I loved this new take on Jane Austen's Persuasion - in space! This swoony book is perfect for fans of Kiera Cass and Stephanie Garber.

I was first drawn to this book for its beautiful cover, but I quickly realized after I picked it up that I could not put it down. A mix of The 100 meets Robin Hood and one of those silly dating shows on television best describes many interesting twists to this tale.

Although I was cautious at first as I read a few reviews stating that the ending was not thought out, I found that I disagreed. I really enjoyed the ending,  It provided a tsunami of drama, events, and twists that kept me turning the pages and hoping for a second book to find out what happens to the characters and to see how they have grown due to the events that have taken place. (There is an epilogue, but I need more!)

Thank you Net Galley and the Publisher for a copy of this ARC. I greatly appreciate it!

The Stars We Steal is the type of book that once you pick it up you can’t put it down. 

This Persuasion retelling set in space is a mix of romance, sci-fi and intrigue that I didn’t know I needed. I am a fan of regency romance and fantasy so this felt like the best of both worlds. Leo is being forced to find a suitable marriage partner while dealing the complications of a ranking systems she finds unfair and surviving with the limited resources of living in space. I loved Leo’s tenacity and was rooting for her the entire way. I’d recommend this book for romance fans who are looking for a refreshing twist.

Thank you, HMH Teen, for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know you at all anymore. And I don't care to. —Leo

Do you like the idea of girls vying for the affections of a rich bachelor? This phenomenon was common during the patriarchal time of Jane Austen, but it's still relevant today. Otherwise, shows like The Bachelorette or books like The Selection wouldn't exist. I studied the latter series for my undergraduate thesis, so I was intrigued by the premise of bringing all of that drama to space. High five if you also love space operas!

The Stars We Steal features a world wherein Earth is no longer habitable. Because of an environmental disaster, people from every continent have evacuated to space. But instead of living on another planet, they stay on their respective spaceships and begin their lives anew. Americans call their vessel the Lady Liberty, while the British name theirs the Empire.

Leo Kolburg, the heroine, is a German princess and heir to an old European spaceship. She resides on the Scandinavian with her father and sister. The Kolburgs are almost bankrupt, and Leo takes on the burden to save their family from destitution. Sadly, marrying into a wealthy family might be her only option. When the matchmaking season starts, Leo is shocked when she discovers that one of her prospects is Eliot Wentworth, her ex-fiance. Worse, he wants to exact revenge on her.

At first, reading this book was a lot of fun. Although there were some cliches here and there, the story was generally entertaining. However, I strongly disliked Eliot to the point that I understood why Leo had dumped him in the first place. I didn't care that both of us would rather read a book than go swimming; his hot-and-then-cold demeanor always annoyed me. Naturally, my negative thoughts about him affected my opinion of Leo, who couldn't get over him in spite of all the better men around her. Leo was empowered enough to create a water filtration system for their spaceship, so why wasn't she strong enough to move on?

Nonetheless, Leo was aware of her flaws. She scolded herself for taking pleasure in her flirty sister's pain and pining over a vengeful (and very suspicious) boy. How could I be frustrated with someone who was already frustrated with herself? Haha. Still, it was amazing how Leo forgave Eliot for openly flirting with her cousin and sister out of spite. I'm not sure if girls in real life would be willing to do the same. Considering the popularity of feminism, probably not. Girls today usually hate fighting over boys because doing so encourages toxic masculinity.

The main antagonist was too selfish to be trounced. This, in turn, made the ending too convenient to be believable. I know that happy endings are products of wishful thinking, but they should at least be logical. How can such a cunning and relentless dictator end up in prison so quickly? Perhaps the book would be better if it had an open conclusion.

To be fair, this book had a fascinating setting. I loved that each ship was a like nation in itself. If you wanted to visit a particular vessel, you would have to get a visa first. Moreover, although the spaceships had different leaders and social classes, they had to rely on each other to survive. This resulted in much political tension, which I mostly enjoyed as a member of the middle class.

As a whole, The Stars We Steal was equally fun and stressful to read. You should read this book in February 2020 if you love Kiera Cass and Beth Revis. If some of its themes sound outdated, remember that it's a close retelling of Persuasion, a semi-historical novel. The author probably retained some tropes (e.g., mean boys and marriage-driven girls) because she wanted to be loyal to the source material.

This was a pretty cool retelling of Persuasion in space. Combined with aspects of The Bachelor,  Sense and Sensibility and murder mystery among the stars,  The Stars We Steal was a fun and slightly predictable read. With the secret of her royal family facing genteel poverty, princes Leo is doing the best she can to guard that secret and find ways to support her family without having to marry for money as her family is pushing her to do. During the Valg, a match-making ceremony that assures royalty lineage, Leon finds herself face-to-face with the love of her life Elliot; a young man her family persuaded her to break off an engagement due to his status and lack of wealth. Secrets, family-duty, empowerment, personal desire are among a few issues that Leo struggles with throughout the book. She's a character one can relate to and root for. I'm happy to read other books by Alexa Donne.

I really liked this book, I've been struggling to find a book that fits what I've been looking for and this did. It was a quick read and well written. The words flowed pleasantly and made for an enjoyable read. I needed something light, with a good plot and this provided that. I wouldn't compare it to the Bachelorette, the dating involved didn't quite feel similar to that. It more reminded me of coming out parties and debutante balls. The space concept and execution was unique, providing a detailed setting to understand and enjoy. 
I will say, for all the things I enjoyed about this book, the plot was fairly predictable. Which in this case was a plus for me, I wanted something to lose myself in and not be terribly shocked about. This isn't usually the case for me with my plot preferences, but this book gave me what I didn't know I needed. 
I would recommend this for anyone in a slump or looking for a light young adult novel set in space.

The Stars We Steal is an imaginative and exhilarating take on Jane Austen's Persuasion. Princess Leonie Kolburg, on the verge of destitution, bears the sole responsibility of saving her family from financial ruin and is tasked with finding herself a wealthy husband during Valg Season, a series of elaborate mating rituals intended to foster good breeding, therefore ensuring her family's continued social status and wealth. Unfortunately, Leo has no interest in marrying for anything other than love, if she must marry at all, and would rather find a way to save her family with her ingenious water filtration invention that will improve the quality of life for the entire fleet of ships, if anyone was willing to try it. Making everything more complicated is her former flame, Elliot Wentworth, having returned after making a name for himself and acquiring a fortune and title after she turned down his proposal when he was just the son of her family's valet. She now has to wrestle with her family's impending fall from grace, securing a husband, and making sure Elliot never finds out she never stopped loving him, all while trying to pitch her invention to investors so she can license it and make her own money to save her family. 

The Stars We Steal manages to heighten the tension in all the right places as you root for Leo's success, all the while holding your breath for what happens next. Leo's determination and pluck make for good reading and anyone who has felt the outside pressure of family and society will empathize with her plight. A smart, resourceful girl being reduced to her ability to lure a man when there's so much more she can do seems like it would be a tired theme, but Donne keeps it interesting when paralleled with vigilante rebel forces, an emerging black market, and humanity's best and worst forces coming into collision. At the heart of the story there is love, honor, and justice and no one gets tired of that. It also features a stellar cast of side characters including a frustrated lesbian and a charming asexual flirt who are both just delightful. Set in space in a post apocalyptic scenario where what's left of the human race is trying to survive and rebuilt itself, it speaks of the dangers of greed and wealth, and how history has a terrible way of repeating itself, and how just a few people speaking out and working toward something better can absolutely make a difference. Fans of Austen and Star Wars will enjoy this space-infused romance full of desperate schemes, high tech speed dating, and girls kicking ass in various forms.

The cover art and description made this book sound right up my alley.  I wasn’t expecting this to be a complete favorite, but thought it would be a nice read.  It had fine moments throughout, but the last fourth of the book was so poorly done.  The beginning and middle had build ups and enough drama to be ok, but the last part of the book was so bad.  Trying to be spoiler free here, but it was so poorly done and ridiculous, it was like the author was like oh well here’s the last part of the book let’s just jam all of these things in just to wrap it up.  
I’ve put some time in, and not only did I hate the main characters who you tried to grow with in the book, but they were rude and made poor decisions, yet everything “works” out because you caused enough drama?  None of it was fine, but the last fourth of the book was abysmal.  The main characters didn’t grow, didn’t learn from anything, were selfish and self-centered the whole time.  Wouldn’t recommend anywhere.  Wanted to like this book, but the poor writing and the lack of character growth made that difficult.

**Review will be posted on my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on January 21, 2020**

**3.5 stars**

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for giving me chance to read this eARC.

I did not realize this was a retelling of Persuasion, by Jane Austen, until almost the end.  🙆🏻‍♀️ I felt like it was familiar but for some reason didn’t put two and two together.

Princess Leonie, or Leo, is nineteen years old and single but she is about to take part in the Valg, which is an event that takes place every five years to bring together other young singles looking to make a power match marriage. Basically it helps them avoid marrying their cousins.  👀 At the end of the event, couples will announce their engagement. If Leo could avoid it she would but her family needs her to marry for money in order for them to survive because though they have royal titles, the money is basically gone.

And all of this happens in space! Yes, humans are now living on space ships which made this book even more intriguing to me. But just like Persuasion, someone from Leo’s past named Elliot, comes back and participates in the Valg as well. Can Leo bear to see Elliot marry someone else? Will she have to marry for money or can she make money for her family in another way? With space as the backdrop, there are balls, speed dating, gorgeous dresses, lots of drinking and dancing and of course, romance drama. The past comes back to haunt Leo and her future looks dire.

What I liked:

*I love Jane Austen so the second chance romance between Leo and Elliot is great. Leo and Elliot was secretly engaged in the past but her family nixed it because he was too poor. He comes back rich and now her family and everyone else thinks he’s a catch. The attraction between Leo and Elliot builds again and I was just waiting for them to find their way back to one another!

*Outside of the romance story is the tones of political intrigue. Princess Leonie’s aunt captains the Scandinavian, like it’s name, many of the residents there are Scandinavian or European descent. Learning about the different ships in space and the captains of the ships was interesting. We get a sense there is divide between the royals and the common people, who are starving on some of the other ships.

*Leo and Elliot are both trying to help their people in different ways. Though Leo is “royalty”, because her family has no money she feels pressured to do everything to help her family get money, even if it means marrying someone she doesn’t love. Elliot is helping people on a bigger scale, though in an illegal way. He’s like Robin Hood but his scheme could endanger many people around him. I like them as characters, it definitely felt very “Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth” from Persuasion. Except Leo has more back bone than Anne Elliot I think.

*One of my favorite characters in the book was Evgenia who was Elliot’s friend and was brimming with life. She was the life of the party! And they partied a lot in this book.

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm:

~Just because the setting is in space, there is not much sci-fi in this book unless you count the scene where they do a space walk. So if you want a sci-fi book you will be disappointed.

~The political intrigue part of the story felt weak. I felt there was no urgency – there was a protest and secrets Elliot was keeping but the issue of people with discontent and starving wasn’t resolved in the end. The love story between Elliot and Leo was fixed, yay, but the larger issues at hand? Not much – so will there be a sequel? The ending was rushed.

~Some things about the world building made me pause. For example, this is set in the future, 170 years from now and they still have issues with gay relationships? Evangie had trouble finding a girl to meet on the Scandinavian. Were they just super conservative? I wanted more of the history of the ships and how people came to be on them.

Final Thoughts:
This book has more romance than sci-fi. I adored that it was a Persuasion retelling and I definitely felt it with Leo and Elliot’s storyline but I think on the other spectrum, there wasn’t much urgency about the state of the people living in space though it’s mentioned there is a lot of trouble brewing. I wanted more of that. Maybe there will be sequel?

Overall, I think it’s still an enjoyable story and having it set in space was very interesting.

Alexa Donne is the queen of taking a contemporary concept that may or may not be done to death and putting it in space, making it new and exciting all over again. The Stars We Steal is no exception to this rule. Very "The Bachelor" in space, this novel kept me enthralled from page one till the very end. Highly recommend.

This book had me at ‘for fans of Kiera Cass and Katharine McGee’, and I quite enjoyed it. If The Bachelor was limited to royals and the wealthy living in space because Earth is uninhabitable, you’d have The Stars We Steal. It was the ideal book for my overwhelmed brain - light, easy to keep up with, and predictable in a very comforting way. Think of this as a book equivalent to a pint of ice cream, a gravity blanket, and an old Amanda Bynes movie. It’s not as good as The Selection series or any of Katharine McGee’s books, but it’s perfect for when you want to read something new but don’t have the energy to get overwhelmingly invested.

Leo is the oldest daughter of her father who is the king of his ship, literally. She's a princess with no money and her father needs to her find a wealthy husband so that the king can keep up appearances and keep up his luxuries.

The only way they have gotten by so far is on the generosity of Leo's aunt who has let them stay docked on her ship and waived the normal fees. But now Leo must step up. It's either find money or find a husband with money.

Leo has her own plans that will keep her family solvent and keep her out of a marriage of convenience, but selling people on a water filtration system that includes the sewage isn't easy.

Things get more tense and complicated when Leo's former fiancee (of all of 12 hours) comes back into her life three years after leaving. He's got everything she needs and some of what she still wants.

Can they come together when everyone tried so hard before to keep them apart?

Final thoughts: This starts off as a Persuasion rewrite with some Bachelor additions. Even the rose on the cover is meant to evoke The Bachelor (the author makes sure to state that in the course of the book to make sure that we know). The problem is that it starts off far too close to Austen's Persuasion at the start and then goes way off-kilter. Suddenly there is crime, extortion, danger, elections, and more. I do not understand Leo's final choice at the end because it matches Persuasion, but doesn't match what she was saying halfway through the book. She's an inconsistent character. While the space setting is interesting, it also distracts from the story, especially when things seem to be brought in just for a moment for the story and then left behind. Finally, my last issue is that this feels like Donne is leaving just enough space for a sequel as a just-in-case-this-does-well option. While the story is technically complete, it feels unfinished and incomplete. 

Rating: 2.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I flew through this book in a few sittings, immediately intrigued by the premise and stakes (and that STUNNING cover), and it did not disappoint. The Stars We Steal will be a joy to read for fans of The Bachelorette and Persuasion alike, with a whip-smart heroin, gorgeous world-building, and a romance that's sure to steal hearts.

(And can we get a Daniel spin-off PLEASE?)

Thank you to HMH and Netgalley for the early review copy!

Donne, Alexa, The Stars Who Steal. pgs. 400. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. 
Leo’s family wants her to put her all into Valg season. As a princess by title and the heiress to an aging spaceship she should be the perfect match. But her interest lies in patenting a new water treatment system. Her family needs her to marry well because the family’s fortune is dwindling. At the Valg activities, her ex-fiance (Elliot) seems to be the catch of the season. However, his previous lowly status was the reason her family rejected him. Could they still have feelings for each other? Can Leo avoid being matched and find a ship to try her system? Or, will she cave to her family’s wishes? The characters are intriguing and pull the reader into the story. The plot is well developed, engaging, and puts a fun Jane Austen twist on the book.  With court intrigue, romantic tension, and suspense, this modern retelling of Persuasion will appeal to fans of The Selection, Katharine McGee, and Amy Kaufman.
 
Disclaimer: This book was received as a free e-galley from Netgalley and the publisher. Please note that the majority of the books that we (The Keepers of the Books) review are complementary copies from publishers and authors. We are not paid for these reviews. The copies are provided in exchange for an honest review, and all opinions are our own.

This is a loose retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Princess Leonie "Leo" Kolburg is an unwilling participant in this year's Valg season. Her family's wealth is gone, so Leo is tasked with trying to save her family's finances through an engagement to a wealthy suitor. Unfortunately for Leo, the boy whose heart she broke a few years back has returned. Elliot Wentworth has come back wealthy and ready to find his own match.

I think this story will do well with anyone just looking for a romance or Austen retelling. If you're looking for an angsty YA story of lost love and second chances, then this is a perfect fit. If you're expecting a bit more Sci/Fi action because of the space setting though, you may want to look elsewhere. The setting and secondary plot are a bit overshadowed by the courting/romance storyline.

This is a MUST read book!!!! I loved it. The action along with the drama of a lost love that returns for revenge. You will not be able to put this one down.

First I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

This novel is a blend of "The Selection", "The Titanic" and "Persuasion".....but in Space. Once every 5 years a courtship ritual called "the Valg Season" occurs among the elite. Earth has been turned into an icy tundra wasteland and what is left of humanity circles the frozen globe on ships that are becoming increasingly antiquated with depleted resources. A clear divide has occurred between the elite and the poor, with a very unequal distribution of resources. Meet Princess Leo. She comes from ancient royalty and feels pressure from her father to make a good match in order to save her family from financial ruin. Enter Elliot...the devastatingly handsome love interest from her past that she had previously rejected despite her love for him. Politics ensue and romantic chemistry between Leo and Elliot builds. 

I truly love the IDEA of this novel. I had a difficult time getting into the plot, more effort could have been made in the beginning to explain the setting. I was left with a lot of questions that were glazed over and not answered until later (or not answered at all). Where did their resources actually come from? It has been hundreds of years...why are people still holding on to an antiquated class system? Also, the ending felt very abrupt. I thought until the last couple pages that this would end up being a series and not a stand alone. Overall I am glad I read it, but I don't think I will ever feel compelled to read it again.

The Stars We Steal has the same problem other books set in space in the far future face: the majority of them seem to deal with the same problems we deal with in 2019.

In this book, people of earth wait for the planet to thaw while in space and life seems to be pretty much the same there as it is here. 170 years in space and humanity seems to have made no progress at all in the way people think apparently. 

Giant spaceships in space for almost 200 hundred years? Totally cool. 
Gay people? Nah. 

"I'm so sorry my family is so awful. I don't know what's wrong with them - there are plenty of gay people on the Scandinavian." 

Yes, 200 years in space, and there's a spaceship called the Scandinavian and the fact that there are gay people needs to be noted. Still. I get what the author tried to do but setting this in space kind of overrides everything else. There's a Snowpiercer element to the book, spaceships are divided betweet the extreme poor and the wealthy who still refer to themselves as kings and queens. The majority of the people have to starve for the elite to live like Kings in space, literally. And even though this book focused on the romance part, that was what I was wanted to read about the most. But our heroince, Leo is self centeredd, a little kid with a meaningless title that has brief moments of compasion but those quickly vanish into space.

Throughout the book I kept yelling in my head, YOU GUYS ARE IN SPACE AND PEOPLE ARE DYING SO YOU CAN DRINK CHAMPANGE AND BURN YOUR BACON WHAT IS THE MATTER WITTH YOU.

Why set an entire plot in such a specific environment when the said environment has little to no impact on the plot? This could have been set on a dystopian future and it would have probably worked better. 

Immediately following a cyberattack by the starved people of this migrated population, the main characters spent their day talking about ball gowns and digital beach parties. Yes, digital beaches in space, while the majority of the population had to starve. I pretty much checked out at that point but I was curious to see which direction it would go. Well..

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)