Review of Bright Star by Nickie Anderson and New International Giveaway

Because I love my readers so much, I'm once again opening up this giveaway a little early. Lots of great stuff coming up this week! :-) Don't forget that my interview with Nickie Anderson and Beth Revis is coming up in the next few days!

Goodreads Book Description:
It's bad enough that Sadira Pascal's father doesn't make it home to celebrate her fifteenth birthday. He might be a busy hovership engineer pulling overtime on a new design, but he's always been home for the important things. It's worse when she discovers her father decided to ride on the maiden voyage of his newest ship, the CAS Bright Star, without even telling her. But things really fall apart during Sadira's field trip with her class to observe the hovership launch. Instead of a successful flight, she watches the Bright Star fall out of the sky.

The Central government confirms her father's death, leaving Sadira to pick up the pieces of her former life. While she struggles with her loss, Private Baruj Haddad tries to convince her that her father and the rest of the Bright Star crew are still alive. At first, Sadira doesn't believe there's any hope. But then she stumbles across a message that makes her think maybe, just maybe, her father is still alive. As she digs deeper into the Bright Star's crash, Sadira uncovers secrets about her father's work, secrets that put her and everyone she loves in danger.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

My Amazon Review: I was asked by the author to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bright Star by Nickie Anderson is about Sadira, who watches her genius father, take off in a spaceship that then loses control and crashes. He is presumed dead. Sadira meets another young soldier whose brother was lost in the crash, and together, they realize there is more going on than meets the eye. These two journey across desert sand and harrowing dangers to try to find their loved ones as well as piece together a mystery that just seems to get more confusing as they learn more and more.

I don't want to give away more than that, because finding out the book's secrets is part of the fun. I loved the world building-- I could taste the sand from the setting. Everything is so gritty and dry, and Anderson does a great job giving the prose that feel. Sadira is a great protagonist-- smart, resourceful, but yet scared-- a perfect combination of strong traits yet growth that needs to happen. My other favorite character has to be her nutty professor friend who helps her piece together the puzzle. The plot had plenty of twists and I was entertained from start to finish.

I do wish there were a bit more world building in the sense of I'm not sure why the society is the way it is-- perhaps more will be revealed in the next installment as Sadira learns more. Also, I felt that one particular character became rather two dimensional-- but again, maybe we will learn more in the second book.

Overall, a fast paced, imaginative dystopian with a winning protagonist. I'm eager to see what Anderson has up her sleeve!

Go ahead and enter this terrific giveaway a day early! Win a signed copy of Bright Star, the entire Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis, OR $25 Amazon GC. This giveaway is international, but you must be located where the Book Depository ships to be eligible.

Which countries does The Book Depository ship to? Click here.

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