A Blog of Books and Tea

(Rattle the Stars PR ARC Review)

Tropes:

• Found Family
• Climate Collapse
• Tyranny
• Controlling Government
• Romance Subplot
• Betrayal
• Rituals
• Closed Door Romance

Stars – 🫖🫖🫖🫖

Sadness Rating – 💔💔💔

Synopsis –

In a dust-choked world where the sun has not been seen in generations, the people of Tabrass survive beneath the Shroud, kept alive by engineered weather, regulated crops, and the watchful control of the governing Taxalis. Each year, the Sun Shower ceremony identifies a rare few with genetic immunity to the deadly Cloud Coughs. Those chosen are called Epitopes. They are celebrated. They are claimed.

Iridienne Voht quietly hoped but never expected to be one of them.

Thrust overnight into a world of polished corridors and hidden power, her blood becomes data and her body a resource for humanity’s future. As unexplained attacks and whispers of sabotage fracture the illusion of control, Iridienne begins to see the system for what it truly is: not salvation but selection.

Caught between loyalty to the people she loves and the unsettling truth behind humanity’s planned escape to a new world, she must decide whether being chosen means being saved or being sacrificed.

Thoughts –

Okay this one snuck up on me… It’s been a long while since I’ve read a Dystopian or Science Fiction book, and I wasn’t sure of I would enjoy Like Light Through Water when I applied to be an ARC reader. However, I have to say, I really enjoyed it.

I thought the general premise was really good and the execution by Erin Whitford was really well done. I enjoyed it that much that I ate it up in just a few hours! I’m really looking forward to the next book and seeing if some of my suspicions are confirmed. Most importantly, the identity of the figure that appears at the end of this book.

The relationships that evolve on the pages are so good, and the way Rids has a way with (almost) everyone she comes across is amazing. I think we would be besties if she truly existed because she is utterly tenacious! She’s been through so much and still wants to do the right thing, and she manages to build a small army of people around her that love and support her. She’s amazing!

I always judge a book on whether it affects me emotionally and this one certainly made me cry! Maybe I’m just soft? I dunno, tell me what you think in the comments!