I've been slowly savoring this book, bit by bit, and enjoying every minute. Unfortunately life has gotten in the way quite frequently, but I'm looking forward to finishing.

Content Warning: Ableism, Gore, Death of Loved Ones

Set in the same world as the Book of the Ancestor trilogy (that starts with Red Sister and ends with Holy Sister), I was on board with this book from the first page.

I thought that there were a lot of good discussions around disability, ability, and the ways in which we work in the world around us and how we have to adapt. There was a lot of really great characters, a lot of intrigue, and my favourite type of magical systems. I am excited to see how this series relates and ties back to the Book of the Ancestor!

While this is separate and apart from that, I think you will enjoy this more if you've already been introduced to that world. I highly recommend this one!

I do like reading epic fantasy books, and The Girl and the Stars was my introduction to Mark Lawrence's writing. I've read halfway through the book before I gave the book up to the DNF gods. The book wasn't bad, nor was the writing, it was more like that I couldn't connect to the story.

THE GIRL AND THE STARS is exactly what I wanted from the author who brought me the Book of the Ancestor series. Lawrence breathes new life into a world we have all come to know from RED SISTER. Yaz is such a great character and I look forward to seeing her grow and evolve as her story continues. Honestly, there isn't much more I can say than if you like Mark Lawrence's books, then you will like this one too.

1st things 1st: I LOVE THIS COVER, y’all! Ok, on to business!

I’ve enjoyed many of Mark Lawrence’s books, from Jorg’s to Jalan’s to Yarvi’s to Nona’s adventures. Now we have The Girl and the Stars with a new heroine, Yaz, who learns the truth about her people’s ways – and decides to rebel against it. Not for herself – no heroine is that selfish. (Ok, I forgot for a minute we’re talking about a Mark Lawrence character…) For her little brother.

Life on the ice is hard. It’s cold, hard, and unforgiving. And if that’s not enough, those who’re deemed “different” are thrown into the pit. (Cue Pit of Despair…) Judging happens every 4 years and Yaz worries about passing the test this time. Surprisingly, she’s safe. Until her little brother’s hurled to his fate. Being our heroine, Yaz hurtles after him. And finds a whole new world (Aladdin, anyone?) underground.

There’s a lot going on in The Girl and the Stars. Different factions, infighting within factions, a coup, lots of dead and dying, and children who’re essentially slave labor for those above-ground. In this backdrop there’s a lost city and its inhabitants, and of course the ever present threat of death. Fair warning: If you’re arachnophobic you might want to skip this one. *shudder*

The story itself can be a bit confusing because there’s so much going on. Or maybe because my day job was hogging too much brain power that I couldn’t keep track of what’s what and who’s who. *shrug* I did think some parts were a bit redundant (we know the city is hard to get to from the first time Yaz travels to it, for example) but overall enjoyed this chance to read about a girl with grit, fighting for those she loves. I’m antsily waiting for the next book, because HELLO CLIFFHANGER! *bites nails*

This was such a promising start to a new series by Mark Lawerence. I loved the world building SO much and we had a great, strong female protagonist. Can't wait for the sequel!

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2021 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2021/02/2021-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I loved this, especially when I realized it was the same world as Red Sister. I would have preferred more finality to the story, and yes I get that its a series, but serious cliff hanger moment there!

I tried so hard to give this book a shot. I have previously read Red Sister, and while I did not love that book, I was able to finish it. This book I was not so lucky.

As I was already familiar with the world, I was really excited to visit a different part than we read about in Red Sister, especially since I love world building in my books. And while the story started off with a bang, I lost interest pretty quickly.

I've seen some other reviews mention that it reads more like YA than adult and I agree. That might also be why I struggled to finish this book, and ultimately DNF'd it.

If I do ever get the urge to come back to this book (it's been almost a year and that hasn't happened yet) I might try to finish, but until then I will just continue to recommend the Red Sister trilogy if anyone wants to read Mark Lawrence.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the free arc in exchange for the review. All thoughts are my own.

I read this not having read The Book of the Ancestor trilogy so everything was new. I was sort of confused at first, but once I started getting into it I really liked the world-building. I think that was my favorite part just learning about the communities and the hierarchy, and the people below the ice. That being said, the middle part of the book was a bit slow. Part of what kept me going was how Mark Lawrence writes. It’s captivating and beautiful.

I will come back to this world when the books are finished, but this one was just hard to get through.

I hesitate to give negative reviews, but I just could not get emersed in this book. It could be that I was not familiar with this world, but I found it to be too drab for my liking. I could not gain an invested interest in the characters.

I'm not going to lie... That was painful. Not as painful as Prince of Thorns, but I'm about done trying this author. People keep saying to give Red Sister a try, and I may but... Uuugh.



I wanted to like this so much more than I did.
In the beginning I thought I was going to. This was about how it broke down for me:

First 45-50% = Good. I breezed through this part

Next 30-35% = Um, what? I felt like it got muddled down with useless mythical stuff (not "magical," that is throughout the book and a good part of the story), it dragged on trying to explain these new dynamics, and it took me a month to get through this part

Last 15-25% = Okay. Went back to the adventure aspect of the story (finding Yaz's brother, dealing with the tainted) and took me just a few days to finish at this point. I still had some issues with this portion, but it was better than the middle.


I really only gave it there stars because I liked more than half of the book, but for it to take a month to get through the other third was exhausting mentally. I don't know why I have such a difficult time with this author, but there you have it.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC for my honest thoughts.

I wanted so much more from this book and I ended up scraping by to finish it. I've never read a Mark Lawrence book and it might have been helpful in this situation since the world on the ice would have made a little bit more sense if I had read his other work. Unfortunately, there were very few things I enjoyed about this book. One of those though was the writing. I think if I had been more invested in the plot, then I would have fully appreciated the lovely descriptions and world building that was occurring. In the beginning, the writing was very atmospheric and captivating. Even the initial encounter with the Tainted was intriguing, but after the first 40 pages, I got bored. Because I didn't care much about the plot or characters, the descriptions and writing style just seemed to drag on and on. This book wasn't particularly long, but it took me almost a week to get through it. I though the main character Yaz had a lot of potential to become a character I would love, but she was just annoying? She repeatedly had thoughts where she didn't think she was good enough, she doubted what she was doing, she was a leader, but didn't want to take any responsibility, etc etc. If this was marketing as a YA novel, I think her character would have made a lot more sense, but as an adult book I wanted more, especially from a character perspective. I found almost all the other characters to have little depth and most of them were pretty forgetful. Moving on to the plot, I don't think it was bad, however, the pacing was again just very very slow. I myself thought I was in these caves and the time in them were dragging on for weeks and weeks even though apparently the timing was much shorter, it did not feel like it. By the time the end of the book came, I just wanted to finish it, and I did end up skimming that portion. The ending was pretty interesting, not expected, but because I didn't feel any attachment to the book, it just didn't do much for me. I might try out Lawrence's other works, but this one just wasn't for me. 



Writing: 5/10
Characters: 5/10
Plot: 4/10
Ending: 4/10
Originality: 6/10
Overall: 24/50
Cover: 5/10

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the eARC of this book.

This was such a bizarre read for me. The story begins with an intriguing premise and fantastic world-building. I found myself very drawn into the lore and excited to see what happened next. The first 40% or so was very fast-paced and read very quickly, but from there things began to drag for me. We met so many interesting characters, but none of them seemed to gain any dimension as the story progressed. The action started to feel repetitive. The magic system, although unique and really cool, became convoluted.

Around this point is when I realized I was reading to finish rather than because I was really interested in the ending. That feeling always sucks, especially on titles you are excited about. Especially on titles that start out so incredibly strong and then just seem to fizzle into themselves. It almost felt like the story suddenly didn't know where it was going so it needed to burn some time before realizing the ending and rushing into it. I will admit that the ending drew me back in quite a bit. The last ten percent or so brought me back to that excited place where I genuinely wanted to know what was about to happen. The ending is very sharp and well-crafted, but I'm unsure whether it was enough to compel me to read the sequel.

This started off strong and I had high expectations since I enjoyed earlier books Lawrence set in this world, but the story dragged and I lost interest as the plot became more and more predictable. Lots of background here for those who want to know more about the setting of The Book of the Ancestor characters, but wouldn't really recommend this as a standalone to adult readers or as a starting point for young readers.

I loved this book! To sum it up best, I can’t wait for the next book! This is the first book I’ve read by Mark Lawrence. I know this book is set in the world of Red Sister and that series is on my TBR. I received an ARC copy of The Girl and the Stars from NetGalley and decided since it was a stand alone, to go ahead and read it first. I would say, from someone who hasn’t read the Red Sister series yet, you can go ahead and read this one first.

I loved Mark Lawrence’s writing so much! The story never felt like it was dragging and he does a great job of developing the characters. I absolutely loved Yaz! She was a great main character and I loved following her and her journey through the book. The twists and turns were so crazy and unexpected for me and the ending just leaves you wanting more. I would definitely recommend this book and I gave it 4 stars.

Here we are yet again Mark Lawrence.

I tend to really struggle with Lawrence's writing. Every book I have read by him has received 3 stars from me and I hoped to finally break that curse but today is not that day.

What I liked.
The concept for this novel was the main draw for me. In the Book of the Ancestor series there was a lot mentioned about living out on the ice but not a lot was seen of it. Just getting to see this part of the world and how people live there was exciting. And then, at the very beginning we get our main character, Yaz, jumping in the Pit of the Missing. It made for an exciting start to say the least. Discovering the world beneath the ice and the reveals of some information that further fleshed out Abeth were all engrossing moments.

There are so many possibilities for this series. There were just so many lore expanding bits for me to devour that I didn’t mind so much that they came in at a slow clip. Mark Lawrence laid out a trail of cookie crumbs filled with juicy lore nuggets and I have no idea where they will lead but I’m excited for it.

What I did not like.
I have a couple of complaints that aren't entirely complaints. I wanted this to be much longer. I felt like Pome was too one dimensional but I simultaneously thought that we were purposely not seeing a lot of what was going on with him. I think if we got a few glimpses into his machinations he would have felt like a deeper character. I think the same can be said for some of the other side characters as well. Not to say the character work was bad, I just wanted more and felt that they could have been fleshed out more in this novel..

Also this TOTALLY felt YA to me? Did anyone get that vibe?

Also, the ending. Ugh. This kind of ending always upsets me. I cannot deny that it leaves the story in a place with plenty to be excited about though. When does book two come out?

I have a new book review to share with you today. Please note: I received a digital ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence is a wonderful epic fantasy and the first book in the Book of the Ice series. The world building that Lawrence has created is so incredibly detailed, intriguing, creative, and unique. We are introduced to a vast ice world called Abeth. Populated by several different tribes; each with its own unique characteristics and talents. Abeth is an unforgiving landscape and climate with a complex societal hierarchy and belief system. We are introduced to Yaz a young girl from the Ice Tribe, the Ithaca. In order to pass from childhood to adulthood, each tribe member must be judged by the regulator (think corrupt priest). Those who are deemed too different, or broken are tossed into a deep cavern in the ice, never to be seen again.

After finding her world completely turned upside down, Yaz begins to find out there is more to the world than she was led to believe. Things are not as black and white as she thought and she may be more powerful than she ever imagined. The Girl and the Stars is a well written character driven story. We meet a diverse cast of characters as Yaz goes on her journey. Honestly, there was so much detail, It was almost overwhelming to keep track of all the characters and plots at times. This also made the story drag on at times. But, it all works together to form one cohesive ice chilling picture. This is a coming of age tale about accepting yourself, questioning authority, and the dangers of craving power.

If you are a fan of epic fantasies, adventure, creatures, magic, mysterious worlds, and complicated love stories then go read this book! This gem published by Harper Voyager is available for purchase from all major booksellers. I give The Girl and The Stars 4 out of 5 gems. I really enjoyed this book and hope we got more stories set in this universe. Happy Reading!

The Girl and the Stars is the first book in the new Book of the Ice trilogy by US/UK author Mark Lawrence, and the second series to take place on the world of Abeth (Also the setting for the Book of the Ancestor trilogy) and introduces us to the peoples who live on the ice, far from the tiny sliver of otherwise inhabitable land left to this planet. A story that manages to segue seamlessly from adventure to horror to mystery and back to adventure, The Girl and the Stars looks like another excellent start to what will be an excellent series from Lawrence.

In some recent reviews, I discussed the idea of an author having a particular specialty, a narrow focus on something that, whether the rest of their writing is good or bad, is generally the highlight of their work. By this point it is extremely clear to me that Mark Lawrence is the master of the opening paragraph. You see a lot of writing advice talking about how you need to hook readers quickly if you want to get them engaged in your work, and this has led to a lot of in medias res writing, lots of dropping people into action because action is exciting and thus theoretically engaging.

Lawrence, conversely, seems to just craft the most intriguing possible sentences that could appear anywhere in his novel, and put them right up front where you have no choice but to be immediately taken in. While for my money, Red Sister remains the greatest opening I’ve ever read, I defy you to read this opening and not leave this review right now to go buy this book:

"Many babies have killed, but it is very rare that the victim is not their mother. When the father handed his infant to the priestess to speak its fortune the child stopped screaming and in its place she began to howl, filling the silence left behind.

Omens are difficult and open to interpretation but if the oracle that touches your newborn dies moments later, frothing at the mouth, it is hard even with a mother’s love to think it a good sign.

In such cases a second opinion is often sought."

We’re not in an action scene, we’re not in the middle of the plot, we’re well in the past of the whole novel, but boy do I ever really want to know what this kid’s deal is now. I can always count on Lawrence to get me over that ‘am I bought into this?’ hump literally on page 1, every time.

So having made the assumption that you’re now already sold on this book, the next point I want to address is Lawrence’s world-building. The world of Abeth is not the far-flung past or future of the post-apocalyptic Earth setting of two of his other trilogies, but there are a lot of elements of the portrayal of the world that hearken back to The Broken Empire. I really enjoy the way there is very clearly a whole rich and deep history at play here, but because the characters have almost no knowledge of it, we don’t either. It gives him a lot of potential hooks to bring into later books, which I’ve always appreciated as a writing technique.

By making a lot of implications, and leaving a lot of hints but only resolving the ones that need to be, it really helps with the plotting of later books, in that we have an extremely hard time predicting what will actually happen, and many doors are open to Lawrence if inspiration strikes and the plot wants to go in a different direction than he had envisioned. I have no idea how often that happens for him between drafting and finishing a novel, but baking in that mutability from the beginning is definitely a strong choice that makes the writing a lot better.

His characters, as well, have a certain vitality to them that makes them stand apart from a lot of fantasy. While he definitely seems at his most comfortable portraying people in crisis and perils both external and existential, he does an excellent job capturing the angst and the anxieties and fears and stresses of his characters. While I’m legitimately not sure what a very cheerful and happy denouement would look like coming from Lawrence (Even his ‘happy’ endings I’ve read tend to include some elements of a Pyrrhic flavour), you can’t detract from the skill he has in portraying conflict.

I’m also a proponent of the piece of writing advice that says if your conflict could be resolved entirely by having the parties to the conflict have a conversation with one another, you have a bad conflict. I can’t think of a single time Lawrence has fallen afoul of this pitfall. While miscommunications and misunderstandings absolutely contribute to some of the conflict here, it manages to be much more fundamental than that. There’s no easy way out of the conflicts that impact these characters, only difficult ways through, and so the plot never drags, or feels unnecessary. And while it can trend a little on the brutal side for some readers, I think there’s something deeply realistic about it that makes that a lot easier to take.

This was definitely a very enjoyable read, and I will be keeping an eye out for the next installments, as I’m absolutely bought into the premise, and the ending absolutely left me wanting more. A fantastic start to another series.

4.5 stars
Mark Lawrence is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I loved his Book of the Ancestor trilogy and when I saw The Girl and the Stars available to request, I knew I needed to read it and get back to the world of Abeth. Although the Girl and the Stars takes place in the Abeth it is a bone chillingly different environment. Mr. Lawrence creates another fantastic world. I read this in late winter, and it was still snowing here, and you can just imagine how cold and brutal the world is. As disgusting as it seems that these tribes throw their undesirables into a frozen pit, I loved how he incorporated what Ancient civilizations used to do to cleanse their unwanted. Think Ancient Greece and the Minotaur’s Labyrinth. I also loved our protagonist Yaz and all the trouble, and terrifying adventure she goes through after going into the pit to save her brother. I also love how amazing and diverse the rest of the cast is. You come for the adventure but stay for the characters.
Overall, The Girl and the Stars Is another excellent fantasy read filled with a chilling landscape, adventure, and excellent cast of characters.