I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the A WILDERNESS OF STARS by Shea Ernshaw Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: Shea Ernshaw
Pub. Date: November 29, 2022
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 400
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
Deluxe edition with special embellishments on first printing only!
In this magical romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, an illness cursing the land forces a teen girl astronomer to venture across the wilderness in search of the stars’ message that will, hopefully, save them all.
When all is lost, look to the stars.
Vega has lived in the valley her whole life—forbidden by her mother to leave the safety of its borders because of the unknown threats waiting for her in the wilds beyond. But when Vega sees an omen in the sky—one she cannot ignore—she is forced to leave the protective boundaries of the valley. Yet the outside world is much more terrifying than Vega could have ever imagined. People are gravely sick—they lose their eyesight and their hearing, just before they lose their lives.
But Vega has a secret: she is the Last Astronomer—a title carried from
generation to generation—and she is the only one who understands the knowledge
of the stars. Knowledge that could hold the key to a cure. So when locals spot
the tattoo on Vega’s neck in the shape of a constellation—the mark of an
astronomer—chaos erupts. Fearing for her life, Vega is rescued by a girl named
Cricket who leads her to Noah, a boy marked by his own mysterious tattoos.
On the run from the men hunting her, Vega sets out across the plains with
Cricket and Noah, in search of a fabled cure kept secret by the astronomers.
But as the line between friends and protectors begins to blur, Vega must decide
whether to safeguard the sacred knowledge of the astronomers…or if she will
risk everything to try to save them all.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Format: ARC (Courtesy of Publisher and Rockstar Book Tours) + Audiobook (Borrowed from Library)
After reading Shea Ernshaw’s Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, I was curious and decided to check out her other titles. Her latest release, A Wilderness of Stars, is a unique young adult tale. A cross between a romance and a dystopian science fiction, It’s not a page turner in the sense of ‘oh my gosh, I need to finish this in one sitting”. Instead, it’s more of a slow build that sinks its teeth into you over time and makes you want to finish the story.
At the beginning of the story, readers meet Vega, the last Astronomer in a world destroyed by a mysterious illness known as the “consumption”. After the appearance of twin stars in the sky that have been foretold for generations, Vega leaves home and sets out to find the Architect and fulfill the purpose passed down from her ancestors. However, their path to the sea is perilous and they must race against the clock to get to the sea before it’s too late.
Ms. Ernshaw’s writing is undoubtedly poetic and vivid. The mystery she wove throughout the story left me confused for a large chunk of the book. Vega, Noah and Cricket live in a world that is reminiscent of Western movie meets dystopian landscape. Those few details are about all readers get at the start. The author throws out a few bread crumbs here and there, but it's not enough to actually solve the mystery of what's going on or even understand what the end goal is till closer to the end of the story. Once you hit that point, things start to fall into place like dominoes. I think the lack of clarity was what intrigued me, because there were just enough hints to make me want to figure out what was going on.
The romance, on the other hand, is a little weird and off-putting. I did enjoy Noah and Vega’s friendship. However, I’m not a fan of “insta-love”. I think I would have responded more positively if their relationship were more based on the impending destruction of their world, rather than some “fated in the stars” dynamic that was dependent on their roles as the Architect and the Astronomer.
Overall, A Wilderness of Stars was an enjoyable and unique read. The audiobook narrator, Ferdelle Capistrano, did an excellent job with her performance. Readers who enjoy vivid imagery and don’t mind books that move at a slower pace should definitely pick up this book today. Please note that the advertising is a bit misleading - A Wilderness of Stars has more elements of the dystopian genre than fantasy, in my opinion.
Thank you to the author, the publisher Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, Jaime at Rockstar Book Tours, and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary review copy as part of my participation in the blog tour. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review A Wilderness of Stars immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.
About Shea Ernshaw:
Shea Ernshaw is a NYT bestselling author and winner of the Oregon Book
Award. Her books have been published in over nineteen countries, and her novels
A History of Wild Places, The Wicked Deep, and Winterwood were Indie Next
Picks. She lives in a small mountain town in Oregon, and is happiest when lost
in a good book, lost in the woods, or writing her next novel.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub
Giveaway Details:
1 winner
will receive a finished copy of A WILDERNESS OF STARS, US Only.
Ends December 20th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
11/21/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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11/22/2022 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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11/23/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/24/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/25/2022 |
Review |
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11/26/2022 |
IG Review |
Week Two:
11/27/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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11/28/2022 |
Review/TikTok Post |
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11/29/2022 |
IG Review |
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11/30/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/1/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/2/2022 |
Review |
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12/3/2022 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
Week Three:
12/4/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/5/2022 |
IG Spotlight |
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12/6/2022 |
IG Review |
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12/7/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/8/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/9/2022 |
IG Review |
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12/10/2022 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic |
Week Four:
12/11/2022 |
IG Review/FB Post |
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12/12/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/13/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/14/2022 |
IG Review/TikTok Post |
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12/15/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
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12/16/2022 |
Review/IG Post |
I didn't realize that Shea Ernshaw had another book coming up and this sounds incredible??
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