Discover Top Posts Tagged with #winter young

Thoughts on stars and smoke and icon and inferno

Hidden for spoilers!!!!

#stars and smoke #icon and inferno #marie lu #winter young #sydney cossette #marie luniverse #warcross #books #ya books #yay!

Ahhhh I know I’m late but happy belated Pride Month yall - Be Bisexual, Eat Hot Chip, Lie. 🐀 🩷💜💙

#pride month #bisexual #banana fish anime #ash lynx #shadow and bone #nina zenik #stars and smoke #winter young #legend of korra #korra #overwatch #baptiste #killing eve #eve polastri #queer artwork #digital art #procreate

jinu kpdh you can never be winter young

#atlas speaks;#stars and smoke #winter young #marie lu

Thanks to @fiercereadsya and @marielubooks for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🔥🎹Review:

Lu delivers on a thrilling and romantic follow up to “Stars and Smoke”!

“Icon and Inferno” follows Sydney Cossette and Winter Young as they reunite to rescue a compromised agent, uncover an assassination attempt, and prevent a war from happening. To make it out alive, they’ll have to figure out how to be partners again—and if they can resist something more.

The stakes are higher in this book with the threat of a world war on the horizon. I found myself holding my breath at all times as I tried to anticipate what would happen next and what forces would tear Sydney and Winter apart. The action sequences, fast-paced narrative, and jaw-dropping cliffhangers made it impossible to put this one down. What’s more, with Sydney and Winter having grown attached to each other after their mission in London, there is an added layer of pressure as they try not to let their feelings get in the way of their objective. The introduction of both Sydney and Winter’s exes only amplifies the tension between them. Their partnership is tested, but they ultimately come out stronger than ever in the end. Despite how different their lives are with Winter in the spotlight and Sydney in the shadows, they can’t help but gravitate towards each other and I could not get enough of their relationship.

I should have known better than to think I wouldn’t shed a couple tears…this is a Marie Lu book after all. I’ve grown so attached to Sydney and Winter as characters across both serials, so watching them experience hardships and undergo growth made me so emotional. In this book, we get more on their respective backstories with Winter’s manipulative father trying to blackmail his way back to into his life and Sydney reflecting on her own abusive father as her father figure prepares to retire from Panacea. Marie Lu handles tough subjects with care and manages to mold her characters into real people.

The Warcross easter eggs in this book made me so happy, but perhaps not so much as the ending! I hope another installment is in the works. Keep them coming!

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

Lu series clarity meme pairings (yes i am cursed rn)

Note: this is the falling catching meme

Legend:

Dune, but June catching day cuz he fell off a building doing parkour

Day and Tess, with day catching Tess cuz she stumbled off a tower running from the authorities with day

Eden and Pressa, someone pushed Pressa off the sky town (I forgot what it’s called) platforms. They might both die.

Eden day, days catching his little brother from death once again- and lands in a pile of mud. They look like pigs in a play pin.

June and Tess, june catching again. June catches Tess and lands on her back with Tess in her arms. Tess falls in lo- *insert that sound they use in videos before they rewind clips*

Day and anden, day catching only cuz June would get mad at him.

Scenario 2: Day and Anden again, except mid catch day decides to start doing parkour leaving Anden to die. Jk day isn’t evil like that

Warcross:

Himika, with Hideo catching (Emika physically and himself, feelings). Managed to get her only to get a thank you and Emika runs away. (I’m an epic himika hater.)

Romaine, either catches and gets the other safely NO ONE DIES

(Hammie films them doing this dramatic act over a pool off a springboard and calls them cringe, but secretly loves it (video title: romaine lettuce falls into pool))

Hammer (ham Asher), ummmmmm could happen idk how tho

Sasuke and Jax, Sasuke can’t do shit unless he throws out a web or smth, he’s too heavy for Jax to carry (dudes like 500 kg or something). Just won’t happen cuz they both think it’s stupid

Jaxmika, jax saves Emika (cuz she was doing stupid shit. Jax told me) and saves her but labds herself into the hospital (broken back)

Hamika (hammie Emika), either would save. They’re reenacting what romaine did earlier except Emika sucks at catching and they nearly drown (sorry)

Keimika (keira Emika), they both die. No one’s catching either they’re both trying to save the other and killed themselves in the process. The end.

Skyhunter:

(I don’t remember much, bare with me)

Red and anyone: he catches and saves cuz duh he has wings

(Technically Talin too)

That’s it I forgot everything sorry all

Stars and smoke:

(Only one pairing rn cuz I’m at school and can’t think)

Winter Sydney, Sydney saves cuz winter is oof. Technically he can too but she won’t let him lol

Winter: do not

Sydney: *grabbing a macaron from the snack table* what? It’s not like they can see me

———————

Sydney: do not. That is going to ruin our mission

Winter: okay *obeys*

#stars and smoke #marie lu #winter young #sydney cassette #stars and smoke Marie Lu

It still doesn’t feel real that I met @marielubooks on April 4th 🫣 but I have the pictures to prove it! In honor of meeting the author the changed my life forever, I am reposting my review of her latest novel.

✩🔎🎤 Review:

Marie Lu’s spy romance is thrilling and impossible to put down!

Lu gets creative with “Stars and Smoke,” drawing inspiration from famous celebrity secret agents throughout American history. In her fictional world, Winter Young is a global pop phenomenon that has been breaking records left and right. His rising star status catches the eye of the Panacea group—a private company hired out by the CIA to infiltrate criminal tycoon Eli Morrison’s security. Sydney Cossette, Panacea’s youngest spy, is chosen to be Winter’s partner while he charm’s Morrison’s daughter at her birthday party. She reluctantly shows him the ropes while pretending to be his bodyguard. But when things go wrong and their target becomes the lesser of two evils, they realize that something far more sinister is at play.

Lu goes to great lengths to immerse the reader in the high stakes environment associated with the Panacea group, which I appreciated. She creates cool gadgets for her characters, going into detail about what role they play in their mission, and walks the reader through Winter and Sydney’s necessary training.

I also absolutely loved being able to read from alternating perspectives! Winter and Sydney’s backstories made my heart ache, though I should have anticipated the feeling because Lu’s words often bring tears to my eyes. In Winter’s case, all he wants is to be loved after living his whole life believing that he is unwanted. Sydney wants to put the years of abuse behind her and find the place where she belongs. Both characters seemed to be lost souls unsure of their place in the world until they met each other. I loved watching the two barely tolerate each other at the beginning of the novel, bickering the first chance they could get. However, the more they fought, the harder they fell for each other and their forbidden romance tugged at my heartstrings.

I cannot wait for Sydney and Winter to reunite in the next serial standalone!

➤ 4.5 stars