Book Review: The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Sci-Fi / Romance / Retelling
Length: 400 pages
Author: Alexa Donne
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: February 4th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, only has one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?

But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love Elliot returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one that got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now, he’s the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.

NOT WHAT I EXPECTED.

Wow, I was disappointed with this read. It wasn’t the romantic bachelor-esque sci-fi book set in space. It was hardly a romance, and mostly teenagers sitting around talking about their problems while they go on dates. I think this actually needed more romance and less of Leo constantly denying even the smallest interactions.

*sigh*

I liked the main character, Leo. She was stubborn and caring, with a dash of ingenuity. I wish she would have stood up for herself a bit more, but I could at least keep reading this book because I enjoyed her voice.

There was definitely a lot of angst between Leo and Elliot. Not as flirtatious / lovers to enemies to lovers angst as I was hoping. You could feel the connection and chemistry they had though. I liked their interactions and wish they had more quiet romantic moments together! The last few in the closing scenes were tender and sweet and I wanted mooooore.

Side characters were a bit all of the place. I liked the vast majority of them and what they brought to the story. Good friends, siblings, and companions throughout. I could do without Leo’s awful Dad though. Why is there always a parent forcing a teen to marry? You’re the one who messed up? I don’t know, maybe I think this has been over-played one too many times (in YA novels).

The setting was awesome. I loved the idea of all of these people from Earth living in different ships and still following the same kind of dystopian setting of their cultures. If there were even more ships we could have visited and seen it would have been even better. I liked learning the intricacies of each ship, captain, and function as a whole.

At the end there was actually some drama and things happening. I liked that everyone got a happy ending and pieces of the story were wrapped up well for a standalone.

Overall audience notes: