Icon & Inferno, a follow-up of Stars & Smoke, brings back Winter and Sydney together after a year for another mission, and this time, the stakes are higher with both the MCs trying to work as a team while keeping the relationship strictly professional. Unlike Stars & Smoke Winter is much more confident in the second book not just as the undercover agent but also as a person who is still trying to work through his abandonment and parental issues.
I think Marie Lu writes some of the best action sequences, especially since chase scenes and stunts are much more easier to visualize on-screen instead of writing them down. Icon & Inferno keeps you hooked and a few of the plot twists were so well executed. the sequel is worth the wait if you love Winter and Sydney in the first book.
The only reason I had to take down one star from the rating was Winter sort of takes a backseat in this one and while I loved it for Sydney I wish there was more of Winter having an actual confrontation with his father for some of the things he said.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Icon and Inferno early. I absolutely loved the first book, but found this one harder to root for the overall storyline. Also starting with misunderstandings between the two is frustrating for me and that miscommunication impacted a lot of the book gets frustrating as a reader who loathes the miscommunication trope.

Hello there. Mary Lu stan here! I love her work and I have since forever. Her work is actually what truly got me into writing. I think this is such a great series. I had to hurry and read the first one because I didn't realize this was the second one but it was so worth it! It's definitely not my most favorite book of hers but it was great nonetheless.

✅ Sydney (spy) and Winter (world famous pop star) are back. A reminder that this series is like if Harry Styles or any of the BTS guys had a side gig as a spy
✅ since this is book 2, they can dive right into their chemistry, no setup needed
✅ once the action starts, it is very much like James Bond
✅ dual POV
🌶️: no - it’s all implied

This would make such a good TV/streaming series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this DRC.
Sydney Cossette, spy, and Winter Young, pop star, haven’t seen each other since their first mission together a year ago. They have never stopped thinking about each other so when she walks into his studio, the fire that was kindled is ready to become an inferno. Of course, misunderstandings and political intrigue have to get in the way before they can find their way to each other.

A great follow-up to Stars and Smoke. The characters are young and fresh, innocent despite having both lived such hard lives. I enjoyed the adventure and thought the fight and chase scenes were well done.

#IconandInferno #NetGalley

please please please give me more Marie Lu and more Winter and Sydney! This book had so many ups and downs and twists and turns and ugh .. I was on the edge of my seat reading it.

Thank you for the chance to read this earlY!

I love Marie Lu so I will read anything she writes, and this series is such a fun time. I really hope she considers writing more books in this series because I love reading about Winter and Sydney and all the exciting spy missions they find themselves embroiled in.

As I said, Marie Lu is one of my favorite authors, and I will read any new release she has. I was a little skeptical about Stars and Smoke last year but ended up really enjoying it, so I knew Icon and Inferno would be great as well! The plot here is a bit darker and more political, so I would say it’s less of the light and pure fun from SaS. There is a lot of backstory interwoven with the storyline that ends up affecting the characters and their arcs. I was not expecting some of the more serious tones to this book, but I think it worked and I think it complemented the plot as well. There were absolutely points in here that shocked me and I just wish I could have read the book all at once instead of in the more choppy that I did because of finals and still being sick 🙃

Winter and Sydney are exactly what you want from a Marie Lu protagonist. They are smart, clever, witty, and also deeply flawed and entirely three-dimensional. I loved learning more about them in this installment and I LOVE their relationship so much.

The mission in this book was WAYYYY higher stakes than the one in Stars and Smoke and also is definitely going to have some…consequences in the future which is why I hope Marie Lu continues with this series. I loved the setting in Singapore; I could really picture everything that was happening.

Overall, this is a great second book in this series. I loved the writing, the new setting, the darker tone to the story, and the higher-stakes mission. Marie Lu, please keep writing more of this series!!

It's kind of ridiculous how fast I read this book.

Marie Lu's writing is always so addicting and fast-paced. Similar to Stars and Smoke, Icon and Inferno take you on a wild ride full of ups and downs. In comparison, I liked the mission in this novel more than the one from Stars and Smoke as it had a bit of political intrigue and I liked the side characters here more.

The highlight of the book for me was Winter and Sydney's character development. It felt like we got to spend more time discovering more about the characters and in turn their relationship with each other which made their romance feel less forced than in book one.

My biggest complaint about the book was that once it got going, it never slowed down. The second half of the novel felt like it would leave me behind if I stopped to catch my breath. It was like that meme with the bank if ya know what I'm talking about.

Overall, though far from perfect, this is a very quick read that, once you get over your disbelief of how unrealistic everything is, is very entertaining.

Dnf. Wasn't for me. The direction it was heading looked to be more "spicy" as they call it. Just not into that kind of thing so I'm calling it quits.

Besides that, we got miscommunication issues going on already with the characters and I find that irritating to read about honestly when problems can be solved by simply talking them out. I guess the characters are young so it makes sense to a degree but I just don't want to read about it. Also, I feel like the reason for signing Winter back on with the agency was kinda stretching it but eh. It's a ya spy fiction book after all

Of course take this all with a grain of salt, give it a try if you feel like you won't be bothered it. This might've been a "it's not you, it's me" case.

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.

Icon and Inferno picks up a little while after Stars and Smoke ended with Sydney once again relying on Winter to help her accomplish a mission. I loved seeing the characters reunite and continue to grow as partners. Sydney and Winter help each other grow which is very important in a book.

I also enjoyed the setting of Icon and Inferno. The small crossover with Warcross made me smile. It was fun to see Lu’s realistic fiction universes intertwine.

I found the ending of this book very satisfying. I’ll be interested to see if Lu pushes for one more novel or leaves it here.

Icon and Inferno, A whirlwind of a story - with romance, betrayal, and heartbreak. I personally loved the book, but the first few chapters had me crying.

Winter taking Gavi to the gala??

Sydney and Tems and their interactions?

Overall, the book was amazing! Four stars, with one off because of the torment I went through in the first half of the book.

Thanks Netgalley for an eARC of Icon and Inferno!

This sequel was a great follow-up to Stars and Smoke. Winter and Sydney continue to grow closer as new characters build the story around them. Fun read!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Icon and Inferno. For as much as I enjoyed the first installment of Winter & Sydney's partnership, I think I liked this one even more. Beyond the mission, beyond the intrigue, I really felt that the character development and the questions of what we're willing to give up for loyalty, for duty, for fame were the most interesting things about this novel. I also enjoyed the inclusion of elements of the Warcross duology. Fans of Marie Lu won't be disappointed.

4.5 stars

(*Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review*)

Marie Lu does all once again in this follow-up conclusion to the Stars and Smoke duology, and it was fun getting to read about what was in store for Sydney and Winter again! When I first heard about Lu planning to release Stars and Smoke, the concept of having a secret agent and an ultra-famous popstar team up sounded unique, and fun! I had never read a book with this type of partnership, and it did not disappoint. Icon and Inferno did the same exact thing, but even better!

If you’re looking for a fast-paced, action packed novel with high tension energy (and some good ol’ YA romance between the MC’s) this one is for you! Even though it gives nods to first book, this can also stand as its own story with new characters, plots, and some familiar faces from Lu’s other novels (the crossover with Warcross made me *oh so* excited for a few chapters).

So much of my own reading experience was anticipating what was going to happen next, and I LOVE books that can keep you yearning for more by the end of each chapter. The intensity of the plot rang so much deeper since the consequences of their mission failure was so much higher this time around (WWIII type of consequences), and I think that’s part of why the novel kept me reading until the very end!
Pros
- Sydney and Winter’s relationship: I feel like this book helped developed both of their characters even more. Even though their jobs are literally the definition of Night and Day, they have a great understanding of each other’s life situations and feelings. The chemistry of their relationship was also written well, and I found to be bittersweet and wholesome.
- The dialogue: Marie Lu is SO GOOD at writing dialogue that tugs at your heart, and makes her characters very relatable. There were a number of times I was like, “Yeah, I would totally say that to someone.” or, “Yup. That is a line of Love right there.” When it comes to romantic and witty lines, this novel did a great job!
- Easy reading experience: I think because this was fast-paced it made it easy to understand and follow. There were so many events happening one after the other, and given this takes place in a more urban, modern setting made the settings easy to visualize.
Cons:
- Use of Gavi: I really wished that Gavi was used more throughout the book. She only really appears through the first half and I was waiting to see if she would show up again. I think she could’ve been used for building a lot more tension and drama between Sydney and Winter, but seeing this isn’t a romance driven novel, I could see why she wasn't a main culprit of driving the story's plot.
- Plot Twists: To me, the plot twist was spotted from afar, but that could be me picking up on Marie Lu’s writing style over the years. I thought it was fun seeing the pieces add up in the end, and the satisfaction one gets from seeing the story continue after the twists are out!

Another great YA book for readers to look forward to this year! Give this a try if you modern day thrillers and secret agent tropes!

i'll start with two positives: winter. sydney.

but that's... kind of it. not saying i didn't enjoy the story of what i did read, but... it felt really, really anti-climatic? considering i finally had to say enough is enough at the fifty percent mark because it genuinely felt like nothing was going on despite there being a lot going on. i'm not sure if that's just because of marie's style of writing, but it was really kind of boring, which makes me sad because i really enjoyed stars and smoke.

eh. not going to rant, but this book suffers from "kind of mid second book" syndrome :(

Plot wise, this wasn't as solid for me as the first book. I couldn't feel the tension and anxiety-inducing scenes that I found in the first installment of this series. But the romance saved the day in my opinion. I wasn't a big fan of the made-up love triangle, it felt unnecessary, but I'm glad it resolved quickly and with no extra drama.
I loved the character growth in this book!! Rooting for Winter, he deserves the world.

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Pub Date || 11 Jun 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press and the author for giving me the chance to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher for my arc!

absolutely loved this! Icon and inferno was a solid fast paced sequel and i couldn't put it down. highly reccomend!

**A note to the publisher that is not in my review: late in the book (I do not remember the page), Lu has written "marshal" law when it should be "martial" law. Please make sure someone catches that before the final version. Love, an editor. ;)

3 1/2 stars

I generally enjoy Marie Lu's books and I thought the first book in this series, Stars & Smoke, was a lot of fun when I read it last year so I was excited to spend more time with pop sensation Winter Young and super-spy Sydney Cossette. This outing is equally fun and fast-paced.

It was great to see Winter and Sydney back together again, and while I did not always enjoy the sulking and misunderstandings between the two of them, I do understand the need to build tension and create a story. Gavi and Tems - the newly introduced side characters were interesting to a point, but also easy to see for the false obstacles that they were; the path forward was easy to identify for anyone who reads regularly. Occasionally I found myself wanting to smack Sydney in the back of her fictional head and tell her that she was a terrible spy for not seeing what was right in front of her face, but I do have the benefit of age and reality on my side, so... instead, I just decided to enjoy the journey, and fun adventure.

There was more vulnerability between Winter and Sydney in this book as we learned more about each of their backstories and what made them who they are. Lu clearly leaves the door open for more adventures in the future, but should she decide not to write them, the story of Winter & Sydney also feels like it has reached a place where they understand where they fit together, which is a nice place to leave things.

As always, the action was fantastic, and the shoutout to Lu's previous Warcross series made me smile. That was a very nice touch to think of these two series in the same universe.

Thank you to NetGalley, Roaring Broad Press and Marie Lu for the advance reader copy.

Posted to Goodreads, will post to blog and FB on 6/10 right before publication date.

Just like its predecessor, Icon and Inferno is a fast paced YA spy novel with a little thrill and a little romance. Plus, storyline introduces a love triangle, which was fun. The plot really builds about 1/3 the way in and then I was hooked. I love Winter’s character!