Starflight by Melissa Landers

 

A job and a new life await Solara Brooks on Vega, a newly terra-formed planet in the lawless outer realm. But first she has to get there. Which means indenturing herself in exchange for her passage. Too bad the only taker is Doran Spaulding, the handsome, entitled heir to the galaxy's largest fuel corporation...and the guy who made her life hell in school. 

When Doran threatens to renege on their deal and leave her stranded on some outpost, she stuns him, kidnaps him, and uses his money to gain passage on a rundown spaceship called the Banshee. This time he's her servant. 

Their journey gets even more complicated when Doran is framed and suddenly finds himself the galaxy's most wanted felon, while space pirates try to force Solara into an unwanted marriage for her mechanical skills. Solara and Doran must rely on each other, and on the eccentric crew of the Banshee, if they ever hope to win their freedom.

My thoughts:  Starflight is a rollicking YA science fiction adventure with lots of action and humor. There's an excellent twist towards the end, too. I had so much fun reading this one! It doesn't feel like a YA book full of teen angst and drama. The world-building is great and the characters are well-drawn. I really enjoyed how Solara and Doran start off as enemies, always sniping at each other, then gradually come to trust one another as friends...and more. Their relationship, and wanting to know what will happen between their two shipmates, Cassia and Kane, has me eager to read the sequel. 

Happy Reading!

Two worth reading...

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

What this book offers:  Impressive galaxy-building with lots of futuristic tech, exotic alien races, and a complicated history of how they all came together. It's a well-written and entertaining space adventure, very character-driven, that revolves around a pieced-together spaceship called the Wayfarer, and her truly unique crew. Chambers went into a lot of detail about everything and everyone, and sometimes I felt like all that detail slowed the story down and made it feel a bit long. But overall, I liked this one. And I'm very interested in seeing where she takes her crew next.

Lost Girls by Merrie Destefano

What's good about this one:  It's one intense, crazy ride right from the start. Rachel goes missing for two weeks, but when she comes back, she can't remember the last year. Everything from her friends to her hair has changed, and she doesn't know why. And she doesn't know who kidnapped her, or how she got away. There are some really good plot twists in this one as Rachel uncovers the truth about her past and her new friends...ones I did not see coming. This YA mystery is suspenseful, fast-paced and fun.

Happy Reading!