Review: Stars, Hide Your Fires

Title: Stars, Hide Your Fires
Author: Jessica Mary Best
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, LGBTQ
Publisher: Quirk Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 11, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A wanted thief. A murdered emperor. A killer loose on the station. A gripping YA mystery set in space.

As an expert thief from a minor moon, Cass knows a good mark when she sees one. The emperor’s ball is her chance to steal a fortune for herself, her ailing father, and her scrappy crew of thieves and market vendors.

Her plan is simple:

1. Hitch a ride to the planet of Ouris, the dazzling heart of the empire.
2. Sneak onto the imperial palace station to attend the emperor’s ball.
3. Steal from the rich, the royal, and the insufferable.

But on the station, things quickly go awry. When the emperor is found dead, everyone in the palace is a suspect—and someone is setting Cass up to take the fall. To clear her name, Cass must work with an unlikely ally: a gorgeous and mysterious rebel with her own reasons for being on the station. Together, they unravel a secret that could change the fate of the empire.

Review:

Cass is a thief who decides to go to the Emperor’s ball on another planet to steal a fortune for her sick father and her group of friends. However, when she gets there, instead of announcing the Emperor’s heir, they announce that the Emperor is dead. Someone plants a murder weapon on Cass, and she must join up with a resistance movement to prove she’s innocent.

This is a great sci-fi heist story. Cass was a good thief, but she was realistic because she made mistakes which other thieves caught. There were unexpected twists throughout the story. However I did correctly guess who the real murderer was, but I enjoyed reading the end of the story.

Stars, Hide Your Fires is a great YA sci-fi story!

Thank you Quirk Books for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: death of parent

Have you read Stars, Hide Your Fires? What did you think of it?