This review originally appeared on the book review blog: Just One More Pa(i)ge.

This has been on my TBR since it came out last year, because I LOVE the story of Anastasia. My favorite movie growing up was the animated Anastasia (who can resist that little bat sidekick, Bartok?!). But seriously, the story has always fascinated me and even though it’s long been proven that Anastasia died at the same time as the rest of her family, the mystery and excitement of the potential in that “lost princess” idea captivates me. Maybe that (and again the cute animal sidekicks like Maximus and Pasqual) is why Tangled is my favorite Disney movie too. Anyways, I love that story, I love a good retelling, and I apparently have a particular soft spot for YA sci-fi and fantasy retellings (I really enjoyed Brightliy Burning a few years ago), so I knew I wanted to read this one.

Ana doesn’t remember the horrific fire that left her with scars all over her face. All she remembers is herself and her best friend, a sentient android named D09, being rescued from space by the outlaw crew aboard the Dossier. Since then, the crew has been her family. But D09 has been glitching lately, and Ana’s attempts to discover how to fix him lead to more discoveries (and trouble) than she could have imagined, including a new “friend” in a spoiled Ironblood royal, some terrifying new enemies that are looking to finish the job that was started in that fire years ago, and some truly difficult choices that will change her life forever.

Wow – first of all, this story was nonstop. The pacing was superb from beginning to end and I felt like I was in a page-turning, edge of my seat race to finish as soon as possible, to find out what happens. The writing itself felt overall smooth, which contributed the fantastically fast pace of the novel, and the dialogue was easy and real. I also loved the language of this sci-fi based world, the “iron and stars” beliefs and oaths and general mythology was fascinating and incorporated really efficiently. I fell right into it and I love when that happens. The characters are generally pretty average, past the main few. The outlaw crew trope is nothing new, but it is one that I love (Firefly and Wayfarers anyone?), so I enjoyed them. Similarly, Ana as the brave and plucky heroine and Robb as the errant high-class boy needing a purpose/morals are common tropes. But I really liked that they were thrown on their heads a bit in the romance department – Ana being firmly committed to D09 and Robb following an interest (that just might, definitely, inconveniently?, be returned…wink) in the ship’s captain, Jax. That was an unexpected original twist that hit nicely. The way D09 being an android affects how that plays out between him and Ana, with the HIVE and Great Dark, and how his (partial?) lack of humanity is used against them, is interesting and I can’t wait to see how it plays out further. Also, in case you want to know what I think, Robb and Jax 4EVA! Haha.

There were a few things that were a little less that perfect about this book though. First, there were many, what felt like so many, little plot twists and turns as we read. There are many characters here whose personalities push them to act individually, so there are constantly multiple plans and secrets in play that interact (sometimes conveniently, and sometimes not so much) with each other as they paly out. This was part of what made the book so un-put-down-able. And I do agree that it makes sense within the boundaries of the characters’ personalities and individualized knowledge/trust so far, to work so separately. But the sheer number of mini-plans meant that a few of them didn’t get explained quite fully enough, at least for me. And some of the inferences and mental jumps that were made as a result seemed a bit lucky/farfetched. I definitely had no issues suspending disbelief for the sake of the overall story, and I pushed through confusing connections and kept reading, assuming (correctly) that things would either be explained or not be important enough to matter, so it didn’t ruin my reading experience. But it did color it slightly and I felt it worth noting/warning future readers about. The last thing is that I’m still on the fence about the “big bad.” I liked the mini twist at the end about who’s actually running the show (relatedly, kudos to the author for pulling the trigger on injuries and deaths in the types of violent circumstances she’s writing), but (tiny spoiler) I am still not sure I’m sold on, or fully understand, the connection between the plague and the Metals and the HIVE and the Great Dark and how it all works (it’s a bit nebulous for me at this point still.) But I’m staying open-minded going into the second book and hoping for it to get pulled together well. In fact, my hold on it just came in at the library and I’m off to pick it up tomorrow – woohoo!

Bottom line here, I really enjoyed this read. I was incredibly entertained, interested and invested in the characters’ relationships and how the plot would play out. There were some tropes, but also some spins on them, and some plot moves that subverted my expectations, so overall: nothing groundbreaking, but I’m definitely into it enough to finish the duology. And, possibly most important, the retelling of Anastasia part of the novel was great – excellently juxtaposing some of the major parts of that legend with infusions of new and creative variations.

“Everything hurt like despair hurt, an ache so deep in his chest, it felt like a whole at the center of the cosmos. Like hope hurt, too, rising, suffocating, a tingling in the back of his throat. Everything hurt like laughter hurt, all over his sides and abdomen. Like anger hurt, nails buried into his palms. Like happiness, rushing across his fiber optics like fizzy soda. Like heartache. Like love. Longing.”

“Because I will follow you anywhere… To the ends of the galaxy, if I have to. I want to exist where you exist, and that is enough.”

“Screw fate. I’ll tear down the stars for you.”