Under Different Stars (Kricket, #1)

by Amy A. Bartol

Kricket Hollowell never wished upon stars. She was too busy hiding in plain sight, eluding Chicago’s foster care system. As her eighteenth birthday approaches, she now eagerly anticipates the day she’ll stop running and finally find her place in the world.

That day comes when she meets a young Etharian soldier named Trey Allairis, who has been charged with coming to Earth to find Kricket and transport her to her true home. As danger draws close, he must protect her until she can wield the powers she cannot use on Earth…and he soon realizes that counting a galaxy of stars would be easier than losing this extraordinary girl.

Kyon knows the powerful depths of Kricket’s gifts—gifts he’ll control when he takes her for his tribe and leads the forces that will claim Ethar and destroy his enemies, starting with Trey Allairis. Now, Kricket faces the most difficult choice of her life: whether to wage a battle for survival or a fight for love.

• ISBN10: 1493780557
• ISBN13: 9781493780556
• Publish Date: 8 January 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Createspace
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 296
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

A great Kindle Unlimited find, if you like YA fantasy. Kricket is a heroine you can definitely get behind and I look forward to seeing how much ass she kicks by the end of the series.

[Sam@WLABB]

I was captivated from beginning to end. I just could not find out what happened next fast enough. Strong heroine, swoon inducing guy, funny and loyal sidekicks, life or death consequences -- this book had it all. Great read!

[tweetybugshouse]

Honestly, the world building and original ideas Amy came up with could easily put this book in either the sci-fi or fantasy genres. It was that well done. I not much for a romance book but this one was very well down, it had action, suspense, love, world building. I was completely wrapped up in the story took me two days to complete it, it was that good. I never read anything by this author but i am fan for sure of this series. I love that the place they go is a complete opposite of earth so their new terms for things to learn, it all new terrain and you get to learn it all right along with the characters it very well done and i highly recommend you give this book a shot.

[thebookdisciple]

Very unique, although trying to learn the 'slang' got annoying (I felt the same way when reading the Uglies series). I loved the tension and romance. It was a great balance of it all. And Kricket was a likable character.

[reveriesociety_]

In short:
Good: Aliens. Hot guy. Wit. Hot Guy. Nice plot.
Bad: Too many aliens words too soon. Too perfect MC.

Conclusion: I need the second book :3

Proper review to come soon.

[littleread1]

so good! this is what many ya books strive to be but few actually accomplish it.

[chemicalscream]

You can find this review (along with a giveaway!) on my blog!

Hello Ladies! There's a new alien in town and he's here to collect all of our hearts!

 



 

Yes, Yes it is. His name is Trey Allairis and it didn't take long for him to have me swooning all over the place! While he's not actually referred to as an Alien, He does mention being from another world and to get to said world they have to travel through a worm hole. If that doesn't scream ALIEN, I don't know what does.

 



 

Ah, since I mentioned Trey, excuse me a minute:

 

 

Ok, I think I'm good for a minute. ;)

I started reading Under Different Stars on Monday and thank the (different) stars (ha!) that I had Tuesday off, because I finally gave the book a rest when I could barely keep my eyes open. I was instantly sucked into the story and I did not want to stop reading!

This book was incredible, from the unique Etharian slang they used to the swoon-worthy Trey Allairis . The characters in this book were amazing and the world that Amy built for us..was a lot like ours, but yet so very different. I'm finding it difficult to put into words how much I loved this book, but I will try!

Kricket was smart, funny and the good kind of sassy.  She wasn't at all annoying like some Sass-filled protagonists come off as.  Having lost her parents early on in life, she's had a rough upbringing and she's doing all she can to stay off the radar and away from the DSS until her 18th birthday. After the life she's lead and the situations she's already had to endure, she can handle anything that's being thrown her way..and she proves it to you in this book.

Trey is..I have no words for Trey. I just know I'm in love with the boy. At first you don't know whether he's the good guy or the bad guy... and then Kyon and his goons come into the picture a bit later and you know, YOU KNOW, that Kyon and company are NOT the good guys.

Reading this book and experiencing the relationship between Kricket and Trey grow was a beautiful thing. At times Trey tried to keep her at arms length and other times he gave in to the attraction. Finally he pretty much said "to hell with it."

"We have to make the stars align for us now-- find a way for us now to get burned for being together." - Trey to Kricket

Trey's and now Kricket's friends, Jax and Wayra, were absolutely freakin' amazing! Kricket instantly clicked with them, and they with her. They were so very entertaining. Trey, Jax and Wayra were all in AWE of Kricket and I can tell that they will do anything and everything they can to protect Kricket in the future. I can't wait to see what happens to these Four in the next book. I know they'll be able to handle just about anything.. ;)

I highly suggest you check this book. I don't think anyone will be disappointed with it at all. It's a great book full of entertaining dialogue, amazing characters and a lovely romance. It'll also keep you on your toes and you won't be able to put it down until you finish it and even then you'll be wanting more!

 

Remember how I said there was Etharian Slang? Well this review comes with the Unofficial Etharian Dictionary. 

I got about 75% through with this book when I realized that maybe it'd be a smart thing to start documenting the strange words that Amy has created for her Etharian world. I went through the book and got as many as I could remember and then set to defining them and building a glossary for the book.  Thanks to Amy A. Bartol for going over my glossary and defining some words I wasn't clear on. She also gave me some extra words that ended up being cut out of this book but might end up appearing in the sequels!