As a person who shies away from alien stories, I have to put this out there -

I LOVED this book and I need book 2 stat!

I guess it makes sense that I fell in love with this story. A girl who loves (forbidden) books and her conflicted love interest who appreciates music? Yeah, sign me the hell up.

Humans have pissed the aliens off (no surprise) and have fallen under their control. Lacking emotion, the aliens lay down the law - no art is allowed, which I think any of us living in the shelter-in-place can agree makes for a dull existence. But, you know life has a way, or a secret basement library.

Ellie and Morris are distinct characters that I was instantly ablate visualize, which is something I struggle with. Alechia did an amazing job describing their characteristics, physical and emotional. They both had vivid voices and I never wanted the story to pivot from them (except at the end, when we meet some special side characters - give me a side story about them!).

Ellie, the girl with the books, and Morris, the boy out to destroy, is the enemies to lovers story I was searching for. Embarking on a journey that kept me on the edge of my seat, the two of them were full of so much angst that I was like KISS ALREADY (but please don’t kill each other). I listened to this book while on a bike ride and later on a run and you can bet I made a fool of myself yelling at these two in public.

As I was reading this story, I tried to think of what books I would seek for a library. Picking titles is too hard but I definitely would stack it for emotions rather than for literary development. Give me all the books that will make me feel (there’s definitely a copy of The Serpent King in there, ok?).

Full of diverse, rich characters and a story you won’t be able to stop reading, The Sound of Stars is sure to land on best of lists (ahem, mine for sure). If you love Star Wars but didn’t love the way The Rise of Skywalker ended, I encourage you to pick up this story!