Sky Without Stars (System Divine Book 1) – an amazing science fiction reimaging of the famous class struggle epic Les Miserables, cowritten by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell. Who would have thought, eh? But it works.

This is book one in what I hope will be at least a three book series. Humans have populated a new star system with twelve habitable planets. All of the action of book one takes place on Laterre, a rain-soaked planet where the ruling class keeps the vast majority of the people in dire poverty. The three main characters are modeled after Cosette (Aloutte, raised protected in a secret library), Marius (Marcellous, grandson of the highest ranking military officer), and Eponine (Chatine/Theo, a street rat who understands the system better than anyone – and has lost all hope). The planet is on the verge of revolution as the tension between the classes rise. There are secret societies and spies and prisons on the moon. And bringing it all together, outstanding prose… “The rich traded goods and extravagances. While the poor traded dreams and ideas.”