⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 4 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Stars, Hide Your Fires is a science fiction story about Cass, a thief who goes to the emperor’s ball to steal a fortune. The only downside? The emperor is murdered and she is being framed.

“A good con is as much about listening as it is about talking”

I have been looking for more space opera kind of reads and coming across this one I became rather excited to start reading it! It is being marketed as perfect for fans of The Darkness Outside Us which I’ve listened to last month and loved, and Iron Widow which was also a big hit for me, so I had high hopes.

First off, the writing style itself is very easy to follow along to and clear in what is told. I like this way of writing and telling a story. Opposite that though, was the fast pacing. I think it would’ve been better for the story to take a step back in pacing and focus a bit more on the plot itself.

The plot was fun, I like the mystery aspect of trying to find out who the murderer is and all the political complications that come along with murdering an emperor. The world-building that is needed to elevate the story though was missing a bit for me. As this story is set in space, I had expected to see more aspects of space traveling and what those all entrails. While we do get it, I wanted more. Sometimes it felt like it was only mentioned and the traveling itself was rushed over most of the times.

I was a fan of the characters! They had depth and layers and the space to grow as characters. Cass was definitely fun, albeit a bit rash and naïve sometimes. And with naïve, I mean that she was sometimes acting before thinking, which came across as naïve to me haha. She is the odd one out of the crowd and it was fun to watch that. I also really liked Amaris and her determination!

The romance itself was cute, but that was it. I wanted more depth and tension in the romance and development of it. It felt a bit superficial and somehow childish, in how easy it flowed.

The ending did take me by surprise, but I liked how it all resolved in the end, albeit the loose ends that were still there.

Overall, Stars, Hide Your Fires is a fun, easy read that I did enjoy, but expected a bit more off.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Quirk Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Knives out set in a sci-fy universe. Tell me less and give me one yesterday!

Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Best is a YA murder mystery/sci-fy novel that follows lead thief Cass, as she targets the Emperor's Ball as her next gig, as it can provide enough fortune for her, her family, and her scrappy group of wannabe thieves. But everything goes awry when the emperor turns up dead, and the main suspect is Cass herself. Thus forcing her to team with a supposed ally rebel, to clear her name and steal the stash.

I absolutely adored this book, as it contained all my favorite tropes of allies to lovers, murder in SPACE, and a huge emphasis on the thievery and scheming as opposed to being bogged down by the romance. Though the plot was a bit hazy and hard to follow at times (and those twists were a bit predictable as well). I still would consider this a solid read.

'Knives Out' set in space is a fantastic description of this book

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

I really liked this space adventure! It was so fun, and full of mystery as well as a fun romance, and lots of snark and sass!! I haven't watched Knives Out, but I know enough to see why the comp is there, and it's well deserved. A thrill ride! Will absolutely recommend to those looking for space, mystery, and a good sapphic romance!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for this ARC in this exchange for my honest review!

I think I latch onto a Knives Out comparison and let it get the best of me. I didn’t see any sort of Knives Out vibes in this one, unfortunately. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and there were so many different people to remember I got lost in who anyone was. I liked Cass and her friends, but you really don’t see too much of them. Some of it seems to drag a bit at times, but I did enjoy the action and Cass’s thieving adventures. The end was also very cute.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Stars, Hide Your Fires is a very exciting Sapphic murder mystery in space. I thought it was very well paced, with twists and reveals that made a lot of sense. I did predict the villain, however I didn't predict all the details and that still made this a very enjoyable read.

The two mains, Cass and Amaris, have a lot of chemistry. Their relationship developed throughout the book, fit well with the pacing, and didn't overpower the overall story. I love both characters, Cass with her excitement, humor, and willingness to throw herself fully into danger to help protect those she cares about. Amaris is much more reserved, methodical, and thoughtful in her actions. I linked the way both women talked through their issues, tried to solve the mystery together - even though they often aren't giving up the full story to the other. It definitely had the vibes of Knives Out in all the right ways. It also gave me a lot of the feel of Firefly, with how the crew interacted, the disparity between the rich and the poor.

The only thing I didn't like was that this is a singular story. If it had a sequel, the issues I have with the story could be further built upon or resolved. I don't think the book itself needs to be longer, but there are so many characters introduced just in the second half of the novel. There are still very major unresolved issues at the end of the book, that overall prevented me from giving it 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

The premise was very interesting. I was very into the idea of a heist/murder mystery set in space. The plot was enough to hook me but I lost it with the characters. Cass tried to be tough and funny but just came off annoying. I wanted so much to love the setting but it was so generic and the dropping of the space terms and planets that we don’t even get to experience was not enjoyable. I expected Altair to be more integral to the main story. I liked that Cass hid food in her pockets. That’s highly relatable. Amaris was sweet and intriguing. But the fact that it was all resolved with very little kerfuffle drove me crazy. I want more of a climax. More of a battle. More of a struggle. Higher stakes. Didn’t feel that with this. I also didn’t feel like it truly felt like it was “in space.” It was basically a castle with none of the interstellar attributes.

2.5 ⭐️ -

Thank you so much to Netgalley for an e-arc of Stars, Hide Your Fires.

This book unfortunately really wasn’t it for me. Controversial to the opinion of others, I found this book to move slowly, especially in the beginning. It was most likely due to the longish chapters but still slow none the less.

The main reason I didn’t like this book was truly the writing and the layout. The writing and the plot was choppy. I found myself to be confused numerous times, especially due to world building. I had no clue what was going on. The author seemed to just randomly jump from scene to scene, there was no true flow.

About half way through the book became slightly more interesting but now enough for me to enjoy it. Honestly, I’m shocked I finished at all, I was close to dnfing many times.

The plot twist was also easily predictable to me. Like form the start predictable and I know many others believe so too.

I really loved the idea for this novel, hence why I requested it. However, the execution just wasn’t there. Maybe if the author hadn’t attempted to build a complex and confusing sci-fi world in one book or if the novel had gone through some more editing it would have been better.

The only thing I did enjoy was the representation. There was lots of lgbtq+ representation that I truly appreciated. There were multiple characters referred to as he, she or they. As well as some also being gay, lesbian, or bi. I’m my opinion, they/them pronouns aren’t used enough in novels, in fact I’ve never read a novel with a character that had those pronouns but this book has plenty of characters that identified that way. The world even had its own way of identifying yourself to others without having to straight up say it. I found it to be a confusing system as times but still interesting none the less. This novel had truly refreshing characters and a was perfect lgbtq+ read.

The romance was also cute. It wasn’t too crazy or that big of plot which could contribute to my lack of interest in the book but still nice to see none the less.

At the end of the day, the cons still out way the pros. It’s still unfortunate that I have to say that I am disappointed in this read.

The reason for the extra .5 is simply the representation alone. I hope to see more authors include this diversity in their books one day and I would love to read this author’s future works. I just hope it is planned a little better.

I do still hope to see more people read this book. Even though it wasn’t a book for me, maybe it is for you! Especially if your looking to diversify your shelves more. Read this book if your interested in space, sci-fi, rebellions, mystery, and lgbtq+ representation.

Once again thank you Netgalley for the arc.

- Eeeee, STARS, HIDE YOUR FIRES is such a fun ride! I loved this world Best created, populated with scrappy, snarky characters trying to both get by and to make the universe a better place.
- The mystery is great, and with several twists and turns the action is constant and clever. Even if you figure it out first (as is maybe common for adults reading YA), it's still a fun ride to the end.
- The best thing about this book is that it's a takedown of capitalism led by queer underdogs. I am really looking forward to whatever Jessica Mary Best does next.

The plot of the book is intricately woven, featuring unexpected twists and turns that keep readers guessing until the very end. The pacing is well-maintained, balancing moments of intense action with quieter introspective scenes. The author's ability to maintain suspense and tension throughout the story creates a page-turning reading experience that will leave readers eager to uncover the truth.

Stars, Hide Your Fires explores themes of power, corruption, and the fight for justice in a dystopian society. The novel delves into the consequences of unchecked technological advancements and the moral dilemmas faced by those who seek to challenge the status quo. Best's thought-provoking exploration of these themes adds depth and complexity to the story, prompting readers to reflect on the role of technology and the potential pitfalls of its misuse.

Stars, Hide Your Fires is a book following Cass, a thief from a small moon who wants to make a better life not only for herself, but for her sick father, and also to help her friends. She decides to go undercover as a noble and try to sneak into the emperor’s ball to steal from the rich guests, but then the emperor gets murdered and Cass soon finds out someone is trying to set her up. She teams up with another guest who turns out to be a rebel, and the two work together to figure out the secret behind the murder. I loved this book, as I found the plot twists and character development to be really well-written and captivating. I found that the sci-fi theme really added a sense of excitement and intrigue to the novel, and I really enjoyed reading about different planets and their rivalries and alliances. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in mystery and/or sci-fi, and I would love to read more about these characters!

2.75

This was a fun fast-paced YA sci-fi mystery, pitched Knives Out in space, though I’m not going to lie the first 30% had more of an Ocean’s franchise vibe.

Ultimately while I had a pleasant reading experience, I don’t think anything about this book is particularly memorable. The plot was interesting and I liked the queernorm setting especially the way gender was explored, and I wish there was more of that in the story. I wish the characters and the setting had been more flushed out. I think the author has previously written for podcasts and that seemed to carryover into this debut novel. While I didn’t hate that style of writing, I think it would’ve worked better in an audio drama or a podcast and didn’t work as well when reading with my eyes. I did like the hint of a sweet sapphic relationship though, that was cute.

Overall, I think this is a good version of what it is and I think it would work really well for younger teen audience.

I was interested in this book because space and Macbeth. However, I found it dull, and I never wanted to pick it up. I've had it on my currently reading list for over a week, which is long for me, but every time I pick it up, I immediately want to start doing something else and my mind wanders. I would recommend this book to some readers but not all.

This was a sweet story with a good action plot- not the most unpredictable twist but will definitely enthral younger readers. I enjoyed the diversity among the cast and it was good to see some LGBTQA+ representation. I found the pace dragged a bit in places but it was overall an enjoyable read.

This was an intriguing sci-fi novel following a sympathetic character trying to get by in life. Going into it, I thought it would be a high stakes heist plot, but rather it veered more into a murder mystery mostly set during one night. It was still pretty high stakes though and quite exciting.

The plot sucked you in from the start and moved quickly, even if the middle had a small slump. The world is very cool but I would’ve liked it to be explained more, as often things are stated as if we should know it, which made it confusing. I liked the romance, though it did progress quickly, but they were sweet anyway. Cass was a good character to follow and it was fun trying to figure out whodunit along the way (which I did haha).

I would be happy to read more books in this world. To be honest, the book wrapped up too quickly and nicely so it would’ve been nice to have a sequel.

A fun, exciting romp through the stars. This is one of my favorite plot-types. It has the power to instantly lift my mood. I highly recommend this book.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=2.5 | 😘=1.5 | 🤬=3 | ⚔️=3 | 13+

summary: space heist (except it doesn't feel like a heist because she's doing it by herself??), stealing stuff from rich people but then solving a murder

thoughts: this started out pretty well (like the first chapter was so!! good!!) and then dissolved; I wanted more of a crew/squad for a heist, I guess––a multi-POV Six of Crows / The Gilded Wolves thing––but instead it's just one girl?? and we didn’t really get to know any characters from the first chapter in-depth?? and I could tell there was a lot of world building put in by the author but it just... didn't click for me 😐

Yes, it's a Bonnie & Clyde trope in outer space however, it's a SUPER long, drawn out story. I didn't feel like we learned enough about each character, it just jumps in. This one didn't grab me like some other scifi stories have. maybe not enough action for my taste.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are my own.

This book was fast paced and had a lot of action. Which is usually a good thing but I think there could have been moments where it slowed down and developed somethings. I will say I wasn't surprised when the murderer was revealed though. A positive is there is some good LGBTQIA+ representation. But I didn't really like this book.

This fantasy book is action packed, fast paced fun. The twists will keep you guessing who carried out the murder? And a nice bit of romance threads it’s way through the story. Well written, definitely worth a read. Thank you to Quirk books for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.