This book is such an interesting concept. A mix of sci-fi, fantasy, and post apocalypse. There are star dragons that live in space! I love that.

Peregrine Kent was an orphan, found in a glint mine, when he was seven years old. He has no memories before this point in his life. We get a brief glimpse at this time in his life, shortly after he was adopted.

Then the story moves forward by about ten years. Star dragons have breached the barrier around their planet and are uncreating anything in their way using their starfire.

Our story follows Peregrine (Per) as he follows a compulsion to meet the dragons, feeling he can stop them before the world is destroyed.

Along the way, he meets some great (and some not so great) characters.

I still feel like I have unanswered questions after finishing the book. What happened to some of the characters? They just disappeared from the story at different points and we don’t find out what becomes of them.

I loved the relationship between Per and Z and it’s growth throughout the book. Z is a fantastic character.

I’m hoping that a sequel to this may be in the works eventually, because I think there is still some story left to tell here.

I absolutely loved the careful way the author handles harm OCD and shows the main character's struggle with it as they embark on their journey. I love the unique way Naomi Hughes crafts dragon lore, and immerses the reader into the story. The author really allows her characters especially, Per and Z to shine and humanizes them in a way that allows us to sympathize with them as readers. I personally loved this book. It was fantastic!

This book was definitely different from anything I have ever read. This is a fantasy book about a young boy named Peregrine and his little sister Anthem. This book drew me in on the first page. The fact that dragons could erase things and your memories was intriguing. The characters in this book show some growth throughout the book. Per, Anthem and Z are on an adventure. Per who suffers from anxiety and OCD with intrusive thoughts is our main character. Anthem the little sister was a bossy little thing who would stop at nothing to protect those she loves. Z the genius best friend who was an engineer by today's standards loved building things. There is a lot of emotion so be prepared for that. Although I was not a big fan of basically the whole book taking place in the submarine the book was very well written, super creative, and very unique. I loved it and give it a 4 star ... I would definitely read more from this author.

Read: 04/03/24. Format: E-Book. Recommend to: Young Adults and young at heart.

Thank you to Netgalley and Naomi Hughes for a free electronic copy of Starfire in exchange for an honest review.

Peregrine Kent has no memories from the time before he was found in a glint mine. But what he does have is a burning desire to see the stars unobstructed by the barrier protecting the planet from the ancient beasts of the universe. When an opportunity arises for Per to learn more about the mythical star dragons, he takes it and is thrust into an adventure of unlocking his past, facing his present, and looking to the future.

Starfire has a great concept, dragons in space, who doesn't want that? Per is a great MC, and reading the POV of someone with OCD and navigating the world around them is really interesting. Anthem, Per's sister, is a great female support character, strong, passionate, and protective.

I have to admit, I did guess the "twist" pretty early on, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. My only real criticism is that I feel like the book ended maybe 60% through the story, and I wanted more in this world. Hopefully, a sequel, or something more in this universe, will come!

A great sci-fi/fantasy read!

It’s a lovely story, and the world feels alive. It was a bit slow in the beginning but definitely picked up pace further on! Also, who doesn’t love dragons!
Highly recommend!

Quite good! I honestly loved the world building but this didn't got me from the first page. Although is such a good story.

3.5 but rounded up for vibes.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC.

This was such a nice read! I love the character interactions; they were so satisfying and the dialogue got laughs out of me all throughout. I love the world the story is set in and the twists and reveals of the world itself. I also really liked the harm OCD depiction and the queer and disability representation. It was fun! I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a story where you learn that the world isn’t what you believed it to be…

Now as for some things I didn’t like— it was a little difficult to get into the story at first. I feel like the story really started when Per left his family. Maybe if we got a general description of the dragons coming down and then Per leaving and arriving in the town when the dragons were attacking it, and THEN he gets on the sub— all could have happened in the first chapter. It was nice to see some interaction with his parents but I also feel like more time could have been dedicated to Per and Z instead. I felt their attraction a little weak, especially since they barely spend any time together. So I didn’t understand why they were attracted to each other at all. It was a little too insta-lovey for me. But I really, really like their dynamic and would have loved to have spent more time with them on a longer trip.

I also felt like certain beats lasted a little longer than they needed to and the twists felt so big that it made me sad that it was all compressed into one book. The world is so interesting that I would have loved to have stayed in it longer.. A trilogy is too long but a duology would have been a sweet spot. It’s like when I finally got settled into the story, it was over! I love how things got wrapped up and the twists weren’t surprising but they were welcoming and, gosh, I just wanted more. So I’m a little unsatisfied. But I’m glad I read this.

I received this as an arc from NetGalley. A stunning queer ya that shows that it’s okay to not be okay and dealing with mental health disorders such as ocd is okay. A beautiful read and would recommend to anyone who enjoys sci-fi, fantasy in a ya setting that presses on real issues in a wonderful fantasy world.

I had a hard time keeping focused in this. I'm sure what or why I I couldn't get into it. Maybe it was wrong timing.