Zenith (The Androma Saga #1) - Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

Goodreads summary:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

There is darkness sweeping across the stars.

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness: a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her fearsome glass starship the Maurader, she’s just Andi, their captain and protector.

When a routine mission goes awry, the all-girl crew’s resilience is tested as they find themselves in a most unfamiliar place: at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter connected to Andi’s past and a harrowing betrayal.

Meanwhile, on the far side of 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 final pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.

Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their ship—or just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles towards the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only thing certain is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

From internet sensation Sasha Alsberg and author Lindsay Cummings comes a new serialized space opera, full of action, fantastical intrigue, and steamy star-crossed romance. ​

For fans of popular sci-fi books and fantasy books for teens such as Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Wool by Hugh Howey, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.


My review:

3.5/5

I love Sasha Alsberg's channel, ABookUtopia, so I had to read her first novel, written in collaboration with Lindsay Cummings. I was a bit surprised by the length of it, even though I was aware that it was only part of a novel, but I wasn't disappointed at all.

I'm afraid that I can't say much about the novel right now, because I would have to read the entire novel, instead of parts of it, to have a real opinion about it. However, I can say that I liked what I read so far. I liked the writing, and the plot seemed quite interesting, even if it's just blooming at this point. Even though it's done in short parts, I feel like this one could have been a bit longer, because it would have been easier to understand the story and the characters if there had been a bit more explanations.

I'm excited to read the other parts of Zenith, because I really want to find out more about this interesting world and its characters. Also, this part ends on a sort of cliffhanger, so I can't wait to continue reading!

BookTube-A-Thon 2015!

This year, I was able to take part in the amazing read-a-thon that is BookTube-A-Thon. I wanted to last year, but since I was new to this BookTube thing, I didn't really understand what it was and it was too late when I finally realized it's a read-a-thon. This year, I was prepared! I have to admit I only do it as a regular read-a-thon, with the reading challenges, but not the video ones, since I'm not a BookTuber.

This year's challenges:

1// Read a book with blue on the cover
2// Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name
3// Read someone else's favourite book
4// Read the last book you acquired
5// Finish a book without letting go of it
6// Read a book you really want to read
7// Read seven books
I changed my original reading list, but I still (kinda) managed to complete all the challenges. Here's what I did:

The second Sunday turned to Monday, the first day of the read-a-thon, I started reading The Death Cure, by James Dashner, to complete challenge number 1, which is to read a book with blue on the cover. It was quite easy for me, since I've owned the book for over a year and I really wanted to read it. I read half of it in about two hours before I went to bed, which was a great start. When I woke up, I started reading Twenty Boy Summer, by Sarah Ockler, which is the last book I acquired. It was so good and short that I finished it on the same day! It made me tear up a lot, but I liked how it was more about grief than about love. I rated it 4/5.

On Tuesday, I was starting a new job, so I knew I wouldn't have much time to read that day. It's actually why I tried to read so much on Monday. I didn't bring any book to work, but I had my phone with me during lunch break, so I decided to start a book I had on my phone that was on my reading list for BookTube-A-Thon, Sugar, by Deirdre Riordan Hall. I cheated a bit, because I read this book to complete challenge number 2, even though Riordan is probably the author's middle name and this is the only first letter we share. I really wanted to read a book that I received to review during the read-a-thon and I couldn't find any book I own written by an author whose last name starts with a R, so I decided to let it count. I actually REALLY liked Sugar and I wanted to read it as fast as possible, because it made me feel so much anger and love at the same time (but not towards the same people). I finished The Death Cure when I got home. I liked it, but I didn't love it, which is why I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. However, I'm glad I finished the series! I can't wait for The Scorch Trials movie now, because it was actually my favorite book of the series.

On Wednesday, I was working again, so I had to read after work and during lunch break. I loved Sugar so much I finished it as soon as I could when I got back home. I highly recommend it, it was awesome! I made me feel sad when I was reading it though, but it was alright in the end. I ended up giving it 4.5/5, because there's one thing I didn't really like in the story. Afterwards, I started reading The Martian, by Andy Weir, and I loved every page I read that day. I realized it was quite long to read it, so I decided to read a bit of it every day while reading other books to complete the challenges. This is the book I chose to complete challenge number 6, because I had been wanting to read it for such a long time and I had just gotten it.

Surprisingly, I didn't read a single page on Thursday. I had a big shift at work and I came home wanting to Watch TV and sleep instead of reading, which is rare for me. I had a one-day reading slump, which wasn't exactly a good thing during this read-a-thon, since it made me late.

I continued reading on Friday, since I had a day off. I completed challenge number 5, which is to read a book without letting go of it. I was really excited by this challenge and wanted to read a relatively short book, but since I was late by this point, I realized a novella would be the way to go. I read Destroy Me by Tahereh outside in the sun (which got hidden by clouds towards the end of the book and made me shiver). I really liked it! I gave it 4.5/5, because there was a tiny missing spark for me. However, I really enjoyed it, especially the last scene. I started reading Choose Us by Caylie Marcoe to complete the seventh challenge, because I just wanted a simple seventh book to read.

In the early hours of Saturday, I finished Choose Us, which I unfortunately didn't enjoy as much as I expected. It saddened me a bit, because I thought it would be the kind of nice fluffy novel that'd make me swoon, but I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. I was really busy on that day, so I knew I wouldn't be reading much. Before I went to a wedding, I started reading Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, because someone told me it was her new favorite book and I need to complete the third challenge. I read about 40% of it that day.

On Sunday morning, I read as much as I could of The Martian, because I really wanted to complete this year's challenges. I was working at 3 PM, but before that, I managed to get to page 209, which I was happy about. I read Finding Audrey during lunch break and I got to a couple of pages before the end, so I couldn't wait to get home and finish it. I did within minutes and I really liked it! I rated it 4/5. Then, I concentrated on The Martian, even though I realized I couldn't finish it before midnight. I stayed up until 2:30 AM, but I finished it, so I think I pretty much completed the challenges. I wish I had finished it before the read-a-thon officially ended, but I think a few hours delay is okay.

Overall, I (kinda) completed all the reading challenges! I'm really proud of it, even though I wish I didn't have such a busy week. I also watched many video challenges and updates from BookTubers and I have to say that ABookUtopia's videos were my favorite ones!

So that was my experience! Did any you participate?