I really enjoyed this book. I liked the revenge plot. I liked all the twists and I really liked all the characters!

I received an ARC copy via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating is closer to 2.5, but I bumped it up for the star rating.

I started this book by reading the sample available on NetGalley and immediately I was hooked by Silverfish, formerly known as Amaya. Fortunately, I was given a copy so I could continue reading! So, Silverfish is working on a fishing vessel to pay off her late father’s debt. She has only a few days left before she is free. However, the captain can add time onto her debt if she does something that he doesn’t like. Like sneeze…only she doesn’t sneeze, but rather ignores a direct order and saves a man from drowning at sea. She gets two weeks added on for this. She didn't do it by the goodness of her own heart. No. She was hoping he was rich. lol

The story then hops over to Cayo Mercado. Cayo is…bad news? He’s working for his father on the docks as a result of using all his money to pay off a massive debt he owed to some shady characters. This is his father’s attempt to straighten his son out while giving him a chance to earn the right to inherit the family business. So when a mysterious, rumored to be very wealthy, countess Yama comes to town, his father demands he gets close to her.

Meanwhile Amaya and Boon strike a deal, Boon will help Amaya get revenge on the horrid captain, in exchange for her wiping out his own personal enemy, Kamon Mercado (Cayo’s father). Boon is “Landless” which basically means he been exiled. This means he’s just as interested in personal vengeance as Amaya is. And this is why many people call this book a remake of The Count of Monty Cristo. So, of course, it stands to reason the Kamon is basically the bad guy for anyone in the book. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like this was carried off to a Monty Cristo level of epic.

So, there were a few things I struggled with a bit with this book. The world building. We are given the names of all this places and empires (Moray, Lede Islands, the Sun Empire, Rain Empire…some other ones), but we’re not really told how they are all related. It’s mostly so and so are on and off warring with each other with the one kingdom/country stuck in the middle playing neutral ground (trying really hard not to make a Star Wars reference here). But no real information is given. We’re not even given a very good layout of Moray. You are kind of left to make it up in your head as you go…minus things like there is a jungle like area long part of the border. However, if you want a good description of a teahouse or a great description of the food. This book does that. But, don’t expect to learn the name of the prince of Moray.

Things were also referenced to different time periods made up for the purpose of being a time period in the book, but we have no idea what any of it means or what it actually looks like because the time period is make believe. So, while you can randomly choose your own real time period you think it can equate to, you don’t actually know for sure if it’s what the author had in mind.
The bad guys are very one dimensional though. They fall into the trap of being evil through and through simply for the sake of plot. They don’t seem to have multiple facets to their personality. In fact, one is willing to let his own flesh and blood relative die…

Characters are vaguely described at the beginning of the book, leaving the reader some wiggle room as to how they picture the characters in their own mind. However, as you go on you get more detail which may change how you picture them. What was great is that the characters are each flawed in their own way. Cayo is a playboy alcoholic addicted to gambling who is trying to straighten out his life. Amaya is a vengeful young lady who does not trust easily and would totally be a killer if the opportunity presented itself. Their relationship is slower than slow to blossom, which is refreshing after reading so many books where insta-love seems to be a thing.

This book is refreshing in other ways as well. There are characters that represent bisexual and asexual preferences. There is some diversity, by which I mean most of the characters are a shade of brown which is cool. Over all the story is very well written and does have a few twist and turns for readers.

So while it is over all a solid book, there was some areas I thought had room for improvement. I also would recommend that people stop comparing it to Count of Monty Cristo. Monty Cristo is a heavy hitting classic. This book is not in its weight class. That said, I would definitely recommend this in future to anyone I think would enjoy it.

Scavenge the Stars is a trilling story of revenge, growth, power, and the hazards of the long con. Cayo and Silverfish lift off the page and Amayaa's such an interesting character in what she was, who she is, and who she will be. Cayo is a strong and soft character so desperately needed in fiction right now. The timeline of the first few chapters is confusing, but the strength of the narration and characters shine. This is a book to read on a rainy afternoon when all you want is adventure.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the early galley of the first book in the new series by the author of Timekeeper.

“Children are the victims of their parent’s crimes.”

Amaya, or Silverfish as she’s been known in the last seven years aboard a debtor’s ship, is days away from freedom. Seven years away from her mother and her home for the supposed sins of her deceased father. When she sees a man in the sea who’ll drown without intervention, he looks rich, and that could benefit her. So, she pulls him up despite the warnings of her captain, and adds another month to her sentence. When she escapes, she only wants revenge on those who wronged her (and other children aboard the ship). With the help of the rescued man, she’ll con the family she believes responsible for her misery. But getting to know the son of her enemy teaches her that not everything in the world is as black and white as she’d like to believe.

I’ve never read any of the Timekeeper books, and this book wasn’t what I expected, but I couldn’t put it down. I started it on Friday night and was done by Saturday at noon. The alternating chapters keep the story moving forward at, what seemed to me, to be a breakneck pace. I kept thinking I’d just read one more chapter before bed, and I did that for about two hours.

Though I hope for more development with minor characters over the next 1-2(?) books, particularly Cayo’s sister Soria, I loved getting to know all of them. Amaya is such a rich character full of conflicting emotions, and even though her course is at the mercy of those around her, she constantly takes charge and never loses sight of her own objectives. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes her.

The romance aspect of the book isn’t particularly heavy in this book, and I really appreciated that. While I enjoyed Amaya and Cayo getting below the surface of who they are supposed to be and finding depths of character, I wasn’t super into a romance between them. It’s there, but it’s not the primary focus, but I’m sure it will develop further in subsequent books. For me, it was more about the adventure, the revenge, and the plot twists.

The representation here is subtle, but strongly present. There is an ace character, many characters seem fluid, and some have only same-sex partners. There is a brief mention of a non-binary character, and I am hoping for more variety and focus on some of these characters as we progress through this series.

Though I skimmed a few parts in the second half of the book, overall I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a new adventure and don’t mind sticking with a series in real time, rather than being able to binge several books all at once. Though it leaves you with a few questions and wanting more, I applaud Sim’s ability to wrap it up nicely rather than leaving us with huge cliffhangers. The wait for this one is short (it’s out Tuesday), but book two doesn’t have a release date yet, so that part will be an impatient wait.

Rating ~ 3.5 / 5 ✨
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I got an ARC of Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim and I’ve honestly tried reading this book a couple of times since then but I could never connect to the story. However, this time, I did enjoy the storyline of this book and enjoyed the writing. The few things that didn’t work for me was that my brain checked out of the book, a lot. This mainly happened because either the writing got really choppy to a point that I didn’t understand what happened or that I was just lost. Otherwise, the book was really enjoyable. Plus, the cover is BEAUTIFUL

Thank you Net Galley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Scavenge the Stars is a "gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo" and if you have read The Count of Monte Cristo, this pretty much tells you everything you need to know. If you haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo:
1. What are you doing with your life? Drop everything and read it immediately. Don't skimp and try to get away with the abridged version either.
2. The Count of Monte Cristo is a long (but worth it) story of ultimate revenge by the good Edmond Dantes who was betrayed by the people he considered his friends.

I liked Scavenge the Stars in the sense that I enjoyed the writing style and I always enjoy a good revenge story. However, it fell a little short in the "The Count of Monte Cristo retelling" department. So far, this is just a story of revenge and is lacking the personal touch. Hopefully, Tara Sim rectifies this in the sequel. It is probably more enjoyable if you haven't read the original story.

This is a 2 star The Count of Monte Cristo retelling for me but it is a 3.5-4 star read in terms of being an enjoyable YA read.

Scavenge the Stars is a gender-flipped YA retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. Why it has that title, I'm really not sure since this is definitely a fantasy and not a sci-fi. That aside, I thought there was a lot to like here. Amaya is a complicated heroine with a thirst for revenge and a gray sense of morality. The world is evocative with a strong sense of place, though the wider world felt more vague in its descriptions. It is diverse with thoughtful and cool touches, like a social convention involving a pin that gender non-binary people can wear to indicate their use of they/them pronouns. I enjoyed a lot of the book, but the beginning and end felt a bit muddled.

The first part of the book felt a little confusing to me and it took awhile for me to get a sense for where the plot was headed, but around the 35-40% mark things became more clear and I became more invested in the characters and the mystery surrounding Amaya's past. I think part of this might be the dual perspective in different timelines that suddenly becomes aligned. I think this might have worked better if Cayo's perspective was added later on so that the timelines always aligned. I get that the idea was to keep a sense of mystery, but I think it ends up just feeling confusing. The ending also didn't read super clearly. A lot happens in a short period of time and not all of it makes sense.

That said, I thought that the characters were interesting and fairly well-developed and I liked the idea of this girl trying to get revenge and dealing with moral uncertainties. I know this is the start of a duology and I'm not really sure in needs a second book, but it could be interesting. This is definitely action packed with twists, so worth checking out if the plot appeals to you. This is one where I suspect there will be people completely in love with it, but I just didn't connect with it as much as I might have liked. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

CW include violence, enslavement of children, physical abuse, murder, depictions of blood and gore, terminal illness, loss of a loved one, torture, death of children, drug & alcohol use.