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adventurous
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Thanks to Goodreads for letting me read and review this book I received from one of their giveaways. This is my own honest opinion and thoughts on the book.
I was surprised and excited to win one of the Goodreads giveaways because I've never won one before and I was especially interested in reading and reviewing this book.
This is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo that is gender-bent with murder, mystery, and deceit. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo recently but I remember the basics and most of the story. I didn't even think about The Count of Monte Cristo at all while I was reading this except once or twice when I stopped my reading and remembered this was a retelling and sat down to think and compare things a bit and saw that it was a gender-bent retelling of the story.
I think I like this alright, but then again I like the Count of Monte Cristo too - they each have their positives and negatives to how the versions of the same story are told. I like Amaya as The Count/Countess of Monte Cristo role and Cayo - I love the two of them together.
It's very much a revenge story and Amaya has a hard time moving on and letting go of things in her past in regards to her mother and all the time she was stuck on the ship serving the idiot captain as Silverfish. Both Cayo and Amaya have a lot of secrets and things they find out in regards to their families that are hard to deal with and have to come to terms with eventually.
It isn't a fantasy read if you're expecting that, it's more of a contemporary retelling with pirates, ships, the sea, a port town and the like also with the battle between classes of poor and rich that is brought out in these types of stories a lot.
After Silverfish/Amaya gets free from the Captain, she teams up with the mysterious stranger, Boon that she saves and they make and enact a plan of revenge on Cayo's father to bring him down and along the way Amaya and Cayo begin to care for each other and that makes things complicated then the truth comes out with some unearthed secrets and they find out what Cayo's father has done, Cayo finds out who Amaya is and about Boon and their plan of revenge then Amaya finds Roach, one of her friends from the ship she serves on, who disappears when she teams up with Boon and they board a ship to head to another place to see if they can help Cayo's sister, who is very sick.
It, of course, ends as they are going to sail away to try to see if they can help Cayo's sister and with unanswered questions and things falling apart on a bit of a cliffhanger. I'm undecided if I will read the next one or not, but this was a bit of a letdown from the hype it received and what I was hoping for and expecting to read.
If you're curious then check it out, it may be that it just wasn't as much my type of thing.
I was surprised and excited to win one of the Goodreads giveaways because I've never won one before and I was especially interested in reading and reviewing this book.
This is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo that is gender-bent with murder, mystery, and deceit. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo recently but I remember the basics and most of the story. I didn't even think about The Count of Monte Cristo at all while I was reading this except once or twice when I stopped my reading and remembered this was a retelling and sat down to think and compare things a bit and saw that it was a gender-bent retelling of the story.
I think I like this alright, but then again I like the Count of Monte Cristo too - they each have their positives and negatives to how the versions of the same story are told. I like Amaya as The Count/Countess of Monte Cristo role and Cayo - I love the two of them together.
It's very much a revenge story and Amaya has a hard time moving on and letting go of things in her past in regards to her mother and all the time she was stuck on the ship serving the idiot captain as Silverfish. Both Cayo and Amaya have a lot of secrets and things they find out in regards to their families that are hard to deal with and have to come to terms with eventually.
It isn't a fantasy read if you're expecting that, it's more of a contemporary retelling with pirates, ships, the sea, a port town and the like also with the battle between classes of poor and rich that is brought out in these types of stories a lot.
After Silverfish/Amaya gets free from the Captain, she teams up with the mysterious stranger, Boon that she saves and they make and enact a plan of revenge on Cayo's father to bring him down and along the way Amaya and Cayo begin to care for each other and that makes things complicated then the truth comes out with some unearthed secrets and they find out what Cayo's father has done, Cayo finds out who Amaya is and about Boon and their plan of revenge then Amaya finds Roach, one of her friends from the ship she serves on, who disappears when she teams up with Boon and they board a ship to head to another place to see if they can help Cayo's sister, who is very sick.
It, of course, ends as they are going to sail away to try to see if they can help Cayo's sister and with unanswered questions and things falling apart on a bit of a cliffhanger. I'm undecided if I will read the next one or not, but this was a bit of a letdown from the hype it received and what I was hoping for and expecting to read.
If you're curious then check it out, it may be that it just wasn't as much my type of thing.
adventurous
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I feel like I've found the Holy Grail--a YA fantasy series starter that actually does deserve to be a series!! THEY DO EXIST.
Most of the time I find myself yelling THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STANDALONE at a lot of YA fantasy books where the author (and the publisher, ka-ching) absurdly decided to stretch a one-book story into two or three (or more...sigh). So I'm very glad that this one felt like a substantive, fast-paced story which did in fact need more than one book to tell it. And I'm really looking forward to the next one.
This was surprisingly entertaining. That's sounds condescending, but I only mean that YA fantasy retellings are so common now, and so many of them end up being thin, messy, overly complex or else slow and plodding, and as I said, totally undeserving of multiple books. I went into this one with moderate expectations, and it definitely exceeded them. I love the idea of gender-flipping a revenge story, because young women being abused by men to the point of wanting to end a motherfucker is way more believable and acceptable to me.
I mean...not the killing part. Don't kill people. Just as the author says in her note at the end:
Agreed as far as IRL goes, but for the story...hell yes, I wanna see a wronged woman put the hurt on shitty man. I also really appreciated seeing Amaya's and Cayo's personal struggles and inner turmoil, and the ways they both tried and failed to cope with it. The villains were dark and cruel without being cartoonish, and there were definitely a couple of revelations in here that caught me off-guard.
A very fun and well-written book. Here's hoping the March 2021 pub date for the sequel doesn't get delayed like so many others, because I'm going to want to read it right away.
Most of the time I find myself yelling THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STANDALONE at a lot of YA fantasy books where the author (and the publisher, ka-ching) absurdly decided to stretch a one-book story into two or three (or more...sigh). So I'm very glad that this one felt like a substantive, fast-paced story which did in fact need more than one book to tell it. And I'm really looking forward to the next one.
This was surprisingly entertaining. That's sounds condescending, but I only mean that YA fantasy retellings are so common now, and so many of them end up being thin, messy, overly complex or else slow and plodding, and as I said, totally undeserving of multiple books. I went into this one with moderate expectations, and it definitely exceeded them. I love the idea of gender-flipping a revenge story, because young women being abused by men to the point of wanting to end a motherfucker is way more believable and acceptable to me.
I mean...not the killing part. Don't kill people. Just as the author says in her note at the end:
And thanks to you, dear reader, for picking up this book. I hope you make your fortune and punish those who've wronged you.
(But like...legally.)
(Please don't stab anyone.)
Agreed as far as IRL goes, but for the story...hell yes, I wanna see a wronged woman put the hurt on shitty man. I also really appreciated seeing Amaya's and Cayo's personal struggles and inner turmoil, and the ways they both tried and failed to cope with it. The villains were dark and cruel without being cartoonish, and there were definitely a couple of revelations in here that caught me off-guard.
A very fun and well-written book. Here's hoping the March 2021 pub date for the sequel doesn't get delayed like so many others, because I'm going to want to read it right away.
While this definitely wasn't a perfect book for me, I still highly enjoyed it. It's fast-paced, and full of plot and characters. I love a book that just never stops, and this was IT. I was a bit disappointed in some aspects; often i found that there wasn't enough political background explained (and I hope the finished copy comes with a map!), and I found at times the characters weren't doing what they should've based on their development so far in the story.
I'm not sure that I'd call it steampunk, because we don't see enough technology for that, and there's no magic system to really call it an epic fantasy, but it's like a Ace of Shades meets Six of Crows type of book, and apparently it's a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, but I've never read that so I couldn't tell you how close it comes.
But other than that, there's sailing (yes!), dark casino dealings (heck yes!), and some steampunk-ish, fantasy-ish fun (triple yes!).
We'll see when the sequel comes out (likely is 2021?) if I remember this one enough to read the sequel, the ending definitely warrants a sequel to wrap up basically anything, as we're left with very few answers, but only time will tell how memorable this is for me.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Disney Hyperion for an e-arc in exchange for honest review!
I'm not sure that I'd call it steampunk, because we don't see enough technology for that, and there's no magic system to really call it an epic fantasy, but it's like a Ace of Shades meets Six of Crows type of book, and apparently it's a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, but I've never read that so I couldn't tell you how close it comes.
But other than that, there's sailing (yes!), dark casino dealings (heck yes!), and some steampunk-ish, fantasy-ish fun (triple yes!).
We'll see when the sequel comes out (likely is 2021?) if I remember this one enough to read the sequel, the ending definitely warrants a sequel to wrap up basically anything, as we're left with very few answers, but only time will tell how memorable this is for me.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Disney Hyperion for an e-arc in exchange for honest review!
The Laughing Listener
February 2020
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Maria Liatus
Length: 9 hours & 31 minutes
Story Rating: 4.5 Stars
Performance Rating: 3 Stars
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars
I’m not gonna lie to you, I started reading this solely because I was promised a disaster Hufflepuff, something *very* on brand for me.
Find the tweet here
Literally any excuse to read about puffs and I’m there. I went into this with no expectations, not even bothering to read the blurb and pretty unfamiliar with the inspiration text [b:The Count of Monte Cristo|7126|The Count of Monte Cristo|Alexandre Dumas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309203605l/7126._SY75_.jpg|391568]. Still, I felt pretty confident that I knew exactly what direction this book was going from the beginning, but I’m pleased to say that the story took a few turns that caught me completely off guard and I loved it!
There’s a twist towards the beginning-ish and a couple towards the end and I didn’t see any of them coming, which was awesome. But the characters are really what make this book and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Amaya is a rage queen who wants to tear the whole world down and I was vibing with it.
This gif vs. Amaya = Same Energy
And Cayo. UGH. My little disaster puff with the fabulous fashion flair and giant heart. I LOVE HIM OKAY?? NO ONE HURT MY FELLOW PUFFBALL.
I had so much fun following this story and I’m so curious to see how the next book plays out! Seriously have no idea what direction this plot is going in and I absolutely LOVE IT.
FINAL WORD
TWO THUMBS WAY UP FAM. If you’re looking for a fun adventure with awesome characters, this is definitely the book.
#1 ↦ [b:Scavenge the Stars|42248816|Scavenge the Stars (Scavenge the Stars, #1)|Tara Sim|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551991682l/42248816._SY75_.jpg|65856486] ↦ ✦✦✦✦✧
#2 ↦ [b:Untitled|42249037|Untitled (Scavenge the Stars, #2)|Tara Sim|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|65856780] ↦ ????
A solid four star read.
”For again she was alone, trapped in the cradle of the ocean’s dark and all the stars gone cold.”
Scavenge The Stars follows Amaya who has recently discovered that her parents are both dead and has made a deal with a rich man to bring down another rich man in hopes of securing a future for her and her friends.
The story is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo and if you’re like myself and only have a vague idea on that particular classic, then I think you’ll enjoy this. There’s a lot of gambling and high stakes. There’s a little bit of Robin Hood and our main character, Amaya, is constantly battling with her own inner turmoil and how far is too far, along with what she will do in order to gain the freedom she wants.
There’s a bit of a romance but it’s more of an afterthought, and I felt as if it was halfway relevant to the progression of the storyline. So, even though it wasn’t my favorite, it didn’t bother me.
The story has a few spots where the plot gets bogged down a bit, but later on it’s revealed that those slower sections were needed. On the flip side, there were a couple of gruesome scenes that the author (I think in good taste) didn’t over accentuate. They were there, but blessedly brief.
My favorite part of the book would probably be a lot of the side characters. I really enjoyed the children the main character hangs out with that she met on the ship she had to serve time on. I found a lot of their personalities and interests to be fairly fleshed our considering they weren’t the main focus. I also really enjoyed Romara who kept surprising me over and over, and even after the end of the book I still haven’t quite figured her out.
Another thing I think was done very well, were the “quotes” from different pieces of literature at the beginning of each chapter. I felt like each of these quotes helped set an idea of the motivations for the characters as well as helping to flesh out the world a little more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be continuing. However, I can definitely see this one being a polarizing book due to the slower nature of the book and also some may be able to detect the plot twists early on.
** I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
”For again she was alone, trapped in the cradle of the ocean’s dark and all the stars gone cold.”
Scavenge The Stars follows Amaya who has recently discovered that her parents are both dead and has made a deal with a rich man to bring down another rich man in hopes of securing a future for her and her friends.
The story is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo and if you’re like myself and only have a vague idea on that particular classic, then I think you’ll enjoy this. There’s a lot of gambling and high stakes. There’s a little bit of Robin Hood and our main character, Amaya, is constantly battling with her own inner turmoil and how far is too far, along with what she will do in order to gain the freedom she wants.
There’s a bit of a romance but it’s more of an afterthought, and I felt as if it was halfway relevant to the progression of the storyline. So, even though it wasn’t my favorite, it didn’t bother me.
The story has a few spots where the plot gets bogged down a bit, but later on it’s revealed that those slower sections were needed. On the flip side, there were a couple of gruesome scenes that the author (I think in good taste) didn’t over accentuate. They were there, but blessedly brief.
My favorite part of the book would probably be a lot of the side characters. I really enjoyed the children the main character hangs out with that she met on the ship she had to serve time on. I found a lot of their personalities and interests to be fairly fleshed our considering they weren’t the main focus. I also really enjoyed Romara who kept surprising me over and over, and even after the end of the book I still haven’t quite figured her out.
Another thing I think was done very well, were the “quotes” from different pieces of literature at the beginning of each chapter. I felt like each of these quotes helped set an idea of the motivations for the characters as well as helping to flesh out the world a little more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be continuing. However, I can definitely see this one being a polarizing book due to the slower nature of the book and also some may be able to detect the plot twists early on.
** I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Private user's review against another edition
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listen, I started off deeply unsure about this book. I don’t think I like either of the protagonists, or their relationships. I’m not sure I bought into the revenge plot motivations. I picked this up because I heard it’s a Count of Monte Cristo retelling, and I love some twisty scheming. Ultimately I found the intrigue enough to keep me sucked in to this story. Paired with some of the atmospheric scenes, like the volcanic cave palace and the scenes in the vice sector, I found much of this book captivating. I’m not sure that the payoff was enough on this one, but turns out it’s not a standalone! This fact actually sort of irks me and I’m not sure I would recommend this book to most people, but yeah I fully plan to keep reading.