The Star Thief by Jamie Grey

When I read Ultraviolet Catastrophe, I knew that Jamie Grey was a great author and I wanted to read all of her books. Unfortunately, I had to wait.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long before The Star Thief was announced.

She might only be twenty-three, but Renna Carrizal is the most notorious thief in the galaxy. There’s just one problem – all she wants is to get the frak out of the business.

But when Renna rescues an injured boy from the warehouse she’s casing, she finds herself on the run from the mob instead of enjoying retirement on a garden world. Turns out, the kid was a plant to lead her to MYTH, a top-secret galactic protection agency.

MYTH needs Renna’s special skills, and they make her an offer she can’t refuse – unless she’d like to spend the rest of her life on a prison ship. To make sure she does her job they shackle her with a MYTH watchdog, the handsome but arrogant Captain Finn.

A former mercenary-turned-galactic-hero, Finn happens to have his own dirty secrets. Secrets that Renna wouldn’t mind uncovering for herself. Together, they discover an experiment to develop illegal cybernetics that will create an unstoppable army. The intended target? The human star fleet.

Now Renna must use her skills as the Star Thief to pull off the biggest job of her career – saving the galaxy. And herself.

Doesn’t that sound amazing? I signed up for an ARC as soon as I could, and anxiously waited for the email that would arrive with my shiny .mobi file.

And when the email finally arrived, I was so busy that I didn’t get to it for over three weeks. *sigh*

Then Super Bowl Sunday came along. An hour and a half before the game I sat down to read, and I didn’t stop until five minutes into the third quarter.

The Star Thief was absolutely amazing. Renna is quite an accomplished thief – not only did she steal several things in the book, she also stole my heart. I was so wrapped up in her story that I barely even watched the commercials (which are, as everyone knows, the best part of the Super Bowl).

Renna and Finn’s relationship, though a bit rocky in the beginning, is wonderful. Renna and Myka’s relationship is adorable. And Renna and Viktis’s relationship, if you can call it that, is strange, and I don’t think I like Viktis very much. LOL

Seriously though, Renna and Finn are awesome together. And I’m not going to spoil the (totally cliffhanger) ending, but I will say this: if Renna and Finn don’t *cuts out spoilery bit* in the next book, I might cry.

Relationships aside, the characters were all amazing. All of the main characters had fully fleshed out backgrounds, and so did several of the side characters. I wish we’d gotten to know Finn’s team a bit better – I can’t even remember the names of two of them – but the ones we did know brought a lot to the table.

Have you ever finished a book and realized that you totally missed the fact that there’s a sequel? And worse, there’s a really bad cliffhanger?

Yeah.

So basically, this book rocked my socks off, until I got to the end. Then it made me want to curl up in a ball and sob “why???” to anyone who would listen. I don’t like cliffhangers. *mopes until the next book comes out*

The Star Thief was an amazing book by an amazing author. I highly recommend both this book and her debut, Ultraviolet Catastrophe, and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out!

The Star Thief on Amazon*
The Star Thief on Goodreads

Jamie Grey spent most of her childhood writing stories about princesses who saved the day and pretending to be a daring explorer. It wasn’t until much later that she realized she should combine the two. Now, as a tech-obsessed gamer geek, her novels mix amazing scientific developments, future worlds, and the remarkable characters that live in them.

Jamie lives in Michigan with her significant other and their pets, who luckily tolerate her overspending on tea, books, and video games. You can learn more about her at www.jamiegreybooks.com, or follow her on twitter via @jamie_grey.
Jamie on Goodreads
Jamie on Twitter
Jamie on Facebook

*Amazon link is an affiliate link.*

Ultraviolet Catastrophe by Jamie Grey (And A Giveaway!)

I’m so excited to be a part of the blog tour for Jamie Grey’s Ultraviolet Catastrophe! I heard awesome things about it on Twitter, so when I saw the link to sign up for the blog tour, I signed up immediately. And I’m so glad I did!

Quantum Electrodynamics. String Theory. Schrödinger’s cat. For sixteen-year-old Lexie Kepler, they’re just confusing terms in her science textbooks, until she finds out that her parents have been drugging her to suppress her outrageous IQ. Now Branston Academy, a school run by the world’s most powerful scientists, has tracked her down and is dying for her to attend – as a research subject.

She takes refuge at Quantum Technologies, a secret scientific community where her father works as a top-notch scientist, and begins her new life as girl genius at Quantum High. But the assignments at her new school make the Manhattan Project look like preschool – and Lexie barely survived freshman algebra.

Her first big assignment – creating an Einstein-Rosen bridge – is also her first chance to prove she can hold her own with the rest of QT’s prodigies. But while working with the infuriatingly hot Asher Rosen, QT’s teen wonder, Lexie uncovers a mistake in their master equation. Instead of a wormhole, the machine they’re building would produce deadly ultraviolet rays that could destroy the world. Now Lexie and Asher have to use their combined brainpower to uncover the truth behind the device. Before everyone at Quantum Technologies is caught in the ultraviolet catastrophe.

From the moment I saw the cover over at Icey Books, I knew that I had to read this book. I don’t usually go for Sci-Fi books, but the gorgeous cover and the description had me hooked.

I started this book towards the end of an 8 hour car trip, and it was killing me when I had to put it down to sleep that night. The moment we got back in the car the next day I started reading it and ignored everyone until I was done with it.

When I first looked at this, I thought that it looked cute but all of the science stuff was going to go right over my head. I was wrong! Jamie does a great job keeping the science to a minimum, and explaining the things that need to be explained for the story.

Speaking of things that Jamie did a great job with, can we talk about the characters? Lexie and Asher were PERFECT. Lexie had just enough flaws that she was believable, and by the end of the book, Asher became a really awesome guy.

And I gotta say – I loved his shirts. And the references to all the different fandoms. And the love that wasn’t an insta-love. And pretty much this whole book.

The supporting characters were awesome. Zella, Max, and Amy, Asher and Lexie’s parents, Coco… they all played an important part and they were all perfect for the part they played.

Honestly, I loved everything about this book. EVERYTHING. I can’t think of anything I didn’t like.

Okay, I lied. I didn’t like the creepy guy. You know, the one whose name I can’t remember. Oops. See, this is my brain trying to forget the one thing I didn’t like about this book. Lol

I sat here for forever trying to think of something to say other than: “OMG THIS BOOK IS AMAZING GO BUY IT NOW.” But I can’t.

So – OMG, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING, YOU NEED TO GO BUY IT NOW. Or, you know, just enter this giveaway. 🙂

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jamie Grey spent most of her childhood writing stories about princesses who saved the day and pretending to be a daring explorer. It wasn’t until much later that she realized she should combine the two. Now, as a tech-obsessed gamer geek, her novels mix amazing scientific developments, future worlds, and the remarkable characters that live in them.

Jamie lives in Michigan with her significant other and their pets, who luckily tolerate her overspending on tea, books, and video games. You can learn more about her at www.jamiegreybooks.com, or follow her on twitter via @jamie_grey.
Jamie on Goodreads
Jamie on Twitter
Jamie on Facebook

*Amazon link is an affiliate link.

One

One by Leigh Ann Kopans

When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak.

It makes you a One.

Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover.

If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances.

Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.

Merrin’s mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub’s internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it’s more important to fly solo, or to save everything – and everyone – she loves.

I started following @LeighAnnKopans on twitter several months ago, but I didn’t really interact with her for a while. Then after I started talking to her, she graciously sent me an eARC of her book a week or so before its release date. (That’s an e-copy of an ARC, Advanced Readers Copy.)

I knew that people who’d read it were excited about it, but I wasn’t prepared to get so wrapped up in the story! Merrin’s story grabbed me and held me until the very last word.

I don’t hate “insta-love” as much as other people do, but I was very glad to see that there wasn’t any in this book! Elias and Merrin’s relationship seemed natural and was very sweet. The way she charges in to rescue him at the end made me happy – I’m a sucker for people rescuing the people they love. 🙂

The premise was very interesting – people have half of a superpower? I’ve never heard of anyone coming up with something like that before! Leigh Ann did a really good job, in my opinion, of sticking with the standards for superheroes, but still fully exploring her idea of half superheroes.

This was a great book, and I can’t wait to read TWO, the sequel that’s coming out… in the fall… sometime… I think? I’ll have to ask Leigh Ann. 🙂

My Favorite Scene

Spoiler	Select Show
I manage to keep my head down all the way to my locker. All I want is to get there to ditch my sweatshirt, retreat to the girl’s room — if I can figure out where it is — lock myself in a stall for a few minutes, and take a deep breath for the first time since I got here. And maybe eat my lunch in there. Just for today. I wiggle the handle of my locker, but it won’t open. I bend down to take a look at it. No jerk’s poured superglue in there or anything. Before I know it, I’m shaking the stupid locker handle so hard that it’s making a racket, and a few people standing near me look over and cock their heads. When I almost whack my own face with my struggling hand, I give up, resting my head against the cool, solid metal for a second, breathing in through my nose. I am seriously losing it. Over a locker. Half a second later, a shoulder taller than my head pushes into the metal door, and a large hand with long, thin fingers jiggles the handle side-to-side a couple times and wrenches it up, letting the locker pop open. I feel the warmth of his nearness against my cheek, countering the chill of the locker, like a shock on my skin. The guy clears his throat, says quietly, “They’re tricky.” I barely glance at him before I look down at the floor, but I do catch that he has blond hair and glasses. “You new here?” Before I can answer, some guy halfway down the hall hollers, “E! Coming?” The guy at my locker — “E” — gives his head half a shake, smiles a little, then turns to walk away. And now everyone’s staring at me. Great. As soon as I find my way to the bathroom, I place both hands on the rim of one of the sinks, steadying myself there. After a few seconds, I splash my face with water and reach over to the soap dispenser. Everything about this place feels dirty. As I’m lathering my hands, I notice the logo on the soap dispenser. Hub Technology — it appears on every product they make. It’s four arcs, one for each Hub, intersecting in the shape of a circle.. Someone has crossed out the “Hub” in “Hub Technology” and written “Freak” next to it. Suddenly, I can’t get enough air into my lungs. I duck into stall, sit on the toilet, bury my face in my hands, and take one, two deep breaths. I hope with everything in me that all the other kids actually eat in the cafeteria.

Spoiler

Select Show

I manage to keep my head down all the way to my locker. All I want is to get there to ditch my sweatshirt, retreat to the girl’s room — if I can figure out where it is — lock myself in a stall for a few minutes, and take a deep breath for the first time since I got here.

And maybe eat my lunch in there. Just for today.

I wiggle the handle of my locker, but it won’t open. I bend down to take a look at it. No jerk’s poured superglue in there or anything.

Before I know it, I’m shaking the stupid locker handle so hard that it’s making a racket, and a few people standing near me look over and cock their heads. When I almost whack my own face with my struggling hand, I give up, resting my head against the cool, solid metal for a second, breathing in through my nose.

I am seriously losing it. Over a locker.

Half a second later, a shoulder taller than my head pushes into the metal door, and a large hand with long, thin fingers jiggles the handle side-to-side a couple times and wrenches it up, letting the locker pop open.

I feel the warmth of his nearness against my cheek, countering the chill of the locker, like a shock on my skin.

The guy clears his throat, says quietly, “They’re tricky.”

I barely glance at him before I look down at the floor, but I do catch that he has blond hair and glasses.

“You new here?”

Before I can answer, some guy halfway down the hall hollers, “E! Coming?”

The guy at my locker — “E” — gives his head half a shake, smiles a little, then turns to walk away.

And now everyone’s staring at me. Great.

As soon as I find my way to the bathroom, I place both hands on the rim of one of the sinks, steadying myself there. After a few seconds, I splash my face with water and reach over to the soap dispenser. Everything about this place feels dirty.

As I’m lathering my hands, I notice the logo on the soap dispenser. Hub Technology — it appears on every product they make. It’s four arcs, one for each Hub, intersecting in the shape of a circle.. Someone has crossed out the “Hub” in “Hub Technology” and written “Freak” next to it.

Suddenly, I can’t get enough air into my lungs. I duck into stall, sit on the toilet, bury my face in my hands, and take one, two deep breaths.

I hope with everything in me that all the other kids actually eat in the cafeteria.

The Verdict: 5 of 5 Stars

ONE was a very gripping book that kept me hanging from chapter to chapter! I can’t wait for the sequel, TWO, to come out!

Book Squirt

Tag Archives: Sci-Fi

The Star Thief by Jamie Grey

Ultraviolet Catastrophe by Jamie Grey (And A Giveaway!)

One

One by Leigh Ann Kopans