Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

 

Lost Stars by Claudia Gray, 551 pages, ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The reign of the Galactic Empire has reached the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan, where aristocratic Thane Kyrell and rural villager Ciena Ree bond over their love of flying. Enrolling at the Imperial Academy together to become fighter pilots for the glorious Empire is nothing less than a dream come true for the both of them. But Thane sours on the dream when he sees firsthand the horrific tactics the Empire uses to maintain its ironclad rule.

Bitter and disillusioned, Thane joins the fledgling Rebellion—putting Ciena in an unbearable position to choose between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for the man she's known since childhood.

Now on opposite sides of the war, will these friends turned foes find a way to be together, or will duty tear them—and the galaxy—apart.

I want to explore Star Wars novels more and I heard this was a great starting place. This story is great because it takes place during the original trilogy but really has nothing to do with those main characters except for a few name drops here and there. I really loved this story and getting to see the push and pull between two people who love each other but are drawn in different directions. My biggest problem, and why it is not a 5 star read, is that I felt it was too long. Thane and Ciena go through the same motions of meeting after years, arguing, then departing again 2-3 times and it just got tiring after a while.