Thursday, December 26, 2019

REVIEW: Shattered Stars by Theresa Kay




Shattered Stars (Broken Skies, #3)Unexpected allies. Unexpected betrayals. Unexpected abilities.

The last thing Jax ever wanted was to be a weapon. Her abilities are unpredictable at best, but there’s no one else with enough power to take on Jastren and his mental manipulations. She doesn’t have to do it alone, though. Not only can she rely on the unwavering support of Lir, Rym, and her human friends, she also ends up with help from a surprising source.

Meanwhile, her twin brother Jace—his body controlled by Jastren, and the shattered pieces of his mind locked inside—has become a monster. The struggle to hold on to what’s left of his humanity has left him weak and more confused than ever before. Every thought, every impulse, and every memory has the potential to destroy him—and everyone else around him.

The futures of both the humans and the E’rikon are on the line, but as ulterior motives and political machinations are revealed, it becomes clear that the betrayals aren’t restricted to only one species. Can Jax and Lir get everyone to work together in time to prevent the two species from destroying each other? Can Jace find some measure of redemption for all he has done? And will Jax be able to harness her powers without losing herself?
NOTE: This is the third book in a series. There may be spoilers for the previous books. See my review for book one here and book two here.

MY THOUGHTS
So, I absolutely loved the first two books in the series. I was super excited to read this book but shortly before this book came out, hard times came to my family. At the time, my reading changed. I gravitated toward feel-good books, and this book was put on the back burner. Fast forward two years and I finally read this book.

I did not enjoy this book as much as the previous books but it is not the book's fault. I was at a disadvantage and did not remember everything from books one and two. My reading tastes have also changed. I used to love to read alien books, and while I still find books with aliens interesting, I do not gravitate to them anymore and I do not read as many dystopian books anymore either. Even though my tastes have changed and my memory was not the best, I still liked this book and it read like a solid conclusion to the series. It took me a bit to get into it because of my whole memory thing, but I ended up becoming invested in this book. There is a lot of action in this book and it all felt like a climax. I found the abilities interesting and I felt like I really understood more about Jax's abilities.

This book is also from both Jax's and Jace's POV. The book mainly follows Jax, but there are the occasional chapters from Jace. In this book, Jace is in terrible shape. Controlled by Jastren, losing himself and his sanity. It was terrifying to see his state of mind, but his perspective was clearly different from Jax's. The book does focus a little on family and friendship, especially the fact that Jax feels like she is losing her family, but since so much happens in the story, most of the book focuses on trying to defeat Jastren and getting the two species to work together (which is very difficult). Most plot lines move so quickly that there is no room for a break in between.

Of course, there is romance in this book. I will admit that I kind of sped-read through some romance scenes because they are a bit too lovey-dovey for me. Jax and Lir are now bondmates, which is pretty much the alien equivalent to married. Again, most of the focus was on the plot, not the romance (which I was thankful for), but we do see (or hear?) how they support each other through their telepathic connection. Although, they also have their fair share of trouble.



IN CONCLUSION
Overall, I did like this book. Would I have enjoyed it more if I read it earlier? I probably would have, but at that time, I was avoiding dark books (especially ones with death), so I would have had a difficult time reading this book. I am glad that I finally got around to finishing this series and I am glad that I discovered this series in the first place.

I hereby give this book
3 Stars
Meaning: I liked it

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