Goodreads Synopsis
When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on the debtor ship where she’s been held captive for years. Instead, the man she saved offers her unimaginable riches and a new identity, setting Amaya on a perilous course through the coastal city-state of Moray, where old-world opulence and desperate gamblers collide.
Amaya wants one thing: revenge against the man who ruined her family and stole the life she once had. But the more entangled she becomes in this game of deception—and as her path intertwines with the son of the man she’s plotting to bring down—the more she uncovers about the truth of her past. And the more she realizes she must trust no one…
Review
Scavenge the Stars was selected as Bookstaholics Anonymous's August's read-along of the month and as soon as I heard that this was a gender-swapped re-telling of The Count of Monte Cristo I knew I had to read it. I grew up watching the film with my mum and found myself intrigued to see what elements Tara Sim would include. I'm also a sucker for re-tellings!
This book was thoroughly enjoyable! I found myself captivated in this world that Tara Sim has created and being able to read the story from the perspectives of both Amaya and Cayo made the story more intense and addictive. I found myself loving Amaya, her story and her development throughout this whole book. She was an incredibly fierce and strong character who at times lets her heart over right her mission but that just makes her more realistic and relatable as a main character.
Cayo was also an interesting character who definitely grew on me throughout the book. He made a lot of tough decisions in this book and I cannot wait to see how his character develops in the next book!
I think Tara Sim did an excellent job and I found myself loving her writing style. The book flowed beautifully and gracefully and it was incredibly easy to imagine the dark and busy streets of Moray.
I honestly loved this re-telling and the whole premise of the book, along with it's nod to the original. It's also influenced me to read The Count of Monte Cristo which I'm hoping to do very soon! I'm also really excited to read the next book in this series and see where it takes Amaya!
Full of twists and turns, corruption seedy characters and high-adventure this book is a brilliant YA fantasy novel
Rating: 4/5 stars