Week 51 Review: Steelstriker

From Goodreads:

As a Striker, Talin was taught loyalty is life.

Loyalty to the Shield who watches your back, to the Strikers who risk their lives on the battlefield, and most of all to Mara, which was once the last nation free from the Karensa Federation's tyranny.

But Mara has fallen. And its destruction has unleashed Talin's worst nightmare.

With her friends scattered by combat and her mother held captive by the Premier, Talin is forced to betray her fellow Strikers and her adopted homeland. She has no choice but to become the Federation's most deadly war machine—a Skyhunter.

Red is no stranger to the cruelty of the Federation or the torture within its Skyhunter labs, but he knows this isn't the end for Mara—or Talin. The link between them may be weak, but it could be their only hope to salvage their past and safeguard their future.

While the fate of a broken world hangs in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to each other in this smoldering sequel to Marie Lu's Skyhunter.

My Review:
Reading this book was such a blast! I love her writing and I love the first book, and after that ending, I had to see how things were going to end! And boy, was it a heck of a ride! I had to know how they were going to get out of the situation that they were in, because it was precarious, and under the bad guy's thumb!

Talin being made into a Skyhunter, just like Red, but under the control of the Premier, ick. That her mother is being used as leverage, I just wanted to break things. Talin is smart and she's trong, but her mother is someone that they can use against her, and that she has that mental link with the Premier, him being able to get into her head, but she's able to get into his, not great.

Then there's Red, who is with the small amout of people who got out when Mara fell, and is fighting back. I really enjoyed that we got both perspectives, so we had a good balance of hope and hopelessness. As the book went on, and we learned more about what was going on-and just how unpopular the current regime is, the more hope grew.

Oh, that ending was epic! How everything came together, from all the plotting on both sides, to the artifects left behind by the anciencts (who I still have an idea that they might be us) it was wonderful! And so very satisfying to see this monolith of conquering, destroyed! The choices that Talin made, loved it, and I'm so glad that we got that epilogue! 

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to read more by Marie Lu! 

Author: Marie Lu
Series: Skyhunter #2
Read: December 17th, 2023
Source: Own
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a End of Series 2023 Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book, WoW Book and WTC Book!  
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: September 28th 2021

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars