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A review by alexiacambaling
Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan
4.0
Ignite the Stars has a lot of my favorite Science Fiction tropes and I have no idea why I waited so long to start it. Honestly, this book just blew me away and along with The Clestial Trilogy series, really makes the case for me that there should be way more space opera books within the YA age range. This book has spaceships, a space military academy, an oppressive regime, rebels, enemies-to-lovers romance. It has everything I could want in a book like this and honestly, while I’m not a huge fan of Military SF, this I like.
This book stars the rebel Ia Cocha who, after her capture by the Commonwealth, is made to study in a military academy in order to fight for them. There, she is immediately distrusted by everyone she meets, from her roommates, to her classmates, and her flight instructer. Not that Ia does something about these perceptions of her- she thrives in it and she likes the fact that she has this fearsome reputation.
Right off the bat, I loved Ia’s character. She’s an Asian coded heroine and I liked how badass she was and the way her character was written. She’s more of an anti-heroine than most protagonists I’ve seen and she really was on the morally gray side. Of course, she does still have more noble motivations fueling her, but she also does a lot of questionable things which doesn’t really make her all good either. I enjoyed her character arc and the twist in the end (and the villain reveal!) was something I didn’t see coming and I’d like to see what happens next.
I also liked Brin and Knives. Brin especially because her story arc revolved around her accepting her identity. I can see how it might be difficult for her to identify as part of a minority population and why she might want to keep it hidden so that she and her brother could be safe. However, I liked how she grows to embrace it throughout the book and be content with who she was. As for Knives, there was definitely more to him than met the eye at first. He’s a complex character who was more than just a love interest for Ia- although he does have daddy issues, that’s not the entirety of his arc. It still involves him coming into his own and being respected for who he was, and not his father is.
Speaking of romance, I didn’t know going in that there was going to be enemies-to-lovers romance here. Honestly, done right and in a non-abusive manner, it’s one of my favorite tropes and I think Ignite the Stars really nailed it. I loved the interactions between Ia and Knives, as well as the slow-burn of the entire thing. Honestly, it was so good and I liked that it still remained secondary to the plot. Both of them still had character arcs separate from the romance.
The book is fast-paced and reads really quick with some well-written action sequences. It’s not heavy on the sci-fi jargon either and still has great, well-developed worldbuilding. It’s a well-written and solid book with a lot of diversity and representation and I really adored it.
Overall, I recommend this book for YA and Sci-Fi fans. If you’re like me and you love space books, you really should give this one a go.
This book stars the rebel Ia Cocha who, after her capture by the Commonwealth, is made to study in a military academy in order to fight for them. There, she is immediately distrusted by everyone she meets, from her roommates, to her classmates, and her flight instructer. Not that Ia does something about these perceptions of her- she thrives in it and she likes the fact that she has this fearsome reputation.
Right off the bat, I loved Ia’s character. She’s an Asian coded heroine and I liked how badass she was and the way her character was written. She’s more of an anti-heroine than most protagonists I’ve seen and she really was on the morally gray side. Of course, she does still have more noble motivations fueling her, but she also does a lot of questionable things which doesn’t really make her all good either. I enjoyed her character arc and the twist in the end (and the villain reveal!) was something I didn’t see coming and I’d like to see what happens next.
I also liked Brin and Knives. Brin especially because her story arc revolved around her accepting her identity. I can see how it might be difficult for her to identify as part of a minority population and why she might want to keep it hidden so that she and her brother could be safe. However, I liked how she grows to embrace it throughout the book and be content with who she was. As for Knives, there was definitely more to him than met the eye at first. He’s a complex character who was more than just a love interest for Ia- although he does have daddy issues, that’s not the entirety of his arc. It still involves him coming into his own and being respected for who he was, and not his father is.
Speaking of romance, I didn’t know going in that there was going to be enemies-to-lovers romance here. Honestly, done right and in a non-abusive manner, it’s one of my favorite tropes and I think Ignite the Stars really nailed it. I loved the interactions between Ia and Knives, as well as the slow-burn of the entire thing. Honestly, it was so good and I liked that it still remained secondary to the plot. Both of them still had character arcs separate from the romance.
The book is fast-paced and reads really quick with some well-written action sequences. It’s not heavy on the sci-fi jargon either and still has great, well-developed worldbuilding. It’s a well-written and solid book with a lot of diversity and representation and I really adored it.
Overall, I recommend this book for YA and Sci-Fi fans. If you’re like me and you love space books, you really should give this one a go.