This book was so good. I love the Count of Monte Cristo from the 2002 version and every moment of reading this made me want to go watch the movie. It managed to take all my favorite things and add entirely new elements and make it even more fun. I can't wait for book two

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim is the first of a new YA fantasy duology genderbent retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. That's one of my favorite classics, so I was quite intrigued by what Sim would do with this retelling. It never quite managed to live up to my high expectations though. What I did like was getting to know our diverse cast, Amaya (aka Silverfish) and Cayo. Everyone is really well drawn and they all feel like they could practically right off the page. And, that's really saying something because there are a lot of characters popping up here and there. My main issue with this novel is the flat world-building. The world the characters inhabit is big place and we hear of them on and off, but we never get a real sense of them and how they operate. There's just so much more I would have liked to know about Moray, and the various empires and republics, and I'm sure that information could have further improved the story. Even though this novel wasn't as impressive as I was hoping for, I still want to continue this duology in the as yet untitled sequel.

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.

Vey well written, great representation. Inspired by The Count of Monte-Cristo, with fantasy and LGBTQ* elements. Excited for the sequel!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Disney-Hyperion for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I personally have never read The Count of Monte Cristo before, no have I ever watched any of its adaptations, or anything really to do with the novel. I’ve heard of it because it’s supposed to be a classic, but other than that, I went in blind for this novel as far as retellings go. And for me, I feel like that works a lot better than having a preconceived notion of how I think something should go based on its source material, and I think it really worked in my favor for this one.

Without knowing the source material very well, I personally really, really enjoyed this novel and I had so much feelings for our main characters. I think the person that I felt for this most was Amaya/Silverfish especially in the beginning. I couldn’t imagine being her shoes, spending seven years at minimum on a debtor’s ship because of the money that your father supposedly owed. That mini-backstory that we got from Silverfish to the man she ended up rescuing from drowning before the real adventure begins was enough to make me really sorry for her and her mother. But then again, was it her mother that made her go on that ship as a child, or was she forced to go since there wouldn’t be any adult to run the estate? You know? Little nuances like that may or may not be explained in the novel, and when you’re first hearing about that snippet of life before Silverfish came to be, it makes you question what some adults are either willing to do, or what they have been forced to do.





Even this above example of how the two identities within Amaya are so different that they have two different thoughts on the man that she saved. Since she was so close to going home to see her mother – if she is even still alive, I don’t even know if she knows honestly – and yet gets added a whole month to her sentence for this transgression, both sides of her – Amaya and Silverfish – are fighting their decision. Amaya, the person with the most humanity, feels like at least she saved his life. That should count for something and should be worth an extension of her sentence. Silverfish – the “Water Bug” with no humanity left, who has had to fight to survive and stay alive in this tense and deplorable condition – feels like the only thing worth saving him would be if he were rich enough to buy her out of this hellhole.

And maybe both sides of her are right.



Oh, Cayo. My poor, sweet Cayo. The things that you’ve had to go through in order to gain your father’s trust, even if it’s not at the level you want it to be yet. The addictions that you had to learn to live without, and the life that you had to leave behind, no matter how tempting it was and how much you wanted to go back to it. The love you have for your sister, and how close it seems you are. The stress that you have to deal with in your life.

My poor Cayo. I was so proud of him. I just wanted him to get out from under his father’s imposing shadow, and live the life that I knew he could. Without that harsh voice in the back of your mind telling you that you’re a screw up to the Moreno family. Oh, Cayo.

Clearly I had feelings throughout this book, and I’m dying to see how Sim ends this series. I don’t want it to end though, so can we just keep them going forever? Mini side quests? Something?

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

Scavenge the Stars was somewhat predictable, but not in a way that detracted from the overall story. I know it's supposed to be a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo (one of my favorites), but the author wasn't very subtle with their hints. We weren't gently led down a path, but shoved off a cliff into the watery truths below. It was easy to work out the anagram (which let you know who someone was before you were supposed to know), and the twist was something you could see from the start. The author does withhold some information (mostly regarding Amaya's mother), but it's not really relevant to the story. I think keeping the mother mostly an enigma is supposed to set up the next book, but it was annoying.

Cayo. I loved his name, but not his personality. He was rash, but not bold. Helpful, but not necessarily compassionate (unless it involved his sister). Cayo claimed to care about the people around him (particularly the children working off their parent's debts) when his only concern weeks before was getting drunk, high, and gambling his family's money away. There are moments of sobriety and decency (like keeping a child from being beaten to death), but it's like his eyes have suddenly been opened and exposed him to the ugly truths of the world. He berates himself for poor decisions, but it doesn't take him long to resort to bad habits. "It's the only way" is a phrase I'm tired of hearing. There's never just one way, only one you're willing to do above the others.

Certain aspects of the story didn't always make sense, like Cayo's "friends" thinking he was dead when he stopped going to the Vice Sector. If they were true friends, they would have been able to get in touch with him outside of the gambling dens, but chose not to. Other characters were mentioned once and never seen again. I wish some of the secondary characters had been fleshed out more, like Cayo's sister and Romara. The book's sole focus seems to be Amaya, Cayo, and the people in their immediate vicinity. We know they're there without really knowing them. Amaya also prides herself on being resourceful and a survivor, but she ignores all of her instincts in favor of a personal vendetta she was only recently made aware of. She talks about not trusting people, but then wholeheartedly believes the words of someone she barely knows. It wasn't particularly believable.

At one point Amaya says, "All her work, for nothing." What work?? She didn't actually do anything. Her "plan" unfolded with little to no effort on her part. Events simply happened in a way that was favorable. She was just a pretty figurehead being manipulated by someone else.

There's a smidge of insta-love. They don't necessarily act on their feelings, but they're smitten from the start. They know literally nothing about each other, but there's an undeniable attraction between the two. (You can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes.) Amaya was easily distracted for someone seeking revenge.

Those were my main issues with Scavenge the Stars, but the story itself was still mostly enjoyable. Retellings aren't usually my cup of tea, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see how an author remade The Count of Monte Cristo. Everyone has a unique perspective when reading or telling a story, and I love to see how those feelings and perceptions translate into new versions and ideas. I think Sim did an amazing job recreating something familiar and making it her own. Some of the phrases were repeated a little too often (like Cayo saying Amaya was made of salt water and steel), but it only briefly pulled me from the story.

I was not a fan of the Brackish or what happened on the ship, and Silverfish's experiences really made me angry. If you can't stomach children being used for labor, and occasionally dying because of their efforts, this might not be the book for you. They are barely given enough food to survive, and any perceived slight on the captain is met with violence and cruelty.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Scavenge the Stars and look forward to seeing how the author wraps up the duology. I do think you'll need to suspend your disbelief for this one to work, because Amaya is very lucky when it comes to not dying. She has a lot of close encounters, but always manages to scrape by just enough to make it.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on January 20, 2020.

This was a fun, quick read. I thought the story was interesting because of all the constant, jarring revelations. This gave me major Ace of Shades vibes, because of the gambling element. For me, I think the violent nature of the story really worked. The ending showed the multiple consequences of revenge, and thoroughly explored that theme. I liked the world building and thought the politics made sense. I had been in a bit of a reading slump so I'm very happy this book came along and kept me invested, where I was able to read it in just a few days.

ohh, this was GOOD. it was pretty slow at times, though, and there wasn't a ton of action. but I adored the characters (preferred Amaya's POV, but I still liked Cayo as a character) and there were many twists and turns to this (and the way that the author set up the beginning was super clever). But there's so much more that I want to know after that ending, so I can't wait for the sequel! Also so much queer rep, I loved it.