emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really liked the writing style of this one. It was descriptive and poetic without being too over-the-top and ridiculous. For that reason alone I’d be interested in checking out more books by this author. This particular story ended up falling a bit flat, though.
The plot started off super strong but kind of waned at the halfway point. Everything ended up feeling half-baked or unrealistic. I was left confused about the motives of those involved, and the resolution was downright unbelievable.
The world-building was so plain. There was nothing compelling or captivating about it.
Eliza’s character development was rushed, so that it felt unnatural. She was so firmly set in her ways that I didn’t believe her change in character could have happened within a few days. I will say that Anna and Nathaniel’s development WAS well done, however. In both cases it felt like a long time coming and the events of the plot provided that catalyst for change, so the development felt earned.
Even though the quality of this book wasn’t great, I did actually enjoy reading it! And as I said, the writing style was fab. So this author is definitely not a write-off for me!
Rep: sapphic MC, lesbian (word not used even though there were opportunities to use it, and words like aromantic and asexual exist) MC, aroace MC
Rep: sapphic MC, lesbian (word not used even though there were opportunities to use it, and words like aromantic and asexual exist) MC, aroace MC
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical content, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Gun violence, Classism, and Pregnancy
Moderate: imprisonment, loss of a loved one, fainting Minor: sick loved one, blackmail, theft, capital punishment, child birthlezgetbooked's review
adventurous
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aroace_bookaholic's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
poisonous_trash_panda's review
challenging
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mxbluet18's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Trigger warnings for Tarnished are the Stars include: medical content, childbirth and pregnancy, child death, grief, death, physical violence, parental abuse, physical abuse, ableism and classism.
☆
☆
I initially picked this up because I knew it has an asexual character in it, but it quickly became that I was invested in the characters (some more than others though) and I just had to finish it to find out where the story was going.
~
I read Fire Becomes Her last year and found myself loving the writing style and characters in that one, and had had Tarnished on my TBR for a while so I made it a priority when I managed to get hold of it. I've also used the book to talk about an important point in an essay I'm working on about asexuality in the written media.
~
For me, having asexual representation, and aromantic asexual representation is something I love to see in the books I read, especially if the ideas or the feelings portrayed are a depiction I can relate to or sympathise with. Suffice it to say, I loved the representation in the book, I loved the characters (or those I was supposed to love anyway), I loved the character arcs, and the plot was rich and delicate.
☆
☆
I initially picked this up because I knew it has an asexual character in it, but it quickly became that I was invested in the characters (some more than others though) and I just had to finish it to find out where the story was going.
~
I read Fire Becomes Her last year and found myself loving the writing style and characters in that one, and had had Tarnished on my TBR for a while so I made it a priority when I managed to get hold of it. I've also used the book to talk about an important point in an essay I'm working on about asexuality in the written media.
~
For me, having asexual representation, and aromantic asexual representation is something I love to see in the books I read, especially if the ideas or the feelings portrayed are a depiction I can relate to or sympathise with. Suffice it to say, I loved the representation in the book, I loved the characters (or those I was supposed to love anyway), I loved the character arcs, and the plot was rich and delicate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Grief
emmarj's review
4.0
Tarnished Are The Stars is honestly very similar to Cinder. Except it's queer. So that's nice. I found it hard to connect with Nathaniel, I was middling with Anna, and then I loved Eliza. So very mixed bag. Anna and Nathaniel seem fairly one dimensional in contrast to Eliza. The world Thor has built is super intriguing but I wanted a little more. Maybe a little more history would have helped. This is definitely SciFi but more spacey time would have helped it stand out from the Lunar Chronicles first installment.
idledragon's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
rakhya's review
3.0
Interesting and engaging until the final act.
The pacing was just right, and I liked how it remained consistent throughout the entire book.
The narrative threads came together nicely, but seemed to lose momentum as they started converging towards the ending.
Overall, this was a good debut by a promising author.
The pacing was just right, and I liked how it remained consistent throughout the entire book.
The narrative threads came together nicely, but seemed to lose momentum as they started converging towards the ending.
Overall, this was a good debut by a promising author.