Brightly Burning

by Alexa Donne

But no one warned Stella that the ship seems to be haunted, nor that it may be involved in a conspiracy that could topple the entire interstellar fleet. Surrounded by mysteries, Stella finds her equal in the brooding but kind, nineteen-year-old Captain Hugo. When several attempts on his life spark more questions than answers, and the beautiful Bianca Ingram appears at Hugo’s request, his unpredictable behavior causes Stella’s suspicions to mount. Without knowing who to trust, Stella must decide whether to follow her head or her heart.

• ISBN13: 9781328948939
• Publish Date: 1 June 2018 (first published 1 May 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 15 November 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Imprint: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781328948939

Reviews

[brdsk]

In theory I should have loved this book. Space + Jane Eyre? What could be better? I was terribly excited when my digital hold came through. I jumped right in. And yet at about 100 pages in I am abandoning it.

In the past I have always felt awfully guilty not finishing books. I thought doing so I was not really giving the books a real chance and potentially missing out on something that just took time to develop. So I would grind my teeth and keep going, feeling satisfaction in being critical in my following negative reviews. I though "well, I have finished reading these, so I am really allowed to hate them now". Undoubtedly, there was some weird pleasure in that, but the hours I wasted on books I did not really care for also felt silly.

This year I want to give myself a full permission to abandon books at any point for any reason. Life is too short to waste it reading anything that gives no enjoyment, intellectual value, or cash in return. And that was Brightly Burning for me. Sadly.

I tried to get into it. Then I put the book down for a week and read 3 other books instead. In a haze from a terrific read, I opened this novel again and could not remember reading any of it until I scrolled through the pages to the very beginning to try and refresh my memory. Not a good sign.

The main character? A cardboard bore hard to care for, with too many epic skills that just did not work well together. The setting? Epic in idea but falls flat in execution and details, full of silly plot holes and faulty logic. The pacing? Meh. The writing itself? Not bad, but lacking any real ability to capture my attention and interest. It felt like dull homework trying to read this book despite such an excellent premise. I could try to go into more analysis and aim to be more objective, but even thinking about this read now is boring me, and I myself am not a good enough writer to do that justice.

Based on the very mixed reviews of this book I've seen (despite a shockingly high rating here) I do think there are readers that would enjoy this novel and find it entertaining. I feel sad I was not able to join their raving party or even comprehend what exactly made this book good for them when all I saw were mildly interesting ideas at best.

Will I try this author again? Possible. Would I mention and recommend this book to any of my friends? No.


[Edit] One thing I will give this book as a total win is its terrific opening line. The gravity stabilizers were failing again. Best part of the book and a terrifically strong beginning. If this line was the whole book my rating would be way higher. :>

[alisoninbookland]

If you’re wanting serious sci-fi story, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for sci-fi with a little kissing ala Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, you’re sure to love Brightly Burning.

As far as being a Jane Eyre adaption, this was pretty decent. I had fun picking up all the pieces from the original novel. Some things are ripped directly from the book [Jane Stella recusing Rochester Hugo from a fire]. Other pieces have to be tweaked to make sense for this story [Adele is no longer Rochester’s ward. She becomes Jessa, his younger sister.] There is a bit of instalove going on but that’s more Bronte’s fault than it is Donne’s fault.

Stella is a lovely protagonist. I loved that she’s an engineer in addition to being a governess. It’s a great way to modernize the character while still being true to the original roots. She’s the only character I was really able to connect with.

The science and world building in the story is a bit shaky. A supervolcano exploded on Earth years ago which caused another Ice Age. That’s why people are all living on space ships but there’s not a lot of detail about how these space ships are still functional or how they’re being supported. I would have though have so many years in space, supplies for everyone would be dwindling.

The story deviates from Jane Eyre towards the end which I really appreciated. The new ground and not being able to predict what would happen next made for a really interesting last 20% of the story.

All in all, it was a fun story and twist on a classic book.

For more book review, YA book box unboxings, and other bookish fun, visit me at Alison In Bookland.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

Brightly Burning was just straight up entertaining. The kind of book that draws you in, and you need to know what happens. Also, bits of it reminded me of The 100, and that's never a bad thing. It's apparently based on Jane Eyre, which I am pretty sure I "read" in high school but I promise you I didn't actually read it. I actually remembered enough about the general idea though, which was a shocker in itself. I digress, this book was far more entertaining, personally.

I enjoyed the whole "is Earth habitable?" thing. Because again, The 100. (Seriously guys, I think I need an intervention?) But I loved that Stella was looking for some adventure, and was very driven. I also loved that The Rochester (and a lot of its inhabitants!) were super mysterious. I did like the love interest, who happened to be the ship captain, a lot. Hugo was often a trip, and he had to make a lot of tough calls that someone his age should definitely not have had to.

The only issue I had really was that some of the twists seemed a bit predictable. Some I think because of the fact that it is a retelling (and this is my personal issue with retellings- it's easier to know what some of the plot twists will be!) and some just because they were. But overall it didn't really dampen my enjoyment much. I am not sure if this will be a standalone- it is definitely set up to be a series it seems, based on the ending. If it is a series, I loved how it ended and will definitely read the sequel!

Bottom Line: A fun space adventure with a swoon-worthy romance. If it's a series, it definitely nailed the setup for book 2, also!