Terraformer by Colleen Houck Pages: 536
Published by Colleen Houck on May 12, 2020
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Dystopian
Source: ecopy from Publisher
A new dystopian sci-fi YA series from the New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck
Warning all Astronauts:
COLONY BOUNDARY WARNING!
PERMISSION TO ENTER ALIEN FOREST IS REQUIRED
NOTE: NO RESCUE ATTEMPTS WILL BE MADEIn the future, a terraforming ship lands on a perfectly green planet. Two perfect young men, one a budding colony leader, the other an engineer, compete for the affection of one perfect young woman training as a botanist. The only problem? She’s not perfect. Astra has a secret. A big one. And someone or some thing just maybe trying to kill her for it...
Deadly toxins can be hidden inside the most beautiful flowers.
That's what Astra Meador's famous biophysicist mother taught her.
As her mother's apprentice, Astra has developed skills in botany, chemistry, medicine, and, most importantly, in keeping secrets.
In fact keeping Astra's secret was the reason her family decided to leave the Earth and join a terraforming mission to colonize a distant planet called Crillain IV. But when Astra wakes early from hypersleep, she discovers that her mother never made it onboard, her father died in transit and his body has been ejected from the ship, and she suspects that she's not the only one awake.
When the ship finally lands and she's reunited with her brother, Nash, Astra hopes to settle into a new life, especially when she meets the charming young engineer, Jax, and is recruited by the mission commander to train alongside his handsome son to be a future leader of the small colony.
Then Astra learns that she's not the only one with a dark secret.
As both young men contend for her affection, Astra searches for answers, trying to determine who to trust. But with theft and murder occurring in the colony along with the sudden disappearance of her beloved brother, Astra can't listen to the whisperings of her heart, especially when someone or something else on the planet is whispering to her mind even louder.
Terraformer is a young adult science fiction/ dystopian novel by Colleen Houck. Terraformer is not like the typical books that I normally read. I don’t read too many science fictions stories anymore, but I enjoyed this book, and it makes me want to venture outside of my comfort zone and read more dystopians and sci fis. (leave me recs of your favorites in the comments below!)
In Terraformer, our main character Astra boards a ship with her parents to travel to a distant planet, Crillain IV. The planet was supposed to be barren when they arrived, but instead they found it full of all kinds of plants, and covered with a lush forest. The world descriptions were interesting. The book is set in the future and there are heavy themes of pollution and waste that have destroyed our planet. But they were in for a big surprise on Crillain IV. The plant aspect of the story felt a little reminiscent of the movie, The Happening. (but don’t worry, I enjoyed Terraformer a lot more than The Happening) When Astra wakes her parents are both gone and she is on this foreign planet pretty much by herself. (her brother is also there but he was acting strange pretty much from the moment that Astra wakes up.)
The romance starts pretty quickly in this story, which you all know I appreciated. There is a love triangle in Terraformer, between Astra, Thane and Jax. It seemed like everyone in this cast of characters had their own secrets. Some were surprising and some felt a bit contrived, but I enjoyed seeing how the secrets would fit into the overall plot. Terraformer is a science fiction, with some mystery elements woven in. The mystery of the planet, the mission they were on, and why people were turning up dead was what kept me reading. I also enjoyed the romance, but it didn’t capture my attention as some of the other plotlines. Overall, this book was fun and felt like a good young adult science fiction that is all too relevant with the environmental themes. This was a good book. I enjoyed stepping out of my norm and now I am in the mood for some more young adult sci-fi with strong romantic elements.
Bottom line: If you are a fan of science fiction and romance, you will enjoy Terraformer.
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About Colleen Houck
New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she’s not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2020 New Release Challenge
Sunday Post: Book Pre-order Campaigns & Giveaways Galore – 6/21/20 – Feed Your Fiction Addiction
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