Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the e-arc to review!

Deep in space, humanity now lives among a fleet of ships, and the season for the faded royals to get engaged is here. The Valg Season is a courtship ritual held for 4 weeks every 5 years and this is Princess Leoni "Leo" Kolburg's last chance to secure a wealthy match to save her family from financial ruin.

However, when her first love returns 3 years after Leo broke his heart, Leo finds that she may not have ever stopped loving him. As she rediscovers her feelings, Leo finds herself uncovering dangerous plots, blackmail, and secrets long left buried.

It's strange, because I usually am not drawn to sci-fi romances, especially not ones likened to the bachelorette, but I found myself thoroughly enthralled by this story. The world building wasn't super strong, but I didn't find myself minding that in the slightest as I found myself latched onto Leo and her story. Leo is a lot like me- curvier, not one for parties and plastered smiles, much preferring to be left in silence to read her books. This is me!

I was also a big fan of Elliot. Both of these main characters were well-written and very believable as people, which made it easy to feel for them in their rollercoaster of ups and downs. And their romance! I love back and forths like this, playing tug-of-war with my feelings.

I was mildly interested in the underlying plot and mystery. There were moments where it felt completely secondary- this is definitely a book where I would say the romance is the main focus and the sneaky plots were merely sprinkled in for a bit of intrigue and weren't the point of the book. Again, I did not mind this because I definitely enjoyed the other aspects.

I would say one thing I did not like was that the ending felt far too rushed. Everything else felt more like a slow burn and then bam bam bam we're at the end with everything neatly tied up.

I still enjoyed it though!

If you want a fun, light read with a straightforward plot, a couple of compelling characters, and some well-done romance, this is the book for you!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was sooo excited when I saw that I received an arc of The Stars We Steal! I LOVED Brightly Burning and I just adore Alexa Donne’s writing, so I knew this book could do no wrong and I was right! This book is the Bachelor in space with a Jane Austen flare. As soon as I heard that pitch, I knew I would love it.

It took me longer than anticipated to get through this novel, but that was purely because life got in the way! Once I picked it back up I could not put it down and I couldn’t stop thinking about it! Alexa crafts such well-rounded and compelling characters, I really felt like I knew each of them. (I love how her main characters’ dresses always have pockets!!!)

I cannot wait to read more from Alexa Donne, she is so talented! She’s is definitely on my auto-buy list now!

Review has been posted on Instagram (@Bayley.Pepper)

The Stars We Steal is a YA sci-fi novel that follows Leo, a princess living as part of a space colony. While she still has her title, it’s becoming increasingly meaningless, and due to her family’s rapidly dwindling finances, Leo has to participate in an event known as the Valg, where eligible young people are expected to pair up in a number of dating activities and eventually choose a partner from the group. Leo isn’t interested in the Valg – she has other plans to get her family out of their financial crisis – but the event becomes a lot more complicated when her ex, Elliot, shows up at the ceremony and becomes impossible to get away from. This book was good, but definitely more romance than sci-fi for what I expected. I wanted more action than I got out of it, and the loose Jane Austin retelling seemed misplaced.

If you enjoyed The Selection series then this book is for you! This is a dystopian style book set in space, where we have the Have and Have-Nots, court intrigue, romance, and a fun cast of characters. I adored the sisterhood, friendship, and writing style of The Stars We Steal. I think going blind into this book is the best because it is slightly predictable, but it is still super fun. I ended up finishing this book within three days because once the plot picked up, I just needed to know how it ended! If you’re looking for your next cozy, sitting bundling up, drinking hot chocolate fun read then look no further!

I was so glad this wasn't the start to a trilogy or huge series. I think the ending was a bit rushed but overall I really enjoyed myself! I think the worldbuilding was fun but didn't overwhelm the story.

I love how Alexa Donne used the familiar romance arc from Persuasion but kept it fresh with surprising twists. If you love swoony romance, court intrigue, and beautiful writing, this is for you.

I read this while traveling and think it's the perfect travel book. It made time fly because I was happily entranced by the story and writing. It's also the perfect couch read. Or bed read. Or pool read.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review – thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

Alexa Donne is an author whose work I’ve been meaning to pick up for a while. I adore her authortube channel and have found her insights into the world of publishing to be super helpful, so I was super excited to find this book up for review on Netgalley. Sci-fi isn’t usually my thing when it comes to books, so I went into this cautiously – but I was pleasantly surprised, and I ended up really enjoying this!

The Stars We Steal is a YA sci-fi novel that follows Leo, a princess living as part of a space colony. While she still has her title, it’s becoming increasingly meaningless, and due to her family’s rapidly dwindling finances Leo has to participate in an event known as the Valg, where eligible young people are expected to pair up in a number of dating activities and eventually choose a partner from the group. Leo isn’t interested in the Valg – she has other plans to get her family out of their financial crisis – but the event becomes a lot more complicated when her ex, Elliot, shows up at the ceremony and becomes impossible to get away from.

This book took me a little while to get into, purely because the first few pages are filled with a lot of information about the world and I found it overwhelming, backing away for a while before I could even bring myself to pick it back up. When I dipped my toes in more cautiously, though, and the sci-fi stuff gave way to the romantic drama, I was hooked. The tension between Leo and Elliot is delicious, and it doesn’t let up throughout the whole book. If you love angst and pining, this is the book for you, because Leo aches for him throughout the entire book and it was so satisfying.

In terms of plot, I found this one to be full of twists and turns. There was a lot going on, but in a good way – we fly along at a breakneck pace and it never lets up for a second, which kept me turning pages at a rapid speed as I was so engrossed in the drama. There truly is never a dull moment in this story, even at the points which felt like they could have been slow or uneventful. This did feel slightly detrimental to the story at the end – when I was at the 90% mark and looking warily at the amount of drama versus the page time left to wrap it up, I did find that the last few chapters of conflict and resolution felt a little rushed in comparison to the rest of the story. Certain events could have used a little more gravitas in my opinion, and it would have been nice to have lingered, but overall I found the pacing to be a pleasant surprise. After all, this book is a retelling of Persuasion, and Jane Austen is not famed for her brevity.

While the plot was great, I did find myself left with a certain number of unanswered questions. There’s a constant underlying worry throughout the book about the fact that resources are dwindling, ships are falling apart, and humanity is beginning to feel the strain of living in space with no indication that a return to earth is on the cards any time soon. I haven’t read Brightly Burning (though I’m now keen to pick it up) which I understand is a companion novel to this rather than an earlier book in a set series, but it almost felt like there should be more to this. Will civilisation ever return to earth? Will the deterioration and living conditions continue? As I understand it, Alexa has now started writing in a different genre, so it doesn’t seem like there’ll be another book in this world where these questions are addressed, and honestly that stresses me out haha, I need answers! Maybe that’s just because space terrifies me and I would have liked to see Leo and her friends set foot on solid ground. It’s not an issue really, but if Alexa writes any more of these books I’d love to see the triumphant return to earth. That’s just a personal preference.

Despite my fear of space, the setting was really beautiful, and once I stopped stressing about trying to get my head around the science, I found it to be super romantic – I loved the way old-fashioned values mixed with the futuristic sci-fi setting. The characters were great, and there was some unexpected representation (lesbian rep and asexual rep) that added a little extra something to the reading experience.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. It was a wild, romantic ride and I’m looking forward to reading more of Alexa’s work in the future.

SPOILERS!

Right from the start, I loved Leo's sense of humor. She is witty and smart and seems like she will be a strong character.
I wish there was a little more world-building in explaining the ship and where they are in space so I could imagine it more vividly. But even so, it sounds like an interesting place which is corrupt and awful like many other dystopian universes.

Leo's family is interesting, a family which is struggling to hold onto their power and wealth by hoping their daughter will marry a rich man who will save them from their woes.
They knit a ridiculous story about giving other people the opportunity to live a lavish life by renting out their apartments so they could live off the money for the rest of the year.
Much to Leo's surprise, the family brings along an old lover of her's, Elliot. Leo and Elliot's short engagement ended in heartbreak when her family insisted that Leo, a princess, is far too good for someone like Elliot who is a Valet. But now he is back and is also filthy rich.

The Valg (which I must say the name sounds like someone trying to dislodge phlegm from their throat) is basically a giant dating game to see who can land the best match with hopefully the most money and prestige.
Leo, being forced into it by her father, is completely against the awkward mating rituals and wishes she didn't have to attend. Her younger sister insisting that Leo go because if she doesn't she can't go either. (which seems to be a common theme in books like this.)

Leo has mixed feelings about Elliot's return, especially when it appears that he wants to court her sister for marriage. She feels a mix of jealousy and hatred toward herself, Elliot, her sister, and well.... everyone.
I understand her feelings but she is still pushing him away, also rejecting every date and then feeling disappointed that she didn't get any matches, which was impossible and not going to happen because she clicked no on everyone.

One thing that does irritate me a little (not this authors fault, its a cliche) is that the younger sister is much more beautiful, more social, but not as smart as the older sister.

I love Evgenia's character. She is fun, true to herself and a good friend. I love that she is so open about her sexuality and not conforming to societies wants just because they want babies.

Looking at Elliot's betrayal you have to look at it from both angles.
The first is that Elliot grew up in the working class, serving the 'royals' who get everything they want and all the money they need and the working class barely gets a thing. He manages to break through the barrier of rich and poor which is very rarely done. He wants to make a difference for the other working-class people on all the ships.
But is he doing it the right way?

Leo's point of view is from someone who grew up as a princess but they don't exactly have money, she is trying to go about things the legal way to make things better for her struggling family. She feels bad about other people's situations but has a more selfish outlook on things. She wants her family to be safe and doesn't want them dragged into the middle of the black market where, even though they knew nothing about it, they could be imprisoned or even killed because it happened on their ship.
Leo wants to make a difference with her water filtration system that will help all the ships but is having a hard time pitching it to anyone.

They both have very selfish AND selfless opinions on the same matters.

Leo makes a show to Ben, Elliot's friend, by asking Nora, a servent, to sit with them at dinner. You can see that she only thought to do this because she was worried that Ben would have a bad opinion of her and not want to think about her filtration system. She wants him to think she views the working class as equals, but she never actually does much to prove that opinion.

I feel like Leo and Elliot's relationship and 'engagement' moved a little fast. I wanted to see a bit more build-up to their relationship, more chemistry and awkward moments like they had dancing on the Sofi. They both went off and got engaged to other people (not either of their choices) but quickly made up and felt that there was something more sinister going on with the Captain.

I don't see how Leo didn't suspect that there was foul play in her mother's death, especially after the note she found in her mother's dress. And then stupidly agrees to meet with her aunt in the place that her mother died with no suspicions at all.

Overall, I enjoyed the characters. I liked that they were not perfect. They had issues, were stubborn and prideful. They had room to grow and change.

I was disappointed that there wasn't more to the romance, it all seemed very dull and mechanical for my tastes. I wish there were more Leo and Elliot scenes where their relationship and trust started to build up again and where we can all feel more invested in their relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I admit that when I requested this, I didn't even register that this would have Jane Austen vibes. I just saw "space" and "The Bachelor" and wanted to read it. I enjoyed The Selection so I figured I would like this as well. I'm not a huge Jane Austen fan, so when I did find out this had those vibes, I understood why the characters were so irritating to me. I kept reading, though, because it was well-written and I wanted to see how the story would progress.

It's been a while since I've read Persuasion, so I didn't register that this was a re-telling of that story until another reviewer pointed it out. But I feel like this one increased the social divide by making Leo a princess. Sure they keep saying that royalty is meaningless, but clearly it still means enough. For me, this made her backing out of the engagement more understandable and Elliot's initial attitude that much more asshole-ish. It also made it really hard for me to root for him as a love interest, especially as things developed.

I liked some of the minor characters, like Evy and Daniel. Honestly, I feel like poor Daniel got the worst deal out of all this. His story didn't even feel concluded, and I was really unsatisfied with how all that was handled. I would've liked Carina to be a lot more fleshed out than she was, as she was portrayed as very oblivious and careless most of the time. Also would've loved more development out of the father and Captain Lind. Stuff at the end felt like it escalated quickly with very little clue that this was what would happen. I get the element of surprise and wanting to put in a twist, but a bit more of an idea that this was possible would've helped.

There's very little reason to set this in space. In fact, setting it in space in the future made the whole country divide feel weird and out of place. You're living in a spaceship; who cares or even keeps track of if you're German, Swiss or whatever? Also, how in the world do they get all these resources? Where do they come from? Where is the fleet going? Why do they elect captains like a democracy? Don't captains need to have experience running a ship that big, know how the various parts work, be able to delegate tasks, etc? That kind of thing is just never explained, and the problems with the social divide are never really addressed or handled in any meaningful way. This could have very easily have taken place on some random planet and almost nothing would've changed.

The book does have a nice writing style and there is some rep here (lesbian, gay, asexual, mentions of non-binary and bisexual) but not much in the way of racial diversity that I noticed. Which... again, doesn't make sense if you're in a spaceship fleet and you're trying to diversify the gene pool. I still liked parts of it, but I think if the setting were more simplified then it would've been better. Decent romance, but I think The Selection was closer to The Bachelor than this.

THE STARS WE STEAL is a fitting prequel to BRIGHTLY BURNING. I missed this literary universe and discovered a new set of characters to love. I enjoyed Donne's sci-fi twist on Persuasion though I've never read literary classic myself. I also appreciated the story's social commentary and what she was trying to convene, but it was somewhat shallow. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It is a fun fluffy read meant for teens, so there are instances where shallowness of deep topics are most suitable for teenaged consumption. This book was a definitely page-turner for me even though the pacing drudged at times. However, with a cast of interesting characters, the pacing didn't bother me. Hate-to-love romances are my jam on buttered toast, so I was going to keep reading anyway.

Alexa Donne is definitely an auto-buy for me and I can't wait to see what she does next.

#TheStarsWeSteal
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the E-arc copy of The Stars We Steal.

The Stars We Steal is a light and fun YA book that combines the “Bachelor” and the “hate to love” tropes which are two of my all-time favorites. Alexa Done handles them in a way that compliments her diverse cast of characters but fails to make the plot more enticing to the reader.

The story unfolds in space, 200 years from now, where all humanity resides in spaceships. Our protagonist is the 19-year-old princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg who is the heir of a European spaceship on the verge of financial ruin. The Valg season, in which every wealthy/royal single person tries to find his/her perfect match, is upon her and she must seek a rich candidate to marry if she wants to save her ship and her family. What will happen when her ex-boyfriend makes an appearance after three years and from a poor boy is now the rich owner of a whiskey ship?

Reading the synopsis, I knew the book had the potential to be one I could love. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed it, I can’t say I fell in love with it.

My main issues were the plot and pacing. The plot was way too simple and the plot twists were predictable. Every problem was easily solved, and I didn’t feel that the characters were in danger even if they were, actually, in dangerous situations. All in all, I can say, the plot was bland and pretty much unmemorable. The pacing slowed down a couple of times, due to the lack of tension, and that’s the reason I dropped the second star from my rating.

The strongest point of the story was definitely the characters. Leo and her ex-boyfriend, Elliot, were well-developed and had chemistry with each other. Their bantering and their interactions were interesting and fun to read but, I have to admit, I expected more tension between them. The side characters such as Carina, Evgenia, Klara, Daniel, and Ben felt like real people and I loved the fact we had so many characters with different sexual orientations and body types among them.

If you want a book full with the good kind of drama to pass the time and with not that much of a plot, world-building or high stakes, then look no further; The Stars We Steal is the perfect choice for you.

I received this e-arc from NetGalley for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Leo was a princess in name only. Her family was financially struggling and her father counted on Leo to save them by marrying not for love but money. Enter Elliott the boy she loved but was forced to end an engagement with years before. Needless to say he was angry. Now realize all of this takes place in space.....in the future. The story begins as the Valg, a chance for all eligible young people to meet and find a marriage partner, begins. Love was the least of the reasons many of these young people searched for a mate and many, like Leo, were not interested in marrying at all. This was an interesting story, despite being a bit predictable at times. There was mystery, deception and entertainment through out this book. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A cute, romantic, quick & easy read! It felt like a beautiful contemporary/romcom wrapped in a sci-fi novel.

I was already hooked by the synopsis because I’m a sucker for a good romance and this gave me vibes from the selection series and matched series. So if you loved that vibe definitely pick this one up!

Also, the lgbtq+ representation was cool to see! I felt less forced which made it feel more natural especially since it’s not marketed as some lgbtq+ novel. Though such a story with an lgbtq+ lead character would also provide such a unique twist in their world that emphasizes marriage and ranking so much.

Also loved that the main character is a brainy, curvy girl!

Ultimately, this is the book for you if you want to feel some romantic tension. It’s like a romcom in words and you’ll be whisked away on a starry, romantic rollercoaster.

While I enjoyed the characters and the world, the story itself was a predictable one. There were no shocking twists and turns. If you are looking for a YA romance with a sci-fi spin than this book is for you.

I really enjoyed this. It was slow at times and I found myself skipping some parts, but overall the book was good. A future where we live in space and resources are going scarce. A romance and teen drama.

Very predictable and like many other YA stories on the market. I did appreciate that it was a standalone and that every storyline wrapped up at the end. Just too predictable for me.

Princess Leonie is the sensible one of her family (dad and sister), she's trying to earn them some extra money by hiring out their spaceship during the Valg season - when all the aristocrats of the fleet party and pair off. Her renters include Elliot, Leo's former fiance, and as well as having to try and work out how she's going to avoid being pushed into marrying for money, she also has to work out how to navigate that complicated relationship.

It's a version of Persuasion, and it's quite fun. Persuasion is my favourite Austen novel, and this is nowhere near as good - but if you take the theoretical base out of the picture, it's enjoyable. Leo is a good main character, she's pleasingly sarcastic about the idea behind the Valg season and actually has some agency about her - even if she does have to be rescued by Elliot. Carina, her younger sister, is much less irritating than Elizabeth in Persuasion! Several of the other characters are appealing, Evgenia in particular, and even annoying cousin Klara is well drawn enough that she's more than her petty surface.

If you want proper social commentary on the problems of listening to others and how women lack agency in society, then read Persuasion. The Stars We Steal doesn't cover that very well at all, but it's quite good fun and enjoyable, so ignore the claims for the plot basis and read it on its own merits.

The bachelor meets... Jane Austen? In space?

In The Stars We Steal, our protagonist, Leonie, is steadfastly keeping her small family together, all the while getting ready for Valg Season (AKA the bachelor in space except with a bunch more options) and pining over her lost love, Elliot (Elliot Wentworth... I really couldn't read his full name without snort laughing at the heavy handed Persuasion reference).

There is some political drama involved but it's really all secondary to the romance between Leo and Elliot. The romance is interesting enough, but everything else in the book feels so shallow compared to it. There could have been way more attention paid to the setting of the book as this is a post-Earth colonization of the stars, which has a lot of potential story telling punch. But, it was mostly for naught. As for the Austen retelling, I can't say that this book really does her work a service.

I would recommend this book if you're looking for YA romance with a little politics and space stuff thrown in the mix for good measure.

I really liked this book. I have been in a reading slump lately and this one helped me get out of it. The plot was very active and i never became bored with it. I will be recommending this book to everyone.