Great story and loved the slight romance. Really enjoyed the characters and how the plot moved and how the characters changed throughout the book. I would read this author again.

I had overly high expectations for this book after reading most of Marie Lu's other work. However, Skyhunter didn't quite live up to my expectations. It was an enjoyable read that I know will have an audience in my library; however, it just didn't work for me.

I didn't love this book as much as I hoped. I really love sci fi stories, especially ones with a lot of action but for some reason I just had a hard time connecting with this story so therefore, I just didn't care about what was happening as much as I wanted to. The plot was actually interesting enough while I was reading it, I thought Talin was a super interesting main character to follow and the set up of the world and the terrifying Ghosts was interesting as well. Unfortunately, every time I would put this book down I would stop caring and would have to force myself to pick it up again to keep going. I have no idea why but I just couldn't make it work. There's nothing necessarily wrong with the story and I think a lot of people will love it, it just didn't work for me for some reason.

I have never been shy in telling people that Marie Lu is one of my favorite authors. I found her by accident many years ago while walking through Target and my eyes landed on Legend. That chance encounter changed my reading habits, preferences, and more. Lu’s latest novel checked all of the boxes in my eyes: scifi dystopian, fast paced story, gripping story line, relatable and developed characters, edge of my seat ending… what more can you want?!

Mara is one member of an elite fighting force made up primarily of teens. Why teens? Because the turnover and mortality rate is rather high. They are living in time where war-machine monsters have been created and when an experimentation gets lose, all bets are off. Mara will have to join forces with the most unlikely person…

I devoured this book. Sci-fi dystopian stories are right up my alley and I cannot get enough of them (recommendations for more are always welcome!). The pace and the plot and the delivery were masterfully done. Once I started I ignored everything else. I was captivated because I just had to know what was going to happen next. I needed to know what was building between Mara and Talin (will they? won’t they?).

Speaking of Mara and Talin… the characters were very well developed yet flawed. I may say that a lot but when I do I mean it. Reading about a flawed character helps me connect to the overall story more. This story felt more action driven than character driven and I was okay with that… it worked so well. Don’t get me started on that ending… it pains me that I have to wait so long for the next book.

Do I recommend this? HECK YES. Please add this to your TBR if you have not already. This is one series you don’t want to miss.

First and foremost, thank you to Fierce Reads, Macmillan Audio, Netgalley, and Roaring Book Press for the advanced e-book and the audiobook! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Skyhunter was EXCITING. To me, Marie Lu can do no wrong. I love this dystopian fiction and the world building was just out of this world (literally). This is such a solid start to an exciting new series! Everything I love about dystopian fiction is depicted in this strongly character driven & compelling story. Mara is a striker, and they are trained to kill ghosts who bite and turn their victims into ghosts. The cast of characters were diverse, were unique and fleshed out. I was so invested in all of the side characters. The plot is suspensful, action packed, and to be honest .... kind of creepy. I really enjoyed the audiobook and cannot wait for book 2!

I will be purchasing this title for the library as I have several Marie Lu readers. I have not yet finished this title, but will retention to it once I have it in print. It was an intriguing story. Anyone who has enjoyed the Legend series or other titles by Lu, will probably enjoy this one, too.

I did not finish this title around 65%.. I love YA dystopian and science fiction novels, but Skyhunter feels trite and uninspired. Marie Lu is such a well-known YA author, so I purchased this title for my library anyway.

I will forever read anything and everything by Marie Lu!

Her intricate worlds, undeniably well written and diverse characters, the balanced dialog.......

Everything she writes is phenomenal and Skyhunter is no exception!

Full review to come!!

Skyhunter by Marie Lu was another amazing story by a creative author! If you love her other stories you are bound to love this one!

I’m a big Marie Lu fan, so I was excited when this one came out. This was a thrilling read as usual and I can’t wait for the next book to come out.

Talin is a refugee from a land taken over by the Karensa Foundation, she becomes a striker, a group of elite fighters in Mara who go to the war front to try to protect their nation from the Federation and from Ghosts, who are genetically modified people (pretty much zombies). Talin is always an outsider due to her race and refugee status, but she doesn’t hesitate to try and save Red, who fled the foundation and was captured by Mara..

I liked the friendship between Talin, Corian, Adena and Jeran. Lu is always good at world building. The plot was engrossing and interesting, looking forward to seeing what happens!

Skyhunter, Marie Lu’s next highly anticipated series, is a fantastic mix of different elements: science fiction, fantasy and dystopian of the apocalyptic variety. You’d think, at first, what a mess. No way. Marie perfectly blends it all together into an exciting journey for Talin, a mute striker in Mara, and Red, a captured “spy” that is believed to be a part of the Federation, the one enemy to Mara itself.

I really liked Talin’s character and I thought it was very unique to include representation of sign language while also including, in general, the different languages between the characters. She’s a good mix of a strong character, but still has that fear that doesn’t overpower her or make her look weak. I’ll tell you bluntly that she has been through hell and back, but I believe her strength definitely overpowers anything else. She’s got good people by her side, like her friends that are also secondary characters but are crafted like they are primary characters with their own backstory.

Red is the mysterious character, showing up as someone thought to be a spy from the Federation. However, he intrigues Talin by WANTING to be executed. At the risk of saving him, Talin and Red end up being paired up as allies in the impending war ad though there is definitely a “romantic” interest brewing slowly, their connection is much deeper than that and is developed at a good pace. It’s one bound by trust and honesty and fierce protection. I think this is probably one of the biggest values of the book and helps the start of the series stand out.

It was hard to find a dull moment in this book. I was flipping through the pages, completely intrigued and eager to find out how things would progress with the violence, the character development and the intensity of it all. The storyline was epic and, no surprise, Marie Lu knows how to create the perfect puzzle with her words and imagination.

I hear it’s going to be at least a year until book two. One question: do I HAVE to wait that long?

I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi books but wow this was just amazing. It’s about a girl named Talin who is a striker that lives in a world with killing monsters called Ghosts and meets a mysterious boy. While trying to save her nation, Talin is trying to uncover the boy’s secrets and seeing if he will save or end their world. I haven’t read any of Marie Lu’s others books but now I will after this one. The author’s writing is beautiful and I love how she explains her world building clearly. The setting and storyline were both unique with amazing adventures involved. This book also includes sign language which I never read in a book before.

I enjoyed the characters in this book especially Talin. She can’t speak and is a fierce female lead character. There is also Red who is the mysterious boy that we don’t know about. It was fun learning about who he is and seeing his character develop. The supporting characters were also amazing and were involved a lot. It was different seeing killing monsters, Ghosts, that kill humans and are trying to take over the world. The antagonist in this book reminded me a little of Jeanine Matthews from the Divergent series. There was little romance which was perfect for this book.

This book was enjoyable and ended with a cliffhanger. I think a second book will be coming and I can’t wait to see more of Talin and Red’s adventures. Though you are probably wondering why I gave it 4/5 stars and that is because I struggled a little in the beginning with it. But not much. As a person who rarely reads sci-fi, I recommend this book. It’s something you don’t want to miss!

Not your average dystopian fantasy read! Talin, a trained striker is paired with a deserter from the enemy camp. Is he their secret weapon or worse than their enemy? Mara, the last free nation uses strikers (trained fighters) to defend itself against The Federation, which uses nasty ferocious beasts called Ghosts. What makes this story stand apart from other dystopian novels is the depth of the main characters and the world building. It's impossible to start this story and not get connected to the characters - this book just blew me away - I read it in one sitting!

Highly recommended (one of Marie Lu's best books) for anyone who loves fantasy, dystopian, genuine characters, and world building!

Thank you to NetGalley, Roaring Brook Press, and Marie Lu for an advanced eBook copy in exchange for my honest review.

I thought the main character was interesting, but was not fully sold on the story.. Perhaps the second book in the series will catch my interest more..

I love Marie Lu and this book did not disappoint. I thought it was a great, fast paced YA dystopian read. I loved the characters and the action and the world building. There were a lot of heavier topics that were handled well, especially being a YA dystopian read.

Talin hasn't spoken in years-- she is relatively certain that she cannot after her lungs were damaged when the Karensa Federation invaded her country. Now a refugee in Maran, she is looked upon as a lowly rat. In spite of that, she has managed to become one of the elite Strikers- a team sent out to fight the Federation's Ghosts.

When a prisoner is brought in from the warfront for execution, something about him catches her attention and she suddenly finds herself risking everything she has worked for to find out more about him.

Marie Lu is incredibly skilled at writing protagonists that pull you into the story from the very beginning. I immediately wanted to know more about Talin and what happened to her. I was fully engaged in the world she built and anxious to find out what would happen next. As usual, I am anxious for the next book to come out so that I can continue with Talin, Jeran, Rooke, Red and their whole world.

Rating: 4/5 Ghosts

Format: E-book/Audiobook. I’d like to thank the author and FierceReads for a free copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review. I switched to audiobook about 15% in to speed up my reading and the narration was fantastic!

To sum up: This is the first book of a new sci-fi series! This story is set far into the future (possibly on Earth?) where the Karensa Federation has slowly taken control of what is left of the human race. Our main character, Talin, lives in one of the last remaining free cities, Mara. Talin is a Striker, part of an elite fighting force that is trained to take out mutant war beasts of the Federation known as Ghosts. Then a mysterious prisoner is brought into Mara for execution that will change Talin’s fight and her future.

What I enjoyed: I loved Lu’s worldbuilding in this story! I’ve enjoyed all of her sci-fi books so far, but I feel like she really dove deep on this one! This is her most detail-rich world yet, and it really pays off.

I also loved her main character, Talin. Talin has been through the horrors of war, has been victimized, and ridiculed not only by the Federation but by other citizens of Mara, and yet she continues to fight for them. A lot this book is Talin’s journey towards understanding WHY she fights for a people that don’t fully accept her. I thought this was such a beautiful and heartbreaking representation what people of color and immigrants in America are fighting for today (and those of us fighting for equality on their behalf). It touches on idea that you can be angry and hopeful for a better future at the same time, that they can fuel eachother to drive change.

What was meh: The main thing that I got hung up on is a spoiler so I’ll warn you here: skip this paragraph to avoid spoilers! ->SPOILER -> Okay, so at one point Talin forms a special bond with our mysterious prisoner, and they are able to speak to each other's minds. Lu goes on to sort of half describe why this might be possible, based on how the prisoner was manipulated and genetically altered, but it never quite made sense to me. As a neuroscientist, I wanted just a bit more to go on (even if it is handwavey) to explain how you could literally just touch someone and then have permanent access to another person’s emotions. But pretty much all we get is a “we don’t understand their tech” type of answer, which I’m sure will be explained more later (?? hopefully??) but for now it made me a little annoyed. Definitely not annoyed enough to not want to know what was going to happen next, or to like Talin any less, but still annoyed. It’s an important part of the plot, it changes everything about the story, so I wanted a better foundation for how it happened. <- END SPOILER <-

Overall, I thought this was a great intro to a new series! I was super impressed by Marie Lu’s depth of worldbuilding, the complexity of the emotions Talin expresses. For this being a book mostly about war and fighting, there was a surprising amount of softer emotions like empathy, feelings of loss, and hope. She balances the action-packed fighting scenes with very emotionally mature inner dialog from Talin, which I really enjoyed. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out!

I’d recommend to fans of Marie’s other sci-fi books (Legend & Warcross series), as well as fans of Lif3lik3, and Paolini’s new book To Sleep in a Sea of Stars.

Another phenomenal dystopian series from Marie Lu is here with Skyhunter!

From the first page I was drawn into the world Skyhunter, running around with Talin as she battles against the terrifying might of the Federation and their Ghosts. Talin is such a badass character, and her inner strength matches her outer strength, making her an incredible fighter. I was absorbed with her backstory, and I loved the representation of having a mute and refugee main character.

The different story aspects- the ruins of old civilizations, the Ghosts, the Skyhunter, and the bonds, were so engaging that I can't wait to see how it turns out in the next book! I also loved all the side characters, and loved learning about them.

This is definitely a dystopian novel though, so be prepared for darkness- the realities of war, of refugees, characters that you've grown to love dying, experimentation done on unwilling victims. I actually don't ususally read dystopian novels, but Marie Lu is the one author I know that can write a hope-filled dystopian novel. Yes, there is pain and darkness and a cliffhanger ending that made me cry, but through every chapter these characters, and the readers, are filled with hope. Hope seen in the present moments, even if they seem dark. Hope for a better future.

Skyhunter is your classic YA novel of good vs. evil, featuring scientifically altered humans and all out warfare. If you've read any of Marie Lu's novels before, you will absolutely devour this fast-paced, action packed read.

In typical Marie Lu fashion, this book is full of adventure, danger and all those things that pull a reader in and require them to keep reading to find out what happens. Dark and graphic, at times, but sure to be a hit.