***Review Based on the First Three Chapters***

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I was able to read an extended excerpt of Skyhunter in exchange for an honest review. I CANNOT wait to read the rest of this book!! I love Marie Lu's books and her writing is flawless. I was hooked from the first chapter. This book is definitely action packed and fans of her first series "Legend" are sure to like this as well! Talin Kanami is a Striker warrior for the nation of Mara, who kills Ghosts which are war beasts that used to be humans until the Karensa Federation changed them. Something that is extremely different and exciting to read is that Talin signs, she does not speak after having her vocal cords damaged in a Federation attack which led to her and her mother taking refuge in Mara. All Strikers use sign language to communicate in the field because Ghosts have incredible hearing so I find this exciting to see signing represented not just by one character in the book, but many. I can't wait to read more of this book! I give the extended excerpt a 5/5 star rating!

Absolutely loved this excerpt! I’m a big fan or Marie Lu’s previous books, so this release is particularly exciting. I can’t wait to learn more about these characters and really dive deep into this universe.

This extended preview is one that I won't soon forget!! I haven't loved everything that Lu has done but this one sounds amazing!! I can not wait to either get a full ARC or the finished copy.

Wow, I loved this excerpt! I love the setting of this story (from what I could read) and I definitely love Talin already! She seems like a strong, badass female lead and we definitely need more of those! Also loving the fact that sign language is being used, cause representation is so so so important!

I know this was only 3 chapters long, but Marie Lu still manages to already touch on subjects like racism, injustice and inequality, so props to her.

Honestly, I can’t wait to be able to read more! These 3 chapters were compelling and sucked me right into the story (and already gave me some feels).

The extended sample contained three chapters of Skyhunter and I read these three chapters as well as the synopsis completely.

We''re introduced to the main character, Talin who is an outsider and faces xenophobia as a refugee of an evil empire the Federation. Despite this she holds a job that has quite the acclaim as a Striker, the chosen soldiers of Mara (the last free country) who fight the Federation and their mutant soldiers, the Ghosts.

From what I could tell from this sample, I found the world building to be okay perhaps I would have liked more but I can totally see the additional chapters continue world building. Our main character seems like she will be a tough strong female character which I appreciate.

I found the first few chapters compelling and would continue reading this dystopian book when it came out.

This seems like such a cool book and I cannot wait to read the full book! I love Marie Lu's writing and her story telling in general. The plot seems really good and I'm so upset I can't read more right now. I guess I'll have to wait until September.

The first thing I want to say is, I love Marie Lu! The second thing, is if you love Marie Lu then you are going to adore her new book! Talin is a Striker for the nation of Mara, meaning she kills ghosts that are attempting to infiltrate and attack their land. This is another super creative story by Marie Lu, full of action. Its intensely edgy but still has the heart that makes Lu's books so enjoyable. And I cant wait to get a copy of the full book and devour it! Also, thank you to Netgalley for this sneak peek!

Thank you so much, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Roaring Brook Press, for the chance to read this extended excerpt of one of my most anticipated reads of the year!


The Karensa Federation conquered lots of nation, leaving Mara as one the the last free one, but it's constanty threatened by the Federation and the beasts it created, called Ghosts.
The Strikers are Mara's elite fighting force, trained to stop them and Talin is one of them, refusing to give up and admit defeat. When she was little she and her mother were forced to escape the brutality of the Federation and she lost both her home and her voice, living in a country where she and people from her country are considered "rats", repugnant. Still, Talin is determined to keep fighting, finding comfort in some fellow Strikers. Everything changes when a mysterious prisoner is captured and she senses there's more to him.

In only few chapter Marie Lu was able to create a wonderful, complex and intense worldbuilding, introducing a stubborn and fierce main character, Talin, injustice, racist issue and a world where people fight not to lose hope and to be free. The writing style, like always, is immersive and atmospheric and I loved everything about this excerpt and I can't wait to read the whole book!

For an extended Excerpt, it sure left me dying to know the rest.

the story kicks off with strong world building elements where we follow the Strikers in their routine sweeps against The ghosts, which are weapons created by the federation to take down the last area standing against them. The fact that it's written with first person point of view allows a quick deep connection with the characters and an immersive experience.
I first thought it would be a generic of Attack on Titans or some other sort of apocalyptic story, but I was definitely wrong to judge quickly and the pages I've read made me change my mind. This book is a must for sci-fi fantasy fans.

God, Marie Lu never fails to astound me. Like most of her books, I was hooked from the beginning; Lu's worldbuilding itself always draws me in so well, and the world of Mara is no different. I'm so excited to read Talin's story and I'm ready to be blown away by another Lu novel.

"When you're fighting a losing war, you are always on edge."

I've just read the extended excerpt and I. Need. More. Preferably right now. Marie Lu managed to create a fascinating world that piqued my interest even though I only read 3 chapters of the book, and I really can't wait to read the full story. Last but not least, if you're a huge fan of Pacific Rim and Marie Lu's books like me, I'm 100000% sure you'd love this book too.

P.S. The cover is STUNNING!

I Need more! In few chapter the author already gripped my attention, creating an intense, fascinating worldbuilding, interesting characters and a plot even more engaging.
Talin is a wonderful main character, complex, brilliant and smart and I can't wait to know more about her, her country and this mysterious prisoner.

This is just a short sneak peak, and already Marie Lu does such a great job of world building and setting the story. Looking forward to reading the full book.