Audiobook Review: The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Crushed on by Christy Jane, on May 13, 2020, in Reviews / 1 Comment

Audiobook Review: The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

As a person who shies away from alien stories, I have to put this out there – I LOVED this book and I need book 2 stat! See why The Sound of Stars was the perfect read for me!



Audiobook Review: The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

The Sound of Stars

by Alechia Dow
Published by: Inkyard Press
on February 25, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Sci-Fi
Pages: 432
IndieBoundAudiobook through LibroFM
Goodreads

Don't miss this spectacular debut novel... Can a girl who risks her life for books and an alien who loves forbidden pop music work together to save humanity? This road trip is truly out of this world! A beautiful and thrilling read for fans of Marie Lu and Veronica Roth.
Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world's population.
Seventeen-year-old Janelle "Ellie" Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. With humans deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, emotional expression can be grounds for execution. Music, art and books are illegal, but Ellie breaks the rules by keeping a secret library. When a book goes missing, Ellie is terrified that the Ilori will track it back to her and kill her.
Born in a lab, M0Rr1S was raised to be emotionless. When he finds Ellie's illegal library, he's duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more. They're both breaking the rules for the love of art--and Ellie inspires the same feelings in him that music does.
Ellie's--and humanity's--fate rests in the hands of an alien she should fear. M0Rr1S has a lot of secrets, but also a potential solution--thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while creating a story and a song of their own that just might save them both.




Review

I guess it makes sense that I fell in love with this story. A girl who loves (forbidden) books and her conflicted love interest who appreciates music? Yeah, sign me the hell up. 

Humans have pissed the aliens off (no surprise) and have fallen under their control. Lacking emotion, the aliens lay down the law – no art is allowed, which I think any of us living in the shelter-in-place can agree makes for a dull existence. But, you know life has a way, or a secret basement library. 

Ellie and Morris are distinct characters that I was instantly able to visualize, which is something I struggle with. Alechia did an amazing job describing their characteristics, physical and emotional. They both had vivid voices and I never wanted the story to pivot from them (except at the end, when we meet some special side characters – give me a side story about them!).

Ellie, the girl with the books, and Morris, the boy out to destroy, is the enemies to lovers story I was searching for. Embarking on a journey that kept me on the edge of my seat, the two of them were full of so much angst that I was like KISS ALREADY (but please don’t kill each other). I listened to this book while on a bike ride and later on a run and you can bet I made a fool of myself yelling at these two in public. 

As I was reading this story, I tried to think of what books I would seek for a library. Picking titles is too hard but I definitely would stack it for emotions rather than for literary development. Give me all the books that will make me feel (there’s definitely a copy of The Serpent King in there, ok?). 

Featuring dual narration, a full of diverse, rich characters, and a story you won’t be able to stop reading, The Sound of Stars is sure to land on best of lists (ahem, mine for sure). If you love Star Wars but didn’t love the way The Rise of Skywalker ended, I encourage you to pick up this story!



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