Review – Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-1328948939
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Stella Ainsley leaves poverty behind when she quits her engineering job aboard the Stalwart to become a governess on a private ship. On the Rochester, there’s no water ration, more books than one person could devour in a lifetime, and an AI who seems more friend than robot.

But no one warned Stella that the ship seems to be haunted, nor that it may be involved in a conspiracy that could topple the entire interstellar fleet. Surrounded by mysteries, Stella finds her equal in the brooding but kind, nineteen-year-old Captain Hugo. When several attempts on his life spark more questions than answers, and the beautiful Bianca Ingram appears at Hugo’s request, his unpredictable behavior causes Stella’s suspicions to mount. Without knowing who to trust, Stella must decide whether to follow her head or her heart.”

I got this book through the Amazon Vine program. I enjoyed this science fiction retelling of Jane Eyre. It was an entertaining and easy read.

Donne does an excellent job of building solid world set in the near future. Humanity is dealing with an ice age that forced them to abandon the surface of Earth and instead orbit Earth in space ships. Many elements in this story are close parallels to the original Jane Eyre story.

I enjoyed the characters as well and thought they had great chemistry. The ending comes off as a bit rushed; but did a good job of tying up all the loose ends and was upbeat.

Overall this was a great read; entertaining and fun to read. I would recommend to fans of YA sci-fi; there are some neat ideas and good world-building in here.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Goodreads Reading Challenge