Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray | Book Review

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Publication Date: November 3rd 2015
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre(s): Sci-fi, Romance, Young-Adult
Series Status: Firebird #2
Page Count: 424
Source & Format: Owned, Paperback

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents’ invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

The second book in the Firebird trilogy, Ten Thousand Skies Above You features Claudia Gray’s lush, romantic language and smart, exciting action, and will have readers clamoring for the next book.

Hello bookworms! It’s been such a long time since I posted any reviews here on my blog—I guess I just can’t keep up in writing reviews when I have a huge snowball of them! But that’s not the point here. Today I’m here to share my thoughts on Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray! Apart from the fact that the cover for this is absolutely gorgeous (!!!), I had been really looking forward to reading this one ever since I finished A Thousand Pieces of You last year.

So, I finally read it—and I have to say, I really enjoyed this one! I’d go so far as to say that I liked it even more than the first one. There’s a lot that I really enjoyed in this one, but there were also a few little things where I was a bit more frowny. I’ve decided to deviate from my usual reviewing style to make my thoughts more clear. 😉 (I’d love to know what you think!) SO LET’S DO THIS. For all of you who haven’t read the first book, don’t worry ’cause this review is completely spoiler-free!

Design credit goes to Freepik; edits were done by me.

Why there was lots of devouring and happiness

• DIMENSION TRAVELLING! It was one of my favourite parts of the first book, and I think I loved it even more in this one. Not only is simply THE IDEA of it so cool, it made for such an entertaining story and was executed very well.

• It made me THINK. And I know some of you may be groaning right now, but I praise Claudia Gray for including interesting themes and bringing forth conflicting questions throughout the story. Things like the more negative side to dimensional travels and the ethical issues it brings forth are an added plus for the story’s value and complexity. Three-cheers for thought-provoking books!

• This book had such an amazing bromance going on. Seriously. I loved Theo and Paul’s brotherly relationship so much! The love Theo had for Paul, and Paul for Theo, was so sweet. We really need more bromances around like this!

• I didn’t want to put it down. (Then again, I almost never want to put any book down, but shhhh.) Seriously though, it was addictive. Hardly a boring moment—as far as I remember, at least. And seeing how I read this not-too-long-ago, I’m pretty sure I remember correctly. LOL.

• Two words; Plot. Twists. They were everywhere! (Or maybe it just felt like they were everywhere, but SHHHH.) In some cases plot twists can become annoying and predictable, but this was not one of those cases.

• This book is not as much romance-focused as the previous book. There is still plenty of romance, but unlike the first book where a lot of it was focused on only the romance, now there is additional focus on other things too, which was appreciated! (Although, you have been warned; there is a love triangle.)

• THE COVER. I’d read any book with that cover. Just kidding! Mostly. Kind of. #Judgeabookbyitscover But seriously though, the cover is beautiful—and the story inside was just as good!

Where Frowns and Raised Eyebrows Emerged

• I was lost for quite some time when starting the book, especially when it talked about events that happened in the previous book—although that’s more of my fault. I definitely recommend skimming or re-reading A Thousand Pieces of You and jog your memory of what happened in it, (if you don’t remember much of it) before reading the sequel!

• While Marguerite’s character could’ve been worse, she still wasn’t such a great one—but that’s just my opinion. To be honest, I didn’t enjoy the book any less because of it, but certain times, I just couldn’t take her seriously and would have to fight the urge to roll my eyes. Other times, she was just so repetitive, that it became quite bothersome. Thankfully I still ended up enjoying the book despite these parts!

• Maybe it’s because of the main character’s lack of advanced scientific understanding (she’s more of an artsy person), but it felt like a lot of things surrounding the scientific aspect of the novel were left unanswered. Or things that weren’t explained that well or didn’t make sense. I don’t know. I just hope these are all cleared up in the last book!

Overall…

An entertaining novel! I was hooked from start to finish (even if I was lost for some parts) and there were lots of aspects to it that I enjoyed. I really loved reading about Theo and Paul’s bromance, as well as the dimension travelling aspect. (IT’S MAGIC. But not.) Would I recommend it? For people who are uncertain about continuing the series, well, it depends on what exactly was your problem with the first book, but generally, I’d say the second one was better than the first, so… it’s up to you now. For all of you who haven’t read it yet, I recommend you to do so! Unless you’re REALLY against romance in sci-fi or something, this series is a pretty good one.

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SO. Now it’s your turn to talk! (Because this can’t just be a one-sided conversation!) Tell me, what are your thoughts on this book and/or series? And tell me which book cover do you like better, in this series?! Because #important. ALSO. Let me know what your thoughts are on not-so-likeable characters! Do you condemn the book if they annoy you? LET US TALK. 🙂