I received a copy of Stars and Smoke via NetGalley from MacMillan Audio and GIRL.

I was not disappointed. I don't know what's going on with MacMillan right now but they are churning out bangers (aren't they always though?).

I love Marie Lu books. I've read quite a few and usually I like them but every now and then they fall just a LITTLE flat for me, probably because I have high expectations for them. This one did not fall flat.

The description says this is perfect for fans of Ally Carter and let me tell you, as someone who read and loved all of Ally Carters books, this is a PERFECT. COMP. Imagine Gallagher Girls and Heist Society, but aged up. Chef's kiss! This is also perfect if you liked Lucy Score's "Crossing the Line" series, about a bodyguard and an actress...who eventually becomes a spy. This falls somewhere in the middle. It's not middle grade/YA but it's not adult. This is my sweet spot.

This was a fun quick listen. I do wish we got two POV narrators for this, but that's okay. The production on the audiobook is still good. There's a bit in the beginning that reads like a "mission log" and I love when audio does this well, and this book did. I like that Marie Lu made the girl the bodyguard/spy and the boy is the superstar dummy. And in classic Lu fashion, there's an Asian rep.

The relationship between the two was also handled well. They didn't particularly like each other at the start but it wasn't enemies to lovers. And the conclusion of their relationship with book one was handled beautiful and with a lot of maturity of the characters.

Marie Lu continues to write fun, inventive stories. I like that I can pick up one of her books and have expectations but also not know what I'm going to get. Is it YA fantasy? New adult romance? Anti-hero? I never know and I'm always excited. The only bummer is that now I have to WAIT for the next book in the series.

Marie Lu has written quite a few hits. None of which I've read before, but are on my never ending TBR. I was very excited to get my hands on this novel, just because the author has such a great reputation in her writing.

I went into this knowing it was going to be over the top and unrealistic. Obviously, it's a book, but it's a book about teenage spies. Winter happens to be in the position to help this secret agency infiltrate's a secret criminal ring because he's a hot famous singer. Of course he is given a partner of a hot 19-year-old, veteranish super spy. This book is very YA in the sense that there is a lot of romantic tension but no romantic scenes. There is violence and death but not super gory or grotesque. It is a fun light read with a lot of potential moving forward.

I liked our two MC's, Winter and Sydney. They both come broken families and have a lot in common, neither really connects with those around them (romantically at least) and they both are kind of intuitive. Winter is expected to be this airhead dude, but he is really a deep soul with a lot going on. Lots of abandonment issues lots of loss between them, so it makes sense that they find themselves kindred spirits.

Everything is very fantastical. Just everything that happens is wild and crazy, lots of spins and twists. It's fun. Go into this book expecting to have a good time. I look forward to what is to come with this series.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
I really enjoyed this one. The narration was excellent and only enhanced a well done story. I loved the story and the characters.

Full review to come but my initial thoughts are that it was fun and entertaining but not something I think I’d re read

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was such a fun and easy read - definitely a young adult book.

A 19 year old pop sensation is recruited by a super secret spy agency to help take down a notorious crime boss with his body guard. Who just so happens to be a 19 year old world class spy.

While it had plenty of deep and emotional moments, the book as a who was full of cheesy moments, funny scenes, and a few surprise twists.

If you’re looking for romance this isn’t the book you’re looking for, while there is a slow burn element between our main characters, there really isn’t much else than occasional flirting.

Overall it was fast paced and easy to read! I’m also obsessed with the beautiful cover!

Thank you so much to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for me honest opinion!
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Stars and Smoke brings new characters from Marie Lu.

"Winter Young is a global pop phenomenon. Fans are crazy for his music and his style. The Panacea Group - a private CIA contractor wants to use him to get close to Eli Morrison - an infamous international criminal. Eli's daughter, Penelope, wants a private concert for her birthday and Panacea thinks they can get evidence against Morrison if Winter agrees to the performance. They embed one of their agents, Sydney Cossette, their youngest spy, in with Winter as a bodyguard. But sometimes missions and relationships don't always go as planned."

Lu always writes some interesting characters. AThere are some moments when Winter and Sydney realize that maybe stereotypes are often wrong. They both have issues with parents. And there are sparks between them.
This is a YA/Romance/Action/Thriller. The ending has a surprising villian.
Becca Q. Co does a great job with the audiobook narration, especially with the wild ending.

Lu leaves us wanting more of these characters. If you like your YA books with a touch of Action/Thriller you'll love this.

Stars and Smoke (Stars and Smoke, #1)
by Marie Lu
K pop and spies is an interesting twist on your typical novel of the genre. The K pop star is isolated and lonely. His brother's death has shadowed his world. Despite his shining star, and rock star world he is empty. His close friends and dancers, his manager are his only connection to the world, yet they know him to a point. They miss the big pieces to his world how lonely he is, how much he wants to be noticed by his grieving mother. They don't spark his world with adventure, or inspiration. The use of the k pop star to enter into the world of a mega shipper and gangster is an simple job, until it wasn't. Great twist to the story, having a surprising swap of the main villain. An interesting beginning to a series as the spy and pop star have sparks that will change them forever.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* I was lucky enough to get the audiobook of this from netgalley and as all books with good narrators they made the story and characters come alive!

I was really unsure how much i would like this book, especially since it seemed like it would have a lot of romance being a YA and all, and while there was a good amount of romance and such it was over a way better book than i thought. By the first chapter i knew i was hooked and wouldn't be able to put this book down! The characters and start to the book were very interesting and kept be wanting to read more. The story itself kept me on the edge of my seat!

Was pretty excited to learn this is going to be a series after i finished this and i will definitely reread this when the next book comes out. Highly recommend to anyone who likes the YA genre! Super great read!

A solid spy novel where a teen pop idol is turned into an international spy to bring down a high level criminal. When the mission gets a curve thrown in him and his co-spy work together to continue fighting. High action with some solid character growth thrown in. A great read for teens looking for something fun and fast with a tad bit of romance.

This is a high intensity enemies to lovers novel. I love spy thriller novels and the romance helped the story stay fast paced. I loved the characters and am invested in the series.

The premise of this book sounded really fun to me, but sadly this is one I cannot make myself get through. By about 20% through, I had already been screaming at the characters and the plot for the majority of my listening experience. The characters fell flat to me. They all seemed to be completely unrealistic of what they have done and their level of maturity for their ages. I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to believe that for a mission that is supposedly as important as the one presented here would be trusted to people so young and inexperienced as this. Recruiting a music star as a spy for a high profile mission and giving him so many details immediately, with no contract and no questions asked is ridiculous. I also don't get any of the romance between the main characters. For me, they just don't have any chemistry. I really wanted to like this, but when I am yelling at my phone every 10 seconds as I listen, I have to accept that this one is really not for me. Teen readers may really like this, as they might be able to suspend their disbelief more.

Stars and Smoke is the newest release from veteran-YA author, and one of my personal favorites, Marie Lu.
In this story we meet Winter Young and Sydney Cossette. Winter is an international pop star and Sydney is a top-spy for a special-ops group. They're as opposite as opposite can be, but through an unusual set of circumstances they end up coming into one another's orbit.

It begins when the organization approaches Winter with the hopes of recruiting him. A major crime boss, Eli Morrison, who they have been trying to take down for years, has a daughter, Penelope, with an upcoming birthday.

Daddy Dearest is throwing the party of a lifetime for the occasion and wants Winter to perform at the event. The organization, Panacea, sees this as an opportunity to infiltrate Morrison's world. If Winter agrees to work with them, he can be their eyes on the inside. Not just Winter though. They can't send an unseasoned operative in by himself. Sydney will be going with him, posing as his bodyguard. She has plenty of experience for the both of them.

I wouldn't say that Sydney is necessarily excited about the assignment. She just knows this guy is going to do nothing but get in her way, but alas, orders are orders. The tension between the two is palatable. Will they be able to put it aside long enough to complete a successful mission, or will they crash and burn, risking everything, even their lives?

I had a blast reading this. I found this to be such a refreshing change of pace from my normal reads. It's unique, fast-paced and thrilling, with well-created characters and an exciting plot. I really enjoyed both Winter and Sydney. Initially, I was most excited for Winter because I tend to love characters who are musicians. This story didn't really focus much on that aspect, it was more about Winter's fame, but I was still here for it.

As I got deeper into the story, I found myself drawn to Sydney's story more. I love her character. A girl from a difficult background, Sydney joined Panacea as a way to escape her earlier life.

It's interesting because as agents of Panacea, they aren't supposed to really build prominent relationships because it makes it difficult to focus on their missions. This reminded me of the Jedi in a way and I feel like Sydney, in another time and place, would make an INCREDIBLE Jedi.

Nerdy-epiphanies aside, Sydney is just fantastic. I did enjoy watching the relationship between Sydney and Winter play-out as well, although I will say, I disagree with the synopsis calling this, a smoldering enemies-to-lovers story. I get it, but I wouldn't say that's accurate. I felt like, while some of that may come into play, anyone expecting 'smoldering' romance may be disappointed. Just a little warning and of course, my personal opinion. You're idea of smoldering may be completely different than mine.

I did really enjoy the twists and turns over the course of the story and as a start to a series, I think this is a great base on which to build. I am looking forward to seeing the direction Lu takes this one. I will absolutely be continuing on with it.

One final note, the audiobook has incredible narration, so I definitely recommend that format for my fellow Audiobook Lovers out there!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Roaring Brook Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copies to read and review. Lu's writing never fails to transport me into her stories.

An enemies to lovers story with plot similarities to The World is Not Enough? Absolutely, yes!

When Winter Young, an international pop star, is recruited by a covert organization, he couldn't have anticipated his cagey partner, Sydney. Together, they'll infiltrate the inner circle of a shipping tycoon and attempt to stop an upcoming terrorist attack. But nothing could have prepared them for the plot twist.

I absolutely loved everything about this and can't wait for the next installment!

Also, if you get the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, do! The narriator adds so much depth to the story and personality to each of the characters.

Marie Lu has written a lot of series that have been recommended to me over the years. Unfortunately, I kept forgetting about them, but I am thrilled that I finally had the chance to experience this amazing author in the form of her newest release, Stars and Smoke, which is the first novel in a series of the same name. I am not sure how many novels will be in this series, but this novel serves as an excellent introduction to the world and characters. This series follows international Chinese American superstar, 19-year-old Winter Young, who is recruited by a secret organization, Panacea, for a mission to take down criminal tycoon Eli Morrison, through his daughter, Penelope. On the mission, he will be accompanied by 19-year-old Sydney Cossette, a Panacea agent, who will be posing as his bodyguard.

This novel reminded me a little of the Chasing the CIA series which takes an outsider agent and non-agent to solve a crime. It is a lot darker than that series, though, so it turned into something I was not expected. I still love this type of story where one clearly knows what they are doing in the spy game and the other is an outsider just trying to keep up. There is obviously some frustration on Sydney’s side as it sometimes feels as if she is babysitting Winter. There are some enemies to lovers’ vibes with Sydney and Winter, but I feel like the enemies portion did not quite land. I do connect with their progression to a budding romance, but I believe it should have started from acquaintances or something similar.

Sydney has been a spy since she was 15, which took some convincing on my part as it was difficult to believe. As this is a work of fiction, I questioned it, but it did not affect my feelings on the story. I did, however, question the timeline as it seemed to read Winter was training for a week to become a spy yet another sentence in the novel said a month. Either the writing did not make it clear or there was a mistake in this draft. Both time periods are small, so it still maintains the speed that Winter had to learn, but they were details that I felt were inconsistent. This also happened with minor details, such as outfits, where it would change suddenly. For consistency, I do hope these minor details are fixed in the final version, however, I am pleased that the general story was well-written. Overall, this was an interesting start to a series and a great introduction, for me, into Lu’s writing. I greatly look forward to the next novel in the series to see more from Winter and Sydney!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

I love Marie Lu. Legend is one of my favorite YA series. So when I saw she had a new audiobook to check out, I was thrilled!

This story had all of the things to draw me in - Popstars, secret agents, organized crime, AND it was classified as New Adult. I was here for it. But it fell a little flat for me. I think my biggest take away from the story is that it felt very unoriginal and I would not have called this New Adult at all. I'm guessing that was due to their ages? But it was very YA to me. Sydney is a badass, but a little pouty to me. And Winter was described as swoon-worthy, but they just had no chemistry to me. This is supposed to be a bodyguard style romance and it just wasn't there.

The audio is not that great either. The narrator has a great voice, but I don't think this book was the right fit. I found it hard to distinguish who was speaking in the book sometimes because I didn't think there was enough change between Winter and Sydney's voices.

I think a younger crowd would enjoy this book, but as a 35 year old woman I just couldn't get into it like I wanted.

Thank you to Marie Lu and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen.

As much as I want to break up with Marie, I find I can't. I find most of her works mediocre, but growing up, I loved Legend. It didn't survive a reread. I know Warcross is hit or miss for most of you, but Hideo Tanaka continues to get it. No notes.

I have notes here. So many that I don't want to discuss any of them. First of all, I didn't realize Winter had a Chinese background until he randomly started speaking Mandarin. Second of all, he and the bodyguard have zero chemistry. Stop trying to sell the romance. I was more interested in the mystery, which wasn't really a mystery.

Actually, I'm done. I don't have a lot of nice things to say.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Stars and Smoke by Maria Lu
Romantic suspense, new adult. Enemies to friends with a hope for something more. Clean.
Pop star sensation Winter Young is recruited by a clandestine organization to be a spy. He’s to put on a private concert for the daughter of a crime boss and infiltrate their inner circle. Winter is paired with a young superstar agent that will pose as his bodyguard. Sydney Cossette has trained intensively in hand-to hand fighting, weapons, languages and intelligence. She doesn’t think much of the singer, but she’ll do her job to help prevent the sale of the chemical weapons.

Gripping and engaging. I was caught up immediately with their sparks playing off each other as well as their personal issues. The character building was well done.
It’s predictable in one or two places, but twists had me surprised too.

🎧 I alternated between a paperback and an audiobook. The narration was done by Becca Q Co. I enjoyed the performance for the tension and the flames between Winter and Sydney. Their distinctive voices helped solidify the personalities and danger in the spy activities.
I did speed this up to my preferred speed of 1.5.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.

Found families shine in this high stakes thriller as two well-balanced protagonist's from radically different backgrounds each try to add meaning to their lives by chipping away at the evil in the world in a potentially deadly sting operation. Detailed character backstories add depth to the straightforward thriller plot, emphasizing depth of character and relationships. I listened to the audio book, fluidly performed by Becca Q. Co whose character voices and narration kept me engaged throughout. I'd recommend this one to fans of character-rich and/or romance-adjacent YA thrillers.

Audiobook Review - I have yet to listen to a Marie Lu book that I did not like! Teens will love the popstar and spy plotline! A gripping read with great characters! Recommended for all Teen collections. Hand this to fans of Marie Lu's other works.

Perfect for fans who grew up watching spy movies such as Cody Banks or even Totally Spies. Stars and Smoke follows two main characters, Winter, a superstar who went from a background dancer to a pop star overnight. Sydney, who is the youngest spy working under an elite covert ops group. When Winter is asked to perform at the birthday celebration of a crime boss's daughter, Winter is roped into a mission with Sydney to find a way into the boss's inner circle. With Sydney pretending to be his bodyguard, nothing can go wrong, right?

As I hadn’t been a huge fan of Marie Lu’s writing before, I wasn’t quite sure what I was walking into. But the concept of the books was something I had to read regardless of who wrote it. Let’s just say I’m glad I did give it a chance since I fell in love with this book.
Usually, I would hate the concept of a duel POV, but I feel like it works for this book. Especially since Winter and Sydney do separate a bit, and have their adventures. Sometimes when reading another POV I tend to get bored waiting for the action to start.
I think one of the things I enjoyed reading was the interactions with the side characters. You have Winter’s bandmates, who can read him like no others. Then you have Sydney’s coworkers, who felt more like bickering parents. To say the least, I love the side characters a ton.
Talking about getting bored, I will say that this book does take a bit to start, but once it does, it takes off. This book does feel more like a middle-grade read than an older YA book, so keep that in mind if you are going to check this book out. Some stuff doesn’t necessarily make sense but I feel like spy movies are rarely 100% accurate. I do wish that we got more scenes with Winter’s bandmates but then again there is a second novel. I can’t wait to read it when it comes out.
Check out if you want to read something quick, fun, and full of spy gadgets

Thank you to Netgalley and Roaring Brooks Publishing Company for giving me the opportunity to receive this as an ARC for an honest review.