Wednesday 13 June 2018

Brightly Burning - Alexa Donne

Seventeen-year-old Stella Ainsley wants just one thing: to go somewhere—anywhere—else. Her home is a floundering spaceship that offers few prospects, having been orbiting an ice-encased Earth for two hundred years. When a private ship hires her as a governess, Stella jumps at the chance. The captain of the Rochester, nineteen-year-old Hugo Fairfax, is notorious throughout the fleet for being a moody recluse and a drunk. But with Stella he’s kind.

But the Rochester harbors secrets: Stella is certain someone is trying to kill Hugo, and the more she discovers, the more questions she has about his role in a conspiracy threatening the fleet.

Paperback, 400 pages
Published June 12th 2018 by Titan Books (first published May 1st 2018)
Sci fi YA
For review

My thoughts:
I love Jane Eyre. I had to read it for a lit class and ended up re-reading it during the same course. But yes, there are issues, but it is a Gothic story after all. I get that she could not make Hugo 40 when she had made Stella 17, that would have been creepy. But by making him 19 she did take away a bit about what made him "Rochester". The jaded, broken man. Still it does work when you get to know Henry who became captain very young and the circumstances did shape him. So sure, he is older in a way then. Because he does not really act like a 19 year old.

And at the same Stella is no Jane Eyre. Sure the story follows the same concept. But this Jane is a mechanic and at 17 is is an adult and other at her age are married. People die young now. So she is older than she looks too. And she is not a timid creature.

The concept here is awesome. An ice age came and space ships were built. They now orbit the earth and has so for 200 years. I assume a LOT of people did not get to come and died on earth. And now 200 years later the ships are failing. Honestly, awesome right!

And in comes Stella to a new private ship as a governess. The captain harbors a secret. There are voices and accidents. And she grows close to Henry as they share a love for books.

But of course there is much more. The failing ships and what should be done. This is not a lifestyle they can sustain. And it works well within the book, it all comes together perfectly.

I liked it. I think it would have been even more awesome as an adult book ;) Cos then he could have been older and so could she. But it works perfectly as YA too. It smooth over the rough edges he has and makes it more believable that he and she can like each other.

But my favorite will always be the premise itself. Ice-age and ships orbiting earth.

23 comments:

  1. I like the idea of this story, but I'm not sure it would hold my attention in book form. This may be something that I would really enjoy as a movie. Sometimes it's just a a little hard for me to get into sci-fi when reading it. Glad you enjoyed it! Hugs...RO

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    1. But it is not that sci.fi. I think a movie, eh, maybe, or maybe they would make it too YA you know

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  2. I don't always love these retellings but this one sounds pretty good.

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  3. Oh wow that's quite the gere bending, a sci-fi YA Jane Eyre retelling. Thanks for the great review!

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  4. That sounds like a good book. I wonder why they didn't leave and search for another planet though.

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    1. Well sure they build ships but that does not mean those ships could travel fast. Right now what we have it would take 160000 years...better just to wait out an ice age

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  5. Now this one sounds like it really worked and I could easily see myself reading it too.

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  6. I haven't read Jane Eyre before but this sounds really interesting. Glad you enjoyed it!

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  7. Sounds different, I'll have to add this to my TBR!!

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  8. This really is an amazing concept! But YA is so hit or miss, argh.

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  9. I still need to read Jane Eyre...
    But I adore that cover. CUTE

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  10. You know I'm not a huge YA fan, but this sounds really good. Thanks for the review.

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