Review Briefs ARCs: Tin Star and Buzz Kill

Tin StarTin Star
(Tin Star #1)
by Cecil Castellucci
YA SciFi
February 25th 2014 by Roaring Brook Press


Goodreads Summary

On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist's leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station.

When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind.

You can read the first five chapters in ebook format on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Pre-order here:
   
  


My Thoughts

I didn't exactly know what to expect when I began Tin Star. It's not a book I've seen any buzz about. I just liked what I saw and read when it appeared on NetGalley, so I requested a copy for review. One thing you should know about Tin Star, it is definitely SciFi. There is some romance, but it definitely isn't the focal point of the story. There are lots of aliens and the entire story takes place on a space station where humans are very much the minority.

I really enjoyed Tin Star for the first half of the book or so even though it was fairly slow paced and it didn't feel like anything would ever get resolved. Tula makes some friends and figures out a way to survive. Then a human ship gets abandoned on the space station with Tula and things change. It was interesting to see how her experiences and how she had changed while on the space station affected her interactions with the other humans.

I liked her friendship with one of the guys, but I didn't really like the other two (the girl and her romantic interest). I understood why she did what she did and acted as she did, but it just didn't quite work for me. Regardless, I really liked how things came together in the end.

Overall a good book. I would definitely say that if you enjoy slower-paced SciFi that you would like this one.

Content: Non-descriptive sex, some gay elements.
Source: From NetGalley, which did not affect my review in any way.


Buzz KillBuzz Kill
by Beth Fantaskey
YA Contemporary Suspense
May 6th 2014 by HMH Books for Young Readers


Goodreads Summary

In this fresh and funny teen mystery, seventeen-year-old Millie joins forces with her classmate, gorgeous but mysterious Chase Albright, to try to find out who murdered Coach Killdare.

Putting the dead in deadline
To Bee or not to Bee? When the widely disliked Honeywell Stingers football coach is found murdered, 17-year-old Millie is determined to investigate. She is chasing a lead for the school newspaper - and looking to clear her father, the assistant coach, and prime suspect.

Millie's partner is gorgeous, smart-and keeping secrets
Millie joins forces with her mysterious classmate Chase who seems to want to help her even while covering up secrets of his own.

She's starting to get a reputation…without any of the benefits.
Drama-and bodies-pile up around Millie and she chases clues, snuggles Baxter the so-ugly-he's-adorable bassett hound, and storms out of the world's most awkward school dance/memorial mash-up. At least she gets to eat a lot of pie.

Best-selling author Beth Fantaskey's funny, fast-paced blend of Clueless and Nancy Drew is a suspenseful page-turner that is the best time a reader can have with buried weapons, chicken clocks, and a boy who only watches gloomy movies…but somehow makes Millie smile. Bee-lieve it.

Pair with Fantaskey's best-selling Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side.

Pre-order here:
   
  


My Thoughts (early review)

I have read all of Beth Fantaskey's books. The others have all had content in them, which I don't care for, but they also have these interesting and unique plots, great characters, and some of the best dialogue, some of it very witty. This is why I continue to read her books. I was hoping that Buzz Kill would be another good book and I was extremely happy because it was, and was also clean. *cheers*

I just love the two MCs in the story! They are such opposites, but find that they have some similarities as well. I loved how Millie would make these internal comments about Chase, who is a football jock, when he would use a big word that just surprised her or would do something else non-jockish. It just cracked me up. Then there was her very straight-forward approach to things and her way of being very blunt. The dialogue between her and her best friend as well as Chase was just fabulous! Chase is really a great guy and I really liked his character too, even though Millie steals the spotlight.

The other part I really enjoyed was the mystery. Millie is trying to find out who killed the football coach. The way she goes about things and how she pulls others in with her was rather humorous in spots. I figured out the murderer at the dance towards the end of the book and Millie takes a little longer, but I still had no clue who all was involved for sure and how it was going to go down in the end. There is definitely a hero or two in this one.

I definitely enjoyed this story! It cracked me up, made me sigh, had mystery, and had some heartbreak too. I  am planning on picking up the next book Fantaskey writes. If you're looking for a mostly light and humorous read, with some mystery and a little romance, then I would definitely recommend Buzz Kill.

Content: Some innuendo, but otherwise clean.
Source: From NetGalley and Edelweiss, which did not affect my review in any way.


Are you planning on reading either of these?








Disclosure: This review is of a book I was given for free by an author, tour host, or publisher, or through NetGalley or Edelweiss. This in no way influences the opinions shared in my review. You may see my complete policy on my policies page. This post also contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of any type using these links, I receive a small kickback.

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