International superstar Winter Young is recruited by a secret espionage agency to target a super-wealthy businessman who also happens to be an international criminal. Of course he can’t go in alone, so the agency sends one of its brightest and youngest agents along as his ‘bodyguard’, and well… long glances, blushes and frisson ensue! An extremely fun read.

At first I wasn't sure if I'd like this at the first few chapters, I thought it'd be really slow and maybe not my type anymore however I ended up enjoying it once I really got stuck into the story, I flew through the last 40-50% of the book than the first half I dredged through.

Definitely interested in picking up the second book when it comes out!

I loved this and I just loved Marie Lu’ s writing, it’s so beautiful and so descriptive. I love her characters and how real and relatable they are. The story is so clever how all the threads just slowly pull together and the ending, I didn’t see that coming and definitely wasn’t expecting it. I can’t wait for the next one already

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I’m was excited to receive an arc from the publisher through NetGalley. I loved the Legend series by Lu and felt it held up on reread. So to see a new story, with the added bonus of a worldwide superstar turning spy for a mission, was definitely something I didn’t know I was looking for.
I found this book to be a bit odd in the end. The characters had been aged up to include a bit of swearing and some more direct intimacy. My previous experience with romance in Lu’s writing is very fade to black. This was somewhere in the middle, where nothing was described in graphic detail, but there was a bit more than an implication. I didn’t find this worked very well for me, it felt like it had maybe been toned down or spiced up to attract a specific audience (which isn’t me). It was probably too spicy for a younger audience but nowhere near spicy enough for an older one.
I was also a bit confused by the aging of the characters. Whilst they were adults (albeit very young adults) they felt much younger than their given ages. Again, I feel that maybe the characters started older and were aged down (maybe to capture Lu’s existing fan base) or started younger and aged up (to maintain ages with Lu’s existing fan base). I don’t know, it just felt a bit of a disconnect.
Despite the disconnect, I did enjoy the book. I love the premise. There was a lot of action. The mission was a bit silly but fun and the twist was fairly obvious (but still enjoyable when it happened). If you are looking for a bit of escapism then I’d recommend it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

As a big fan of Marie Lu, I was excited for this one! And she did not disappoint!

Stars and Smoke is a young adult novel with elements of mystery and suspense, alongside romance.

The novel follows a spy and a superstar on an undercover mission, and is filled with plot twists. While this is different to Marie Lu's usual dystopian and fantasy novels, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was a fun read, as she intended it to be!

One of the only two things I had an issue with was how fast the romance progressed. I'll overlook this because I liked the chemistry and the timeline felt longer than it actually was. The other thing was that one of the main characters had a chronic condition, but it was never named - as someone with multiple chronic conditions, the representation could have been more meaningful if Marie Lu named the condition!

However, I really liked the other representation, particularly that there was a bisexual, Asian, male lead!

Overall a great read if you want something fun, and filled with romance, suspence and undercover agents.

I've only read Legend by Marie Lu before, and I loved that book so much, so I was looking forward to reading her newest release even if it was very different! Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I just found it to be pretty unbelievable and therefore I didn't find it intense or exciting. Like, why on earth would a top super-secret spy agency recruit a boy-band member to help them take down one of the most dangerous men on the planet? It just made absolutely no sense, and Winter being involved didn't, for me anyway, add anything to the spy plotline.

I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters at all; in fact I didn't pick up on any feelings between them whatsoever, whether it was hatred when they were enemies or love when they weren't. The plot was pretty predictable, and I didn't find myself shocked by the ending. I do think the book was really easy to read, as I've found with Marie Lu's Legend, but I just don't think this book was for me.

So much fun. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review. Loved the cover as well.

Marie Lu does it again! A delightful book about spies, superstars, friendship, and love. I'd really recommend this for fans of her other work.

I was a fan of Marie Lu’s previous books and often recommended them to students in the library; and received positive feedback.
I was very interested in this new direction and wondered what new ideas and directions Marie could find.
Young adult novels should be publicised as.much as adult novels as their audience can be highly critical with a short attention span. The subject matter has to engage quickly and remain interesting and this is what Stars and Smoke does.
Teaming together a highly successful pop star with a trained spy when both have emotional and family issues makes a page turning read but add a spot of romance, a bitter betrayal and a erroneous judgement of character , then you get a book which cannot be put down.
There is no gender stereotype in this book, which is refreshing and also no freebies, if you want to succeed then you have to work at it , but it comes at a price.
Fantastic read

The hottest star out there, Winter Young, is recruited into a secret agency for a job....that's when he meets Sydney Cossette and their job takes them to London to spy on a villain!!!!!

They're both not without their pasts, presents and flaws......

'It’s a lonely job, but you won’t realize just how lonely it is until you start. He could already feel it. And somehow, it was familiar.'

I loved being in London, loved they ate Twirl's (the best gluten free chocolate out there!) and loved every single thing about this read!

I gorged this in a day, flew through it, couldn’t put it down!

Winter and Sydney forevs!

Thank you to Net Galley for the early copy of this book.

'Stars and Smoke' centers around Winter Young, world famous popstar and Sydney Cossette, secret agent. Winter is recruited by Sydney's organisation for a mission that requires his specific skillset. I won't give too much more away about the plot than that!

I found this to be an engaging book that I'd aim at Year 9 (13+) readers as the writing style is accessible but challenging enough. Could maybe even say this is CHERUB equivalent for girls? I definitely see this book having wide appeal, with two well fleshed out and likeable characters in Winter and Sydney who have a fun dynamic. There are enough twists and turns throughout to keep the reader engaged as well. One small critique is that I'd say the finale felt a little clunky but it all does wrap up nicely with a set up for a sequel that I would definitely be interested in reading!

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I went into it thinking it would be more of a fantasy and was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t. There was a slight romance element to this book but mainly it was the spy/mystery story. It was very clever how it all intertwined and the ending I was not expecting! I am looking forward to the next one already where hopefully the main characters are more grown up and go onto some more difficult cases together.

Stars and smoke

Listen, I read this book in a grand total of 2.5 hours. It is really difficult to put down because it draws you in so well.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Marie Lu, and Penguin for the opportunity to read the book.

Sydney and winter are characters with some of the most interesting backstories I've seen be built up in a book that's roughly 300 pages. We see them both deal with grief in different ways, and I thought it was really well handled. The book also contains mentions of abuse at several points and mentions of winter having previously passed out due to not eating and over working himself. So if those are things that might cause you distress, maybe be wary of this book.

The first plot twist I did not see coming, the final plot twist I predicted after that one, but it made it no less exciting when events occurred. I cried at a point involving winters mam just before the ending, there was banter/enemies to romance and spy hijinks. It's all in here, and I loved it.

I loved the little details the author threw in too. From the attraction between the side characters to winters relationships with his backup dancers. I liked that they showed a relationship between winter and his backup dancer where they split but he's still someone winter feels he can trust too often in books people breakup and are either getting back together or can't be in the same room.

If I had one complaint, it's that we didn't get enough of a training montage before the mission started. I wanted a little bit more of Sydney teaching him things and being surprised at how much he could do. But other than that, this is an easy 5 star read for me, and I wasn't expecting it to be.

Swoon worthy superstar meets though super agent. What can go wrong? A lot! There are bombs to avoid, killers to be outrun and feelings to be acknowledged.
I loved this book so much! The story is fast paced and full of action - a real page turner. Did I put the book down? Yes, however I did it only to take a deep breath and calm my nerves. Highly recommend!

Winter is a global superstar. He plays sold out stadium and is adored around the world - the perfect cover when he is approached by a secret agency to help them take down a dangerous smuggler.

This was such a fun book! The secret agent elements were so exciting to real, and the characters brilliantly crafted. I can't wait for more adventures!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This is one of those books that has nothing wrong with it, per se, it just didn't mesh with me.

It's a really clever idea; it's well thought out; the characters are great; it's well written. I have no problem recommending it. It wasn't a good match for me, sadly, but that doesn't say anything about it. There's some good insights here about fame and what it does to a person.
The ending implies that there might be more, and I hope there are, I'll happily recommend them to other readers as well. Well done.

I'm really not the right demographic for this book, it was promoted as YA but it's very juvenile. Having said that it's quite an entertaining read although rather predictable.

Interesting concept with an exciting and engaging storyline. I particularly enjoyed getting to know the two main characters

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Stars and Smoke' by Marie Lu

'Stars and Smoke' is the latest book by Marie Lu and usually I am a huge Marie Lu lover, but this book just felt like a big flop for me. I didn't enjoy the story or the characters and I just didn't connect with it at all. Will I be continuing this series from Marie Lu? No but I'll just go back to rereading my other faves by her.

DNF - 20%

Yeah, I can't do it.

I tried, for old times' sake, because it's Marie Lu, but I have definitely outgrown stories like this. I'm too old, grumpy and sleep-deprived to suspend disbelief for teen secret agents whose beauty we need to be constantly reminded of. The last straw was:

Everything about him—dark eyes and thick lashes, the rich black hair that looked effortlessly perfect, the pillow-soft lips, the tattoos that decorated his forearms down to his left hand, the grace in his stride, the lines of his figure—drew the eye.


Come to think of it... I'm pretty sure I disliked descriptions like that at sixteen too. Not to worry. There's plenty of folks who'll love this.