Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

Title: Empress of a Thousand Skies
Author: Rhoda Belleza
Pages: 314
Publishing: February 7th 2017 by Razorbill
ISBN: 1101999101

Synopsis:

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.

Review: 

Unfortunately, Empress of a Thousand Skies was another YA novel that received a little too much hype for my taste. I definitely didn't think it was a bad book, don't get me wrong. It just didn't really have any special qualities that made it stand out. The characters were interesting, but I didn't really connect with them, and the story line was just barley enough to hold my attention. 

I am a huge fan of sic-fi YA books, so I was extremely pumped when I was chosen to feature this book for Storygram Tours. After reading the first few chapters, I was a little disappointed with the pace of the story. It also seemed like the writer tried a little too hard to include bizarre names and languages throughout the story. I am all about diving into a different world, but for some reason I just couldn't get a handle on the names and the strange cussing... were those cuss words? I don't know. 

The characters were interesting and I really enjoyed Aly the most out of everyone. Rhee often seemed too headstrong and more concerned about revenge and not so concerned about whether or not is was warranted. I also felt like there were a lot of loose ends and vague storylines that left me questioning what was happening at times, which may have been because I would totally zone out while reading... never a good sign. 

All in all, it was interesting but a bit drawn out. I think the book could have been condensed a decent amount and maybe it would have held my attention a litter better. I'll still plan to read the second book because I'm completely incapable of leaving a series unfinished, but I won't be shouting about Empress of a Thousand Skies from the rooftops. I often have a very different opinion than others when it comes to YA, so please give this novel a try even though it wasn't a great read for me. I hope you enjoy it more than I did! 

Rating 2.5/3