Book Review: Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She’s so desperate to reach the realm that she’s willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he’s been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe…

Disclaimer: The eBook was bought because I am broke and I can’t afford the pretty hardcover! *sobs*

I have been disenchanted with YA genre (specifically, sci-fi and fantasy!) for a while now, but this book is one that I knew I had to pick up and if there is any author who could lure me back to the YA genre, it is Melissa Landers and boy did I get that one right!

This genre, aka the science-fiction is not always my cup of tea – even with my expansive imagination – I have always needed more than the imaginative gadgets and a futuristic world – I need a good strong plot, characters whom I adore, and action, strong kick-ass action!

And Starflight had everything in it – in spades.

Solara Brooks is an orphan, newly emancipated, and looking to shifting to the fringe in need to find her own independence – basically a place where she wouldn’t be judged by the actions of her past.

And she gets that respite, in Doran Spaulding – a self proclaimed genius and an entitled jerk who indentures Solara to be his servant in exchange for passage to the fringe.

Doran and Solara have  history – and not a cozy one at that – you have a rich spoilt kid at a private school and a scholarship kid who ended beating him to the prestige his own family set up – yeah not exactly the stuff of romantic dreams, now is it?

“I think I have a girlfriend. She has pink hair.”

“Yeah I met her. Pink hair and black soul. You really know how to pick ’em.”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from a felon.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, several things happened at once. 

Lara whipped her head around to face him. Their eyes locked. 

And Doran remembered everything.

Solara is one word – astonishing! I loved her strength, her resilience but most of all I adored how she handled Doran, even at his worst. She is human and definitely made mistakes – but damn if she didn’t keep her head held up high even at the worst situations. In fact, she had me cheering for her, so many times (not really a good idea, when you are reading late into the night!).

Doran took a while to get used to – I am not going to lie, he had me wanting to punch so hard in his little special place that he would never even try and procreate his little spawns in this world. I mean, things that he did to Solara and the things  he had her do wasn’t just petty, they were downright cruel and somehow I couldn’t believe that any author, let alone a talented one like Ms. Landers.

But I hadn’t learnt my lesson yet – I was astonished with he turn Ms. Landers took for both Doran and Solara – their reluctance to even give each other the benefit of doubt to slowlybut surely trusting each other to have their backs but most f all, the free fall into love. Both Solara and Doran grew up with the plot, not just individually, both together and with the ragtag group of characters that not only helped them, but soon became their family.

“I don’t know why I bother trying.”

“The feeling’s mutual. I am downgrading you from cohort to accessory.”

“You can kiss my accessory”

“In your dreams.”

I fell in love with this book, irrevocably. And I do mean that, especially considering that it’s been a looong time since I loved any Sci-Fi/Fantasy book – so that tells you how special this book is. It has every single freaking thing in it – a group of characters that are human enough to make mistakes, a romance that makes it seem that protagonists are mature teenagers than douchey ones, a plot that always kept me on my toes and writing that was just the icing on the cake.

Trust me, if you are a fan of a well written plot, with loads of actions and characters that have rooting for them through every mistake they make, this is a book that you shouldn’t miss and Melissa, an author you need on your shelf!

“As he lay close to her in the soft grass, their hands linked between them, it was easy to forget everything but the dusting of freckles on her cheeks and the scent of powdered sugar on her breath, His heart ticked to a new rhythm, one that warned he was in trouble. Because this girl had left a mark on him, deep down where time wouldn’t erase it.”

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐