Skyhunter is the first installment in author Marie Lu's Skyhunter series. The Karensa Federation has conquered dozens of countries across the continent leaving only Mara free. Refugees like Talin and her mother fled to Mara from places like Basea hoping to find hope and a future. Those who don't make it to Mara, are transformed into grizzly looking mutants called Ghosts. 10 years after her country fell, Talin is now a member of Mara's elite striker squad which stands against Karensa, and it's Ghosts that used to be human.

Talin hasn't spoken since the day that Karensa conquered her country and she lost her father. Not that she is unable. She chooses to use sign language to communicate instead. Talin's partner & shield is a boy named Corian. But, after he is infected by a Ghosts bite, Talin finds herself on the outside looking in. As an unwanted Basean refugee, Talin has few friends to stand up for her outside of Adena and Jeran. Then an alleged deserter named Red from the Federation arrives. His body has been forever modified, and experimented on to make him a powerful weapon called Skyhunter.

Constantine Tyrus, the Federation Premiere, is relentless in his desire to pick up where the Old One's left off. For his part, that means Mara and its people must fall in line or be overrun with no chance at a future. As I hinted at, Strikers are paired up, and their partners are called their Shield's. Losing Corian was a devastating blow to Talin since they are supposed to be tied together for life. When she ends up paired with Red, Red is more than meets the eye. He's not a spy, and it appears that Constantine will do anything to get him back. Especially after Talin and Red establish a mental bond. Talin and Red are from different worlds but are a fierce fighting pair.

Alas, dear readers, this book does end on a stunning cliffhanger ending. Then again, what else is new when it comes to Marie Lu? She loves to torture readers, or haven't you read June and Day's Legend series yet? The setting is a future world where modern technologies don’t exist, except as ruins. The author hints that the Early One's destroyed themselves with a weapon that caused sickness. They, like our current scientists who unleased Sars-Covid on the world, couldn't control what they created, and destroyed themselves. Something tells me when the author reveals why Mara was so important to Constantine, it will be someone massive and powerful enough to destroy the world.

It’s only 3 chapters but now I need to go get the book. Lu has done a great job capturing my attention I love the representation of sign language. I enjoyed the story line so far this excerpt was great. The attention to detail is exquisite.

What an exciting start to a captivating story! I love Marie Lu's writing and was really interested when I heard about Skyhunter and I'm happy to say that this excerpt only builds that interest even more. Lu plops us right down in the middle of a world fraught with pain and politics and danger but also with such intense bonds of friendships. With such vivid characters and an intriguing start, I can't wait to see where she takes us next! definitely going to be picking up the full book to see what happens next!

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!