Update: I have now read the full book and am updating my previous 3 star rating to a 4 stars. My updated review is on the blog.

Old excerpt review was:
I don't normally read excerpts, but I accidentally grabbed this one thinking it was the full book (facepalm)
It's hard to say much from the first several chapters, but this story has a refugee main character, so it's probably true that a lot of story will be devoted to racism and its destructive effects on a person. It also seems like a coming of age story, where the main character has to come up from the ashes of her loss.
I'm giving it 3 stars because the excerpt didn't really draw me in, perhaps it was too short. I will be reading the full book and then my rating will probably change.

*I received an early sneak peak of this book from Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own. (I also bought the book!)*
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
I love Marie Lu’s books. There has never been one that disappointed me, which is why what I feel after finishing this book surprises me. This is probably my least favorite of her books.
I’m not saying it’s bad, because it was good. I just don’t think it was as good as everything else she has written. The world building was decent, but also all over the place at times. I did like that we got a good amount of information on the world in general, but more history would have been nice. I’m hoping for an expansion on that in book two.
The character development was meh. The main character doesn’t really change from beginning to end. She learns to accept Red as her Shield, but that’s the most she develops. Red has much more development.
I also found myself bored sometimes. I liked that the main character uses sign language as a means of communication. It’s not something you normally see in a main character in a fantasy novel. The only problem is you get stuck in her head a lot and she tends to think the same things over and over again. It gets boring after a while.
Overall, it was a decent book. Not my favorite Marie Lu book, but I’d definitely read it again.

Enjoyable sampler that greatly hints and what to expect. Though short, this sampler sets the stage for an action packed read that will surely delight all readers.

The except was really good, can't wait to continue the book!
I never read something by this author, but the plot and the cover of this book get me so curious.

Skyhunter, I think, has Marie Lu's best world-building, having reading the legend series, the young elities series, and warcross series (the kingdom of back, I'm coming for you!). The presence of complex political relations and how they are experienced in the day-to-day by someone removed from where the politics actually occurs, was very interesting. It brought a new depth and emotion to the issues being raised, and empowers the reader who may be in a similar position of not being in the room where it happens, but still inciting change. Her characters are extremely relatable in their attitudes and convictions, and it is very easy to empathise with each of the four leads.

I think my issue with the book lies in its pacing, I think it was very inconsistent and that made it difficult to continue reading or return to the book after a break. If it wasn't for the pacing issues (particularly from 40% to 75% of the way through the book), I would have easily said this was Marie Lu's best work.

I was given an exclusive excerpt to review by Netgalley. All I want to say is I wished sooo dearly that it was the full ARC. Those 52 pages were a dream. I definitely recommend everyone to give this a read!

This excerpt was incredibly interesting. I enjoyed Lu's Legend trilogy and found the worldbuilding to be very similar to that world. Talin is an interesting main character, well-suited to her job because she can no longer speak. I didn't learn much about her in the several chapters, but I was intrigued by her character and the challenges she's faced so far in life.

The first few chapters are very descriptive, but the story moves very quickly. We immediately learn how important patriotism is in this society and the first paragraph pulled me in with a detailed description of what Striker's face. I will have to find a copy of the book quickly, because I'm intrigued and must finish!


Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing a sampler of this novel for review.

Guess who didn’t realize I requested an excerpt. *facepalm*

I was mostly excited to read a new Marie Lu novel, though I do have a contentious relationship with her books—I tend to either love them or dislike them. Unfortunately, from this excerpt alone, it’s clear this book falls into the latter category. I didn’t feel sucked into the writing or world, though it was an interesting premise, so I don’t think I’ll be picking up the actual book.

I haven't had a chance to read much of Skyhunter yet as I've been in a bit of a reading slump but it also really hasn't caught my attention. I enjoyed Lu's Young Elites series but haven't really liked much else. It's more or a me not you case.

Thank you, though, for offering this sample to a highly anticipated book.

Wow! This excerpt was phenomenal and now I'm itching to go buy a copy of the book to devour! I cannot wait to read it & recommend it.

Got the opportunity to read the first 3 chapters, it’s an intriguing book with awesome characters.

Definitely am putting it on my TBR to buy and readiness book 📖

Talin is a striker, an amazing feat for someone who wasn't born in Mara. The Federation is coming to take over the last free nation and Talin and her Shield are ready until her Shield is killed by a Ghost. She cannot fight without her Shield next to her, until when she saves someone who escaped from the Federation and Talin now has a new Shield.

This was amazing. The world building was terrific, the characters engaging and well developed, and it is simply another incredible book by the talented Marie Lu.

The only drawback, is waiting for the 2nd one.

Marie Lu did it again.
I hadn't read anything about her in ages, since I read the Legend Trilogy and with Skyhunter she created a story full of adventure which I cannot wait to keep on reading. Aaand this one takes place in space! Yes, you read it right, the space! This sci-fi twist to a young adult story has me screaming out loud for sure.
Highly recommended.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

Talin is a Striker, a protector for the last kingdom that’s free from the Federation’s rule. She is a refugee who lost her ability to speak when her homeland was targeted by the Federation’s army and her family was forced to flee to Mara. She is trained to kill Ghosts, deadly creatures that have been weaponized by the Federation to destroy Mara. Talin’s comrades risk their lives everyday and no one is safe on the battlefield. When a strange soldier is captured from the enemy, Talin knows that there is something more to him and saves him from being tortured to death. Who is this strange soldier? Why is Talin so drawn to him?

Girl power to Talin!! YA! I love a strong badass female protagonist. She was so resilient and inspirational. The world that Lu creates is very intricate and I loved the intrigue of her references to the “old world” (our world) in the landscape and story. I am not a huge fan of fantasy/sci-fi but this one wasn't didn’t overwhelm me with elements of it’s fictional world. It was a great mix of action and character development - the relationship between Talin and the Skyhunter has me sooo interested in the next installment. I need the next book yesterday. I found this novel to be reminiscent of The Hunger Games with the dystopia and I loved it!

This is a great start to this book. I like Talin's character, and her connections with others are carefully shown and feel really organic. I liked how the backstory of both Mara and Talin's home are shown throughout this excerpt, rather than being contained to one portion of it. The newcomer who's going to change the tide of the war is really interesting and makes the Federation even more mysterious and evil-looking. I'm really excited to read more!

This is my first Marie Lu book that I've picked up. While I've heard a lot of good things about her books, there wasn't really anything in this sampler that left me wanting to read the actual book. It was fine, but nothing super exciting. I don't feel like I really got a good sense of the world that was built or how it functioned as a society.

When I first seen the cover I thought it's pretty but eh not really looks like something I would gravitate to, but I figured I would give this a try on here and wow I should have known better than to doubt Marie Lu espe after kingdom of back. From the start we get action sign me up

I absolutely love reading this sampler! The book sounded so exciting and good. I can not wait to read the whole book!