Starfall
A month ago I published a review of the book Starflight by Melissa Landers. I finally got around to reading the sequel, Starfall.
I still think that the coolest thing about Melissa Landers is that she is from Loveland, Ohio--about 20 minutes away from where I graduated high school and where my parents live now. It's such a small world!
You can read my review of Starflight here. But a quick summary:
Solara is looking for a way to start over as an engineer on the other side of the galaxy after being branded a felon. She manages to secure passage on a ship by indenturing herself to a rich young man she knew from school--Doran Spaulding. She ends up kidnapping him and they end up on a ship called the Banshee with a very eclectic crew. They eventually overcome their hatred for each other to work together to avoid their pasts.
I was really excited to read the sequel for this book. However, I have to say that Starfall is more of a companion novel than a sequel. I think it adds more depth if you've read the first book since you're already familiar with the characters. But since the main characters of the two books are different and Landers does a great job of reiterating a lot of details from the first book, I think you could easily read this book without having read the first one.
In the first book, you encounter Kane and Cassia, two of the crew mates on the Banshee that Solara and Doran become close to. In this book, they become the main characters and we learn so much more about their back story that was only hinted at in the first book.
Cassia and Kane have been best friends since they were little children. Cassia is a princess from the planet Eturia while Kane is only the son of a merchant. When her parents betrothed her to a terrible prince that threatened to kill her entire family and take over the whole planet, she fled with her best friend and first love, Kane. They ended up on the Banshee, living out their dreams of freedom all the while with the knowledge that someday they may have to return to Eturia and face the reality of their situation--Cassia is royalty and has a duty to her people and her future that might not include Kane.
Unfortunately, Cassia's departure sparked a war that engulfed the whole planet. When she is captured by bounty hunters and dragged back to Eturia to account for her crimes. Kane and the Banshee crew come to Cassia's rescue only to find that she has managed to claim her birthright as queen. They are faced with rebuilding their war torn planet and dealing with the dilemma of their relationship. Cassia can't make the alliances she needs with Kane. And he knows that he can't find someone to replace Cassia. She returns his feelings but he can't throw away his future waiting on a queen.
Once again, they face intense action including conspiracies, space pirates, battles, and a sickness that might destroy everything they care about.
Our friends Solara and Doran are still characters that we see a lot from which makes this book really fun. But I loved getting to know the relationship between Cassia and Kane and sometimes their situation is so heart wrenching. I read this book in about a day because I was so into the story.
I really enjoyed this book. Once again, I would describe these books by Melissa Landers as space adventure romances. They aren't cheesy or mushy but the romance makes a lot of the things they do worthwhile. It's about saving the people they love and the people they care about--something I think we can all relate to.
I highly recommend both books in the series as excellent YA fiction.
You can read my review of Starflight here. But a quick summary:
Solara is looking for a way to start over as an engineer on the other side of the galaxy after being branded a felon. She manages to secure passage on a ship by indenturing herself to a rich young man she knew from school--Doran Spaulding. She ends up kidnapping him and they end up on a ship called the Banshee with a very eclectic crew. They eventually overcome their hatred for each other to work together to avoid their pasts.
I was really excited to read the sequel for this book. However, I have to say that Starfall is more of a companion novel than a sequel. I think it adds more depth if you've read the first book since you're already familiar with the characters. But since the main characters of the two books are different and Landers does a great job of reiterating a lot of details from the first book, I think you could easily read this book without having read the first one.In the first book, you encounter Kane and Cassia, two of the crew mates on the Banshee that Solara and Doran become close to. In this book, they become the main characters and we learn so much more about their back story that was only hinted at in the first book.
Cassia and Kane have been best friends since they were little children. Cassia is a princess from the planet Eturia while Kane is only the son of a merchant. When her parents betrothed her to a terrible prince that threatened to kill her entire family and take over the whole planet, she fled with her best friend and first love, Kane. They ended up on the Banshee, living out their dreams of freedom all the while with the knowledge that someday they may have to return to Eturia and face the reality of their situation--Cassia is royalty and has a duty to her people and her future that might not include Kane.
Unfortunately, Cassia's departure sparked a war that engulfed the whole planet. When she is captured by bounty hunters and dragged back to Eturia to account for her crimes. Kane and the Banshee crew come to Cassia's rescue only to find that she has managed to claim her birthright as queen. They are faced with rebuilding their war torn planet and dealing with the dilemma of their relationship. Cassia can't make the alliances she needs with Kane. And he knows that he can't find someone to replace Cassia. She returns his feelings but he can't throw away his future waiting on a queen.
Once again, they face intense action including conspiracies, space pirates, battles, and a sickness that might destroy everything they care about.
Our friends Solara and Doran are still characters that we see a lot from which makes this book really fun. But I loved getting to know the relationship between Cassia and Kane and sometimes their situation is so heart wrenching. I read this book in about a day because I was so into the story.
I really enjoyed this book. Once again, I would describe these books by Melissa Landers as space adventure romances. They aren't cheesy or mushy but the romance makes a lot of the things they do worthwhile. It's about saving the people they love and the people they care about--something I think we can all relate to.
I highly recommend both books in the series as excellent YA fiction.
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