I don't quite remember how I heard of this book. I think I found it while searching for comp titles in my querying process. A secret library and forbidden music? It sounded interesting. Unfortunately, I was disappointed when I finally got around to reading it. SPOILER ALERT: This review will contain spoilers.
The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow follows two characters: Janelle Baker, a human trapped in a miserable life after a race of aliens called the Ilori invaded her planet, but who finds solace in her secret library, and M0Rr1S, an Ilori labmade (lesser alien) who secretly loves human music. When one of Janelle's books goes missing, she and M0Rr1S meet, and their love of forbidden human art draws them together. With a potential solution to the fate of humanity in M0Rr1S's hands, the two embark on a dangerous road trip where they might create a song of their own.
I was intrigued at the beginning of this book. Janelle's love of books is relatable, and I felt her pain and panic when she realized one of her secret books was missing. M0Rr1S is just as interesting with his forbidden love of music and difficulty adhering to Ilori expectations. When they met, it was interesting to see how their mutual distrust of each other was pushed aside so they could help each other. But after that, things started going downhill for me.
Janelle and M0Rr1S grow closer during their road trip, but it didn't feel believable to me that Janelle could let go of all her anger, fear, and frustration with the Ilori for destroying her entire way of life and become friends—and eventually more—with him. A lot of the big moments in this book felt unrealistic or unearned. The duo ran into multiple setbacks on their road trip, but what wasn't believable about that was how easily they escaped and returned to their mission. There's a moment where Janelle convinces a group of humans to trust her and M0Rr1S with a big speech about hope like all the sci-fi books and movies have, but it felt way too small to have the impact it did.
M0Rr1S's whole plan for saving humanity is to lure Ilori leadership to Earth in human bodies and then send out a virus that will kill the Ilori and restore human consciousness. Then, he and his fellow labmades and humans will fight the remaining Ilori until Earth is again free. But none of this ever happens. Janelle and M0Rr1S are thwarted at the last minute, and Janelle is nearly killed until—surprise—aliens from another planet called Andarra show up and save them. Oh, and these aliens happen to be members of the band, The Starry Eyed, that Janelle and M0Rr1S have been listening to and bonding over the entire novel. And they can see the past, present, and future all at once, so they help Janelle and M0Rr1S and send them to Andarra to devise a new plan for the revolution. I found the entire thing completely cliche, over-the-top, and an unsatisfying deus ex machina.
Additionally, the Ilori seemed way too powerful, and I didn't believe it when simple things got in their way. They can practically read minds, manipulate matter, have superstrength and superspeed, and are basically giant batteries. With all this going for them, it didn't make sense that M0Rr1S and Janelle lasted as long as they did.
I could go on and on about what I didn't like. This book felt like it was trying too hard to be dramatic, powerful, and fulfill the sci-fi genre to the point where I had to force myself to finish it, which was disappointing, considering how excited I was by the premise. I rate The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow 2/5 stars.
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