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belleand_books 's review for:
Scavenge the Stars
by Tara Sim
I’m not entirely convinced I read the same book everyone else did because that was not good. At all.
When I heard that this was a Count of Monte Cristo retelling, I thought it would be more action, more adventure. Not some cheap romance and gambling debts.
The world building is mediocre at best and honestly doesn’t make sense. Is Moray an island? If so why is there a neutrality agreement? The Empires would have the same water access and if it’s not an island...what is it? The entire Moray sounds like the Vice sector so how is it “underground”?
This story starts out sad, I’ll admit. A little orphan girl is on a debtor ship to pay off her parent’s debt, and that’s sad. It is. But... okay, let’s discuss the entire concept of these ships first. They don’t make sense, how did they get away with it, how did they begin? I have more questions than answers, especially because they seem so prominent...
Then let’s talk about Amaya. She knows that she shouldn’t trust anyone, and yet she easily falls for Boon because of his gold? And then falls for Cayo because of how pretty and “soft” he is??? I cannot. If you’re gonna be a touch bitch than be a tough bitch? You can’t be soft for a boy when you’re getting revenge!
Cayo, Cayo, Cayo. That boy is a drunken mess no matter how much “redemption” his poor sister is forcing into him. It’s admirable, really, what he would do for his sister. But the fact that he so easily falls back into that whole of a vice... I cannot. People slip, I get it. But you cannot spend an ENTIRE BOOK talking about “I’m better” just for that to happen. Romara, the Slum King’s one daughter, deserved better than that.
Speaking of the Slum King, let’s talk about that plot. It was almost like the author couldn’t decide how to connect all these men together and then was like “let’s find a crazy plot twist that makes no sense and then spin it around until it does”. The Slum King and Mercado makes sense but her dad? It was so convenient to have him as the “blackmailer” that it wasn’t believable.
Also Boon is her father.
When I heard that this was a Count of Monte Cristo retelling, I thought it would be more action, more adventure. Not some cheap romance and gambling debts.
The world building is mediocre at best and honestly doesn’t make sense. Is Moray an island? If so why is there a neutrality agreement? The Empires would have the same water access and if it’s not an island...what is it? The entire Moray sounds like the Vice sector so how is it “underground”?
This story starts out sad, I’ll admit. A little orphan girl is on a debtor ship to pay off her parent’s debt, and that’s sad. It is. But... okay, let’s discuss the entire concept of these ships first. They don’t make sense, how did they get away with it, how did they begin? I have more questions than answers, especially because they seem so prominent...
Then let’s talk about Amaya. She knows that she shouldn’t trust anyone, and yet she easily falls for Boon because of his gold? And then falls for Cayo because of how pretty and “soft” he is??? I cannot. If you’re gonna be a touch bitch than be a tough bitch? You can’t be soft for a boy when you’re getting revenge!
Cayo, Cayo, Cayo. That boy is a drunken mess no matter how much “redemption” his poor sister is forcing into him. It’s admirable, really, what he would do for his sister. But the fact that he so easily falls back into that whole of a vice... I cannot. People slip, I get it. But you cannot spend an ENTIRE BOOK talking about “I’m better” just for that to happen. Romara, the Slum King’s one daughter, deserved better than that.
Speaking of the Slum King, let’s talk about that plot. It was almost like the author couldn’t decide how to connect all these men together and then was like “let’s find a crazy plot twist that makes no sense and then spin it around until it does”. The Slum King and Mercado makes sense but her dad? It was so convenient to have him as the “blackmailer” that it wasn’t believable.
Also Boon is her father.