Scavenge the Stars | Book 1
I love a great retelling, and this first installment of a duology checks all the boxes. In this gender swapped The Count of Monte Cristo, Amaya rescues a mysterious man from the water and has her captivity on a debtor’s ship extended. The man claims to be wealthy and offers her unthinkable wealth if she will only help him escape almost certain death. Both want only one thing, revenge. Their risky adventure entwines them with the darkest citizens of Moray. Amaya ends up with more questions than answers and deep-seated betrayal.
As the main character, Amaya is flawed but not unbelievable. Sometimes I wanted to shake the book and yell at her to slow down and listen to good advice. To me, that’s typically a sign of a good book. I cannot wait to read the next book, then I’ll have a good idea of just how good the story really is.
Scavenge the Stars | Book 2
Amaya barely escaped the danger of Moray and the terrible betrayal that followed. Blinded by revenge and retribution, she must lead the people now counting on her for survival. Cayo lost everything in Moray, except his sister. And now his mission is to find a cure for the deadly ash fever spreading through the city. Amaya and Cayo must figure out how to work together, to follow the trail of the counterfeit money regardless of where it leads and exact their terrible price on the man who betrayed them all.
Amaya and Cayo are deeply flawed, their only complement is each other. Their reluctance to trust each other and their repeated betrayals and lies increase the stakes. I didn’t see the end coming, which is a feat, because I’m good at ruining the ends of books I love for myself. It bends all the rules of any trope you can try and fit it in. By the end of the book, you want revenge as much as anyone else.
Whether you like enemies-to-lovers or heist fiction, you will love the Scavenge the Stars duology. I recommend this series to fans of All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace, The Traitor’s Circle by Erin Beaty, and The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman.