The Stars We Steal

The Stars We Steal

by Alexa Donne

Leo is the oldest daughter of her father who is the king of his ship, literally. She's a princess with no money and her father needs to her find a wealthy husband so that the king can keep up appearances and keep up his luxuries.

The only way they have gotten by so far is on the generosity of Leo's aunt who has let them stay docked on her ship and waived the normal fees. But now Leo must step up. It's either find money or find a husband with money.

Leo has her own plans that will keep her family solvent and keep her out of a marriage of convenience, but selling people on a water filtration system that includes the sewage isn't easy.

Things get more tense and complicated when Leo's former fiancee (of all of 12 hours) comes back into her life three years after leaving. He's got everything she needs and some of what she still wants.

Can they come together when everyone tried so hard before to keep them apart?

Final thoughts: This starts off as a Persuasion rewrite with some Bachelor additions. Even the rose on the cover is meant to evoke The Bachelor (the author makes sure to state that in the course of the book to make sure that we know). The problem is that it starts off far too close to Austen's Persuasion at the start and then goes way off-kilter. Suddenly there is crime, extortion, danger, elections, and more. I do not understand Leo's final choice at the end because it matches Persuasion, but doesn't match what she was saying halfway through the book. She's an inconsistent character. While the space setting is interesting, it also distracts from the story, especially when things seem to be brought in just for a moment for the story and then left behind. Finally, my last issue is that this feels like Donne is leaving just enough space for a sequel as a just-in-case-this-does-well option. While the story is technically complete, it feels unfinished and incomplete. 

Rating: 2.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.