My students will be a fan of this one-it was very different from what Marie Lu usually writes, but I think it was a super fun story that will attracted several of my mature YA readers.

I love everything Marie Lu writes and will forever be one of her biggest fans. This book was no different because I soaked it up like a sponge. I love the fast-pace way this story kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed how the characters were flawed yet believable. I found myself quickly cheering for them. I cannot wait to read what happens next.

Sydney Cossette is a spy with an elite undercover organization (Panacea). She was the youngest ever to join the ranks and she has a knack for picking up languages. She's tough and no-nonsense and her good looks have her breaking as many hearts as her combat skills breaks bones.

Panacea wants to infiltrate a major crime boss and when they get word that the crime boss plans to hire one of the leading boy pop singers in the world to perform for his daughter's birthday party, they agency recruits the young pop star and they send Sydney as his personal bodyguard to the event.

Sydney spends some time training the singer (Winter Young) and is pleasantly surprised that his movement training for dancing on stage translates well to combat training. She's also surprised that she finds herself attracted to him.

I found this to be a really nice balance of romance and spy/thriller for younger readers.

While the building romance is important to the story and to the development of the characters it never seems to dominate the action. This isn't the typical YA romance where one or both parties tries to deny their feelings for the other, but instead both trying to understand what it is they are feeling - a little surprised at their feelings.

The spy/thriller/action plot drives the story nicely. From the set-up (the recruitment of Winter Young) to the infiltration of the crime lord's home we are brought in to a thrill-a-minute suspense. We take Sydney's view of Winter, wondering if he'll manage to pull off his role in the action, and cheer for him as he steps up and shows that he's more than just a manufactured pop star.

Winter's success does push the bounds of credulity a bit, but of course this is what makes the story and definitely is a draw for the young readers who likely want to imagine that their favorite pop star is more than just a singer.

I don't feel like we really learned enough about Sydney, especially given that this is really her story. However, I recognize that not knowing more about her lends itself to more books in which we're likely to be given glimpses to her past.

I've not read anything by Marie Lu prior to this, but I enjoyed the story and the writing and I can see why she's a popular YA author.

Looking for a good book? Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu is a fun, fast romantic action story that would likely really grab and hold a YA reader's attention.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

an interesting read, including the tropes of mistaken identities and opposite attract. It was a fun read. Especially loved the chemistry between the characters and the writing in the novel.

I could not finish it and I am so sad because I love Marie Lu.

ML is the queen of YA sci-fi. so when i saw that this was a NA bodyguard romance book, i was surprised. excited because i love MLs storytelling, but still surprised because its totally different than what she normally does.

and that difference is noticeable from the very first page. however, it is still very much quintessential ML storytelling. the characters have that charming snark to them, the plot is imaginative and fast-paced, and the writing itself is bingeable.

my only critique would be the overall vibe/feel of the book. even though the characters are old enough for this to be categorised as NA, there is still a strong YA feel to the story. not quite juvenile, but definitely younger than what i would have expected for this kind of story. but it makes me excited to see ML branch out more and i hope she eventually makes that full leap into adult.

I will jump at the chance to read anything and everything by Marie Lu. This woman is brilliant! "Stars and Smoke" are the newest addition to an already talented set of books she has put out into this world. I added the book to my purchase list for my middle school library right away. :)

This book was must "meh" for me. I really liked the premise, which is why I requested it in the first place, but something about it just didn't fit. Maybe it's because even though we're told Sydney and Winter are 19, they act way too old for that...? Maybe it was the feeling that even though the author did her level best to come up with cool spy stuff that the story felt like it was on the outside looking into the world of spies and espionage? Maybe it was that the spy part of the story felt disconnected from the romance track...? I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong, Marie Lu is a good writer. She clearly put time and thought and energy into all the pieces of this novel. But the different parts didn't add up to a cohesive whole. I guessed the big plot twist about a third of the way through the book, and after I hit the midpoint I started skimming most of it and still got the gist. I didn't feel like I'd missed much by doing so. Also, I did not buy into the whole emotional scene at the end between Winter and another character. It just wasn't believable after everything we'd been told about that person. I really wanted to suspend my disbelief in that moment for Winter's sake, but the scene didn't feel genuine to the story at all.

Having said that, I really did enjoy Winter as a character. It's cool to see Asian representation, and I'm glad that it wasn't a glaring part of the book but a natural, organic part of who Winter is. I definitely would have read, with a close eye, an entire book about him in a completely different setting and plot.

Apologies to Marie Lu fans (and those who did like this,) but it's not for me.

Who better to be a spy than someone in plain sight? Winter Young, the world's most popular singer, is recruited because a big bad has a daughter who is a big fan. Sydney Cossette doesn't want to like Winter but being paired with him means a promotion. Turns out they work a little too well together, getting into trouble.

I liked the characters in this one. It's different than Lu's usual stuff but that is okay: fun with action, James Bond style accessories, and K-pop shout outs. I've seen online promos and tags saying "enemies to lovers" but I would not label or promote this book that way.


spoiler
After some minor flirting and then imminent death; there is really only one sort of kiss. They come to realize, they can't be together, and work together, too.
end spoiler


I feel like it's minor to the plot and the friendship that develops is a bigger deal. I am curious to see what happens in the next one.

A spy romance with just the right amount of tension and intrigue to keep me reading until the end! I did struggle a little bit getting on board with the romance development, but only because it felt a bit underdeveloped--and because the entire premise was kind of unbelievable to begin with. Once you get past that and let yourself enjoy it, this is a fast-paced, fun read!

*Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.*

Adventurous and action packed, with a cool twist on a typical bodyguard trope. Even though the main character there are upper YA, the writing style and overall content are accessible for younger YA too (in my opinion. I am not a parent, teacher, or librarian.)

I will note that because of the title/cover, I thought this book would be some kind of fantasy/sci-fi. Instead I would describe it as a contemporary thriller. No fantasy/sci-fi elements.

Content notes: death of parent & death of sibling (in past), gun violence, hospital situations, kidnapping

I loved both the main characters. Pop star Winter is beautiful and talented, yet he hasn't let stardom give him a big head. His family situation hurt my heart, but I loved that he had such a close relationship with his team. Also, I was here for the queerness he added to the story He's bisexual, and it isn't a throw away comment but elaborated and validated by his past relationship that he's still close to. Then we have Sydney, who is constantly motivated by her past. She's not a warm character but she does thaw around Winter as the feelings between them grow. Their relationship is a slow burn with a touch of steam, with plenty of bickering/bantering along the way.

Marie Lu never fails me. I loved this book so much! I was a little scared because this book isn’t the normal genre that she writes. I was curious to see how well she could write a thriller book. Well I have no reason to doubt that she can’t write a book in any genre.

My favorite part of this book is the relationship between the two main characters. Their banter and the way they interact had me screaming (in a good way) I love the tension between them. It really has me as the reader invested into their relationship.

I also like the way she built their personalities. They are both very different yet I could understand both of their feelings.

And the trope of a bodyguard is one of my favorites, but this one is reversed with the woman being the body guard, and I’m all for it! I will admit Sydney definitely had me mad at her during some points because of how stubborn she is, but I like how Marie knows how to write a strong female protagonist!

The ending had me needing more of this duo and so I’m eagerly waiting the next book!

“Where you go, I go. Right?”

This had so much potential. It had a great set up with the spy organization and the backstories of the main characters. I was really interested in their past trauma and how they coped with it. I liked Winter and Sydney individually but I didn’t feel any of the tension or chemistry that there needed to be in a spy romance where they don’t like each other at first. The jump from enemies (if you could even consider them enemies at first) to lovers felt very quick and not genuine. I don’t understand why they fell in love. While I did like the set up for all the spy stuff, the execution didn’t meet my expectations and the plot lacked complexity. As I was reading I never really felt like the stakes were high. It just felt like things were happening and I was being told about it. Overall, I really wanted to like this but it didn’t meet my expectations.

Fast-paced but totally implausible story of teenaged super spy pretending to bodyguard boy superstar as they endeavor to get close to evil billionaire and save the world.

Another wonderful story from Marie Lu. I can’t say I’ve read anything by Lu that I haven’t loved. This was a fun spy novel with a chance to have more books added to the story line.

I spoke about this book in a bookhaul video on instagram. This was actually my first time reading Marie Lu and I understood why she has a loyal following. This was a great read and I am kind of hoping there would be another book where we see these characters again but I also feel okay if this is a standalone.

I love Marie Lu and this book did not disappoint! A great spy novel with plenty of room for more books to come!

I love Marie Lu’s writing. Let me start by saying that. I’ve read every Marie Lu book there is. I was super excited to see that she was going to write a spy romance.

I loved the characters and the story in this one. I’m super excited to continue the series because there were so many hints at more stories to come and secrets left unrevealed. I think the world is really interesting as well and I always love Marie’s nods to her other works.

The plot got a little far fetched for me at points where I felt like these highly intelligent characters would have put some of these elements together faster than they did so that’s where it lost a star but overall, it was a really enjoyable read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a FANTASTIC YA read from one of my favorite YA authors, Marie Lu. Winter and Sidney make a great team fighting against the evil. Just enough romance to keep things interesting. I loved everything about this book except when it ended. 5 stars

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have to say this was just a fun book to read all around. I really like Sydney and how she handles things. She does her best to do her job and not fall for the charms of Winter. Winter is a popstar with some very over the top fans. This is when a secret spy group wants to recruit him to help with a mission to get Eli. That is how Sydney and Winter's path cross. Sydney is assigned to be Winter's bodyguard. It had me laughing at so many points.