Review: Ignite the Stars
Title: Ignite the Stars
Author: Maura Milan
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eARC
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Date Published: 4 September 2018
Goodreads Description: Everyone in the universe knows his name. Everyone in the universe fears him. But no one realizes that notorious outlaw Ia Cōcha is a seventeen-year-old girl.
A criminal mastermind and unrivalled pilot, Ia has spent her life terrorizing the Olympus Commonwealth, the imperialist nation that destroyed her home. When the Commonwealth captures her and her true identity is exposed, they see Ia’s age and talent as an opportunity: by forcing her to serve them, they will prove that no one is beyond their control.
Soon, Ia is trapped at the Commonwealth’s military academy, desperately plotting her escape. But new acquaintances—including Brinn, a seemingly average student with a closely-held secret, and their charming Flight Master, Knives—cause Ia to question her own alliances. Can she find a way to escape the Commonwealth’s clutches before these bonds deepen?
I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
General Thoughts
As you may have noticed, I’m on a sci-fi kick this August and I have not been disappointed. Ignite the Stars is everything you want in a sci-fi adventure. It has badass, diverse characters, a female friendship that I love and most importantly, slow-burn romance.
I admit I was slow to like this book. The writing is a little choppy and I’m not a fan of the weird curse words (they don’t really fit the world for me), but around halfway through it really picked up. Ignite the Stars is definitely a character-driven book. I loved the premise and the Commonwealth space setting.
The book touches on a lot of current issues, such as colonisation and refugees, present in our world. I enjoyed watching the characters navigate the world and see that things were not always as clear cut as we would like them to be.
Characters
First off, let’s talk about Ia. She’s a badass good guy with a dark side and I love it. She’s confident in who she is and I love that about her. She has some things to learn, but I love how scary she is.
Brinn was my favourite character though. I loved her journey to self-acceptance and I can’t wait to see where her story goes.
Knives was also a favourite character, and I loved the romance between him and Ia. It’s slow-burn but definitely worth it. Found family stories are my favourite, and this one definitely ranks high on the list.
Let’s Chat
What did you think of Ignite the Stars?
I’ve seen a few reviews coming through for this book. It sounds good.
The cover is amazing! I’ve never heard of this book, but I’ll take a look for it. I really like the idea of a solid female friendship.
This is a new author for me. Great review though!
sounds like a good read – nice review!
Sounds like one I would like, I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks for the review.
Gemma @ Gemma’s Book Nook
I haven’t read this one yet but it’s definitely on my TBR 🙂 I am seriously in love with that cover! Great review.
I likes me a kickass heroine
This looks pretty interesting. I really enjoy Science Fiction so I’ll have to check it out!
Seems like a pretty good book.
Ohh great review, I really need to check this book out I absolutely love sci-fi books as well. And I have a really good feeling that I would highly enjoy reading this book, thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.
I’m glad you enjoyed this one.
Sci-fi is not really my thing, but this sounds exciting.
Great read. Not a sci fi fan, but have two books in this genre in my TBR.
Great review. I don’t tend to read sci-fi books. Love the cover.
Great review!
Oh wow, Ia sounds like a brilliant characters and I love females kicking ass in what sounds to be a male dominated world. I absolutely love science fiction, throw in a slow burning romance and I’m completely sold. Brilliant review Bianca and absolutely love your blog!