Light Years by Kass Morgan: Review

3 out of 5 stars to Light Years by Kass Morgan

I received an eARC of this book through Netgalley and that had no impact on this review.

Light Years follows the story of a number of cadets in the Quatra Fleet Academy, this year the academy is open not only to those from Tri but also to those from the outer settler planets. Tensions run high between the elite cadets from Tri, who had tutors and training for years before their entrance exams, and the underdog cadets from the mining planets who are all more focused on earning money to send home to their families than the glory. The one thing they can all agree on is that they need to protect their four planets from the evil Spectres, a race of aliens who have burned up their own resources and are out to pillage for more.

Orelia, Vesper, Arran and Cormack make up Squadron 20, an unlikely group who might just win the academy tournament, which pits squadrons against each other in simulations, and ensure their futures in the academy. Vesper is the daughter of Admiral Haze, the woman running the academy, and she has everything to prove given that her mother pulled strings to get her admitted as a cadet in the first place. Cormack is trying to live up to his older brother’s legacy and make the most of his sacrifices. Arran never fit in on his home planet, teased by his classmates for being more interested in books and teaching himself languages than drinking, but at the academy things are looking up – thanks in no small part to the ridiculously cute and dimpled Dash. Orelia is farther away from home than any of the others and the secret she is keeping could change everything.

This story overall was a little hit and miss for me. Whilst it wasn’t exactly slow to start, it did take me a while to get into it. There were so many points of view from the beginning that it was hard to adjust and figure out who everyone was. The world building was interesting but a slightly slower introduction to it would have made things clearer and had me engaged in the story earlier on. I thought all the characters were fairly well fleshed out but I can’t say that I really fell in love with any of them.

The relationship between Dash and Arran was cute but I didn’t really feel like we got enough of an insight into it to really get invested. It was kind of an insta-love situation, which is perfectly fine but then they were in a relationship and that was it. I would have loved a bit more development of their relationship and seeing them interact more to get a feel for what they were like as a couple.

The ending felt a little rushed but it was good that there was plenty of action and the cliff hanger definitely left me wanting more. I’d definitely think about picking up the next book in the series when it comes out.

 If you’re a fan of The 100, I’m pretty sure you would enjoy this book so you should give it a go.