Review: There Once Were Stars by Melanie McFarlane || Blog Tour + Giveaway! |

Welcome to my tour stop of There Once Were Stars by Melanie McFarlane hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. You can view the full tour schedule here.

Title: There Once Were Stars

Author: Melanie McFarlane

Standalone

Genre: Dystopia, Romance, [Young-Adult]

Heat Rating: Cool

Page Count and Format: 331 pages, Ebook

Published: April 26th 2016 by Month9Books, LLC

Source: I received a digital copy of this book for the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating:

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Peace. Love. Order. Dome. That’s the motto that the Order has given the residents of Dome 1618 to live by. Natalia Greyes is a resident of Dome 1618, a covered city protected from the deadly radiation that has poisoned the world outside for four generations. Nat never questioned the Order, until one day she sees a stranger on the outside of her dome. Now Nat wants answers. What else might her government be hiding from the good and loyal people of Dome 1618?

Natalia or Nat is a resident under the Dome. The Dome separates their community from the rest of the world which is supposed to be unfit for living until an outsider shows up. Nat can’t seem to figure out Evan but both of them can’t stay away from each other either. After she is suddenly assigned on a mission, she discovers a whole new truth about her parents research that might threaten their whole existence. Will Nat be able to find out more about it or will she get caught in the process?

I enjoyed the plot. It was a short and fun read but it was a bit predictable. Nat has not been the one to follow rules but after she is called to the main building of the Axis to work as a scientist instead of getting punishment because she was almost caught last time, she begins to question things. In comes the outsider, Evan who is made a part of the expedition team along with other scientists to find out if the outside world is fit for living. Slowly Nat discovers, it’s not only Evan but there are others who are harbouring secrets as well. I liked how everything was neatly executed, though I had a few problems here and there but overall, I enjoyed the adventurous ride.

I liked Nat as a main protagonist. I felt so bad after learning what happened to her parents but I liked how she did everything to help the cause. Evan was a mysterious guy, but I liked him. And I felt it was right when Nat questioned his trust. Nonetheless, I liked these two together. I had mixed feelings about Jak but I could understand where he was coming from and I was glad when he decided to stand up to what was right. There was a kind of love triangle between these three but it was clear from the very first who Nat was going to be with.

Overall, There Were Once Stars was a nice read. The characters were interesting and the pace was fast throughout the book. I liked the romance between Evan and Nat. The writing was smooth and easy to read. I easily finished this book in two sittings. In the end, I was satisfied how this book ended.

Recommend it?

Yes.

Author Bio:

Melanie McFarlane is a passionate writer of other-wordly adventures, a little excitable, and a little quirky. Whether it’s uncovering the corruption of the future, or traveling to other worlds to save the universe, she jumps in with both hands on her keyboard. Though she can be found obsessing over zombies and orcs from time to time, Melanie focuses her powers on writing young adult stories to keep the rest of the world up reading all night.
She lives with her husband and two daughters in the Land of Living Skies.