(A huge thank you to the FFBC tours FFBC tours and the publisher for the eARC of the book)

A couple months ago, I heard "gender-bent retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo" and immediately decided to sell a soul for a copy of this book (not my soul of course, I don't have one smh) Then the lovely people at The FFBC book tours gave me an opportunity to read the book and bless them they didn't even ask for any soul payments.

Scavenge the Stars is a story of revenge and facing the mistakes of the past with a generous dose of diversity.

~5 REASONS YOU SHOULD PICK UP SCAVENGE THE STARS ~

~Diversity here, diversity there, diversity everywhere~

The badass, bent on revenge MC Amaya is Indian and I could just about cry with happiness. You know how happy it makes me to see characters like me on the page? and on THE COVER? when I realized it was a desi girl on the cover I spun around gleefully (but sadly NOT gracefully). The other MC our hot mess Cayo is East Asian and as the author mentions in her mood board; a chaotic bisexual. I love how we see SO much diversity throughout the book but in an unforced manner and I just *incomprehensible flailing*.

~Retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo~

RI find retellings fascinating. I like comparing it to the original and letting my brain savour how intelligently the author has weaved an entirely new narrative with glimpses of the original. Reading scavenge the Stars sorely reminded me that I have the memory of a gnat and remember close to nothing about the classic. BUT I did read the cliffs notes so I could draw parallels and I love how Tara Sim takes a classic story of revenge and turns it into something altogether new. The fact that it's gender-bent makes my heart so happy for it's always clamoring for gender-bent retellings of pretty much everything.

“...I'm beginning to learn the only way to move forward is by confronting the mistakes of your past”

~Complex characters struggling on that line between 'the right thing' & 'the easy thing'~

Let's face it, we love the angst. We have Amaya trying to let go of the girl she'd been all these years to be someone completely new - charming and ruthless. And we have Cayo repenting over the times he's wasted the family's money on gambling and trying to be a better son and brother. And then we have the two characters clash. I love me some good enemies to friends/lovers trope and Scavenge the Stars delivers on that aspect. I did wish we'd had more interactions with each other than internal monologues. I found the internal monologues fascinating because it shows us more about the characters but I really wanted more "I'm supposed to hate you but you make me question my beliefs" interactions.

“Because children are the victims of their parents' crimes.”

“This, though - it wasn't survival. Not really. It was merely kindness, and friendship, and Amaya had no idea what to do with either.”

~Secondary characters who intrigue me~

I wanted to know more about Ramora, Bas and Roach. I do think we'll be seeing more of one of these characters (I won't say who 'cause spoilers) in book two but I really want to know all the deets about all three. Ramora fascinated me. She's a very 'love her, hate her but you can't ignore her' kind of character who has grown up cold and calculative because of her father. I wouldn't at all be opposed to a Ramora novella

~Plot Twists and intrigue~

To be honest, I wanted more of the scheming and badassery. I wish we could have seen more of Amaya's training and more of the scheming and political intrigue. I did enjoy the twists. I guessed some things at the beginning but the ones towards the end? I did not see them coming! I have a feeling book 2 is going to have a lot more political intrigue and I IS EXCITED.

“Every man carries his sins a different way.”

The one thing that made me a bit sore was the lack of world building. I love fantasy especially because we get to see fascinating new worlds. in Scavenge the Stars we do see those but It felt a bit vague to me. There were the names of all these countries and places but without much knowledge about them. I wanted to know more! I did love that there were a few myths and stories the characters talk about but I wanted to know more about the cultures and traditions. I'm really hoping I get to see more of it in book two because otherwise the world would seem incomplete.

~Scavenge the Stars may be a story of revenge but it deals with so much more. If you love diverse characters, flawed protagonists and a dash of political intrigue, this is the book for you ~
Actual Rating - 3.5

Not as mindblowingly great as the Timekeeper books were to me, but still very enjoyable! Gonna take a short break but hopefully get to the sequel before the end of the year.

A bit slow, especially the first half. I enjoyed the retelling of Monte Christo. I wish there'd been a little more action.

THE COUNTESS IS HERE.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own!

BLOG || INSTA

I feel like I first need to note that I know nothing about The Count of Monte Cristo. Unfortunately that means, I can’t really speak to how well the retelling went. What I can say is that I reallllly enjoyed this book.

Countess Yamaa, aka Amaya was a force to be reckoned with. She’s still a bit naive in this installment and has some more growing to do. There was a nice character build around her and her arc is showing great promise. Amaya has had to battle her way back from a heinous situation that leaves a mystery in its wake. I love her fierce protectiveness over the younger children around her and her tenacity to get the job done.

Her burgeoning romance with Cayo is a bit dry for me, but they did have some good moments. I love the tiny chances when they were together and both able to be who they wanted, not what was forced of them at the time. There’s definitely some sparks and connection there. I have hopes for how book two will round out.

I would have loved a little more revenge aspect. Amaya talked about it a lot, but it took her a real long time to do anything about it. The late middle section of the book is when her lust for vengeance started to come alive. I like this darker edge to her personality and gives a lot more depth to her character.

Cayo took some time to grow on me. What I appreciated most was his focus and love for his sister, Soria. Their tightbond was amazing and it drove all of Cayo’s decisions [and mistakes]. I did love him by the end and was impressed with the new leaf he was attempting to turn over after falling into a gambling addiction.

The only thing this book is lacking is world-building. There were mentions of a lot of different kingdoms and nations but I knew nothing about them. I think a map or a more direct description of the world surrounding Amaya would drastically help my understanding of the lands.

This was a great, quick, fluid read. I found myself wanting to turn back to it and curious to what happens next. I definitely can’t wait for book two and hope I get a lot more revenge from my girl, Amaya.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy retelling
- Language: some
- Romance: a few kisses
- Violence: physical
- Trigger warnings: children being sold to debtor ships as labor, child abuse, gambling addiction, someone being drugged without their consent

This was an effortless read, it kept my attention the whole time.

After reading THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas last year, I was excited to learn that there was a YA retelling coming out. I was even more excited when the retelling came in an Owlcrate Box!

SCAVENGE THE STARS by Tara Sim follows Amaya. Amaya was sold off to a labor ship to do hard labor to pay off her father’s debts. After seven years, the end of her sentence is finally in sight. When she spots a man in the water, she decides to rescue him in the hopes that he has enough money to reward her.

As it turns out the man she rescued is less than an upstanding citizen and rather than an outright reward, he draws her into his schemes to get revenge against the family up the chain of command for the ship she has been laboring on. Posing as a Countess, she works her way into society keeping her true identity hidden. She meets Cayo, the son of the man she has vowed to take down and their relationship becomes a complicated one as loyalties are tested.

This book was marketed as a gender swapped retelling of the Dumas classic, and I can see elements of the original. Certainly the theme of revenge is at the center of both, along with complicated relationships and hidden identities and other links to the classic. Even so, I am not sure that I would have necessarily picked up on the similarities if I hadn’t been prepped to look for them going in.

I did really enjoy reading this fun adventure story. Amaya is a fun central character to follow. She is strong resilient and smart. Though she is drawn into the plot for revenge, she is able to change her mind and adapt as she learns more about Cayo and his family. Cayo is a complex character as well. He has been known to be frivolous, gambling away his family’s money. Still, he is loyal to his sister who is ill and willing to do whatever it takes to get her better.

I thought this was a good start to a new series and will be looking forward to the next installment.

3.5/4 stars.

I enjoyed the premise behind this story, but found the characters lacking a little. I wanted more from them and wanted to feel more for them and the trials they faced. Sadly, I just didn't find myself invested. That in no way implies that this book isn't good, it is, and it is well written. I however just didn't resonate with the characters as deeply as I have in similar stories.

The ending however is quite good and leaves it poised for the sequel.

Meh.

(Actual rating 3.5 stars)