Scavenge the Stars was a swoon-worthy fantasy with two strong leads and an interesting setting. Amaya is a kickass heroine who you can't help but root for, and Cayo, despite his privileged background, is a sympathetic character as well in his steadfast loyalty and love for sister and moral integrity. The enemies-to-friends-to-lovers slow-burn romance between the two characters was well executed, leaving the reader dying for one of them to make a move already. The plot twists were gutting for characters and reader alike, and the ending left me dying for the sequel.

This story is a gender swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. I’ve never read that book, but I really enjoyed this story.

The narrative switches between Amaya, a prisoner on a ship, and Cayo, the son of a businessman in the main city. Amaya escapes her captivity, and she tries to take down the men who were keeping her prisoner. Cayo also does his own investigation to figure out who is making counterfeit money in their city.

I liked the pacing of this book. There were some small reveals every couple of chapters. I was surprised at the twists that happened. I also liked the main characters. They had good chemistry with each other. I’m curious to see where the story goes next.

Thank you Disney Book Group for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The only thing I needed to hear for this book to catch my attention was gender-bent retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Quite frankly, I tend to avoid retellings because I rarely enjoy them — it’s hard to not be critical in comparing the spin to the original. That being said, I found the idea of putting a twist on the French classic to be intriguing and decided to approach Scavenge the Stars as a book inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo rather than a retelling. That might sound weird, but it ultimately allowed me to enjoy this book in its own right!

Scavenge the Stars is the first book in a YA Fantasy duology. Told in the alternating POVs of Amaya and Cayo, this is a story of revenge and political intrigue.

As I was reading, I could certainly see the parallels to The Count of Monte Cristo. Most of the story is fast paced and, for those unfamiliar with the original, full of twists. I did find the world-building to be a bit generic and the ending fell a little flat for me, regardless of it being a lead into book 2.

As for the characters, I loved Cayo and felt indifferent towards Amaya. They both had a lot of growth throughout the story while battling their inner turmoil. I thought the “bugs” made a great addition to the narrative, and the villains were perfectly nefarious!

Overall, I really enjoyed Scavenge the Stars. I fully recommend trying to read it without being hypercritical of how much of a likeliness it bears to the classic tome.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Please note that it, in no way, had an effect on my opinion or review.

When Silverfish rescues a man from drowning, she's more concerned about gaining more debt from her act than his safety. But the man promises riches beyond her dreams—and revenge on those who wronged her and her family. Silverfish takes his vow, and transforms into the Countess Yamaa, the mysterious and fabulous newcomer set to take the city-state of Moray by storm, and bring it to its knees.

Whew. This was a mess.

I'll be honest though, the first 40% was riveting, exciting and a unique spin on The Count of Monte Christo (admittedly, I have not read this), with a gender-swapped hero, a queer love interest, and lots of queer characters and characters of color.

And then the book sags into the weight of itself and never recovers.

Soft boi and stabby girls do not a book make

I liked Amaya (Silverfish). She was filled with rage and revenge for the way her family was treated, and at the system of debt that allowed her to be sold off to a debtor's ship and beaten and starved for seven years along with with a boatload of other children. She was stabby and sharp and strong and determined to succeed—even if her motivations were a little all over the place and her acting skills not so fantastic (I preferred her as the mysterious Yamaa than when she awkwardly attempts to befriend Cayo). Her awkward transitions from Silverfish to Amaya to Yamaa were...clunky and felt a little over-done.

I also liked Cayo, a soft bisexual who just wants to recover and get over his old ways. He had a bad gambling addiction that nearly drove his family to bankruptcy, and just wanted to do right by his family legacy and his sister, and win his father's trust. However, I felt that Amaya's description of him as firmly rooted in the ground, a tree with his roots stretching down anchoring him to the earth (paraphrased) were incredibly off-base, since from the instant Cayo is being pulled in a billion directions and never really seems to find a point and stick to it. He's constantly allowing himself to be pulled in whatever direction someone tugs him.

And with these two leads, I'll be honest: the book was better before they met.

Once they meet, the plot sags into angst and half-baked counterfeit schemes and unsolved mysteries that cover everything from Cayo's father's legacy to the Slum King to the ash fever to Amaya's family to the fate of Moray.

Lackluster Worldbuilding

At first, I was intrigued by the Asian-inspired world of Moray, which felt like it could be an inspired Singapore, situated as it was between two huge empires with lots of economic power and at the junction of the best trade routes. Plus the vice sector and the fact that it was an island and city in one.

But place names and place names do not a fantasy world make. Sim threw out nouns and titles and names all over the place, which was fine in the beginning—because I expected more worldbuilding to grow and flourish, but this growth never happened. There continued to be generic place names without context, which is shoddy worldbuilding at best.

Plus the city-island of Moray, which consisted of a place for tea, a nice area where rich people and not-super-defined nobility live, I guess a palace for the Prince (who is not important enough for his own name), the docks, a random hidden beach/swimming area no one knows about, and The Vice Sector. For the record, the Vice Sector contains 90% of the city, but doesn't have much more distinction beyond that and being...vicey? Lots of gambling.

Also, I'm still not 100% certain what Widow's Vaults are/why they are important, but I think that has more to do with a lack of cultural understanding/ignorance on my end than lack of explanation on the author's part.

The Pros

The representation! This is a book of people of color! This is a book of queer people!

Amaya's dresses. Fuck those all sounded absolutely gorgeous.

The Water Bugs and the Landless. I wanted more of them, and less of Amaya and Cayo. Granted, the romance didn't really reach fruition...like most of this book.

The Cons

Everything else. And Boon, that generic person who had little page time yet was very important for ~reasons~. Ditto to Cayo's dad and also the Slum King and Ramona (sp??), who had a purpose in the novel??

This is bloated, messy and had so much potential but fell flat because it tried to do too much at once and lost its identity halfway through the process.

Also it kinda has the dreaded Bury Your Gays Trope, although in this case it's more ship your gays off to a distant, uncharted land after maiming them (without context, this is not a spoiler).

Revenge book? Socio-political critique of debt and systematic injustice and poverty? An adventure mystery? Don't Let Your Kids Gamble? A YA fantasy romance?

I'm probably being far too harsh, but I think most of my disappointment lies with the execution, since the premise and potential was so high.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you so much to Disney Hyperion and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I was intrigued at the beginning of the book with Amaya and the other children aboard a service ship and Cayo trying to turn over a new leaf. But as the book went on I found myself skimming more and more because the world didn’t really keep my attention. I also realized that I wasn’t very invested in the characters and what was happening between them and how their stories intertwined.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim, 336 pages. LGBTQIA+
Disney Book Group (Hyperion), 2020. $19.
Language: R (39 swears, 2 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Amaya (17-years-old) and Cayo can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Their choices eventually bring them together on opposite sides of conflict, but both Amaya and Cayo are done losing. And, this time, they are both determined to win because they have nothing left to lose.
I was intrigued for a while about how Amaya’s and Cayo’s lives were going to cross paths. When their connection was revealed about a third of the way in, I was thrilled by the new development and couldn’t put down their story. Sim has brought to life characters that are unknowingly in conflict, making readers fall in love with both Amaya and Cayo; you feel pain for both of them as challenges pile up in front of them -- including their unwitting sabotage of each other! Unfortunately, I found the end to be a whirlwind that was unpleasant to ride. Several things were revealed in a manner that felt sudden and unplanned, as if Sim didn’t know how to get to the ending she wanted. With that bitter taste at the end of the book, I’m unsure if I want to read the sequel, even though I enjoyed reading most of the book. The mature content rating is for addictive behavior (with substance abuse and gambling), partial nudity, and implied prostitution; the violence rating is for child abuse and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Wow, what an incredible read! Let’s start with the fact that I have never read Count of Monte Cristo or anything written by Tara Sim. Probably going to change that.

“Revenge. It was a simple word hiding a bigger meaning, a layer of glitter over grit, a silk dress over a scarred and battered body. It was a word that pumped through her blood and set the stars on fire.”

I came for the revenge but stayed for the stunning characters. I fell in love with Amaya and Cayo both of which are two broken and morally grey characters. Watching these two navigate through the twisted politics and broken society was heartbreaking and inspiring. Both have endured a great deal of trauma and loss and choose to deal with it in less than healthy ways. Amaya seeks revenge. Cayo turns to gambling. The story takes the reader and these characters on wild and twisted journey of growth. And maybe a bit of revenge.

"I'm beginning to learn the only way to move forward is by confronting the mistakes of your past, otherwise history will just repeat itself, and everything falls apart again."

Tara Sim did an amazing job of fleshing out the characters. Not only was I invested in the two main characters but the whole cast of side characters were endearing as well. Especially loved The Water Bugs. I also was here for Deadshot and Avi and hope to see more of them in the second novel.

“It’s a tricky thing, water...if you don’t know how to navigate it, it can take everything from you.”

The plot and pacing kept me engrossed in the story. This is written with a dual perspective alternating between Amaya and Cayo. The split narration gave the reader just enough information from each side to keep them guessing. The plot is definitely focused on the politics and deception rather than action. I loved this but I could see some people finding it boring at times. I truly have no idea how I am going to wait so long for the second novel!!

➢Things I liked:
The atmosphere of the port city was a win for me. I absolutely felt like I was there breathing in the salty ocean air and getting into some trouble on Diamond street. The city Moray had very New Orlean vibes for me but in a fantasy setting. The plot as I mentioned was incredible (except the end) It was full of twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat. I also have to mention the brilliant amount of diversity in this book and the way issues of addiction and loss are explored.

“Every man carries his sins a different way.”

I also LOVED how Tara Sim used fictional quotes from plays and literature of this world as the chapter headers. It added a fun element of world building.

➢Things I didn’t like:
Towards the end, the plot kind of failed me. Things “conveniently” fell into place too quickly to wrap situations up fast. That is the only reason I gave this four stars over five. It was an excellent read for ninety percent of the book.

➢Would I recommend this book to a friend:
If you love retellings, revenge plot, port cities, and politics, this is a book for you!!

(I would like to thank both Disney-Hyperion and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

I typically find books that are centered around the ocean, islands, ships, basically nautical stories in general hard to enjoy for some reason but I did enjoy this! We got to see blue lagoons, underwater reefs, hidden caves, poisonous fish, I loved the details. This is to say all of those details were during the first %30 of the book which I enjoyed the most but I began to get a little restless and bored as I continued.

Silverfish aka Amaya was pretty freaking awesome. I easily connected with her and what she was going through and had to face!

This is purely a revenge story at it’s heart but there is one big confusion.. there’s nothing fantasy about this. Nothing magical at all. At one point I had to make sure this had the fantasy label on it and it does but, it’s pretty much just a contemporary retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo with the murders, mystery, and drama. So if you’re looking for just a YA version of that then this is for you but don’t expect anything outside of reality. This is a planned duology and I really hope it stays that way because it just FEELS like a perfect story to be cut in two. In some cases—rare cases—they work well and actually help deliver a good story without making the reader feel as though the entire book was cut in two with a sharp money-maker knife.

This book is fabulous! First off the cover is gorgeous! The lack of face makes it so the reader can pretend that the strong woman in the story is them. I love Silverfish! She a great personality and her name is so original.

Thanks so much to The Fantastic Flying Book Club for having me be a part of this blog tour!

I received a copy of this book via Disney-Hyperion via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.

All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.

Content Warning: Child labor, Child abuse, Starvation, Indentured Servitude, Gambling Addiction, On page death, Murder, Profanity, Gore

:People were not designed to be trusted".

I’ve never read The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s a Classic that I have every intention of reading someday, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Maybe it’s due to the fact that it’s over 1,000 pages long. I’ll just have to set aside half of a year to finish that. Scavenge The Stars is a gender-swap Young Adult retelling of the classical tome.

The point-of-view transitions between characters Amaya (aka Silverfish) and Cayo. The two couldn’t originate from more varying lives, which immediately sets the tone with the obvious division between people. Amaya, sold into indentured servitude for years to pay off her parent’s debt, has known a tough life of hard labor with regular beatings. When the reader meets her, she is on the cusp of freedom, and looks forward to reuniting with her mother. Cayo, on the other hand, has nestled in the lap of luxury, squandering his fortune, and making a reputation for himself. Somewhere in-between them sit a landless castaway--a man Amaya saves when she’s still aboard the Brackish.

As the story unfolds, Amaya learns the truth about how she ended up being sold into servitude, and that people aren’t trustworthy. When the stranger that she saved from drowning out at sea offers her a new life of wealth and position, she takes it. Now, with resources acquired that she needs to take down those that have affected her family so, Amaya turns all of her focus towards getting revenge.

With the life that she has lived, it is understandable why she would resort to revenge. Unfortunately, this is where the novel lost me. I’m not one for revenge stories. Forgiveness, although painful, is always the better solution, in my opinion. For me, a story centered around revenge and the scandals that follow in its tyrannical wake just didn’t, and doesn’t interest me. This is no fault of the book, it is just a personal preference. Scavenge The Stars is well-written, thought out, and complex. Seeing how political maneuvering is the basis of everything, one must enjoy a presence of politics to some degree to really experience this story to its fullest.

I think that Scavenge The Stars has much to offer the right reader. Unfortunately, that reader wasn’t me due to the focus surrounding the plot. This is a perfect example of “it’s me, not you.” If you are one for pirate-esque or port-city vibes, revenge stories, diverse sexual orientation, conspiracy and political reads, this one may be for you!

Vulgarity: Some.
Sexual content: Kissing only.
Violence: Moderate.

My Rating: ★★★

This book has such an interesting concept, a retelling of Count of Monte Cristo. I really wanted to like this book...while I didn’t dislike it...I also didn’t love it.

The characters were interesting but I felt that the world building was really lacking. There were some interesting relationships but the main relationship never really drew me in.

This might be a case of a good book but just not right for me

Retellings are like catnip to me, and when it is a retelling with diversity, I am always excited. This story is a genderbent version of Count of Monte Cristo, where one of our protagonist, Amaya, having returned from a long indenture at sea is planning revenge on the people that caused her to be there. Given at a very young age to a ship to pay off family debts, she and other children like her, called Bugs, are mistreated by the captain and have lived a mostly lonely life. At nearly the end of her term of service, she rescues a rich-looking man from the sea, partially hoping for a reward that would hasten her debt resolution, but instead has her life shattered. The other protagonist, Cayo, the son of the merchant who is the target of her revenge, is recovering from a gambling addiction after nearly bankrupting himself, and trying to prove to his father that he can be responsible. When his sister falls ill with a disease that has been spreading in their city-state of Moray, he is pulled by his desires to fix things quickly the only way he knows how.

The story starts off with different timelines for the leads, and merges it soon enough, as Amaya returns to Moray as a mysterious Countess who is taking high society by storm. Cayo, intrigued by her, and also encouraged by his father to seek favors with her, crosses paths with her often. While they both are holding secrets close to their heart, they both find a kinship in each other. Their story arcs do play separately, as Cayo, desperate for money to buy medicine for the sister his father refuses to spend money, makes a deal with the Slum King, while also trying to investigate the latter for the Port Authority. He is also fighting his addiction when it is everywhere in his life, whether is wandering the streets of a city known for its casinos, or with his 'friends' at parties. Amaya who has been subtly pushing Cayo towards hints of his father's misdeeds, and hoping to use him for the destruction of the Mercado family, starts realizing that she cannot punish him, too, for his father's crimes. She is also starting to think beyond the red-tinged haze of revenge, to find 'Amaya' in between trying to leave behind 'Silverish' and keeping her 'Countess' facade, when that is an identity she had left 7 years ago. Finding the person who orchestrated her father's fall and her being sold becomes a mission for her, while her mentor, Boon is trying to direct her towards revenge against the Mercados. The emotional landscape of both their stories is well-done.

I liked the world-building in the book, with its rich imagining of the cultures, the dressing, the mythology that appeared in snippets as chapter headings; I wish, though, it was more clear about which kingdom belongs to which empire (I really hope there are maps in the final version, because I couldn't figure out). The plot was flowing smoothly, building up the tension between the two main characters and how their threads would twist as the story was reaching its end, but I felt the ending was a bit messy. Between the fact that Boon's plan made no sense, and finding out mid-way during the book that Amaya didn't actually orchestrate the Mercado's financial ruin (I honestly thought they had done something, but nope I was left being 'wait you didn't do that?'), what exactly was the revenge plan is a big question. Also the ash fever that permeated the city made no sense from the start - the Port Authority was checking incoming people for signs of disease, but it is not contagious (Cayo frequently is in contact with his sister and nobody else gets sick) so why were they doing that? When I compare the story arcs of the lead, Cayo's feels more satisfying, while Amaya's sort of falls apart towards the end; I do hope that it is better in the sequel.

SCAVENGE THE STARS is an exciting and exhilarating retelling of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Amaya "Silverfish" has been serving on a debtor's ship for years after the wrongful destruction of her family. When she saves a man from the water, he offers her the chance to get revenge on those who wronged her father. Amaya accepts and gets drawn into the politics of Moray. In her old home, she cons the wealthy and gets ensnared with Cayo, the son of her father's betrayer.
Sim uses Amaya and Cayo's POVs effectively to demonstrate the struggles of children to succeed in spite of their families' legacies. The greatest strength of SCAVENGE THE STARS is the world of Moray, Amaya and Cayo's home. Moray and its environs read as a tropical society under European-coded rule. As a port city, Moray reflects a diverse world of cultures and ethnicities and does an excellent job highlighting how colonizers create systems of oppression for financial and material gain. The world is also important for younger readers because there is a tapestry of characters who are numerous genders and sexualities and it is unremarkable. Though some elements of society push a heteronormative agenda, characters are not defined by being non-binary or bisexual (for two examples).
Some of the pacing in the story was off but overall SCAVENGE THE STARS is a fun read. With excellent messages of empowerment and found family, I look forward to seeing what happens next for our star-crossed Amaya and Cayo.

Scavenge The Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (rounded up to 5)

When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she's been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception-and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she's plotting to bring down-the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one?
—-
We first find Amaya aka Silverfish aboard the Brackish, which is a debtor ship full of kids. She has 2 weeks left when she saves this mysterious man (Boon) which gets another 2 weeks added on to her sentence. Did I mention she has been on this ship for 7 years and has no idea how she got sold to this ship? Yeah, I’d be pretty upset too. She finagles away off the ship along with Boon and he talks her into getting revenge and that is where the story takes off...

I am alllll for revenge books. This book was fast paced, had lots of twist and turns, love, betrayal and heartbreak. I loved it.

The world building needs some help, but hopefully in the sequel (which I definitely will be picking up) Sims will make up for it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

Sim's ability to create such a tangible and vivid world in this book is reason enough to pick it up. And that beautiful use of time in the beginning! Most non-linear narratives throw me off, and distance me from a narrative, but Sim's managed to write it so smoothly that everything laid out like a perfectly planned puzzle. There are amazing, lovable, and flawed charters in this book that everyone will relate to. All of this paired with Sim's incredibly poetic voice will leave the reader wanting more and more.

P.S. Another quick nugget: I rally appreciate the way Sim's approached gender in her novel, exploring all aspects of love and identity.

P.P.S. I also really, really loved the little snippets of "world building" texts we get at the beginning of each chapters (the plays and myths and such from kingdoms). Really clever and fun writing.

Scavenge the Stars is a gender-flipped YA retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. Why it has that title, I'm really not sure since this is definitely a fantasy and not a sci-fi. That aside, I thought there was a lot to like here. Amaya is a complicated heroine with a thirst for revenge and a gray sense of morality. The world is evocative with a strong sense of place, though the wider world felt more vague in its descriptions. It is diverse with thoughtful and cool touches, like a social convention involving a pin that gender non-binary people can wear to indicate their use of they/them pronouns. I enjoyed a lot of the book, but the beginning and end felt a bit muddled.

The first part of the book felt a little confusing to me and it took awhile for me to get a sense for where the plot was headed, but around the 35-40% mark things became more clear and I became more invested in the characters and the mystery surrounding Amaya's past. I think part of this might be the dual perspective in different timelines that suddenly becomes aligned. I think this might have worked better if Cayo's perspective was added later on so that the timelines always aligned. I get that the idea was to keep a sense of mystery, but I think it ends up just feeling confusing. The ending also didn't read super clearly. A lot happens in a short period of time and not all of it makes sense.

That said, I thought that the characters were interesting and fairly well-developed and I liked the idea of this girl trying to get revenge and dealing with moral uncertainties. I know this is the start of a duology and I'm not really sure in needs a second book, but it could be interesting. This is definitely action packed with twists, so worth checking out if the plot appeals to you. This is one where I suspect there will be people completely in love with it, but I just didn't connect with it as much as I might have liked. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

CW include violence, enslavement of children, physical abuse, murder, depictions of blood and gore, terminal illness, loss of a loved one.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim is the first of a new YA fantasy duology genderbent retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. That's one of my favorite classics, so I was quite intrigued by what Sim would do with this retelling. It never quite managed to live up to my high expectations though. What I did like was getting to know our diverse cast, Amaya (aka Silverfish) and Cayo. Everyone is really well drawn and they all feel like they could practically right off the page. And, that's really saying something because there are a lot of characters popping up here and there. My main issue with this novel is the flat world-building. The world the characters inhabit is big place and we hear of them on and off, but we never get a real sense of them and how they operate. There's just so much more I would have liked to know about Moray, and the various empires and republics, and I'm sure that information could have further improved the story. Even though this novel wasn't as impressive as I was hoping for, I still want to continue this duology in the as yet untitled sequel.

Following a young girl who was indebted to work on a ship since she was a child, Amaya works the long years to get her freedom. A few days away from her release, Amaya rescues a man stranded in the ocean. He offers her a way to gain revenge on those who harmed her and her parents. Amaya then enters the world of the high elite to target the man who destroyed her world. High stakes, a mysterious sickness, and a seedy criminal underworld makes for a thrilling novel!

The writing was very well done! I didn't feel overwhelmed by the new world we're introduced to and the inner dialogues of the main characters were distinct. We follow the POVs of Amaya and Cayo (the son of the man who had a hand in Amaya's childhood). Amaya is fighting through who she had to grow up as and who she can be while Cayo is dealing with his past gambling lifestyle and now how to take care of his family alone. The contrasts and similarities between them were intertwined smoothly!

The multiple plot lines came together nicely at the end of the book. It makes me more excited for the 2nd part of this duology to find out more of the larger world! There is a slow burn in this one too for those who enjoy that. Although, it read well overall, it did take me some chapters to really get immersed. I hope to see read more of this author soon!

“Children are the victims of their parent’s crimes.”

Amaya, or Silverfish as she’s been known in the last seven years aboard a debtor’s ship, is days away from freedom. Seven years away from her mother and her home for the supposed sins of her deceased father. When she sees a man in the sea who’ll drown without intervention, he looks rich, and that could benefit her. So, she pulls him up despite the warnings of her captain, and adds another month to her sentence. When she escapes, she only wants revenge on those who wronged her (and other children aboard the ship). With the help of the rescued man, she’ll con the family she believes responsible for her misery. But getting to know the son of her enemy teaches her that not everything in the world is as black and white as she’d like to believe.

I’ve never read any of the Timekeeper books, and this book wasn’t what I expected, but I couldn’t put it down. I started it on Friday night and was done by Saturday at noon. The alternating chapters keep the story moving forward at, what seemed to me, to be a breakneck pace. I kept thinking I’d just read one more chapter before bed, and I did that for about two hours.

Though I hope for more development with minor characters over the next 1-2(?) books, particularly Cayo’s sister Soria, I loved getting to know all of them. Amaya is such a rich character full of conflicting emotions, and even though her course is at the mercy of those around her, she constantly takes charge and never loses sight of her own objectives. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes her.

The romance aspect of the book isn’t particularly heavy in this book, and I really appreciated that. While I enjoyed Amaya and Cayo getting below the surface of who they are supposed to be and finding depths of character, I wasn’t super into a romance between them. It’s there, but it’s not the primary focus, but I’m sure it will develop further in subsequent books. For me, it was more about the adventure, the revenge, and the plot twists.

The representation here is subtle, but strongly present. There is an ace character, many characters seem fluid, and some have only same-sex partners. There is a brief mention of a non-binary character, and I am hoping for more variety and focus on some of these characters as we progress through this series.

Though I skimmed a few parts in the second half of the book, overall I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a new adventure and don’t mind sticking with a series in real time, rather than being able to binge several books all at once. Though it leaves you with a few questions and wanting more, I applaud Sim’s ability to wrap it up nicely rather than leaving us with huge cliffhangers. The wait for this one is short (it’s out Tuesday), but book two doesn’t have a release date yet, so that part will be an impatient wait.

Ever pick up a new series from an author you LOVE and feel both excited and afraid? You have such high expectations, but what if the new book doesn’t live up to your hopes? What if you’re … gulp … disappointed?

That’s how I felt when I started reading Scavenge the Stars. Fortunately, it took me all of ten pages to fall in love with Amaya and realize I was going to be just as invested in this new series as I was in the last.

I’ll confess that I don’t know the story that the book is derived from, so I can’t comment on how well it works as a Count of Monte Cristo retelling. But I can say that I found myself wrapped up in Amaya’s journey toward revenge right from the start. It’s hard not to root for her once you see how the kids aboard The Brackish are treated. I hoped she would find those responsible and make sure they could never hurt anyone again. Of course, unsurprisingly, that gets… complicated.

Sim’s writing is gorgeous, as always. Her descriptions and worldbuilding are vivid without being overwhelming, and it makes you feel like you could be right there on the ship with Amaya at the beginning of the book. I did feel like I missed a bit of the relationship being built between Amaya and Boon, the man who sets her on her path toward revenge, but her complicated feelings toward him were clear enough. And there were definitely some tropes used in the book (some of them might have come from the original story), but there were plenty of twists and turns too. Every time I thought I knew where the story was headed, something would happen that would make me doubt it (I ended up guessing some of the twists, but definitely not all of them). And the romance between Caro and Amaya felt authentic—I found myself looking forward to their moments together, even when I knew things were bound to eventually go very wrong.

The ending of the book gives us a bit of closure but definitely leaves you eager to find out where the story will go—I, for one, can’t wait for book two to find out!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley and Fantastic Flying Book Club Blog Tours in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***