I received an Advance Reader Copy of Starlight Seized by China Dennington. The reason I picked it is because I was intrigued by a sci-fi story following two different people, a generation apart.
I will start by saying that Starlight Seized is one of the most wonderful books I have read in years. I couldn't put it down! The story is engaging, characters captivating, and author Dennington wove in just enough mystery and intrigue to keep me guessing and wanting more.
We follow the journey of young Tessa, third generation historian on the newly colonised planet of Erimost. Occupations on this new planet are inherited, meaning that Tessa's mother and grandmother were also historians.
This story is told through journal entries. As the planet's historian, Tessa is responsible for keeping accurate, but no nonsense, records of important events. But she keeps her own journal on the side where she writes about so, so much more.
Like how her grandmother, Maris Hall, Erimost's founding historian who arrived by spaceship many decades earlier, was responsible for a terrorist attack and is now completely erased from the historical records.
When Tessa comes across her grandmother's personal journal, she sets about finding the truth of what happened. The timeline goes back and forth between Tessa's entries and Maris's, so be aware of this if timeline jumping confuses you at all.
The Erimostians have lost contact with their home planet... around the same time of Maris's attack. Is this a coincidence or is it connected somehow? Join Tessa as she moves with secret organisations, creates strong friendships, and navigates betrayal on her search for what actually happened to her grandmother.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in fictional memoirs, science fiction, and strong, captivating female protagonists. I honestly have zero criticisms of it.
Starlight Seized is fascinating and wonderfully written. There were times reading this book I found myself going back and re-reading paragraphs and pages of beautifully crafted words. Dennington is a master of her craft and I cannot wait to read more from her.
I'm an avid YA/Fantasy reader who's very, very slowly working on my first novel. I used to read exclusively mystery books and still love them, too!
I write terribly good Harry Potter fanfiction, explore Skyrim, Azeroth, and Northern Ireland, crochet any & everything, & cook epic vegan meals.