So, this book is marketed as an enemies-to-lovers YA spy novel. The spy part? 100% there. However, I really didn’t see a ton of enemies-to-lovers in this novel. More of like acquaintances-to-lovers if that makes sense…. Besides that, I don’t have a ton of grievances with this novel. A majority of the reason I did read this novel is because of my obsession with Marie Lu’s Legend series. That series, at least when I was a teenager, was one of my favorites. I haven’t read it since, so I’m not sure how well it has aged with me. 

With that being said, I enjoyed this novel as a fun action YA story. Marie Lu has not lost her touch for developing characters and plot lines that will leave you wanting to keep reading until there’s nothing left. I ended up finishing this twelve hour audiobook in three days. Which, with a two month old, I consider a huge win. 

Now, the things that I didn’t like about this novel? I found it easy to space out. Whether or not that was just because of me and my brain being overstimulated from doing too many things at once, or if it was the story, I honestly couldn’t tell you. The story itself took place over maybe a month? But most of the book was over a period of two-ish may three days. 

The highlights of this book definitely have to be the characters because Sydney and Winter had so much depth that they definitely felt like real people. I love when an author can make you feel a characters pain based off of their past trauma and issues. Marie Lu did that amazingly here and in Legend. However, if you’re looking for a book that, in my opinion, is a tad bit better and has more action than Stars and Smoke, I highly recommend Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter. Lots of romance. Lots of action. 

Overall, this was an easy read with a well developed plot and highly dimensional characters that are easy to fall in love with. Sometimes the pace falls a little behind for an action book, but all in all, a solid four star read. 

Source: Audiobook from Libby public library