Scavenge the Stars is a gender-bent re-telling of the Count of Monte Cristo. I remember reading and watching Count of Monte Cristo, but it was well over a decade ago so while I remembered the vague outline of the plot and the instigating events, the twists and the ending have slipped my mind so I am still surprised!

Amaya, who has escaped a debtor ship where she was enslaved for 7 years, returns to her home city looking for answers about her parents and how she ended up on the ship, while also becoming part of a plot to seek revenge on the man who has crossed her. In the process, she becomes entangled with the man's son, Cayo, who has his own worries about ensuring his family doesn't fall into ruin.

This is the first in a duology, so the story has been somewhat dragged out and more nuances have been added by the author. It was a very smooth read, and even when there wasn't a lot of action going on, the way Tara Sim writes is enthralling. I didn't feel like the story dragged at all. She has a beautiful way of writing that I really enjoyed.

The main and side characters are all diverse. There are multiple LGBT+ couples and Cayo is bisexual. I'm looking forward to the next book and seeing Amaya and Cayo's relationship develop.

"I think you know who to hurt when the hurt they've given you makes nothin' else they do matter. When you can't see them as a person, but just a vessel for your hatred, your pain. Then you know."

Rating: 3.5
Title: Scavenge the Stars
Author: Tara Sim

Synopsis:
When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide. Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down—the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one…
Packed with high-stakes adventure, romance, and dueling identities, this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo is the first novel in an epic YA fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Sabaa Tahir, and Leigh Bardugo.

Initial thoughts:
I am a major fan of Tara Sim’s work so when I heard that this book was coming out I was so excited! I am probably going to be destroyed for saying this, but I have never read the Count of Monte Cristo so I was going into the book with a blank slate when it came to the comparisons (trust me I will pick it up eventually). I legit have been blessed with getting a copy of this book early. The cover is stunning and I love the idea of what this book is going to be. I wonder how many changes are going to be made over the course of the next few months when it is released as I was given the book so early, but I am excited to see them in the copy that I purchase.

Plot:
What I liked:
The amount of diversity in this book is astounding. I enjoyed the character development very much as well as the split narration between Cayo and Amaya. The description of gambling addiction was sad and yet beautifully explained showing the dangers that they can bring. I also loved the way Tara always seems to design characters that have ulterior motives than what we originally see. This allowed me to guess as to where the progression will go, but also keep me kind of in the dark. Assumptions can always be wrong.

What I didn't like:
Honestly, I will admit that there is some world building issues that I would love to see resolved. This is just the first book though and there is definitely room for growth in the world, but even so there didn’t seem to be a lot of description throughout this book. I really had to guess about certain things and it made it hard for me to actually see the world in my mind's eye. I also wish that I could have learned more about the history between the different empires a little bit more.

Overall:
Overall, I found this book to be an enjoyable read and I cannot wait to see where the second book goes! This story also has me grabbing for the book it was based on. I loved the tale of revenge and I am certainly invested in the characters and how they will be affected now that some major plots have been revealed.

content warnings: child slavery, murder, violence, drugging, excessive drinking, excessive gambling
representation: all-Asian cast, demisexual Asian protagonist, bisexual Asian protagonist, Asian lesbian main and side characters, f/f side relationship, Asian transgender main character, Asian asexual side character

“She had stared at her reflection in its blade, and in that moment she saw herself in halves: the girl who was still finding her land legs meeting eyes with the one who had sworn vengeance on the man who had ruined her family.

She had vowed to become only the latter.”

Don't mind me, I'm just breaking into your house and refusing to leave until you start reading Tara Sim's books because they truly are the greatest. Two books into A-spec August and two five-stars baby!

Scavenge the Stars is the first of a duology that's a loose, Asian-inspired fantasy, gender-bent retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. If you're not already in based on that then I don't know what to tell you. There are two lead characters: Amaya/Silverfish who has spent the past seven years on a debtor ship and is days away from freedom but makes a seemingly foolish decision to save a drowning man who offers her something better than freedom: revenge. Then there's Cayo, the son of a powerful man in Moray who is trying to support his dying sister after losing most of the family's fortune. Over the course of the novel, their paths begin to intertwine in ways they could have never expected.

I've loved Tara Sim's books ever since reading her debut Timekeeper back in 2016, and I can confidently say that this is my favourite. I'll admit that the first 50 or so pages were slow and difficult to get into, but once it began to pick up it just never stopped. Every chapter would end in a way that made me just have to keep reading, whether it was a cliffhanger or not, which means that I accidentally read almost the entire book in one night. The way Sim's writes is just so compelling and easy to fly through.

I would argue that Sim's greatest strength as a writer is the way she against all odds makes you fall in love with her characters, and this is no exception. Amaya and Cayo almost instantly became two of my favourite characters and stayed that way, even when they would keep making bad choices. I want to focus on Amaya especially because seeing a female YA fantasy protagonist who is ruthless and compassionate and cowardly and kind just really awoke something in me. I didn't just love them as individual characters, though; they have a god tier slow-burn romance. Their romance constantly had me swooning and I truly could not get enough of it.

“Although Cayo had lost the race, he was rewarded all the same by the sound of her short, clear laugh ringing over the water.”

Tara Sim is just continuing to prove how easy it is to include casual diversity. The book is set in an Asian-inspired fantasy world wherein every character is Asian and almost every named character in this is LGBTQ+ ― hell, even a lot of unnamed characters are LGBTQ+. I was kind of astounded with how effortless she makes it, just offhandedly referencing that a character is trans without making it unimportant. Especially when I see so many SFF authors who either don't bother with diversity or do it in the clumsiest way possible.

Comparing this with her other first book, Timekeeper, this is definitely the plottier of the two. Despite only clocking in at just over 300 pages, it seemed like there were constant twists and turns that continued to both delight and surprise me. I know basically nothing about The Count of Monte Cristo ― basically everything I know comes from the TV show Revenge ― so maybe if I knew the original story better some things wouldn't have been such a shock, but as it stands reading this is the most fun I've had figuring out a book's mysteries in a long time.

Honestly, I'm glad I waited half a year to read this because I don't think I would have survived waiting fourteen months for the sequel. I don't know if I'll even survive the seven months I have to wait. Tara Sim continues to impress me and prove why she's one of my favourite authors, delivering on everything you would want out of a gender-bent The Count of Monte Cristo.


08/03/19: I have been murdered, I am literally deceased because of the most beautiful cover I've ever seen, plus this excerpt.


09/10/19: A gender-bent Count of Monte Cristo?? With POC and queer rep?? And a Slytherin girl and Hufflepuff boy?? Written by the author of one of my favourite series?? I have literally never been more hyped for a book in ages.

I really enjoyed this— and come on, who wouldn’t... a gender-swapped retelling of “The Count of Monte Cristo.” Yes, please. I’ll read that.

The first thing Silverfish had learned on board the Brackish was how to hold a knife. Not the useful kind that could gut a man, but something smaller, duller, and better suited for a child's grip.

Silverfish has almost succeeded in paying off her debt to the Brackish, a debtorship that has held her captive for years. She can almost become Amaya once more, but she rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning and not only does the Captain increase her debt, but her life will never be the same again. The stranger, Boon, offers the opportunity to exact revenge on those who held her captive and the monetary means to do so.

The story also follows the perspective of Cayo Mercado, the son of a merchant in Moray, who has fallen on some hard times. With a bit of a gambling problem, Cayo is looking to return to his father's good graces, secure expensive medicine for his sister, and restore the Mercado wealth. One way to achieve this is to become close to the new and mysterious Countess Yamaa

If it isn't clear how these stories intersect then let me spoil you. Countess Yamaa is in fact our heroine from the debtorship, Amaya in disguise as she seeks out the men, who wronged her and sold her to the debtorship. She is operating out of Moray with a team, who are helping her to exact revenge, and her best opportunity is befriending Cayo, who's father recently owned the Brackish. Her plan is to dismantle the Mercado House, but of course, this does not go according to plan.

Overall, I think this story was much better before the two characters interacted. Amaya was a vicious and confident woman who had a bit of a knife problem. While Cayo was reeling from his sudden change in luck and attempting to figure out his identity, which this story hints at his bisexuality but Cayo never fully embraces it and then falls into an expected romance with Amaya. Once the two characters meet these strong storylines are abandoned for a half concocted money counterfeit scheme, political maneuvering of the Slum King, widow vaults, and a questionable future for Moray as the crown prince dies unexpectedly. Whoa - where did my original plot go?

As a result, these various plots overpowered the story and took away from its strengths. One is the characters and the other being the world. When the story started, I immediately felt intrigued by the world that our main character lived in. A debtorship? A mysterious stranger found in the water? Ties to a merchant economy in a coastal setting? It created a sense that we about to embark on a story about pirates, who were going to upset the upper-class and instead, it was a forced romance and too many plotlines that were set in the city landscape. It lost its charm and appeal by not having Amaya take the city by storm with her swashbuckling skills.