Under Different Stars

Review of series.

I went into book 1 without knowing anything about it other than the book had a rating of more than 4 stars and interesting genre tags. Dystopian with aliens? How did I not pick this up sooner?

Once I started I couldn't put it down. I thought most of the series was fantastic with original paranormal/dystopian concepts. There are, of course, some convenient plot points AND the whole “she's exceptionally beautiful and doesn't know it” thing, but overall, these things are actually satisfactorily explained as part of the plot, I think. I really liked the audiobook narrator and listened to all three books (I usually listen to the first book and skim the others because I'm too impatient to savor the story. It's a personal failing).

But book 3. Oh book 3. It felt rushed and smushed together. There were times I thought I must have missed something earlier. And the ending? I. just. can't. I won't spoil it–suffice it to say it was not for me. Normally, that'd be a deal-breaker for me, but I thought about series all night after I finished, re-imaging different scenarios for the ending, and I'm still thinking about it. That says a lot for the story, IMO.

That said, I did just DNF a horror story with excessive descriptions of pet torture, so maybe I'd give anything at least 3 stars RN?

It won't be for everyone, but OVERALL, I enjoyed it and would recommend.