Friday #Review - Blood of a Thousand Stars by Rhoda Belleza #YALit #Fantasy

Series: Empress of a Thousand Skies # 2
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: February 20, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Epic Fantasy

Empress

With a revolution brewing, Rhee is faced with a choice: make a deal with her enemy, Nero, or denounce him and risk losing her crown.

Fugitive

Framed assassin Alyosha has one goal in mind: kill Nero. But to get his revenge, Aly may have to travel back to the very place he thought he’d left forever—home.

Princess

Kara knows that a single piece of technology located on the uninhabitable planet Wraeta may be the key to remembering—and erasing—the princess she once was.

Madman

Villainous media star Nero is out for blood, and he’ll go to any means necessary to control the galaxy. 

Vicious politics and high-stakes action culminate in an epic showdown that will determine the fate of the universe.

Blood of a Thousand Skies is conclusion to the Empress of a Thousand Skies duology. Story picks up right where the first installment left off. The story features four distinctive characters: Kara, Aly, Rhiannon, and Nero. As the story opens, Princess Josselyn Ta'an, who was thought to be dead, is actually alive and living under the name Kara. Since the sister she doesn't remember announced that Josselyn was in fact alive, she's been on the run and hiding from those searching for her with Alyosha Myraz (Aly) former Uniforce soldier who was accused of trying to kill Princess Rhiannon.

She has no desire to become Empress. She wants to remove any memories of her former self. Fact is, Kara's memories are all but non-existent before the age of 12 thanks to her "mother" Lydia. She has no memories of her younger sister, or what happened to her parents. Not like Rhee does. But, after Kara triggers a wooden cylinder with a secret inside, it sends her on a wild journey across the universe searching for something called the overwriter. Kara has to make the choice of finding the overwriter and permanently removing her Josselyn memories and letting Rhee take all the responsibilities, or actually stepping up and taking her true role of Empress. 

Meanwhile, Rhee is caught between an executioner and his guillotine. Nero has her right where she doesn't want to be. She has stepped up and accepted her role as Empress even though she now knows that her older sister is alive. Alongside her temporarily is Dahlen who is pretty much her own ally but is also off on another adventure for most of the story. She can't trust Nero. She can't trust her own Tasinn Royal Guard to keep her safe, and her mantra of Honor, Bravery, and Loyalty hasn't stopped the ant-Rhee sentiment that rapidly spreads. 

I'm just going to say this. I have huge issues with the way the author treated Rhee in the end. Was she the perfect character? No, but at least she was trying to do the right thing for her people who were being used like pawn pieces on a much larger game board. She put up with so much crap for the past 6 years since her parents died, that she should have been given a little bit more respect by those like Kara. Kara walks on water and tried to walk away from her responsibilities while Rhee was shoved to the side for whatever reason. Plus, Rhee has nothing but heartache and bloodshed that follows her wherever she goes. 

Nero is a blood genius and a megalomaniac. He is so far ahead of anyone in this book, that it makes Rhee and Kara look like children playing an adult game of life or death. Nero twists the rules when it suits him. He is the puppet master making Rhee dance to his tune. He outwits & outmaneuvers everyone in the rush to find the overwriter which will give him ultimate powers over everyone. He is also a compulsive liar and a sociopath. After learning that Josselyn is alive, he brilliantly isolates Rhee as well as any of her allies. The question is, who will be the one to step up and defeat Nero?    

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#Monday Review - Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza #YALit #Science #Fiction @rhodabee @RazorbillBooks

Series: Empress of a Thousand Skies # 1
Format: Hardcover, 314 pages
Release Date: February 7, 2017
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Library
Genre: YA, Science Fiction

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.

Empress of a Thousand Skies is the first installment in author Rhoda Belleza's Empress of a Thousand Skies series. I would put this story into the category of science fiction space opera. This is a story that actually features dual characters in Crown Princess Rhiannon "Rhee" Ta'an and Alyosha Myraz who serves at the pleasure of the Kalusian military. Each of character struggles with their own personal demons. Rhee wants revenge on the man she believes had a hand in her family's deaths, while Aly is just trying to survive in an universe that doesn't care for those with different skin colors.

Rhee is the apparent heir to the Ta'an Dynasty. She has spent the past (9) years away asking herself how she survived when her parents and sister did not. She's spent time focusing on getting her revenge and believes beyond a shadow of a doubt who is to blame. On the day of her sixteenth birthday, Rhee, who is supposed be attending her coronation, finds that she's been betrayed, & her world tossed up in the air by an attempted assassination. Rhee is rescued by a strange man in Dahlen who suggests that Rhee go into hiding since everyone now believes she is dead. He also believes that she is the key to saving the universe from yet another bloody war. 

Meanwhile, Aly finds himself being accused of assassinating Rhee after he and his partner chase down an unknown ship. He is a scapegoat pure and simple because of his skin coloring. This is a universe that does see skin color as a deal breaker. I know that's not necessarily the word that I wanted to use. But, in Aly's case he and his partner Vincent are stars of a hit show called Revolutionary Boys. Who better to put the blame on assassinating Rhee than on someone from the planet of Wraeton? Someone expendable? Someone from a planet that was devastated by war? Like Rhee, Aly finds himself in the company of a surprising character named Kara who really ends up throwing this entire series into question.

Both characters are absolutely brilliant, and author Belleza does a remarkable job with building each characters struggles, heart breaks, as well as plenty of ups and downs and twists. This is a story that features a power struggles and the threats of yet another war that will once again affect a large portion of the known world. I think what made this book fun for me, is that I waited until my library made a purchase. In the front of said book, there is an impressive map mapping out each place the characters visit, as well as what quadrants said planets are in. The bad thing is the minor hiccup in the synopsis. Aly and Rhee never do end up together. Each is separated, in some cases, by large distances. 

I am in shock at the ending. I dare say that whenever an author starts to introduce other characters to the story line, you better sit up and take notes, or pay real close attention to what she is trying to tell you. The world that Belleza creates is one with many different planets, with so much happening that you really have to look forward to what she comes up with next. It is a universe where everyone has what's being called a cube. These cubes are implanted so that you can story your memories. The only thing wrong with these cubes, is that they can also be used to track you. Empress of a Thousand Skies is the authors debut novel. It was an impressive read. I do hope that her follow-up is just as good.

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