So Bright the Stars

What a great book. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It just pulled me into the characters and the atmosphere. I really felt like I was there with Penny and her cohorts. I feel this book was very well written and I would definitely recommend it to my friends and would consider reading it again. I like a book that has a good ending and, especially, one that the ending isn't totally apparent until the very end. I was certain I knew who the culprit was (more than once) and was wrong on more than one occasion. I know once you start this book you will be so absorbed in the characters you will not be able to put it down until you have finished it.

Cidney Swanson is an excellent storyteller, and I get so sucked into her stories that I pretty much don't put her books down until I get through. I just always wish they were longer! "So Bright the Stars" is very short (only about 165 pages), so I read it in one day, but it doesn't feel too rushed. There is good character development for the main characters, and Penny Wanjiru's parent-teacher conference skills come in quite handy during her first two weeks on Mars! It was amusing to see how life on Mars related so well to Penny's experiences on Earth, and I got the feeling too that, if Penny were a real person, she's exactly who I'd want representing Earth as a 'Non-Colony Participant' on Mars, too! She has such an engaging personality and feels very real. The 'Mars' world is just so fun to experience, and the author really does her research for each book, then explains things well so the reader is able to understand and imagine what it might be like to be there experiencing Mars together with Penny. One thing I hope to see in the third book is more character development for the antagonists, like there was with the first 'Mars' series. I think that helped to really round out the first series, and would love to see more of that supplementation in this one, too. All things said, this is a good story, and definitely worth the read. I'm looking forward to the next part already!

In this continuation, we get to see what awaits Penny on Mars, and my favorite part is how realistic it all feels. We meet more fun and complex characters while also revisiting with our favorites from the last book. Things are difficult and sometimes awkward for Penny on Mars, but that’s what makes this series so great. I love experiencing everything alongside the perfectly introverted Penny. In the next book, I’d love to learn more about Ira. Their rocky first impression was cute, and I hope there may be a love connection there. I also would love more Bertoli. She’s such a lovely character and friend to Penny, and their interactions always leave me smiling. The jury is still out regarding Roehnig, and I hope to see that he is true to his word. Lastly, I look forward to more of the endearing Lucinda, especially when it comes time for Penny’s return to Earth. I received a copy and volunteered to review it.