Hey everyone! My spring break has finally arrived, and I’m off to read as much as possible.   I feel like this time of year goes by so quickly. It’s hard to believe we’re already in April! I’m looking forward to the end of the school year. I meant to post this a few weeks ago, but I’ve fallen sick with the flu. It’s given me time to catch up on my reading, so it’s not all bad! I’m actually looking for book suggestions now, so let me know what you think I should read in the comment section. Enjoy the review!

~Zenith: Androma Saga #1 by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsey Cummings

~3/5 stars (I’m being nice and rounding up from 2.5 stars)

~ ages 12 to 18 

~ no spoilers in this review

I have been reading this book a few chapters at a time, every night, and I’ve got to say, it’s been so nice to just read something. I’ve been so busy this year that when I have time to relax, I just watch a show instead of pick up a book, so this is the first book I’ve read in a long while.
I used to watch Sasha Alsberg on YouTube, which is how I heard about this book. I think my main problem, going in, was that my expectations were too high. I believe this was both of their first books, so I think I should have taken that into account.

I also want to quickly mention that my favorite part about this book was the cover. It’s beautiful, and I love the fonts.

Here’s a quick summary of the book:

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she’s just Andi, their friend and fearless leader. But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder’s all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi’s past. Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two. [from Goodreads]

The book was okay. The first 3/4 of the book were boring, and I seriously considered stopping multiple times. It only became interesting once Valen was brought into the picture, and he quickly became my favorite character. (and I use that term lightly- favorite as in the least frustrating character)
The book had an interesting plot, but I’ve seen it a hundred times- done so much better. The layout of the book was also confusing, and jumped around from one place to the next. I generally like books with multiple PoV’s, but there were just too many people saying the same things over and over again.

My main problem was with the characters: The other three members of the crew are so boring and lifeless. We are given no mention of their backstory, why they joined her crew, and why they’re okay with murder. There is a random child gunman, a bullet-proof giant, and an orphan with skin that heats up with her emotions?? These facts were mentioned every few pages, just in case you forgot.
The Dex character was annoying and a poor plot point; he was basically only there for the romance, and lacked any real defining characteristics. And in the end, his whole existence amounted to absolutely nothing.

Androma reminded me of a less relatable, less intelligent, less interesting, and less awesome Celaena Sardothien (from the Throne of Glass series). She was a horrible murderer for absolutely no reason. She killed and killed and killed, and the book made it out to seem like all of that was okay because she cried over the deaths later. I didn’t feel any sympathy for her, which is key when a character is so terrible otherwise. (read- Celaena) I’ve found that as I grow older and learn more about the world, I’m less accepting of crime/murder that is simply accepted in books (one thing that really annoyed me about this one).
What also frustrates me was the incredible pressure of the society on her as the “security guard person” for the princess. She was a child! They sentenced her to death for absolutely no reason. The whole society was messed up- but this wasn’t mentioned at all! The book just brushed over the fact that people (including her own parents) were willing to give a child the death sentence, and that the General was some kind of evil, torturer leader guy. The importance placed on the romance between Androma and Dex also irritated me. So many other important things were going on, and instead it’s the romance that was focused on.
I did like the dynamic between the two planetary systems. I liked how there wasn’t a specific villain, rather both sides were evil and good. It was an interesting idea, and I have enjoyed reading it these past few nights. There are a lot of books like this one out there, so I’m not sure that I would recommend this one just quite yet. If the next one turns out to be stunning, then I will get back to this!

All of this said, I did enjoy reading this book, and I congratulate Sasha and Lindsey for writing and publishing it.

Let me know what you thought about this book in the comments below! Thanks for reading 🙂