The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

An action-packed, hard sci-fi conspiracy adventure with rivals trapped on a dying planet. Also there are space zombies (it's not what the book calls them, but yes, space zombies, and they're terrifying)

We're following our badass FMC who wakes up with her mind in someone else's body - the body of the person meant to guard her sworn-enemy's son. To complicate matters further, she wakes up onto a ship which is about to crash into a dying planet, killing her and everyone on board. Megan E. O'Keefe throws us right into the action from the first chapter.

The soft-world building with the high-paced action, wrapped in the mystery of how she got into this body and what she's supposed to to now, will keep you turning the page right up to the very end.

I like how the relationship between the two rivals, our FMC and MMC slowly changes as they are forced to confront realities behind their assumptions. The side characters are really interesting, especially because we get the POV from the AI in a different spaceship. The AI was fascinating as it was learning and trying to put into context questions about meaning and existence. I hope we continue to have some version of it back for book #2.

No spoilers, but I love the ending. It's not a cliffhanger, but definitely leaves the reader wanting to know what is going to happen next. I can't wait to start book #2 in the series, The Fractured Dark.

This book is best read while camping, alone in the woods with the stars bright above your head. If you hear something making noise in the woods, best to start running immediately.