Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu
Pop stars and secret agents combine surprisingly well in this thriller by Marie Lu. It helps that both Winter and Sydney are complex characters. Winter is not your typical self-centered oblivious star. He's making up for a lifetime of feeling inadequate. Sydney is harboring secrets of her own and won't let herself get close to anyone. Throw the pair into an intense situation with implications that could be world altering and you have a fast-paced, action oriented story with a little bit of pathos behind it. While the writing can fall into cliche at moments (especially in fight scenes where there are many references to shocks and starbursts of pain, to light leaving a person's eyes) the pacing is spot-on and the ending is quite satisfying. It's not especially deep but makes for an exciting listen.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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