#scifi

Midnight Wings: A Science Fiction Retelling of Cinderella
by Ariele Sieling
Book 1 in the Rove City series
Rating: 4/5

I love retellings. I can’t get enough of them but place them in outer space and I was hooked! I am in love with this new world that Ariele Sieling has created! I can’t wait to read more in this series. This story is more novella length but it tells the story well and surprisingly, doesn’t feel rushed at the end.

El, short for Eleanor, basically works as a slave for her stepmother and two stepsisters. Besides doing all the household chores, errands and cooking, she works at her space station’s mechanic repair shop, but all the money goes to her stepmother. She dreams of being free and becoming a fighter pilot. In a world based on flight simulators and social rankings, she is the best pilot with the lowest social rankings and despairs of ever being truly free. When an opportunity to prove her prowess as a pilot comes up, will El have the courage to try for her dream or will her stepmother’s abuse provoke her to give up?

Who doesn’t love a Cinderella story set in a sci-fi world? Slightly Black Mirror-ish with the social ranking stuff, but I love the premise and enjoyed every second of this story. The romance actually gets a chance to develop and the fairy godmother characters are believable. El’s struggles are believable and are more the focus of the story than the romance, which was is refreshing.

Highly recommend if you love retellings and sci-fi.

My thanks to the author and BookSirens for an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

Thunder
by Bonnie S. Calhoun
Rating: 5/5
Book 1 of The Stone Braide Chronicles
Revell – Fiction/Suspense/Young Adult

Selah Rishon Chavez lives in a post-apocalyptic America where only remnants of civilization remain after the Time of Sorrows tainted the land with radiation. The day before her 18th Born Remembrance, she goes against her parents’ wishes and goes hunting for a Lander, an alien-like humanoid who is worth a bounty if their distinctive mark remains on their skin after they arrive on their land. As she tries to subdue one, her older brothers take over and steal her prize. The next morning when she wakes up, she finds the Lander mark on herself and confronts her mother. Her mother shares the truth with her and tells her to flee for fear that her father and brothers will kill her. Selah is not who she thought she was. Her father is not who she thought he was. As she tries to make plans to escape and disappear, she realizes that the only one who can help her is Bodhi Locke, the Lander her brothers have taken captive to sell. Can she trust Bodhi with her secret and her life? Will he be able to explain what she is? Will she ever feel like she belongs?

After reading the free pre-quell, Tremors, I was hooked. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything from this author, but I’m a sucker for all the YA post-apocalyptic reads. I could not put the book down. I was so caught up in the world that Calhoun created and had to know what happened next. I haven’t had that in a book in a while. It’s an easy read that’s clean and exciting and fun. I loved the characters and cannot wait to get to know them even more. I am now a huge fan and can’t believe I have to wait so long till the next book in the series comes out. I might just have to reread the story again; it’s that good.

Do yourself a favor and read this book if you want some reading that’s entertaining and just plain fun.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The pre-quel, Tremors, is free on Kindle now.

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