I received this Audiobook from publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza Published by Razorbill on February 7th 2017
Pages: 344
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads
CROWN PRINCESS RHIANNON TA'AN WANTS VENGEANCE.
The only surviving heir to an ancient Kalusian dynasty, RHEE has spent her life training to destroy the people who killed her family. Now, on the eve of her coronation, the time has finally come for Rhee to claim her throne - and her revenge.
ALYOSHA is a Wraetan who has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. Despite his popularity, Aly struggles with anti-Wraetan prejudices and the pressure of being perfect in the public eye.
Their paths collide with one brutal act of violence: Rhee is attacked, barely escaping with her life. Aly is blamed for her presumed murder.
The princess and her accused killer are forced to go into hiding - even as a war between planets is waged in Rhee's name. But soon, Rhee and Aly discover that the assassination attempt is just one part of a sinister plot. Bound together by an evil that only they can stop, the two fugitives must join forces to save the galaxy.
In this exhilarating debut for fans of Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles and Pierce Brown's Red Rising trilogy, RHODA BELLEZA crafts a powerful saga of vengeance, warfare, and the true meaning of legacy.
My Thoughts:
A book blurbed by Kiersten White and narrated by Rebecca Soler? Yes, please! Obviously I jumped at the chance to listen to the audiobook of Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. It’s a promising debut and start to a series. I’m interested in the world and the characters. There were a few small things that pulled me out of the story at times but they were minor (mostly world-building type things.) They happened less and less as the story went on. As the book drew to a close I felt invested enough to be interested in seeing where the story goes.
Rhee and Aly were interesting characters. They grew up and lived in vastly different circumstances. Since the book alternates between their points of view the reader really gets a wider picture of the world they live in. I enjoyed this. I preferred Aly’s chapters to Rhee’s. There were a number of things about her that drove me a bit crazy! I mean, many make sense based on her life experience but it still took a while for her to grow on me. 🙂
I do want to note that, based on the jacket copy, I spent a good part of the story waiting for Rhee and Aly to meet up and work together. That never happened. This is not at all a fault in the story or something the author could control (from what I understand authors don’t typically write the jacket copy.) However, it did throw me off for a bit. I think I would have been invested sooner had I not been trying to figure out how they would meet up.
Empress of a Thousand Skies is a fast paced sci-fi adventure that shows a lot of promise. Events toward the end of the book will have you anxiously awaiting book two!
Audiobook Notes:
As usual, Rebecca Soler is excellent. I just love her narration. Her pacing is spot on and she does an great job differentiating between the characters.
Listen to an excerpt here.
Brittany
How cool! I didn’t realize publishers could send audiobooks for review 😀 I really loved this book, and I’m glad you enjoyed it as well 🙂 Fabulous review!
Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
Morgan @ The Bookish Beagle
I was thrown off by the jacket copy too, it was kind of a bummer! But I enjoyed the rest of the book a lot, it was so fast paced and interesting. I’m not a big audiobook fan but I’m glad to hear the narration was good! I definitely want to read book 2.
Michelle
To me Rebecca Soler is the selling point of any book. She’s such a gem. I watched a Youtube video of her narrating Heartless the other day and immediately fell in love with her – she does her job with such a passion! Can’t go wrong with her!