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scardustWhat: Scardust by Suzanne van Rooyen

Who: Entangled Embrace

When: February 8th 2016

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Entangled Publishing for review via Net Galley.

Dead Rock, Texas, 2037

Raleigh Williams made a promise to his brother before he died, that he’d scatter his ashes on Mars. Desperate to leave a life of bad memories behind and start over in the Martian colony, Raleigh fully intends to keep that promise. But his plans are thwarted when a meteor near-misses him in the desert, and Raleigh finds in its crater not debris or even a spacecraft, but a man covered in swirling scars and with no memory of who he is. At least he looks like a man—a man Raleigh can’t seem to keep his eyes off of—but whenever they touch it ignites a memory swap between them.

Raleigh agrees to help Meteor Man piece together his life through their cosmic connection. But the memory share goes both ways, and Raleigh becomes inexplicably entangled with a guy who is everything he needs—everything good that Raleigh is not—but might not even be human. As their minds and worlds collide, reality unravels and Raleigh must face a painful truth, one that could shatter his dreams of finding love, reaching Mars, and fulfilling his brother’s last wish.

4cats2There are mainly four reasons why Scardust is four stars, and because I am kind I am going to outline them right now. Just for you. Here you go:

1) Scardust is New Adult, sci-fi, and LGBTQIA+. This is a pretty darn rare occurrence, because almost all of the books I’ve read/seen in the New Adult genre are contemporary. And most of the LGBTQIA+ books that I read in general (including NA) are contemporary. So not only does Scardust break out of the contemporary confines of NA, it also breaks out of the LGBTQIA+ contemporary confines. JUST ALL THE YES TO THIS. We need more books that do this. Please, and thank you.

2) The plot. There was so much mystery. A lot of Scardust is clouded in mystery, and practically nothing is revealed until the very end. This totally did my head in, but it was also pretty enjoyable at the same time. I wanted to know everything that was happening, and all the secrets, which was an incentive to keep reading.

Aside from the mystery, there are familial relationships that are explored really well, as well as connections between bully and victim, person and pet, human and machine. There were a lot of topics covered in Scardust without being an overload. It never felt like there was too much going on, or too many things happening at once.

Another aspect of the plot I loved was the ship. The ship was incredibly shippable, and I most definitely wanted a happily ever after for Crow and Raleigh. They suited each other so well, and I absolutely loved their interactions. Everything about this ship was on point.

3) Crow. Crow was a precious pancake, and I adored him. I absolutely loved him. His vulnerability, his feelings for Raleigh, his confusion. Literally everything about Crow was loveable. I especially liked the descriptions of him – purple hair was bright green eyes and weird scars all over his body. I could picture Crow so clearly in my head and it was wonderful. Crow is one of my most recent favourite characters, and I know I won’t be forgetting him any time soon.

4) The ending. Which reminded me of a certain movie that I really love (but if I mentioned which movie it would kind of ruin the ending of this book). While I would have been happier with a certain different ending, I still really liked this one. It was cute, and I was pleased that it was, overall, a happy ending. Even if I am still a little sad.

~

So, if you’re looking for a New Adult novel that isn’t contemporary, or an LGBTQIA+ novel that isn’t contemporary, or perhaps both a NA book and an LGBTQIA+ book that isn’t contemporary then Scardust is for you. Especially because of Crow.

© 2016, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

trigger warning: rape, physical assault, animal cruelty, domestic abuse, self harm, suicide, death by car accident, harassment, and bullying in this novel

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Posted on: January 23, 2016 • By: Chiara

8 Responses to Four Reasons Why Scardust by Suzanne van Rooyen is Four Stars

  1. Annette says:

    I love this cover so much! This novel sounds like such a fantastic blend of genres. RE Crow, he sounds amazing! #booklove! ???

    • Chiara says:

      SAME. I absolutely ADORE IT. This book has so many different aspects to it, which is one of the reasons I loved it so much! And Crow was definitely the best part ^.^

  2. Awww Crow just sounds like a darling! He sounds like he’s properly flawed but he definitely shares the impact of it. The mystery sounds like it was done properly and really well, and I like books with strong familial ties. But wow, those trigger warnings sound super heavy! Thanks for sharing lovely <3

    • Chiara says:

      HE IS! And everything about him is just wonderful. And half the chapters are told from his perspective, too, which was wonderful :D The mystery was on point, and there’s a LOT of family stuff in this, which was good. Yeah, there are some intense moments but it’s worth it! No problem, Jeannie <3

  3. thistitleicannotthetitleissogorgeousaaaaaah

    Seriously, though, I think this book won me over 30% because of the title, 25% THOSE GENRES THOUGH and the rest (I’m bad at maths) because of PRECIOUS PANCAKE DID I HEAR PRECIOUS PANCAKES? The trigger warnings sound a teensy bit overwhelming but I think I should be fine — adding this to the TBR!

    • Chiara says:

      I KNOW. And the cover is so beautiful, too. I just *heart eyes*

      I AM SO GLAD I HAVE WON YOU OVER. YESSSSSS. Crow is THE MOST precious of all precious pancakes, seriously. He’s gorgeous.

      There are a lot of intense topics that are covered… I hope you like it when/if you get around to it, Alyssa!

  4. OKAY BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT COVER. (also the title. and the genres. and the description of Crow???? I just. AHH. WHY is this so exciting. I want to read it rightnowrightnowrightnow.)

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