Take Back the Skies Review

Take Back the Skies by Lucy Saxon     

      

“Always know what those who work for you do in their free time, just in case they’re using it to betray you.”

Catherine/Cat comes from a privileged background and her high society status is what’s kept her alive when other children over 13 are enlisted into the war. Though she has what money can buy her. Cat is trapped in her own personal prison by her father who plans to marry her off where Cat knows there’s no running away from. Cat’s mother is dying from an unknown disease and her presence in Cat’s life is minimum but when her mother tells Cat that following her own path is what she should do Cat can’t help but agree.

So Cat hatches a plan; disguise as a boy and hide in a ship. From the very start we see how Cat is a rebellious, smart and stubborn character who fights for what she believes in and doesn’t mind making sacrifices.

Once joins the ship Stormdancer, these ships aren’t the ordinary sea sailing type but the sky type.  She luckily is allowed to stay on the ship when she’s found in a crew member’s closet. The crew consists of; Harry and Alice, Ben and Matt and Fox. The characters were likable and we were introduced to their characters well enough to form some kind of attachment to them.

One thing I didn’t like in this novel was how perfect everything was; sure Cat was clever but how can she know everything about the government and how the hell did the crew have such an endless supply of luck. Everything was smooth sailing until the point where you just know that nothing bad is going to happen. Well not exactly.

Another bad thing was the world building unlike the character development it wasn’t good; there’s six kingdoms and we’re barely told anything about the kingdoms and when it is in the story it’s in weird places.

The kingdoms are at war; well that’s what citizens have been told. But if there’s no war where are all the children going? What’s happening to these children who go and disappear?

Fox is the love interest in the story and though he can be a nice guy he was mostly had a moody and harsh personality which may be due to his past and his hatred for the high class people. But he apologises for his mistakes and what he says.  The relationship between them is build slowly but even before their official they’re arguing like a married couple. And by slowly I mean their first kiss is at 72%. I know the torture of them avoiding the signs and I’m just screaming kiss already.

Another important character is Cat’s father and at first we know he’s a bad person, bad enough to marry of his child and force her to run away. But the extent of his evil/madness is explained later and it has something to do with the children. Also another character I hated is James. He’s the Prince of one of the kingdom’s and used to be Cat’s betrothed when they were young but he’s such a creep and he’s annoying but most of all he’s so selfish. He’s character was obsessed with Cat and he wouldn’t back down even when she said no.

And now the worst thing in the book; the ending. Everything was going perfect, too perfect but then BAM something bad happens. And I’m sitting thinking everything’s gonna be okay but no. And it’s such a shock. And then there’s the epilogue, no no no. The ending just felt like the cycle had come back again, Cat was back in a situation similar to the one in the beginning of the novel, she wasn’t happy.

Also on the side note as the epilogue wrapped Cat’s story and this is part of a series I wanted to know what the second book was about and apparently it’s more of a companion novel and the books are set in different kingdoms.

“All the money in the world couldn’t make him a good parent, and it didn’t make me a happy child.”

★★★☆☆