringe a little. If there's one character I would've liked to have seen more of, it's him. His and Ia's interactions were usually funny and interesting and were the only times when most of the interesting or meaningful things would happen out so I really did enjoy those moments in the book.

I was surprised that this book also contained a fair bit of unnecessary cursing. Of course it was "veiled" using the books different language so the word "mif" comes up a lot. Which is just a blanket for multiple versions of our cuss words. To be honest I just don't think that cursing adds a lot, or anything, to the text. There are so many ways for characters to express frustration, disappointment, surprise, anger, so it doesn't need to be used.

Overall I still think this book has a lot of potential and I'm hoping that maybe the next book in the series will improve upon this first one. With some extra character development and greater world building I could really see this being a great series. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Great read, fun protagonist, and wonderful setting. Would recommend.

I was only a few pages into Ignite the Stars when I got the sinking feeling that I knew this story. Ignite the Starsis a very average young adult science-fiction story with a lot of familiar elements. And I mean ‘a lot.’

Do you recognise any of these tropes and traits: a prickly, mercenary female character, caught and imprisoned and given a chance to redeem herself? A school-like environment built upon competition? An inappropriate love-interest that becomes an insta-love situation when said female character shows amazing skills that others don’t have? Roommates who can’t stand each other?

They’re all in here, plus more. And they’re not bad things to include in a story - it just felt like it has all been done before and there wasn’t sufficient depth or exploration of any of them to make me feel like I was invested in the story, or the characters.

If we want to get technical, there’s nothing wrong with the story or the writing style - it’s alright. It’s easy to read and I’m sure there will people out there who really enjoy this story, especially if you're fans of Throne of Glass or Zenith. It just wasn’t what I was after in a science-fiction story and so I was left disappointed.

Ignite the Stars is due to be released early September, 2018.

" She was a dark star, a black hole in the endless sky, and if he got too close, he would surely disappear"

I could think for hours and write a 10 pages review, I think it would not be enough to say how much I loved this book. I am not a sci-fi girl, or more, I didn't use to be. Then, the Illuminae files happened and I gave the genre a chance. It is books like Ignite the stars that make it worth it.
After only a few pages, I was hooked. There is no break or slow time in this book, something is always happening. You can't get bored reading it, you will just want more and more til the last page is turned!
The world building itself is pretty good too, even if I would have loved even more space description: there is a rich vocabulary, technological tools we can only dream ( or be afraid) of, spaceships, darkness...well everything you want to read in sci fi!
Now for the characters! Ia Cocha is a great main character and her sidekicks are just as interesting! They are all a bit infuriating time to time, but it is with that you recognize good characters! Because they will make you feel with them! They just grow in depth with every page, becoming more and more complex with time.
Speaking of complexity, can we talk about how this book will turn your mind? There is no good or bad side here, only shades of grey. You think you have it right, you think you know who to trust and then... you discover that it is not as simple as just having the good ones fighting the bad guys. So in the end, who can you trust?
I will finally speak of another aspect I loved about this book: how relevant it is to what we are living right now with immigration issues and the way immigrants are treated. Diversity is there, and people can be racist, even in space!
So yes, this book will bring you thrills, emotions and much more! GO READ IT !


Review coming on my blog on March 23rd!

Sci fi books its always a surprise for me, I never know what kind of book I´ll read when I start a sci fi one.



I love the genre, but not everyone knows how to write a sci fi story. Its a chalenge in itself.



But Maura was up to the chalenge and this one was a good book.



I think the beginning was a little slow, but it gets better, and its really fast paced.

Think Throne of Glass in space, with a hint of Divergent mixed in. I adored this book,it has everything i could have wanted: a kick ass heroin, explosive action and great character development. This is one to add to your must read lists.

In many ways, Ignite the Stars is like a mashup of many different YA novels. I found so many similarities with other books: a strong female lead who is put into an environment where everyone despises her, like in Throne of Glass; said strong female and a love interest (who also comes in the form of her instructor) is accompanied by other compatriots to fight evil, like in Divergent; a classist and racist futuristic universe where superpowers are battling for control over planets, like in Illuminae; very similar characters with the same personality and talents to the characters in Cinder. The similarities go on and on. It almost makes me wonder whether YA novels are slowly losing creative material.

Ia Cocha is a 17-year-old girl from a planet that the Olympus Commonwealth tore apart. Since then, as an outlaw, she has masterminded numerous plots to take down the Commonwealth. When she is finally captured, the Commonwealth forces her to attend the most prestigious military academy in hopes of utilizing her piloting talents for military service. She meets her roommate Brinn and her Flight Master Knives (what kind of a name is Knives), and pretends to comply with the academy's rules, slowly plotting her escape. Friendships are formed, alliances are questioned, and true enemies.

Maura Milan effortlessly creates a world of injustice and strife. Ignite the Stars features characters from all different planets who are divided in the aftermath of a war. The Commonwealth greedily seizes new planets that they discover, forcefully taking in the residents, exactly like colonialism. The foreigners are safe under a refugee policy that the citizens want to remove. Blatant racism transpires against refugees from other planetary regions.

The cast of characters is well-written, but not my favourite. Ia is strong and battle-hardened, with a soft side that cannot help but fight against injustice, which I like. Ia is also suppose to be sarcastic and rebellious, but she just fell flat. Knives (still cannot get over the ridiculous name) is also strong and military-wise, and supposedly a love-interest, but nothing made me click with him.

The only character I really like is Brinn. Her background is complicated, she is intelligent and unique and she brings Ia out of her shell. She is constantly battling an internal war, but is determined to prove her worth. She endures character growth. She is realistic and relatable. The progression of her friendship with Ia is the only authentic character relationship.

All the other of character relationships developed in a rushed and unnatural way. Although it isn't insta-love, Ia and Knives (I cackled at the name) get together very quickly, even though they are supposed to be enemies. Interactions with secondary characters, like Angie and Nero, are unrealistic and very easy to overlook.

Without genuine characters, of course the dialogue is going to be stilted at times. There isn't enough depth, and the most of the characters aren't developed well enough.

I feel like the book could've been slightly longer. Action scenes could do with more description, so that I know what exactly is going on. There are some scenes where I didn't understand the mental picture in my head, and there are some holes in the climax of the plot that confused me. The fast-moving plot does make the novel entertaining, and I really did enjoy that massive, unpredictable twist. However, there isn't enough happening in the novel to be absolutely convincing.

The plot may not be unique, and there may be flaws in the writing, but the story-line is still compelling and interested me. Maybe it's because its a blend of a lot of my favourite YA novels, or maybe because of the surprising twist, but I did enjoy Ignite the Stars. Enough to want to pick up a sequel and hope for some improvements.

This was a fantastic sci-fi!
I flew through this and couldn't put it down.

Do you like Sci-fi? Ruthless characters? Strong females? Betrayal? a little bit of romance? this book has all of that and more!

The story is told from three perspectives: Ia, Brinn and Knives (horrible name I know). Ia, is the ruthless tyrant the government is trying to capture. Brinn is a young female who is part Tawny, which is a race that is hated. Then there is Knives who is the Generals son and also a Flight Master.

The main character Ia is absolutely ruthless she is known as the Blood Wolf of the Sky and we get to see this ruthless side of her. She has had a pretty miserable life, her parents are no longer around and the only family she has left is her brother Einn. She is quite a complex character, shes ruthless but shes compassionate.. deep, deep down, she is incredibly intelligent and strong, mentally and physically.

Besides Ia the full cast of characters were very likeable, at first I wasn't so sure about Brinn but she grew on me. She went from this scared little girl to a strong and intelligent female. Knives was likeable from the beginning.

The story takes place mainly at a military academy where Ia has been forced to work for the Commonwealth, it was either that or death basically. While here she tries to find ways to escape, unknowingly making friends and alliances that make her question her roles. The story was fast paced and there was never a dull moment, there is lots of action, cool space gadgets and technology.

During Ia's time at the academy there is a new force out in space to be reckoned with, the new enemy came out of nowhere and no one knows who is behind it. There is a pretty big twist to the book that might shock you if you don't pay attention. I figured it out and the next book is going to be so good because of this!


This book was excellent and any scifi lovers out there should pick this up!

I was sent a copy for review via Netgalley

This book could have been so good! The description was great and, overall, the plot was good. There were too many holes, I kept asking the characters “why are you doing this” like in a bad horror movie. The characters were flat and blended into each other. One died at one point and I didn’t feel a thing (other than possibly relief that I had one less to keep track of). I guess the Big Bad early on because there really wasn’t any other alternative. So sad.

Being an outlaw in space is a tricky business, but being a cadet in the governmental forces you've been undermining is even trickier, which Ia learns firsthand in Maura Milan's Ignite the Stars.

Ia Cōcha has a reputation and an obscured identity, or she did until she was captured by the Olympus Commonwealth. Facing the option of becoming a cadet and serving the force she has fought against her entire career or endless torture before execution, Ia takes their opportunity - after all, she's a quick thinker and can likely escape with valuable intel on the military's training academy. As Ia bids her time at the academy, she forms ties to her roommate Brinn, who is incredibly intelligent yet keeping it secret, and to the Flight Master Knives, who is responsible for controlling Ia, which causes her to start rethinking some of her alliances and her long-standing perspective of those within the Commonwealth's forces.  

I'm a sucker for space opera-esque stories (hello, Firefly!) and this falls fairly neatly within that category; it presents some familiar tropes and technology to tell a recurring story of political unrest and racism from a somewhat new perspective. Told from the alternating perspectives of Ia, Brinn, and Knives, the reality of the legendary and elusive figure of Ia Cōcha is revealed alongside the nefarious plots afoot both within and against the Commonwealth military. The narrative works to build the world and characters rather slowly in the first portion of the book, with Brinn as the weaker character who feels more like a simple plot device than a fully realized character, but the narrative then ramps up the action in the latter portion, driving full-force until the end, which feels a bit rushed and glossing over significant details, particularly in comparison with the initial work at developing scene and character. I enjoyed the way that Ia is portrayed as she is clever and witty in her banter with Brinn and Knives, plus she has a moral compass that guides her actions even if her persona's reputation and media presence omits it. 

Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

10% in and I knew I was hooked! That doesn't happen near as often as I would like. I'll be the first to say that I am not a big sci-fi YA fan. I can probably count on one hand how many YA sci-fi books I have read and actually enjoyed it. Not my favorite genre, BUT Ignite the Stars is certainly and most definitely the exception and I am so happy that I took the chance. The basic plot honestly reminded me of Divergent in the beginning - a girl is sent to a training "facility" and eventually falls for one of her instructors/teachers. Granted there are probably a lot of books that I haven't read with that same plot, but Divergent was the one to stick out for me. Having said that, the basic plot is where those similarities end and it becomes its own animal. This story had everything - a fierce heroine and a flawed/conflicted hero that were amazing characters by themselves, but when they got together: chemistry AF and delicious banter (enemies to lovers!!) that would..well..excuse the pun, but would ignite the stars. ;) And if that swoony side piece isn't enough, there's friendships, family, betrayals, loss, a twist that I SO should have saw coming (argh!!), and not 1, but 2 bad guys with very punchable faces - all wrapped into a sci-fi experience really that left me ticked that I read it so early, but also SO excited and ready for the sequel! Gah, I need it!

Review to come soon (I did a mistake in publishing a review of another book)

* 3.5 but rounding up *

I just started reading more sci fi books and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this one as it has all the classic elements of the genre while gifting us a main character who immediately shot up to claim a spot in my top ten favorites.

‘Ignite the Stars’ shifts point of view between three of our main players: Ia Cōcha, a criminal who is given the opportunity to avoid execution as long as she plays nice at the academy, Brinn Tarver a new recruit eager to prove her worth while hiding a secret that could put her entire life in jeopardy and lastly Knives Adams a flight master burdened under the weight of his past who finds himself in charge of keeping the new cadets in line.

Normally shifting narrators can be tricky especially if you like one more than the others, but with this book all three are easy to connect with and thankfully have their own individual stories that manage to intertwine with the others as the book moves forward with the highlight relationship being that of Ia and Brinn an unlikely duo whose back and forth throughout the novel had some of my favorite moments and it was nice to see a focus more on a friendship than that of a romantic interest.

The plot itself got a bit confusing in parts and the beginning is a little slow to the point that you’re not quite sure what it’s all leading up to but it eventually clears itself up around the midpoint with nonstop action following through to the end. I liked seeing the sort of bookend resolution to the conflict too it was a nice callback and shed light on how much these characters have grown over the course of the book.

I imagine the political aspect is going to play a heavier role later on in the series and I look forward to seeing how that goes now that we have an enemy whose allegiances haven’t been made clear in regards to that specific plot point but could tip the scales either way depending on who they favor and if will be interesting to see how the trio fairs now that everything is out in the open.

I’m really excited to see how this series plays out and if I’m being honest I’d read anything with Ia she along with the rest are such great characters and I have a feeling that their combined and individual stories are going to leave a lasting impression.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**