** spoiler alert ** Thank you NetGalley, Cristin Terrill, and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a 3.5 star book and I rounded up to 4 stars. I loved the plot of this book, it was a really interesting idea. An unknown arranged marriage that is destroyed because of a bombing. Vika was chosen to be the wife of a rich man's son that she has never met. And the kicker is that for the son (Leo) to get his inheritance he has to marry Vika. When he is traveling back to his home planet a bomb goes off and he is killed. Vika's future of a better life is now ruined, until there is a chance for her to live the life she has always wanted. Now Vika and Sky have to discover who is behind the bombings.

I will say that for the first half of the book I hated Vika. She turned into this terrible person who was just so mean and rude to Sky and I hated it. I also did not like that the word "fecking" was used so much. I just did not like that word change.

I really enjoyed all the twist and turns this book took and while I was able to figure out who was behind the bombings it was still a really good book. I finished this book in one day and I was sad to see the ending.

The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill is an action-packed sci-fi rom-com with a writing style that was riveting and action packed chapters were well-constructed.

The Stars Between Us is like Bridgerton, and The Inheritance Games had a baby together. It's romantic, fast-paced and an imaginative take on sci-fi. Packed with intrigue, suspense and a nearly tangible atmosphere, this is one you'll want to pic up!

The Stars Between Us is set to be published in August 2022. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

i was hooked from the very beginning! this book was awesome even for people who don’t usually reach for sci-fi

Terrill's debut novel, All Our Yesterdays — first published in 2013, and read by yours truly in 2015...before I was writing up reviews — was a delight. No surprise with it being a time-play story, I had randomly come across it at the library and really enjoyed its story and characters. I can still picture a few scenes from it — though the dialogue and surrounding situation has faded with time and other pushier books nosing their way in.

Having always intended to read Terrill's other book (she is not a churn-em-out type of author, for which I am grateful), Here Lies Daniel Tate, but never getting around to it — I was excited to see a new book of hers coming out soon. Now, I could tell from the title and the cover, gorgeously done though it is, that this was going to be leaning harder into some teen romcom tropes. No problem — tropes are not tropes because they fail ceaselessly. They are tropes because when they work, they are reliable, relatable, and recognizable.

But the fact remains that the rest of the book must be solid enough to hold up and support these oft used tropes so that they stay as fresh as possible. I did not find that to be the case here.

Because of a chance encounter when Vika Hale was behaving like a little brat (as children are wont to do at times) and demanding a freeze cream, a very wealthy man notices and works out a deal with her father so that she is funneled the necessary funds to receive a better education than most in her impoverished area of ... the planet? The system? Not sure. The rich man's identity remains a secret until after his death — the news of which opens the novel and catapults Vika into some realm of fame. Rich man was a super rich man and has included Vika in his will — alongside the demand that she marry his son, Leo. Leo, meanwhile, has the unfortunate timing of flying to met her when his space vessel is blown up. In the wake of losing her chance to make it out of the slums, Vika is asked to meet with the wealthy family's ever-loyal assistant, Mira, and her husband, Hal. They invite Vika to live with them and enjoy some of their new-found wealth, as Mira now inherits the immense fortune.

The overall tone and the writing came off far more juvenile than I was expecting. The murder is easy to solve, though the why might be a surprise in its way. And the attempted murders later in the book are fairly tame. This is not a murder mystery in space. The target audience felt more older middle grade and younger young adult rather than the typical target for the space opera sort of story. The world building was quite lacking — and I never was straight on whether this was interplanetary travel or the same planet. There was so much vagueness within the story about travel (which happened often enough) that even those little tidbits started to feel like conflicting information at times. In fact, I'm not even certain these were humans — or what year it was. Is this just a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...? I'm not sure.

The characters were also fairly flat and oversimplified. Vika and Sky, another narrating character, were alternating ways of irritating and disappointing. The relationships threading between all the characters (romantic and not) were juvenile almost to the point of silliness. The story itself lacked cohesion and instead felt like random ideas thrown together as an afterthought. And, without getting into spoilers, there were several elements of the plot that had me questioning the entire premise around the character of Sky Foster. I just increasingly struggled to believe his story the farther I got into the book.

This book might be a great avenue for younger readers coming out of middle grade tales and wanting something with a little more to it, but the length of the novel might be a deterrent there. That being said, I think if you want a lengthy but light and easy read — this might make an acceptable book to read or dip into between weightier tomes.

This one was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for it, but once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. Vika wasn't particularly likable, but she developed as the story went on.

I liked the traveling from one poor sector to a rich sector and I always enjoy the trope of the poor kid being dropped into the rich world and fending for themselves. What's interesting in this one is that the people who decided to take her in only did so because Vika had just missed out on a fortune by not having the chance to marry a man she had never met.

I also liked that Rigel Chapin was a character throughout the book even though he is dead throughout the entire story. However, he still manages to be there pulling strings and making people wonder. I just thought that was a clever addition - almost as if the ghost of a character was a main character.

I will say that I don't like the hiding secrets trope. My stomach always gets twisty when someone lies for too long and although it served a purpose in this book, I feel it went on too long.

Overall though, I had a good time with this one. A pleasant surprise!

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for providing me with an ARC of The Stars Between Us in exchange for an honest review.

The Stars Between Us is a YA Sci-Fi with mystery and romance elements. This story has an amazing premise that feels like a Sci-Fi version of The Inheritance Games, which was extremely intriguing to me. Unfortunately, the pacing of the book was a bit off for me and made it difficult for me to get invest until the story early on. The first third of the book gives the reader quite a bit of whiplash with all of the twist and turns it takes. Sometimes that can be really fun, but in this case it made it difficult for me to feel like I had any sense of where we were headed or what the story was going to be about. Around 1/3 of the way through the book, the plot really seems to "start" and from there I was able to get more invested. Around 50% is where this book finally fully hooked my interest, which felt a little late in my opinion.

I also had a hard time tracking with the character development. The main character started off extremely unlikeable (another reason why the book was hard to get into at first), however, later on, she started to change and grow without any explanation. I am all for a good character growth arc, but these changes seemed to come out of no where didn't feel genuine as the reader.

I did really enjoy the mystery elements of the story and those were ultimately what kept me excited to read during the second half. I loved guessing what was going on and trying to discern the motives of the side characters to determine if they were trust-worthy or not. The pacing improved immensely after the midpoint of the book, however I was disappointed with the abruptness of the ending. I would have loved a bit more of the characters' emotions after all of the events of the story.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this book and it has put me in a Sci-Fi mood!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book! I loved the story and the characters. The storyline itself was intriguing and the Interlude chapters kept me on the edge of my seat and really created a lot of suspense. Vika and Leo were wonderful characters and it was a great enemies to lovers story. I devoured this book because it was so great!

The following review was posted on my blog today, Sunday, July 31st, 2 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between today and the publication date, as well. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.





“This is a significant decision, son. Are you entirely sure?”
“I am. Even if I wanted that fortune, it would require me to hurt someone I love in order to claim it and I wouldn’t—couldn’t—do that to her. (…) No amount of money is worth hurting the girl I love that way.”

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warning: Discusses classism, death and murder, fire injury details, and infidelity.

“The Stars Between Us” follows Vika Hale, a barmaid in an impoverished planet, as she learns she is to have an arranged marriage to the son of a very powerful and rich man, from one of the privileged planets. But what will happen when people around this powerful man begin to be targeted by a rebel group? People are dying and Vika feels like she might be in danger, but won’t stop until she finds out why this is happening.

I had high expectations of this book, having it compared to a futuristic Bridgerton, but it was sadly disappointing to me. It felt longer than it actually was, that’s how dreadful it was. Some names really threw me off (I mean, do we really think there’ll be someone named Janus in the future?) and the use of peculiar language also felt really weird (an’t instead of can’t, da referring to her dad…).

The dialogue between characters felt forced almost all the time, they were stiff-y and downright rude sometimes. In the very first chapter, Vika screams “Stop!” to her mom and dad bickering, and that is something I just would never imagine anyone in their sound and respectful mind doing. Vika had the absolute worst attitude always. This was just a very weird read.

It did have a few really cool plot twits tho, I’ll give it that. I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a futuristic, space-setting, peculiar science fiction read.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

“Ariel exhaled, cause she knew, seeing the way they looked at each other in that moment, that those two were as inevitable as gravity.”

I enjoyed reading Vika and Sky's story and it was a quick, satisfying read. I didn't love the narrator's voicing much, though I appreciated the voicing changes to reflect the location and status. It just didn't feel entirely natural to me. A few elements of the story felt forced and a few unanswered questions lingered at the end. Despite this, I would still recommend The Stars Between Us to anyone who wants a quick and light read.

(3.5/5) Honestly, I waffled between three and four stars for this review. The pacing kept my attention and the plot was interesting, but I felt the characters lacked background and it was hard for me to connect with them. I wanted more of the secondary narrator and the side characters, and I wanted more from the relationship development than we got! I thought I had guessed the twist at the end (and I mostly had), but there were pieces of it that I didn't put together until the author revealed them. I did want more from the overall ending, but I thought the way it turned out was ~fine~, perhaps just wrapped up too quickly for me.

I was really hoping this would be a sweeping, mysterious sci-fi romance thriller (a lot I know, but that’s what the description gave me!), and while some of the elements were there, unfortunately it fell flat on most counts.

The biggest issue for me is that Vika was absolutely insufferable, so her rags-to-riches story that I should have been rooting for just felt boring and undeserved. None of the characters were that likeable actually, with a couple of exceptions. Sky in particular was just so bland and spineless. I don’t think characters always need to be likeable in a story, but in a book like this I expect to care a little more about them and not want to throttle them every half page or so.

It’s probably not a surprise, given that I didn’t really like either of them, but the romance wasn’t believable to me at all. I didn’t feel like Vika and Sky had any chemistry; it’s total instalove on his part (Why?? No idea!) and after spending the entire book being awful to him, Vika suddenly decides she loves him too?

I also found the story very predictable. I would have loved some more mystery and suspense, but every single twist and reveal was something I’d called way earlier on. Maybe that’s more of a personal issue – I’m generally good at guessing what’s going to happen – but I kept hoping I was wrong so it would be more interesting.

I don’t think this book was all bad though, I think mainly I’m just not the target audience. The world Cristin has created is interesting and I did enjoy the commentary on wealth and classism. I think this might appeal more to: 1) the actual YA demographic, 2) someone who is interested in just dipping their toes into the sci-fi genre, and 3) readers who don’t need to like their characters to root for them (or are able to forgive them a LOT by the end of the book).

I’ve heard really great things about Cristin’s debut, All Our Yesterdays, and I’m definitely still looking forward to reading it, this one just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Reviews Posted: July 30, 2022
Goodreads
Storygraph

I had to DNF this book just over 50% of the way through because I just couldn’t take it anymore. And that is saying something because I really try to finish advance copies The characters, plot, and romance were all lacking, and honestly, I was just bored with what I had read.

Our main character Vika is the most shallow, self-absorbed character I think I have ever read about. What made her so unbearable was the fact that she kept trying to justify to everyone in her life that she was a good person and wasn’t as coincident as people believed her to be. Yet she would immediately turn around and be cruel to her family and judgmental to everyone around her. She had a poor relationship with her sister and mother, she thought it was because they didn’t like her, I think it’s because she purposely distanced herself from them because she thought herself better. I really tried to find anything about her I liked but I couldn’t. And I get wanting a better life for yourself and doing whatever it takes to get there, but her head was way too far up her own ass.

Sky was just dull. As in he had no depth or dimension. I don’t feel any of his actions made sense, and I was just over it immediately. Part of this, I think, is that the author really didn't take the time to flesh him out and give him more time in his POVs.

The plot was basically nonexistent for the first half of the book. Nothing happened, and it was all set up later, but if this is supposed to be a mystery, nothing was mysterious. When it comes to mystery and murders, I feel things need to happen much sooner because packing it all in on the second half shows poor planning and writing.

The romance was supposed to be enemies to lovers, but they were never enemies. I can’t even say it was a rivals to lovers marketed as enemies to lovers. Sky immediately fell in love with Vika, which I find hard to believe because everything he hated about his father is what Vika is. Also, there was just absolutely no chemistry between the two of them.

The pacing was also off, and the world-building was messy. So much happened in the first 15 pages and then nothing until after the halfway point. The world-building was constantly thrown in my face, and it was boring to read about.

Overall this has to be one of the worst books I have read this year.

I was originally drawn into this book by the synopsis, which sounded like a fun, sci-fi murder mystery the main characters would be trying to unravel. But unfortunately, I had to DNF this one because I did not click with the main character, Vika, who is really prideful and ungrateful despite being scooped from poverty into this new, glittering world. She tries to distance herself from her benefactors because she thinks they stand out as not belonging to this glamorous world, and she desperately wants to fit in. There are two men circling her, who both seem to want something from her, and I don't feel like sticking around to figure out their motives. They just want to use her, and she just wants to use the opportunity she's been given to find a better life for herself permanently. I don't doubt that there is character growth for her later on in the book, but I'm really not interested in finding out, sadly.

I don't doubt that this one would appeal to those who love sci-fi, rags to riches stories, and an underlying mystery, if you can get past Vika's initial unlikability.

Do you like adventures amongst the stars? Do you like historical shows like Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge? Do you want a happy ending after a story full of heart-racing twists and turns?
This is absolutely the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ebook to read. This was a delightful book and I truly enjoyed every moment.

I see it has been compared to Bridgerton, which is certainly a buzzy property right now, but I’m not sure if I would call “The Stars Between Us” regency in the way that Bridgerton is. There’s a turn of the century, industrialized feel to this book. It’s more modernized than regency, hence my own comparisons to Downton, Selfridge, and I would throw the Great Gatsby and Arcane in there too. There’s a core to this book that is about class differences and social standing, about fortune hunters and those who use or be used. There are mysteries of identity, of dastardly plots, and a massive inheritance up in the air. On top of a wonderful trove of tropes, there’s a romance that I was genuinely rooting for. It subverted some of the pitfalls of YA romance that usually turn me off a book, and the relationship between the two MCs felt more naturally grown than instalove with immediate happiness.

It was also compulsively readable. I gulped down the first 60% in one evening before I had even noticed how much time had passed. The writing flowed while also keeping my attention. Even the occasional “slow spots” would have a plot twist just on the horizon to keep my pages flipping fast.

Did I mention it's *also* sci-fi? It isn’t a deeply intricate sci-fi world but it's the perfect fascinating backdrop to all the events and relationships. It's about the *vibes* rather than giving us a glossary, character name list, and planetary map like some books have to do.

Much like how there are arguments that Star Wars is not a sci-fi but a fantasy journey, this book has the same approach to genre blending and trope mash-up that really gives it an unique place amongst my shelves.

My only real critique may be due to the ebook formatting, so I am interested to see how it appears in print. The introduction of certain short POVs in between the MC Vika’s seemed to be added without any breaks, italics, headers, or otherwise formatted to let me know I am reading someone else’s thoughts. They just were on their own page between chapters. Since there were no names used in these other POVs, in order to maintain the mystery, it was confusing to read at first.

Overall a 5 star read, a unique take on YA sci-fi romance, and I highly recommend it for any fans of YA who are looking for something fresh!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Stars Between Us is a solid YA space opera with a with a hint of Bridgerton. Overall, I thought it was average. The book had potential but in the end it fell flat and has an ending I saw coming 50 pages into reading it.

Impoverished teen, Vika Hale, finds herself thrown into the world of wealth after she's mysteriously written in to the will of a recently passed billionaire. But there’s a catch to its conditions. Because of this, her life may be on the line when others go looking for that huge inheritance. The Stars Between Us mixes together sci-fi, fantasy and romance and is a good start for someone who whats to get into the sci-fi genre.

While I though the plot and setting were interesting enough to keep the story going, the characters were honestly the part that was keeping this book from being better. Our main lead, Vika, seems to suffer from the typical "I'm not like other girl's" trope. And I found her to be inconsistent and annoying. She forgets about her family and leaves them struggling in poverty while she's out shopping and partying every night. I know there's a "money corrupts people" lesson to the story but, I'm not sure Vika ever learns this lesson by the end. Also, there's ZERO chemistry between her and the love interest. Sky falls for her instantly and is living off of the crumbs Vika gives him. When it comes time for her say the three big words she says "I think..." Like what? I will say the book's description of it being a Dickensian inspired world is accurate. Though I wish it was utilized more so the tone could be more consistent.

That being said The Stars Between Us gets a solid 3 stars. It's a good start for a younger audience looking to get into sci-fi genre.

I loved this book! It has adventure, mystery, romance; filled with characters to love, and to hate. A great plot that kept me engaged throughout.

~ Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2022 ~

dnf @27%

I'm so sad to not have enjoyed this 😭

Here Lies Daniel Tate is one of my favorite books of all time and All Our Yesterdays is one of my most-anticipated TBR books, but this new release from Cristin Terrill wasn't for me.

Honestly, there was nothing wrong with it, I just was not at all invested or intrigued to continue. It felt very predictable and nothing was driving me to keep reading.

The set-up is quite unique, I'll give it that—a Dickensian-inspired sci-fi?—but it didn't feel sci-fi enough to me for that to be executed.

I'm still very much looking forward to more books from Terrill, but this wasn't a fit for me.

Kudos to Cristin Terrill for writing and sharing us such a unique book/plot (The Stars Between Us)! This keeps me on guessing and it's been said a lot but it's not that cliché!!! If you liked The Inheritance Game, you'll surely like this too! I can't stop myself from flipping through pages wondering what will happen to Vika and what she's become when she got out of poverty. This also made me think of the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets!!! Thanks for letting me review this wonderful book! Hoping to read more!

5 Star Read: The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill is like Bridgerton… but in space. If you like enemies-to-lovers who bond over solving a mystery, I highly recommend this light sci-fi space romance that’s out on August 2, 2022.

So what’s it about?
Vika Hale is a barmaid on a poor planet. As she struggles to provide for her family, a mysterious benefactor takes interest in her for unknown reasons and pays for her education. But when the mysterious benefactor dies, it’s revealed that he’s actually a billionaire. And he’s written Vika into his will! The caveat: the billionaire’s son will only inherit the fortune if he marries Vika.

Before Vika can meet her soon-to-be husband, he’s killed in a spacecraft explosion. Nevertheless, Vika is swept to an extravagant planet and lives with an elderly couple who is next-in-line for the fortune. The parties are glamorous. The food is abundant. Everything feels like a dream. Until Vika’s life is threatened when she barely escapes a similar explosion.

Vika is on high-alert now, suspicious of everyone, including Sky—a boy from her planet who coincidentally is the assistant for the elderly couple. Is Sky guilty? Or is he the one with the answers? Who’s targeting the heirs of the billionaire’s will?

My favorite thing was the dystopian world that Terrill created. The two planets and their stark appearances (one wealthy and one impoverished) were described really well, and the political history of why one planet had control over the other was explained organically. There was a lot of world-building but barely any upfront exposition, which I loved! This book explores the effects of social stratification. Each character symbolized a different way that poverty and wealth can influence or change a person, whether it’s selfless or selfish, optimistic or pessimistic, and all the gray areas in between.

The thoughts and actions of Vika, the main character, were shocking at times, especially in the first half of the book. It was hard to sympathize with her because she seemed selfish and shallow. However, this totally worked, and I completely understand why the author took this approach—this was a great set up for a fulfilling redemption arc. Vika’s actions in the last half of the book were more meaningful because of her huge character development.

Furthermore, Vika’s choices and actions also added to Sky’s (the main love interest) hopeless romantic view of the world. For example, while Vika often forgot to consider her family, Sky saw her as a selfless person sacrificing her freedom for the financial security of her parents and sister. It was a sweet message—having an optimistic worldview and seeing the good in others can eventually influence the people around you. Ultimately, it was refreshing to have 1) a main character who wasn’t easy to sympathize with and 2) a love interest that wasn’t male dominant.

I loved the pacing of the mystery and action. Everything was nicely tied up at the end. There were no outstanding questions, and we had a good idea about the trajectory of each character’s life going forward. Although this read like a standalone, the first thing I did once I finished this book was Google if there would be a second. There’s so much more of Vika and Sky’s journey that I’d love to read!!!

This was the first book I’ve read of Cristin Terrill, and I can’t wait to read her previous—and future—books! Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to review a digital arc. I’m looking forward to buying the physical copy on August 2nd.