Lisa Loves Literature: Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy #1) by Maria V. Snyder

Monday, December 10, 2018

Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy #1) by Maria V. Snyder

Book info:

Title: Navigating the Stars
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Series: Sentinels of the Galaxy #1
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Release Date: December 1st, 2018
Source: E-galley from Rock Star Book Tours which did not influence my opinion
Find it: Goodreads, Kindle link, Amazon Paperback, Barnes and Noble, iBooks
My rating: 5 stars

Synopsis:

Navigating the Stars is the first book in a new science fiction series.

Terra Cotta Warriors have been discovered on other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. And Lyra Daniels' parents are the archaeological Experts (yes with a capital E) on the Warriors and have dragged her to the various planets to study them despite the time dilation causing havoc with her social life.

When one of the many Warrior planets goes silent, and looters attack her research base, Lyra becomes involved in discovering why the Warriors were placed on these planets. And, more importantly, by who.

My Review:
I've heard a lot about this author in the past, and always meant to read them. But I never did get the chance. When the opportunity to read this one popped up, I jumped on the chance. The science fiction aspect was what really grabbed me. I can tell you that I was not disappointed at all! In fact, now I know I've got to read the other books, not to mention that since this is the first in a series, I need to have the next book now! While this doesn't end on a cliffhanger, there are definitely things that we are waiting to see how they can be solved, and also so much more to find out about the Terra Cotta Warriors and what must be aliens that created them. We also of course need to know more about the person behind the looters, and how they are able to do what they do.

All of the characters were great. I was totally off on some of the things I suspected certain people of maybe having ulterior motives, and in the end, I didn't catch on to suspect just who one of the bad guys was, at least not until right before we found out. Lyra was a great main character, and a great narrator for the whole story. The different traditions that her friends at the planet we meet her on had created were very interesting. But when she looked back at them at the end from how things had changed and her new friendships and relationships, that was such a neat way to look at it as well. Her parents were definitely realistic seeming for that type of a family, but I also liked the security and other scientists that they interacted with, and that made up the cast of characters in the story.

The other parts I really liked had to do with both the science theories of space exploration and travel and how that would affect the age of the people traveling as well as the people the left behind. Then there was the Terra Cotta soldier storyline which definitely kept me intrigued with all the different things they found out as they uncovered the armies on each of the new planets and the symbols and arrangement of them.

Highly recommend this one, and will be putting it on my list to buy for the library where I work!

About the Author:

Maria V. Snyder changed from being a meteorologist to a novelist in 1995, when she began writing to keep her sanity while raising two children. Since then, she has published numerous freelance articles in magazines and newspapers, and teaches fiction-writing classes at the local college and area libraries. The classes give her the wonderful opportunity to encourage fellow writers, and to keep improving her craft.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maria always had a fascination with big storms. Dreaming of chasing tornados, Maria earned a bachelors of science degree in meteorology at Penn State University. But she discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. In order to chase tornados you had to predict where they might form. Creating fantasy worlds where she has complete control of the weather was more agreeable to her.

Maria's research on food-tasting methods with an expert chocolate taster, her husband, turned out to be a delicious bonus while writing Poison Study.

Maria has a brown belt in Isshinryu Karate, and enjoys playing volleyball and the cello. Traveling in general and via cruise ship in particular are her biggest distractions from writing. Maria has traveled to Belize, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal.

Maria lives with her husband, son, daughter and yellow lab, Hazelnut, in Pennsylvania where she is at work on more LUNA novels. She is also pursuing a master's degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University.

Readers are welcome to contact Maria at the following email address: maria@mariavsnyder.com

Where you can find Maria:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway: