by Jamie Grey
400 pages
Publisher: Createspace
Release Date: February 1st 2014
Stealing another galactic secret will get her arrested, but playing by the rules might just get her killed.
At twenty-three, Renna Carrizal is the most notorious thief in the galaxy. There's just one problem - all she wants is to get out of the business.
But after Renna rescues an injured boy on her final job, she finds herself on the run from the mob instead of enjoying retirement. She unwittingly becomes ensnared by MYTH, a top-secret galactic protection agency who offer her a choice - either help them on their latest mission, or spend the rest of her life on a prison ship.
Forced to work under the watchful eye of handsome but arrogant Captain Finn, Renna learns the former mercenary-turned-hero has a few dirty secrets himself. As Renna works to discover the truth about Finn's past and keep the tantalizing man at arm's length, she unearths a plot to create an unstoppable army. The target? The human star fleet.
Now Renna must pull off the biggest job of her career - saving the galaxy. And maybe even herself.
Renna is tough as nails, snarky and just overall badass. I loved her personality because even though she had this tough exterior she had a softer side too. She shows that with her fondness of Myka. Even though she considered leaving him at first she attached herself to him pretty quickly and I loved this instant bond they had from her saving his life.
So I did like Renna off the bat but at first I was like why is she shoving her boobs in the face of Ninjas. They are Ninjas why would they care. I thought it was strange but it turns out to be her thing and the more you read the more it kind of goes. There are many women in Fiction and History that use their sex appeal to overthrow men. It doesn’t make them any less of a strong women. I actually thought of Belle from Gone With the Wind when I was thinking about it or Anne Boleyn. I think in a way it’s an important part of the story, especially between her and Finn. I thought it was interesting with one exception she often didn’t defend herself even when he was wrong. She kind of did the, this your opinion of me you don’t know me so why am I going to argue with you. I thought it was kind of cool of her. The whole thing calms down as the book progresses and she becomes really submerged in the mission and more involved with Finn. Renna sometimes could be harsh on her views of women and men but she has also had a very rough life and different upbringing. We do learn more about her and by the end of the book you are going. Ahh okay I get it.
I love the rag tag group that forms towards the end of The Star Thief, we seem to have someone from all forms of walks of life. I don’t want to give too much away because some of the characters sides are not so clear in the beginning. Especially because the military types are less than fans of Renna. Obviously rule followers versus rule breakers.
The romance between Renna and Finn is sweet and develops very slowly. These are two people who have spent a lot of time together before but due to misunderstandings were separated. Well Renna thought Finn was dead but besides that they had some pretty huge things to cross. As far as triangles there are none here but some of Renna’s past does make reappearances and it’s funny to see Finn deal with that. I like the pace of the progression.
I think New Adult had a bad rap when it first started out as a genre. This book is a good bridge between YA and NA. It’s got that YA feel but also the sexy time and more mature characters to make it NA. If your not so sure about NA definitely give this book a go.
As far as cliffhangers, well ya it has one but not in the scream and throw things kind of way. It’s a natural cliff hanger and needed one for the plot. It didn’t come out of nowhere and it completely made sense. To me at least.
So if you love Sci-Fi and traveling around in space ships as I do. This is a good read for you. Like I said there is a kick ass female thief and pirates. How can you not love that.
10 Things Most People Don’t Know About Me
I find when I tell people I’m a writer, they think I live an exciting life. I usually laugh and tell them that no, it’s my characters who lead the exciting lives. I just sit and watch. But then I started thinking about all the things in my life that people don’t know and I thought maybe a few of them would be interesting. So here we go…10 things most people don’t know about me.
1. My day job is as an instructor/trainer, but I’m incredibly shy. I’ve become really good at appearing outgoing and comfortable in groups, but it still stresses me out every time!
2. My artistic skills bleed over into other parts of my life – I run a henna business where I draw henna patterns on people for weddings, parties, festivals, etc. I love the tactile feeling of the paste, of drawing, of getting out and talking to people (despite my shyness). It’s a nice switch from writing.
3. I have a Master’s Degree in Human Resources. I worked for years in the HR area, and I loved certain aspects of it, but it just wasn’t a great fit. Having to fire people is never fun.
4. Those blushing pink cheeks of mine are perfectly natural. I’ve never had to wear blush in my life. For years I thought I just had the rosy cheeks of my Irish ancestors. Now I know it’s both that and a mild case of Rosacea. So if I get flustered, my face turns red. It’s lovely.
5. I played piano for most of my life and planned to be a concert pianist. Unfortunately, while I was good, I was never great, and I didn’t have that spark you need to go to the next level.
6. I LOVE video games. Particularly RPGs, but I’ll play pretty much anything with a good story. I may have played though my favorite series close to a dozen times already.
7. I lived abroad in England for a year in college in a flat with 11 other people – 2 Spaniards, 3 Germans, 2 French, 1 Thai, 1 Norwegian, 2 British, and me. It was a regular United Nations! Even worse? We shared 2 bathrooms between all of us!
8. I’m a huge sci-fi fan now, but until a few years ago, I HATED it. Just wasn’t interested. Thought Star Wars was boring. Never watched Firefly. (OMG right?!) Now I can’t get enough.
9. I’ve struggled with depression for the last several years. It’s been tough, as I react badly to most medications, but I’ve never stopped trying to stay ahead of it. Some days are harder than others, but thank god I have an amazing support structure in place.
10. I am a completely obsessed with tea. I currently have over 20 different teas on my “tea wall.” (Really a few shelves from Ikea we hung in the kitchen, but this sounds fancier). And I’m always looking for more. I love pretty much every kind. We also recently invested in a Japanese water heater that keeps water at almost-boiling temps all day. Instant hot water for the win! Wish we would have done that a long time ago!
All right, now that I’ve spilled my guts, what about you guys? What’s something most people don’t know about you?
Jamie lives in Michigan with her boyfriend and their pets, who luckily tolerate her overspending on tea, books, and video games. You can learn more about her at www.jamiegreybooks.com, or follow her on twitter via @jamie_grey.
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