Mundie Moms

Monday, February 13, 2017

EMPRESS OF A THOUSAND SKIES by Rhoda Belleza / Blog Tour: Book Review & Giveaway


Hello and welcome to the next stop in Penguin Teen's EMPRESS OF A THOUSAND SKIES, blog tour. Today's stop features my review along with a giveaway! Be sure to enter to win. First, here's a little bit about the book. 

ABOUT THE BOOK


By: Rhoda Belleza
Published by: Razorbill
Released on: February 7th, 2017
Purchase from: The Publisher | Amazon 
Add it to Goodreads
Source: arc from the publisher in exchange for my honest review


Empress
Rhee, also known as Crown Princess Rhiannon Ta’an, is the sole surviving heir to a powerful dynasty. She’ll stop at nothing to avenge her family and claim her throne.

Fugitive
Aly has risen above his war refugee origins to find fame as the dashing star of a DroneVision show. But when he’s falsely accused of killing Rhee, he's forced to prove his innocence to save his reputation – and his life.

Madman
With planets on the brink of war, Rhee and Aly are thrown together to confront a ruthless evil that threatens the fate of the entire galaxy.

A saga of vengeance, warfare, and the true meaning of legacy.

A good start to what has all the makings of a promising series. EMPRESS OF A THOUSAND SKIES was not what I was expecting. I kind of liked that about this book. 
This is one of those books that didn't have one strong element that sucked me into the story. Instead this story had a few little things going for it, that kept me reading. For example, the setting, the secondary characters and the history of Rhee and Aly's people and the planets they both come from. This history was intriguing, and something that I definitely wanted to know more about.


Having this story told from both Rhee's and Aly's points of view was awesome. Belleza did a fabulous job with writing their dual points of views. Often times I feel like that in itself is a challenge, but Belleza does a great job. I feel like this story wouldn't have worked being told any other way. Another thing I liked about the book is the way Aly's story is told. I also loved the secondary characters. Dahlen, and Kara, made this story for me. I am really looking forward to getting to know more of them. 

Character wise, I had a hard time with Rhee. It felt like she was a character I was being told about, vs getting to know her. With her story, there needed to be more showing, vs telling. I really wanted to feel like I got her. I'm not saying she was a bad character. I'm really hoping there's more to her come the sequel. 

It's clear early on that the Princess is out for revenge, for the death of her family. She'll stop at nothing to clear their name, and claim her throne. It made it easy for me to root for her in that regard. The person who betrays her is part of the plot twist I didn't see coming. I swear I should have seen that one coming too, but I didn't. I was so surprised that I missed that one, that I ended up missing the other obvious twist at the very end of the book. 


Setting wise, it was well structured, though it did jump around to various places a lot. At times it was a little confusing trying to figure out where the the characters were at. However, I did like the element of danger, and the surprise with regards to all that was going on. I loved that the setting included a few different worlds.

Normally I'm not one who picks up a sci-fi book, but this was one book I was intrigued with. I've heard a lot of great things about it. While I may not have loved it, it was still a good read, and one I read in one sitting.  I really think the little things that I didn't like about this book, which I didn't list them all here, are things that will be fixed in the next bookOver all, this book does have a lot going for it. I'm looking forward to picking up the next installment in this series. 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Rhoda Belleza was raised in Los Angeles, where she grew up writing X-Files fan-fiction and stuffing her face with avocados. She's a children's editor at a publishing house and writes from a sunny Brooklyn apartment stuffed with far too many bikes and far too many shoes. When she's not writing, Rhoda obsesses over nail art tutorials, watches kung fu movies, and sews together crooked things that pass for clothes. Empress of a Thousand Skies is her debut novel. Follow her on Twitter @rhodabee.

ENTER TO WIN


Enter for a chance to win one (1) of three (3) signed copies of Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza (ARV: $17.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on February 6, 2017 and 12:00 AM on February 20, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about February 22, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  


FOLLOW THE TOUR


Week One:
2/6 – Brittany’s Book Rambles – Guest Post
2/6 – Bibliophile Gathering – Review 
2/6 – Seeing Double in Neverland – Mood Board
2/7 – Tales of a Ravenous Reader – Excerpt 
2/7 – In Wonderland – Review 
2/8 – Across the Words – Character Fan Casting
2/8 – Novel Ink – Review 
2/8 – Bookling Critics – Review 
2/9 – The Young Folks – Interview 
2/9 – Here’s to Happy Endings – Review 
2/10 – Butter My Books – Book Look
2/10 – Ex Libris – Review 
2/10 – My Friends Are Fiction – Guest Post

Week Two:
2/13 – Stories & Sweeties – Empress Cupcakes
2/13 – What Sarah Read – Guest Post 
2/13 – MundieMoms – Review 
2/14 – YA Wednesdays – Character Fashion
2/14 – Fiction Fare – Review
2/15 – Once Upon a Twilight – Favorite Quotes
2/15 – The Books Buzz – Review 
2/15 – Take Me Away to a Great Read – Review 
2/16 – The YA Book Traveler – Empress Trailer
2/16 – Bookworm Everlasting – Review 
2/17 – The Forest of Words and Pages – Like/Try/Why
2/17 – The Paige Turner – Interview 
2/17 – Fangirlish – Review


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