Review: Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood

Posted December 9, 2015 by Lillian in Reviews / 0 Comments

I received this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Review: Inherit the Stars by Tessa ElwoodInherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood
Series: Inherit the Stars,
Published by Running Press Kids on 2015-12-08
Length: 304 pages
Reviewing eARC from Netgalley
Rating:

Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren's life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?

Initial Reaction:

I’m not sure what I expected from Tessa Elwood‘s Inherit the Stars, but it DEFINITELY exceeded any and all expectations! It is THAT good 😀 The book combines all the elements I love in a good story: science fiction, fantasy, dystopian, and a little romance, plus a great heroine!!

Asa is amazing! She’s the youngest daughter of the House of Fane (one of three houses that rule the interplanetary system…think government/monarchy) and the one given the least credibility by her father. She’s fierce, devoted, and loyal even when those she loves isn’t as loyal to her. She constantly gives of herself AND will do anything to save her oldest sister, heir of the House of Fane, after she is severely injured in an uprising on a quarantined planet…more on that in a minute. Asa’s only pitfall is her naivety. She lives in a world with blinders on basically. She thinks everyone is good and there is little evil. This becomes a real problem early on in the book and I feel like the author does an incredible job with character growth because of it.

And Eagle *le sigh* Eagle is the heir of the House of Westlet. He’s a bit of a puzzle in the beginning, broken and very little self-confidence. You see he was injured to the point of near death and now he’s disfigured. He went from being the person everyone adored to having to hide behind makeup and his crown. But Asa breaks down some walls in him and we see a bit of the man he was before. AND I like him!!!

You survived! You get to eat breakfast with your family every day and dinner with them every night. When people look at you, they should see courage – literally – in your skin, and face the idea that you didn’t give up when they probably would have. You’re awake and standing and if they don’t realize how amazing that is, then you can just blame me.

The plot of this story really revolves around Asa and Eagle, their arranged marriage AND the reason for it. In the opening of the book, Asa’s sister Wren, the heir, is injured when the people riot for food. The planet they are on is quarantined because of the “blight,” a plague that is literally killing everything. The planet is slowly being evacuated and the people have to take a month of decontamination, BUT Wren is dying and Asa tries to get her father to understand this and speed up the decontamination process or at the very least send a doctor. But he doesn’t.

Now Wren is comatose, the House of Fane and it’s interplanetary system is in trouble. Fane needs a way to produce alternative fuel sources or the House of Galton will have an easy opening to attack them. Fane decides an arrangement between Westlet and Fane would benefit them both, hence the arranged marriage. But Westlet is also in danger of losing their throne if they do not deliver the alternative fuel from Fane. Then Asa tricks everyone by becoming Eagle’s bride and not the middle sister, the next in line for the throne.

Asa and Eagle’s relationship is tenuous at best but one thing is clear. He will do what he must to protect her and maybe he’ll even love her. I don’t know but I ship them pretty hard 😀 Overall I LOVED this book! I devoured it in one sitting, unable to tear myself away from the tension and drama. If you enjoy science fiction, fantasy, young adult with a touch of romance, I highly recommend you don’t miss this one!

Final Conclusion:

loved-it

About Tessa Elwood

Tessa Elwood is a web-designer obsessed with stories, coffee, and running shoes. She is particularly fascinated by messy lives and complicated loyalties. Inherit the Stars is her debut novel.


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