#Review: There Once Were Stars by Melanie McFarlane | #Giveaway @McFarlaneBooks @XpressoTours

There Once Were Stars

by Melanie McFarlane

Young Adult>Sci-Fi>Dystopia

Peace. Love. Order. Dome. That’s the motto that the Order has given the residents of Dome 1618 to live by. Natalia Greyes is a resident of Dome 1618, a covered city protected from the deadly radiation that has poisoned the world outside for four generations. Nat never questioned the Order, until one day she sees a stranger on the outside of her dome. Now Nat wants answers. What else might her government be hiding from the good and loyal people of Dome 1618?

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DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book in exchange for honest review, as part of this blog tour.

Cover is not what drew my attention in, at least not at first. What drew me in was the blurb. It was interesting how vaguely the plot was described and I was surprised. The story is fairly fast paced. Natalia Greyes is . . . she's a bit complicated to explain, but the author does a good job getting you acquainted with Nat and her peers. The Outsider is where everything begins to get really interesting. I would say that Evan's character is better developed than Nat is. Nat's friend, and possible love-interest, Jak is also slightly more developed than she is. I would have liked to be in Jak's head while he works for the Order. Some of his actions are still questionable, though I've gone back and they are justified to an extent.

I really liked Jak until his true colors began to show, but he was back on the boat later on. Conflict is good. Momentum is there. Kind of hard not to like certain characters more than others. Some characters surprised me, others were predictable.

My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars.

The story was fantastic; great pace but it seemed to be missing something. Not quite sure what, but that's just me. Other than that, it was a really fun read. Very clean and had me on the edge of my seat at the end. On first glance, I will be honest, I expected something entirely different. This book is different. If I were to compare this book to another I would say it is a cross-over of The Hunger Games and Divergent that meets the Zombie Apocalypse, without "actual" zombies. Thrilling story that deserves another round through the late night hours. If you have read this book, what did you think of it? Comment below and let's have a book discussion!

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Whether it’s uncovering the corruption of the future, or traveling to other worlds to save the universe, Melanie McFarlane jumps in with both hands on her keyboard. Though she can be found obsessing over zombies and orcs from time to time, Melanie focuses her powers on writing young adult stories to keep the rest of the world up reading all night.
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