Book Review: Defy the Stars (Constellation, #1)

At this point, I’m not even surprised that I loved Claudia Gray’s, Defy the Stars (Constellation, #1). Gray and science fiction go together just like peanut butter and jelly. No lie!

She’s a soldier.

Noemi Vidal is seventeen years old and sworn to protect her planet, Genesis. She’s willing to risk anything—including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.

He’s a machine.

Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel has advanced programming that’s begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they’re not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they’re forced to question everything they’d been taught was true.

This book is just another example of how accessible Gray’s science fiction writing is. She is able to paint a complete picture of her worlds without bogging down the actual story as she dives into the hard science within those futuristic societies. I find this completely amazing, as she isn’t afraid to actually tackle any scientific explanations that are needed for the plot. She truly is a master at science fiction, there’s no doubt!

Noemi is a complete badass. She’s a soldier who will do anything to save the people she loves and the planet that she calls home. I loved how sassy Noemi was. She’s full of courage and isn’t afraid to do what’s right. It was also really nice to see how she developed throughout the book, learning to acknowledge that there really is no right or wrong side of the war. It was also interesting to see how her relationship grows with Abel as they both learn to work together. Abel is my favorite though. His responses to everyone else are so exact and direct that you think he’s almost joking but he really isn’t. The exchanges between him and Noemi are just so hilarious! They play off of each other so well.

I will say that this is a pretty long book. The pacing did take a few dips here and there, as there was a whole lot of ground covered for a series opener. However, I didn’t feel that it really detracted from the overall story, as these small detours do actually move the plot forward. I think that the only reason that it took me more than a couple of days to finish this book was because I was in a bit of mini-slump. So if you’re a little scared off by the page count, don’t worry – it’s worth it, trust me!

Overall, this was such a fun book. It was exciting and the two protagonists have such great chemistry that I probably could’ve read a story where they just sit in an empty room for 400 pages. Gray once again has written a winner that’s left me begging for more. There’s a reason she has become an auto-buy author for me and this book is a perfect example of that. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an exciting new science fiction series to help ease the pain of The Illuminae Files trilogy coming to an end.

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars

 Have you read Defy the Stars? If so, what did you think of it? Did you like the way the book ended? Did you like Abel and Noemi’s interactions as much as I did?