A pop star and a spy pair up against a menacing crime boss in this thrilling series starter.

19-year-old Chinese American popstar Winter Young is a global sensation with struggles of his own. Approached by a spy agency to help take down a target during a private concert abroad, Winter is thrust into an unfamiliar world teeming with high-tech gadgets and dangerous liaisons. There, he meets Sydney Cosette—a talented covert agent whose no-nonsense, often-brash attitude collides with his own demeanor.

Their upbringings and dispositions are wildly divergent, but the pair’s chemistry burns up the pages as they work to infiltrate the inner circle of the nefarious syndicate. Sydney’s own trauma has shaped who she’s become, and amidst the chaos of their situation, they forge an unexpected connection.

Marie Lu delivers a story replete with thrills, poignancy, and humor. Its fast pace and action-packed scenes make it impossible not to devour. The romance didn’t feel overwhelming, and rather added emotional depth to balance with the ratcheting tension of the spy narrative. ‘The Hating Game meets Mission Impossible’ is an accurate way to depict this propulsive, high-stakes caper that’s particularly fun for us fangirls to read.

I'm going to have to give it a 2nd re-read just to verify where I stand on this book. I'll come back later

Stars and Smoke, by author Marie Lu, is the first installment in the authors Stars and Smoke series. This is a series that alternates between two entirely different characters, from a variety of backgrounds. One is world famous, the other is a secret agent for the Panacea Group who are thrown together to help bring down one of the most dangerous men in the world: Eli Morrison. This book has forced proximity, fake dating and some hints of enemies to lovers tropes. It also has a few transcripted dialogues between two covert agents, Sauda and Niall, that gives the reader some additional background.

Winter Young is one of the most famous superstars in the world, with a voice like velvet and looks that could kill. His star power has smashed records, selling out stadiums from LA to London. His rabid fans would move heaven and earth for even a glimpse of him – just imagine what they’d do to become his latest fling. After being kidnapped, temporarily by Sauda Nazari of Panacea Group, he is told that because of his status, he is needed for a mission that could save the world and save millions of lives. He also learns a secret about his brother who allegedly died while part of the Peace Corps.

Sydney Cossette is part of an elite covert ops group known as Panacea Group. Sydney joined their ranks as their youngest spy with plans to become the best agent they’ve ever had. An ice queen with moves as dangerous as her comebacks, Sydney picks up languages just as quickly as she breaks hearts. She's fiery, no-nonsense, and has zero time for romance – especially with a shameless flirt more used to serving sass than taking orders. Sydney has to stay in the shadow as Winter is aim to live in the spotlight. Even though they achieve to complete their mission, how could they stay away from each other against all odds?

When Eli Morrison gifts his daughter Penelope with a private concert with Winter for her birthday in London, Sydney and Winter's lives suddenly collide. Tasked with infiltrating the crime organization’s inner circle, Sydney is assigned as Winter's bodyguard with Winter tapped to join her on the mission of a lifetime as a new spy recruit. Sydney may be the only person alive impervious to Winter's charms, but as their mission brings them closer, she’s forced to admit that there's more to Winter Young than just a handsome face.

Winter is a character who has had a heavy weight put on his soldiers. First, his brother dies, then his mother acts as though Winter doesn't exist. Winter chooses to put all his energy into his music and his performances, and that's why he's a character you can root for. Sydney basically lost everything before the age of 16. She was recruited at a young age, she quickly picks up on languages which allows her to fit in anywhere she goes, she's made mistakes, but she refuses to let those mistakes and her past from dragging her down from being the best agent she can be even if that means losing her heart to Winter.

This story could easily have been a standalone, and I would not have minded. However, I do think there is more to the Winter and Sydney connection that needs more adventures. One can call this K-Pop meets Mission Impossible. While this book has been labeled as young adult, the two main characters are at least 19, including Winter's back up dancers, as well as Winter's handler Claire who is as much of a mother to Winter, than his own.

"Stars and Smoke" by Marie Lu is an exhilarating young adult spy thriller that is sure to captivate readers from start to finish. Set in a world of high-stakes espionage and international intrigue, this book follows an emotionally guarded, up-and-coming secret agent named Sydney and global pop-superstar Winter Young as they are forced to team up to take down a criminal tycoon and stop a plot that would endanger the fate of the entire world.

Lu's writing style is top-notch, with fast-paced action, clever twists, and a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters are well-developed, and the electric enemies-to-lovers tension between Sydney and Winter is intoxicating!

Overall, "Stars and Smoke" is a thrilling and delightfully satisfying read that will leave you eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series. I highly recommend it to fans of spy thrillers and anyone who loves a great romance wrapped up in fast-paced adventure!

Lu has written a number of outstanding novels for young adults. Her latest is a contemporary story of a young rock star who’s recruited to help a secret organization take down a criminal. Winter Young is the hot young celebrity who gets invited to perform at the birthday party of a criminal’s daughter. It’s an opportunity for authorities to gain access to the elusive crook. An attractive young spy named Sydney has been paired with Winter to help with the mission. She accompanies the rocker under the pretense of being his bodyguard.

Winter and Sydney get ensnared in a snafu that puts their lives at risk. They will need to use all their skills and expertise to get out alive. Tensions rise as the plot races forward with the pair facing increased jeopardy.

Lu’s character of Winter is robust and shining. He’s beyond impeccable, almost too good to be true. Sydney is more of a mystery and her spy skills are incredible for a teen. But part of the fun is having teens outwit, outmaneuver and circumvent more mature adversaries.

Quite unlike Lu’s outstanding Legend series, this new venture should appeal to readers who enjoy Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ The Hawthorne Brothers books.

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lou

This novel puts a superstar and a young, hotshot spy on a collision course with danger and Cupid’s arrow in a new series - perfect for young readers looking for adventure.

This novel was excellent. Spies, criminals, murderer, international - it had the, all. You didn’t find out the true picture until the very end. Fantastic characters. This novel surely lives up to its total ==lots of smoke and stars. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

I really like this story I am the spying on was really fun. The only downside is that it could be a little predictable at times. It would keep you on your toes at some points, but other times you would see it from a mile away.

This might be my favorite Marie Lu book to date! I loved the spy angle of this story. Okay, maybe YA spy stories are my weakness—still Lu pulled off a great story that had me glued to my Kindle until the end!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an Arc of this book.

Im am honestly conflicted... giving it 3 stars is me being nice but I honestly think it would be fair since I am not the correct age range for this novel.

It's quite predictable, and the plot twists weren't really shocking at all... and the romance is a bit unbelievable.

Also, there is so much telling and a lack of showing. The action scenes in her Legends Trilogy was written so much better than in this book... I couldn't visualize anything that was happening.

The audiobook was nice to help speed the book along... yet listening it to it at 3x speed just tells me more how I wanted the book to be over.

Another Marie Lu phenomenon 👏🏽🙌🏽
The action and sci-fi theme pulled me and kept me interested, it was very fast paced & enjoyable

A super fun book! Very classic Marie Lu. I will say I feel like I was missing something in the book, I'm not quite sure what. I do think I just wanted more out of the plot? It felt like it went by too quickly.

This is my first novel by Marie Lu. I LOVED IT! It pulled you in from page one all the way to the end. Non-stop action. I found it extremely entertaining and quite the page turner. I did not want to put it down. So much action in this spy thriller! Twists and turns and danger and romance! I can't wait to see what comes next! I absolutely loved the author's note at the end thanking her readers and hoping to meet on the road one day. Thanks for a wonderful escape! To the Author and to #Netgalley for the ARC!

A thrilling spy novel for fans of Alias, BTS, and of course, Marie Lu! Not only do you get spy-in-training action but you also get romance, humor, and the promise of more adventure.

Marie Lu has been my favorite author since I was a preteen and even in my adulthood that still holds true, There hasn’t been a single book of hers that I haven’t loved; Stars and Smoke was no exception to that. The execution of the plot was fantastic; it was just the right amount of action-packed while maintaining a lighthearted tone that makes it incredibly fun and easy to navigate. The YA approach suited this story very well. The cast of characters is well-fleshed out and explored throughout the book, which made for great character dynamics. And speaking of character dynamics, I absolutely could not get enough of Winter and Sydney! I don’t know that I would pitch their relationship as enemies-to-lovers, I think it’s a little more nuanced than that. Not to mention that they weren’t exactly enemies to begin with. Having said that, whatever it was that they had going on (labels and tropes aside) had me giddy and giggling; the witty banter, their constant back and forth, their caring for each other but desperately trying to pretend otherwise…it was *chef kiss* and I still think about them on a regular basis. I can’t recommend this book enough and I can’t wait to see where Marie takes this series!

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu was the read I didn't know I needed but so glad I did! It was the perfect blend of intrigue, laughs, romance, and fun. Partner all that with a cast of characters that are so realistic you just feel like they have been all over your trending feeds and Marie Lu is secretly paparazzi. Can not wait for the fan art!

~stars and smoke review~
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3.5/5
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I love marie lu and this one sounded like it was gonna be fun! sometimes something silly and exciting like this is the perfect escape!
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Pros:
+pop star shenanigans
+i’m actually such a sucker for the bodyguard trope
+silly “i’m a spy tshirt”
+queers!!!!
+i love imagining the performances i can somehow picture them exactly in my head
+lmao i did not see that coming bonus points for that
+they’re both lowkey obsessed with each other i kind of love it
+why do they keep staring at each other STOP THAT
+nursing the other back to health
+being able to tell it’s not the other person because of how they text
+i <3 WINTER
+what a tease i didn’t realize this was a series
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Cons:
-i love enemies to lovers but only when they’re actually enemies. they can’t just be mean to each other for no reason.
-family trauma (hurts me too much)
-not the biggest fan of one of the plot twists
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i will fully admit i had to put this down for a little bit because my last semester of college was intense for a second there, but i enjoyed this one! it was fun and i can see people enjoying winter and sydney. i think the next book will be fun too!

Book Summary:

Winter Young is an international pop sensation – and that's not an exaggeration! His fans adore him, perhaps a little bit too much at times. His life is perfect, as far as his fans can tell. Yet his world is about to be thrown into the cause.

Enter Sydney Cossette. She's part of a covert ops team and will be infiltrating Winter's organization as his bodyguard. All because a crime boss' daughter is one of Winter's many adoring fans. Unfortunately, Winter and Sydney couldn't be more different, which will make things challenging...

My Review:

I have enjoyed Marie Lu's works in the past, so I didn't hesitate to dive into Stars and Smoke. As the first in a series go, this book isn't bad. It's sometimes a little on the nose, especially in the romance department. But really, that isn't a bad thing, especially if you're looking for a relaxing read!

I have to give credit, though; there is WAY more depth to Winter and Sydney's characters than one might think, especially based on the description of this book. It made the story more compelling, to say the least.

Oh! Let us not forget the action. Marie Lu is so good at portraying lots (and lots!) of action. So if you love action stories with a lot of flirting, Stars and Smoke is the perfect book.

Highlights:
First in a New Series
Enemies to Lovers
Fantasy & Romance

Stars and Smoke was a fun book, and this adult even enjoyed diving in to read some YA fiction thanks to good storytelling and great characters.

A fun adventure that young people will devour. It was perfect for reluctant readers and had diversity intertwined in such a natural way. I always love Marie’s writing and am excited for what is to come next for Winter and Sydney.

"Many people were objectively gorgeous, but then there were those few, the stars with some undefinable quality so searingly bright that they birthed obsession. Once the world got a glimpse of them, it would move heaven and earth just to see them again."

"There was no one else here, and yet, even now, he looked like a star, like he couldn’t help but burn so bright that even the air was drawn to him, that the moon yearned to illuminate him."

Winter is a polished and amazingly gorgeous international pop star...with a very complicated family dynamic when the spotlight is off, leaving him yearning for something he cannot define, in spite of all his star power and perks. That is until the night he leaves a concert and ends up in the wrong car - or is it the right car? Until the night a top secret agency named Panacea wants to recruit him to run a mission to bring down a crime kingpin. All he has to do is accept a request to do a private concert for the kingpin's daughter's birthday extravaganza.

No problem so far. Until he gets paired with a prickly junior agent named Sydney for a partner. Sydney is convinced he'll be nothing but a burden, and that she doesn't have nearly enough time to train him properly before they go on their mission. Winter just has to prove her wrong. Especially once things start happening that quickly send their cut-and-dry mission spinning sideways.

This book is a fun little action romp with some romance on the side. I always enjoy Marie Lu's writing and she doesn't disappoint here. True to form, her prose is magical and expressive - just see the above quotes for examples. This is the first time I've seen Ms. Lu plunge into this particular genre, her previous efforts have been mostly sci fi.

I noticed that in spite of some action tropes and spy cliches, she seems like she really had fun writing this. It ran quite a bit like a movie. I can imagine the Mission: Impossible theme playing somewhere in the background while the author was writing (please tell me this is actually true.) There were a couple of twists and a few plot conveniences where I had to work to suspend my disbelief, but those bits aside, it was a fun book. I enjoyed it, and I imagine that, as it's the first book in a series, I'll be enjoying further missions with Winter and Sydney soon. Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Book Press, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.