Title: Across a Star-Swept Sea
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Series: For Darkness Shows the Stars, book #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: October 15, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon |
Barnes & Noble
Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.
On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.
Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.
In this thrilling adventure inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine.
I've never read
The Scarlet Pimpernel, but already, I think I would prefer this reimagining over the original tale, simply because the principle character is female in this story. I really love to see a girl in the role of spy, risking life and limb for her fellow man. What's more, I liked that everyone, and I mean
everyone, assumed that the Wild Poppy was a man. I think that's why I favor this narrative without having ever read the other...the unwillingness of others in the story to believe that a woman could possibly be the culprit behind the rescue attempts is quite comical, especially in the foreign land of Galatea, where women are allowed to hold positions of power.
Persis surprises everyone with her antics, even those closest to her, not because they don't think her capable, but because for the last six months, she has been pretending to be someone she's not. And it wasn't the Wild Poppy. She was very clever in making herself over as the ditsy heiress who prefers fashion over politics because who in their right mind could believe that such a girl could ever mastermind -- let alone complete -- the daring rescues that the Wild Poppy is infamous for?
Persis is underestimated at every turn, so is it any wonder that her fauxmantic love interest believes her to be nothing more than a pretty face? Justen Helo is a scientist, a revolutionary one at that, and though he is very obviously physically attracted to Persis, he feels he could never care for someone who so clearly cares so little for the plight of his own countrymen. But as their fauxmance continues, Justen gets glimpses of the real Persis, the one the reader already knows. And yet it still never occurs to him that she might be the Wild Poppy, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. But these little glimpses do help Justen to see another side of Persis, one he might actually like. It's pretty clear to the reader that these two are well-suited for each other, but since Justen is kept in the dark about Persis' secret identity, it takes him a lot longer to see their compatibility; meanwhile, Persis hates that she has to hide her real self from him.
As per usual, Diana Peterfreunds' writing and attention to detail is phenomenal. Her prose is just as stunning as the beautiful things she's using her words to describe, whether it be Persis' nimble sea mink or the gorgeous gowns and hairstyles of the aristocrats in New Pacifica. The story is essentially all Persis', but it is told via third person from that of her companions and cohorts from time to time, as well, and though I don't prefer this method normally because it lends itself to predictability, I found it rather enlightening in this instance.
You don't have to have read
For Darkness Shows the Stars prior to reading this companion novel, but I highly recommend it. Each novel had a distinct feel to it, and each was a complete and whole story on its own. But to truly understand the political intrigue and its foundations in the history of these countries, you'd need a better grasp on the Reduction and its origins, and the first novel in this series does a better job of explaining it. Also, some old friends from
For Darkness Shows the Stars make a surprise appearance in this novel, and it was nice to revisit them and their story, especially since not much time has elapsed since their story concluded in the first book.
Across a Star-Swept Sea is rife with moral dilemmas, gallant rescues, science and technology, and sweet romances. It's got something for everyone. It's a very different sort of book from the first in the series, but both books complement each other well. I believe this is only a duology, but I'm still hoping for more, as I wasn't quite ready for either set of characters' stories to end yet.
About the author:
Diana Peterfreund has been a costume designer, a cover model, and a food critic. Her travels have taken her from the cloud forests of Costa Rica to the underground caverns of New Zealand (and as far as she’s concerned, she’s just getting started). Diana graduated from Yale University in 2001 with dual degrees in Literature and Geology, which her family claimed would only come in handy if she wrote books about rocks. Now, this Florida girl lives with her husband and their puppy in Washington D.C., and writes books that rock.
Her first novel, Secret Society Girl (2006), was described as “witty and endearing” by The New York Observer and was placed on the New York Public LIbrary’s 2007 Books for the Teen Age list. The follow-up, Under the Rose (2007) was deemed “impossible to put down” by Publisher’s Weekly, and Booklist called the third book, Rites of Spring (Break) (2008), “an ideal summer read.” The final book in the series, Tap & Gown, will be released in 2009. All titles are available from Bantam Dell.
She also contributed to the non-fiction anthologies, Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, edited by Jennifer O’Connell (Pocket Books, 2007), The World of the Golden Compass, edited by Scott Westerfeld (BenBella Books, 2007), and Through the Wardrobe, edited by Herbie Brennan (BenBella Books, 2008).
Her first young adult novel, Rampant, an adventure fantasy about killer unicorns and the virgin descendents of Alexander the Great who hunt them, will be released by Harper Collins in 2009. When she’s not writing, Diana volunteers at the National Zoo, adds movies she has no intention of watching to her Netflix queue, and plays with her puppy, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Rio.
Find Diana:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest
Monday, October 21, 2013
Review: Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Series: For Darkness Shows the Stars, book #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: October 15, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
I've never read The Scarlet Pimpernel, but already, I think I would prefer this reimagining over the original tale, simply because the principle character is female in this story. I really love to see a girl in the role of spy, risking life and limb for her fellow man. What's more, I liked that everyone, and I mean everyone, assumed that the Wild Poppy was a man. I think that's why I favor this narrative without having ever read the other...the unwillingness of others in the story to believe that a woman could possibly be the culprit behind the rescue attempts is quite comical, especially in the foreign land of Galatea, where women are allowed to hold positions of power.
Persis surprises everyone with her antics, even those closest to her, not because they don't think her capable, but because for the last six months, she has been pretending to be someone she's not. And it wasn't the Wild Poppy. She was very clever in making herself over as the ditsy heiress who prefers fashion over politics because who in their right mind could believe that such a girl could ever mastermind -- let alone complete -- the daring rescues that the Wild Poppy is infamous for?
Persis is underestimated at every turn, so is it any wonder that her fauxmantic love interest believes her to be nothing more than a pretty face? Justen Helo is a scientist, a revolutionary one at that, and though he is very obviously physically attracted to Persis, he feels he could never care for someone who so clearly cares so little for the plight of his own countrymen. But as their fauxmance continues, Justen gets glimpses of the real Persis, the one the reader already knows. And yet it still never occurs to him that she might be the Wild Poppy, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. But these little glimpses do help Justen to see another side of Persis, one he might actually like. It's pretty clear to the reader that these two are well-suited for each other, but since Justen is kept in the dark about Persis' secret identity, it takes him a lot longer to see their compatibility; meanwhile, Persis hates that she has to hide her real self from him.
As per usual, Diana Peterfreunds' writing and attention to detail is phenomenal. Her prose is just as stunning as the beautiful things she's using her words to describe, whether it be Persis' nimble sea mink or the gorgeous gowns and hairstyles of the aristocrats in New Pacifica. The story is essentially all Persis', but it is told via third person from that of her companions and cohorts from time to time, as well, and though I don't prefer this method normally because it lends itself to predictability, I found it rather enlightening in this instance.
You don't have to have read For Darkness Shows the Stars prior to reading this companion novel, but I highly recommend it. Each novel had a distinct feel to it, and each was a complete and whole story on its own. But to truly understand the political intrigue and its foundations in the history of these countries, you'd need a better grasp on the Reduction and its origins, and the first novel in this series does a better job of explaining it. Also, some old friends from For Darkness Shows the Stars make a surprise appearance in this novel, and it was nice to revisit them and their story, especially since not much time has elapsed since their story concluded in the first book.
Across a Star-Swept Sea is rife with moral dilemmas, gallant rescues, science and technology, and sweet romances. It's got something for everyone. It's a very different sort of book from the first in the series, but both books complement each other well. I believe this is only a duology, but I'm still hoping for more, as I wasn't quite ready for either set of characters' stories to end yet.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Teaser Tuesday #79: Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Series: For Darkness Shows the Stars, book #2
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: October 15, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My teaser:
Yep, still kinda in love with Peterfreund's writing, her beautiful words. It's crazy that a book about revolution could be so pretty, but it is. This author is officially on my auto-buy list.
What are you teasing this week? Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!
Monday, October 14, 2013
Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Series: For Darkness Shows the Stars, book #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: June 12, 2012
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
It's been 15 years or more since I last read Persuasion, but I think it's a good thing that I didn't remember much from the original story because even though I had strong suspicions about where this story was going, the path to get there was littered with surprises and twists. So, for me, it didn't read like a retelling but rather like a story all its own. From what I've gathered, though, I have a feeling it doesn't matter either way...it's an engaging story regardless.
I've wanted to read this book forever. It's just been sitting on my shelf, looking all forlorn and pretty as it collected dust. But I'd heard that it was better to have read this book before picking up Across a Star-Swept Sea in order to get a full understanding of the world, so I knew it had to be fit into the schedule. I started it something like two weeks ago, but other review books forced me to put it on hold, though my mind was never far from it. What I'd read up until that point -- and it was probably less than 50 pages -- already had me so intrigued that there was no way I was going to let the opportunity to read this book pass me by again.
The world in this book is so unbelievably cruel. It's set in the future, but we're back to the days of castes and slavery and ill-treatment of the mentally incapacitated. And it's all due to the Reduction. Humans who once endeavored to genetically enhance themselves suffered a fate worse than death: they are now Reduced, capable of mono-syllabic utterings and understanding little, their brains having been warped by their genetic experimentation. But it's not the consequences of the Reduction that are so harsh in this story; it's the treatment of the Reduced and their offspring (who are sometimes born normal and called Posts for Post-Reduction).
I loved the inclusion of the letters between Elliot and Kai because they showed that not everyone believed that the Reduced and Posts should be treated as less than human. Elliot valued her friendship with Kai just as much as he valued hers. Elliot cared for all of the Reduced and Posts that worked on her family's estate, though, and went out of her way to treat them better than the rest of her Luddite family would. There are always those who will stand against injustices like this, and I was glad to see that Elliot was indeed imbued with that caliber of character, even if she couldn't always do something in the moment, for fear of inciting the wrath of her father and causing even more issues for the workers of the estate. But she was always looking to the future, looking for a way to provide a better life for her people. Elliot is literally the only thing keeping the estate running; without her, there would be no one left to work the farm. They would all have escaped already.
Elliot was one of those layered characters that I just adore. She's got this great love for the Post boy she grew up with, but she doesn't escape with him when he runs away from the estate. No, it's more important to take care of the others on the estate who will need her now more than ever. She puts others before her own interests, even when it proves to be a colossal mistake that she regrets every day thereafter. And when this great love comes back into her life, she doesn't beg his forgiveness or even dare to hope that they can rekindle what they had long ago. Elliot picks herself up after the shock of it and continues doing what she's always done: caring for the Reduced and Posts who haven't given up on her or the estate yet.
The writing in this novel is just stunning. I more than felt Elliot's frustration and anger, her unwillingness to let her father run the estate into the ground. Once I got back to this book after my short hiatus, I read it cover to cover in one sitting. There was no escaping this world until I knew Elliot's fate. Kai was antagonistic and just plain jerky, but that he cared at all showed that he still loved her, and I couldn't rest until I knew what became of those two.
This is one of those books that I seriously regret not reading sooner, but now that I've started Across a Star-Swept Sea, I'm glad that I'm reading them back-to-back. It's not a true sequel, but the details are always a little hazy to me when there's a year between installments, so I'm glad I'm going into the next book with a clear understanding of the world and what's become of it. If you're looking for a dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel that's a little bit different but also kind of familiar (in that it's a retelling of an old favorite), I highly recommend For Darkness Shows the Stars. It's pretty in a way that most novels of this sort aren't.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Teaser Tuesday #76: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken & For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Series: The Darkest Minds, book #2
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: October 15, 2013
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My teaser:
Oh, noes...this sounds bad. *bites nails* And that was only at 3%!!!
Author: Diana Peterfreund
Series: For Darkness Shows the Stars, book #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: June 12, 2012
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My teaser:
I've only just started this book, but I already think it's going to break my heart. I think it's probably a good thing that I don't really remember Persuasion. :) Reading this one (finally) to gear up for Across a Star-Swept Sky, which I've heard equally good things about. Oh, and I'm listening to the audiobook for this author's killer unicorn series. I'm going to be all Peterfreund-ed out. That, or I've found a new favorite author. =)
What are you teasing this week? Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!
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starryeyedjen
- I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
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