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.

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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.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The writing style was well done. The world building was pretty interesting, and for the most part I enjoyed the characters (although be prepared to be annoyed by the main character at times). I would definitely recommend!

DNF at chapter 9. Sadly, this one just wasn't holding my attention. It felt pretty like pretty standard YA sci-fi/fantasy, which isn't bad but also didn't make for a very interesting time. And after reading some of these reviews about Vika, I feel justified in calling it now. Thanks to the publisher for inviting me to read this.

3.5/5 stars

I am very begrudgingly boosting my review up to 4 stars for this rating, but its still very much 3.5 stars to me.

THE STARS BETWEEN US was a book of mixed emotions for me. On the one hand, I thought that the plot was really interesting, kind of like THE INHERITANCE GAMES mixed with Bridgerton (but very loosely). There's glamour, jaw-dropping twists, romance, betrayal and revolution all mixed up to bring you this book here. I think that Terrill's writing is pretty good, and she does a great job with characterization. I really loved Sky the most of all the characters. He was so sweet to Vika and so charming and I just was sold on him. We also have some wonderfully interesting side characters with Mira, Ariel, and Archer, in particular. I appreciated Terill highlighting the hypocrisy of the economic inequalities of Vika's world and how Vika's perspective on these things changes by the end of the book.

Here's the issue: I really struggled with the main character, Vika, for the majority of the novel. She starts out well enough, but once she gets a taste of the wealth that lifts her out of the impoverished life she came from she gets so freaking snobby and elitist, like she thinks she's better than everyone else once she makes it out of her tenements. I hated the way Vika treated her father and Sky and it really made me angry. I know that is part of the point of Vika and she does get more tolerable and has a little attitude adjustment once she realizes that being wealthy isn't all it is cracked up to be, but I had issues feeling anything but annoyance from her because of how she acted during most of the book. I felt that Sky deserved better from her, and eventually she does come around, but my view of this main character remained sour. I also could have done with a little more broader worldbuilding.

I almost rated this 3 stars but I liked the ending of the book and the plot twists in the last quarter of the book so I boosted it up to 4.

I absolutely adored this fast-paced, twisty YA sci-fi. It's been a while since I've read any sci-fi and this book has me wondering what took me so long to dive back into the genre. Cristin's words hooked me from the opening page. I loved the world and setting, and messy, complicated, but sympathetic characters. Vika is fierce and flawed, and I loved her transformation. Sky is such a sweet, endearing counterpoint to her suspicion and anger. The side characters are just as fantastic – Ariel and Vika's dad were probably my favorites. The mystery of who was going after the Chapin heirs had me riveted to the final pages, and a few of the twists surprised me. The slow-burn romance was just as satisfying as the rest of the story and the ending is fantastic.

Highly recommend it to fans of sci-fi, mysteries, and YA. Thank you so much to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book. I cannot wait to receive my fancy hardcover edition from FaeCrate.

I’m not wanting usually re-size fiction as my first choice but this was a pleasant surprise. I’m not familiar with Cristin Terrill’s previous work but I have seen say they’ve enjoyed their other books. However, I did find the main character to be rather hard to read, not a ver likable character but I feel like that was the point. Also the instant live connection between Leo and Abuja is rather off putting in my opinion, but I did find the overall setting and world building rather interesting.

Thank You For The ARC :)

Vika Hale is willing to do anything so she can live a life of wealth and abundance. Her and her family have lived a life of poverty on Philomenus for far too long, and Vika wants more for her life. However, when she is offered the chance to live a wealthy life after a famous billionaire essentially requires his son to marry Vika in order to inherit his fortune in his father’s will, Vika is not so sure that a wealthy life is worth a loveless marriage and her dignity. Little does she know that events will unfold and make her life much more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

As a whole, I really enjoyed The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill. The plot was predictable, but fun to read and I enjoyed the premise of the story. I will say that I found myself a little bored at many points throughout the novel. For the first 30% of the novel, I wasn’t sure who I should ship Vika with, so it lagged a bit. Once Terrill introduced a few romantic scenes between Vika and her love interest, I was more attentive, but I felt like there wasn’t enough romantic tension.

Additionally, I enjoyed the characters for the most part. I appreciated that Vika is a little selfish and not your typical protagonist. Other than that, I liked the other characters, but didn’t feel as though they necessarily stood out.

The mystery element in the novel was good, but again, highly predictable. This book is great if you want a quick and easy read. I wouldn’t recommend it if you are looking for surprising plot twists or a riveting romance, but as a whole, it was pretty good. Overall, The Stars Between Us was one of those books that was good while I was reading it, but nothing particularly stands out that would make it great.

This book was fun! It is Sci-Fi meets Romance meets Mystery.

A poor girl named Vika becomes suddenly rich after a shocking turn of events. The romance is instalove,
Though the MC is unlikeable, and generally a selfish brat, the overarching story was fun and I really enjoyed the simple yet engaging world we got to be immersed in.

Great for fans of These Broken Stars.

Side note: one of the best covers I've seen all year!