Steelstriker

Author: Marie Lu

Series: Skyhunter #2

Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Release Date: September 28, 2021

Steelstriker is a fantastic follow up to Skyhunter with all the drama, action, romance, and suspense I’ve come to expect from Marie Lu!

After Mara has fallen to the Karensa federation, Talin is under the Premier with her mother, held captive, and used against her to make her do whatever the Premier wants her to do. Her friends and other Strikers are dead or in hiding as she is transformed into a Skyhunter, one of the deadliest war machines ever. Red is hiding out with the other Strikers waiting for the time they can free Talin and help free the other countries held under the federations power. Talin and Red still have a connection from their time together and try to use their link to help them go against the Premier. With challenges at every turn, they are going to have to fight harder than they ever imagined to come out on top and set those they love free.

By the time I finished this book I found myself comparing many aspects of it to other well-known YA dystopian series. If you have read one in particular, you will fully understand what I mean by this. One of the best aspects of this novel for me was the dual point of views so we got to see more of what was happening as opposed to just seeing the view from Talin’s eyes. It was easy to feel all the angst that Talin and Red were going through at every turn with the beautiful writing Marie Lu put on the pages. This series, along with other series I read by Lu, really get me in the feels with the main characters and what they go through. I have a real empathy for them, and it only works because the writing in this genre by this author. Young Adult Dystopian can be hard to write and write well but Marie Lu does it so good. I love a Dystopian novel if it is done right and this one was. The only exception I have is the use of a few adult themes throughout the book when it is marketed to Young Adults. The relationship between two of the male characters doesn’t go too far but it isn’t my favorite aspect of a book for young adults. I realize that many adults read these books as well and it will be no issue for many, but I don’t like it pushed in books for kids. The story flowed well and I think readers that enjoy the Dystopian genre will not want to miss these books.