The cover on this book is absolutely stunning--I really like it. I enjoyed the meat of the story, though I did have a couple of overarching issues with it. The world-building is really well done and I loved visualizing all of the factions and the planets. I do wish we got more time to stew in all of this awesome world-building, though--this is one of those rare reads where I honestly think the pacing could have applied the breaks a bit. I also was left wanting more from the characters. The characters all seemed to fill a specific character archetype, but didn't develop much past that. I also didn't really mesh with out main character so that probably made getting through the story a little harder. I'm all for flawed and unlikeable characters, but only if their motivations are really compelling or the story built around them is compelling/supports they moral greyness.

I still enjoyed this, though, but it definitely had it's flaws. I'm excited to get physical copies of this in at my library--I hope my patrons get sucked in by the cool cover and synopsis.

Yoon Ha Lee has written several amazing sci-fi/space opera series, so I was excited to give their newest book a try. While I didn't like it as much as his other series, it was fun to see a slightly different take, with a focus more on mechas and conspiracies. I liked the setup, the first chapter really grabbed me, but as the book goes on, I found the plot less and less compelling, until near the end when there was a bit of a twist. I did however, really like the characters, the mc is great and her relationships with other characters was interesting. The middle of the book tended to drag a bit, with a lot of the same happening and not much progress being made. However, the ending was great and i'm interested in reading a sequel if we get one.

2.75

I was super excited to dive into Moonstorm as it is in a genre that I don't tend to read much of and while I did enjoy my time with Moonstorm, many aspects of it were a letdown.

To get started, we are introduced to our main character Hwa Young as her home, a rebel clanner moon is getting attacked by the Empire. Left the sole survivor of this attack, Hwa Young is taken in by the Empire where she dreams of becoming Lancer pilot. We then follow Hwa Young as she takes steps to achieve this goal.

The world-building was my favorite part of the book. We are introduced to two opposing sides in this universe, the Empire and the rebels (clanners) who are at war. Since our main character lives with both sides at one point or another we get an inside look at each culture which I found super interesting. This left me wanting to know more about the technology and customs of the Empire and clanners.

Moonstorm is incredibly fast-paced. Once it got started it did not look back. While I am all for a fun fast-paced book, Moonstorm could have benefited from hitting the breaks every so often (especially the beginning).

My biggest problem with this book was the characters. I am a big fan of well developed characters and Moonstorm did not deliver in this aspect. The main cast of characters felt like character archetypes to me which fell flat. Hwa Young as the main character was not very likable albeit it is nice to see her being very flawed.

Overall it was a fun read, but did not leave a big impression on me. I probably won't be picking up the second book, but for those who like space operas and mecha, this is down your alley.

While I am, on the whole, a fan of fast-paced books, Moonstorm would have benefited from applying the brakes now and again.

Life in the Moonstorm is a chancy thing. Gravity is mercurial and the moons’ orbits erratic. It’s home to two very different groups: the Empire of New Joseon and the Clanners. New Joseon’s colonial ambitions threaten the autonomy of the various clans that remain outside of the imperial domain. The Empire and the clanners each have developed rituals to summon gravity. Imperial citizens pray to the Empress and generate gravity via their piety, while clanners … huh. Yeah, that’s one of the things that could have been more fully developed—how, exactly, do the clanners summon gravity?

Anyway! Hwa Young, born Hwajin, is the heart-daughter (clone) of Mother Aera, a clanners, and lives with her family on the moon of Carnelian. When she is ten years old, the Empire attacks the moon, disrupting gravity and killing the clanners. Hwa Young is the sole survivor, rescued by the pilot of one of the machines that orchestrated all of this destruction: a Lancer.

Lancers are mechas: machines piloted by humans via a neural bond. Each Lancer has a consciousness and a personality, and they select their human pilots. Ever since her rescue, Hwa Young has coveted the power that comes from being a Lancer pilot. Raised as a ward of the Empire, she’s striven to excel in every way so that she might be considered as a pilot candidate. She has a rival named Bae who is rich (of course), snobby (required), and beautiful (natch). Her only friend is the hacker Geum, and honestly, with what you see of Hwa Young’s personality? I’m shocked she has Geum.

There are unlikeable main characters and then there are unlikeably unlikeable main characters, and unfortunately Hwa Young is the latter. She ditches Geum and then gets mad that zie’s made new friends. She manipulates Geum into committing multiple crimes with little care for the consequences. She is repeatedly and willfully insubordinate, but then has the gall to be shocked that her superiors aren’t too pleased with her actions. That’s her whole personality. The book tries to set up an inner conflict between her loyalty to her clanner upbringing and her devotion to the Empire that took her in, but really, there’s never truly a question of which side she’ll choose.

The side characters are flat archetypes that add nothing to the story. We have Eun, the brooding and cold-hearted veteran Lancer pilot. Commander Ye Jun is the brilliant, renegade squadron leader with a penchant for unorthodox maneuvers. Seong Su is the kind-hearted giant. Bae is the snide and aloof nemesis. I pegged one of them instantly for “first squad mate to be killed off” and was vindicated about halfway through the book. Sigh.

The main missed opportunity here are the Lancers themselves. We get a brief description of them in the first chapter: three-story tall humanoids with armored plating in bright colors. Later, we learn that they choose their pilots and form a neural bond with them. Pilots physically reflect the characteristics of their Lancers. Hwa Young, for example, gets a cool white streak in her hair that’s mentioned once and then just … dropped. We hear snippets of her Lancer’s voice but it never becomes a true character. I can’t truly visualize how her Lancer works, how it moves in space, how it fights.

Don’t get me wrong—I did enjoy this. It’s a good book, but it could have been great had more time been taken fleshing out all of the characters and fine-tuning the world building.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

This story was so fast paced my head was spinning at certain points. However I am a sucker for Asian centered stories. This book was promising and I enjoyed reading it. But I felt that it could benefit from a slower pacing. The world building was rich and the characters well rounded. I just feel like I spent so much time trying to catch up to the pacing.

In a society where conformity is valued above all else, a teen girl training to become an Imperial pilot is forced to return to her rebel roots to save her world in this adrenaline-fueled sci-fi adventure—perfect for fans of Iron Widow and Skyward!

Fantastic Y.A. sci-fi that reminded me of Iron Widow in the best way. I felt very pumped up when I finished reading it.

Thank you to netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for allowing me to read this book. I'm not a big sci-fi fan but this book changed my mind.

*An advanced digital copy was received from Netgalley in return for an honest review*

Preface: After reading a quick synopsis of this book, I was super excited to get a chance to read it early. A sci-fi based Korean society with giant mechs: it is a little outside of my comfort zone regarding genre, but I was pleasantly surprised with the book. I think this book is great for fans of Aurora Rising and Iron Widow.

Quick Synopsis: An orphaned teenage girl is training to fulfill her dream of becoming an Imperial pilot for the empire that took her in, but because of an unexpected attack on her academy, her world is uprooted. She is plunged back into the world of her rebel roots and unlocks secrets and hidden truths that puts the entire world at risk.

I want to start the review by saying that I think the world building is very strong and captivating. We start the book learning about the two sides of this world, the Imperials ruled by the Empress, and the rebels. Both sides do rituals that summon gravity, which is important because the gravity is unstable. Naturally, both sides can't mix (regarding their rituals), so the Imperials main aim was to replace the rebels (clanners') rituals with their own.
As the story progresses we also get to see more of how the technology works and adapts to each user. I think this is really quite interesting, and love how this sci-fi is society being mixed with Korean. There's still so much to explore, and I'm particularly interested in learning more about the Empress and New Joseon.

Characters:
The main character is Hwa Young, a sixteen year old girl. She is very ambitious in that her goal is to become a lancer pilot. Lance pilots are elite warriors who fly lancers - advanced technology in the form of giant martial robots. She doesn't want to be weak anymore and wants to be the strong one. As we progress with her through her adventure we really get the chance to see her relationships with other characters, and herself.

What I really liked about this book, was that it was written in her point of view, as a sixteen year old girl. She's not perfect, but rather is learning things just as we all had to do when we were that age. I think it was really refreshing to read a character that had flaws, and didn't completely know what she is doing. The cast of lancers really is a ragtag group trying to navigate how they work together all while trying to morally choose a side in the fight.

Strengths and Weaknesses:
I really think the characters and their development is the strongest aspect of this book, as well as the world building. The author had a very unique writing style, and stayed true to the main character's sixteen year old personality. The action sequences were really exciting to read and kept me on my toes.
One thing I do wish was that the book was a little slower paced at the beginning. There were the parallels between chapters 1 and 5, which gave us a great chance to see Hwa Young's ten year growth. However, it felt a bit too abrupt and perfect when she was selected to train as a lancer pilot. It just felt like the ball was rolling very quickly for me in those first few chapters.
I also think the book had some cliche elements that I've seen in other sci fi books and movies. Leaning more into the Korean culture might be a more interesting way to make this stand out a bit more.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, and felt refreshed with the author's writing and character building. It really is a perfect book if you're a fan of Iron Widow and the Aurora Rising series. Excited to see where the next book might go!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

In a world dominated by an Imperial power, would you conform or fight?

In a beautiful twist of the genre, main character Hwa Young, born a rebel, now fights for Imperial forces. As she continues her journey to becoming a pilot, she is faced with a truth that might upend her entire life. Desperation lines Hwa Young's actions, but is desperation enough for the rebel-blooded girl to ignore all of her questions that are going unanswered?

This is THE book to read if you're entranced with galaxy-level fights for the greater good, coming of age stories, and rebellions.