The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Steelstriker

Series: Skyhunter #2

Author: Marie Lu

Genre: Young Adult , Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

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 as their newest 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 Talin and Red’s 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. – summary from Goodreads

Steelstriker was a nice conclusion to this fantasy-dystopian novel!

This book picked up pretty soon after the end of the first book. I almost wish this was a trilogy, so we got to see Talin going through her transformation and the separation of Red and Talin more. I think not having this hampered the emotion of these events for me.

This was a good book, but not my favorite. It had some really good aspects, I just wish it went a little deeper and explored things a little more. I mean Talin was bonded with the leader of the Federation, and I wish there was more emotion passing between the two of them.

I did really love the characters and the world. The world is so fascinating, and I loved the world-building. The way all the characters interact with the world is also fascinating, and I love the way Marie Lu did this. There was this wonderful exploration of what it is to be from a place that has done some not-so-great things and people being forced to be part of a country they do not want to be part of. This was super cool and really deepened the story.

I love all the characters! Red is the best and I loved getting his perspective of the events- he has a very different voice from Talin. I also love Talin- she is amazing! I love how she is still fighting against the Federation despite how hard it is for her. I also really like how they didn’t “cure” her of her muteness. I liked having this representation.

I loved these two together and was pleased with them getting together. However, I wish there was a little more development into the lead up of this.

I will always love Jeran, as well as Adena and Aramin. I really loved the snippets of Aramin throughout these two books, but I wish we got to dive deeper into this amazing character. I feel like he could be so much bigger than he is, and I was a little disappointed at that. Jeran is the best, though, and I adored his friendship with Adena.

I love the mom in this book, and the relationship she has with all of the characters. I think I am really used to parental characters being not-so-great, and I was really happy with this pleasant representation of a parent.

I loved the Striker culture in the last book, and I felt that was mostly missing in this book. The characters were all separated for the majority of this book, but I still wish this aspect of the world was more present.

I liked the ending. I felt like it did a good job and was well earned. It was over relatively quickly, though the action was engaging.

Overall, Steelstriker was a nice conclusion to a fantasy-dystopian duology. Steelstriker featured wonderful characters, fantastic world-building, and a thrilling ending!

Quotes:

“Now I know, and the knowing is agony.”

“Goodness is a garden that provides life to thousands of blooms. It does not rule. It gives.”