Starstrike

Moonstorm #2

by Yoon Ha Lee

In this explosive sequel to Moonstorm, teen mecha pilot Hwa Young returns to her rebel roots to fight against the Imperial forces—but, as she grapples with her warring allegiances, who can she really trust? Perfect for fans of Iron Widow and the Skyward series!

Hwa Young and her pilot comrades have betrayed the Empire to save it from its own destruction—but what comes next? It’s been just two months since the lancer squad stopped imperial forces from deploying a devastating singularity bomb and taken shelter with the rebel clanners, who have kept them busy with raids against their ex-leaders. Their mission have helped numb the shock of recent battles… for now.

Meanwhile, Hwa Young’s best friend, technician Geum, has been left behind on the imperial fleet, imprisoned for aiding Hwa Young’s deceit against the Empire. Hwa Young is desperate to retrieve Geum—but Geum is slowly realizing that Hwa Young’s loyalties aren’t as clear cut as zie once believed.

As Hwa Young delves deeper into the rebels’ inner circles, she soon realizes that the clanners are just as cutthroat as the imperials, leaving her to wonder who she can really trust… and at odds with Geum, the one person she thought she could count on.

Genres: Science Fiction, Queer, Young Adult, Space

368 pages, Hardcover

First published August 12, 2025

About the author

Yoon Ha Lee is an American science fiction writer born on January 26, 1979 in Houston, Texas. His first published story, “The Hundredth Question,” appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1999; since then, over two dozen further stories have appeared. He lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Reviews

[Promiscuous Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Серия, к сожалению, так и продолжает быть достаточно generic янг-эдалтом, а эта часть еще и страдает от синдрома второго тома трилогии. От Юн Ха Ли как-то ожидалась большего.

[Annemieke / A Dance with Books]

DNF @ 30%

I really enjoyed the first book but for some reason I can't get into this book. I'm not sure if this is my mood or if the book isn't working for me at all.
But it feels like it just keeps not starting. Getting the point of view of Geum in this installment does not help with that at all.
There is still a good chance I'll get back to this in the future.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Advanced reader's copy review

This was an action-packed sequel that had me on the edge of seat the entire time. I loved all the fighting and seeing a totally new side of the Moonstorm with the clanners. And of course that lancers were fantastic, I especially loved how Winter and Hwa Young’s connection developed in this book and culminated in such an epic way. However, I struggled with Hwa Young. She had such a huge internal struggle with grief and guilt and coping with everything that happened at the end of book one, and instead of having time to process she was thrust into action. And while I thought her grief was so well written, I felt it made her passive. She felt detached from the action plot, always a step behind the scheming from those around her. I also think a lot of her strength comes from her loyalty to the people she loves rather than a cause, and in this book she pushes people away trying to conform to the clanner culture until the finale. The ending was a huge cliffhanger and emotionally destroyed me. So overall I look forward to the next book.

Thank you Penguin Random House Children's Books and Netgalley for the free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Susanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first book very much, and was eager to read this, but it completely failed to engage me. The setting the characters find themselves in, traitors to both sides and suspected by all should’ve been a great starting point, but it felt a bit off. Hwa Young’s struggle with balancing between her original and adopted cultures, and the chance to reconnect with her heart-mother should’ve made a great internal conflict, and at times it did, but I wasn’t invested at all. She was too much inside her head, and the events around her kept taking her by surprise, as if she didn’t pay attention or like she was completely kept in the dark. It felt like she wasn’t truly a part of her own story.

The second book added Geum’s point of view (at least I don’t remember that the first one had other narrators) and I’m not sure it improved the story much. As an aside, a genderless character suddenly hinting of their gender threw me off, especially since I'd imagined them the other way. Also, the gender flip of another character was poorly handled, as it was another example of everyone else knowing except Hwa Young who was completely blindsided by it. A wasted potential for a deeper connection there.

Maybe this was too YA for me, and I simply couldn’t enter the sentiments and emotions of the characters the way I should. Or maybe it was simply the way middle books sometimes are, mere bridges to the final. Either way, I really hope the final book delivers better.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

For starters, whatever you do – don’t pick up this one if you haven’t first read Moonstorm. Not only are you likely to flounder at exactly who is doing what to whom – the story is a continuation directly from the first book and a lot of what happens is a direct consequence of events that played out in Moonstorm. So not only will you spend too much time being confused, you’ll also likely get a tad fed up with Hwa Young’s flip-flopping loyalties, as you won’t have experienced the traumatic raid on her home on Carnelian when she was a child.

I enjoyed this book more than the first offering. Knowing that Yoon Ha Lee’s strength is plotting, I’d been just a tad disappointed that I knew where the story was going more or less all the way through Moonstorm – until the final major twist. That isn’t the case with his adult books, so I thought it was because this series is aimed at a YA audience. However this time around, just as I think I know where we’re going, the plot takes a left turn in a different direction. And as with all great plotting – while I didn’t see that coming, it makes utter and complete sense within the story.

I liked how Hwa Young struggles so badly to regain a sense of loyalty and affection to her heart-mother, who she discovers hadn’t died in the Empire attack on Carnelian, after all. The relationship between mother and daughter is also seen through another lens in this story, as the lancer squad commander, Ye Jun is the bastard daughter of the Empress, herself. It’s always an interesting relationship – and I like how we get to see two aspects of it in this story. Both highly problematical.

Hwa Young’s relationship with her very dangerous and rather creepy lancer, Winter Axiom, which she is mentally bonded to, has been the culmination of all her training ever since she was rescued by a lancer pilot as a small child. Her loyalties were always torn regarding the Empire, but two things made life bearable – her single-minded determination to become a lancer pilot and her friendship with Geum.

Now she is back with the people of her birth and in daily contact with her heart-mother, surely everything now should be so much better. Except that Geum was left behind. For reasons Hwa Young couldn’t comprehend, the leader of their lancer squad refused to wait for one of their best technicians to be available, before they fled to shelter with the clanners. And as the days roll by, Hwa Young continues to be convinced that Geum will be rescued very soon, managing to send zie messages to that effect.

The interplay between the clanners and Hwa Young is beautifully handled. Once again, Yoon Ha Lee’s skill in balancing characterisation with plotting is apparent as the events stack up until an action-packed denouement shows how allegiances have shifted both within the squad and personally.

Comparisons have been made with Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series – and I certainly see why. Both Hwa Young and Sanderson’s gutsy, gung-ho heroine, Spensa, choose to be defined by their relationship with the lethal killing machines they are bonded to after personal trauma makes family life very difficult. But there the similarities end. Spensa never spends a second worrying about the effect of her attacks on the drones attacking their settlement, whereas Hwa Young always has a nagging concern about the consequences of her actions. This is a clever, nuanced and engrossing space opera adventure I thoroughly enjoyed – and I’m now waiting very impatiently for the next slice of the adventure to find out what happens next. While I obtained an arc of Starstrike from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

[Teri]

While the first book in this series immediately captivated me, Starstrike moves at a slower pace, but does a good job at setting the stage for the third book.

Two months after the end of Moonstorm, Hwa Young isn't in a good place. She and her lancer squad are now on a Clanner ship after betraying the Empire. Drowning in grief and guilt after losing a friend in battle and having to leave her best friend on an Empire ship, she's distracted during missions and very passive during much of the first half of the story. After being raised in the Empire for the past several years, Clanner customs are foreign to her, and Hwa Young isn't sure where she fits. Her relationship with her heart mother is also strained.

This novel is very emotion heavy - which is fine considering what Hwa Young and others are experiencing - but I missed the action of the Lancer battles from the first book. That's just a personal preference. Starstrike isn't without twists, and the Empress really took me by surprise. I also enjoyed getting more from Geum and felt like they were more than entitled to their feelings at the end.

It took me a little longer to get into Starstrike compared to Moonstorm, but that's because the focus shifts to different aspects of the story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and Yoon Ha Lee for the opportunity to read Starstrike in exchange for an honest review.

Starstrike is the second installment in the Moonstorm trilogy.

**SPOILERS if you have NOT read MOONSTORM!**

Starstrike picks up about two months after the events of Moonstorm. Unique to book two, there are alternating third-person perspective chapters. Of course the reader gets to see what is happening with Hwa Young and the lancer squad, now on a Clanner ship offering Lancer intel to the rebels! And we also get Geum, Hwa Young's best friend, who is an advanced hacker stuck aboard their original Empire ship.

With sabotage on both ends, visits from the Empress and her guards themselves, a desire to rescue friends, and a whirlwind of romantic feelings among various crew members on both sides, it's a wonder anyone can even get out onto the space battle field at all!

This novel is definitely one of those "middle" ones, the stereotypical not-as-good-as-the-first-one-but-still-good books. While I feel a heavy lack of mecha and space battles in this novel compared to the first, there are some intriguing plays being set up that will certainly make the third and final installment something to be reckoned with. There's the threat of the gravity bomb that makes black holes, for one thing. And what the heck is the Empress up to? The royal dynamics being brought in to a more personal contact for the reader makes for some interesting political choices to be made down the line.

While the pacing was a bit slower and the action didn't hit the same way as in Moonstorm, this novel is still exceptionally well-written and makes for an engaging read. Definitely continue this series, or go pick up Moonstorm, especially if you enjoy a well-written science-fiction novel with mechs and intriguing character development. I am certainly looking forward to seeing how everything pans out in the final book.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this sequel to Moonstorm, Hwa learns that it's not so easy switching sides in a military campaign, despite the good intentions behind the action.

As with all turncoats, there's a certain amount of suspicion abounding. There also seems to be a sabateur about. As in many stories, there are lessons learned about friendship and who deserves your trust. Biological family ties versus found family ties is an issue.

I found this less compelling than the first book, partly because the change in allegiance happened already, and also the uniquely faith-based aspect of gravitational shift was introduced and more fully developed in the first book. The mental interaction between humans and their spacecraft (“lancers”) was played up more in the first book. This book was more about relationships, which is probably the foundation of most novels, but I was looking for more science fictional chocolate and less relationsip peanut butter.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Starstrike a lot more than Moonstorm, although whether because of a different audiobook narrator, or the cumulative buildup of the character development, I'm not sure. Even the battle scenes in this instalment felt succinct and purposeful. I was really engaged with the full cast of characters, although I sometimes found Hwa Young (our protagonist) to fall a little flat. As they are not the only narrator for this instalment, this was less of an issue. We again finished the book with a jaw dropping cliffhanger - but this time I'm even keener to see what happens next.
In short, I'm becoming a lot more invested in this world, and will definitely pick up the next book in the series.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
Thanks to Rebellion/Solaris and Netgalley for the ARC.

[Jim Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Moonstorm, Hwa Young and fellow Lancer pilots defect from the Empire as it attempts to use its black hole weapon against the cleaners. In Moonstorm, Hwa Young finds out that the cleaners aren't really the peace lovers she thought they were as she learns that wars can generate atrocities on both sides.

Moonstorm/Starstrike are set in what I'd call a science fantasy universe. On one hand, for much of it it has the feel of science fiction. But then, gravity is generated by, for example, devotion to the Empress. It's a strange mix of science and magic, but it works (much the way such a mix works in the best of Star Wars).

This volume ends in a cliff hanger, so I eagerly await the next novel.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes a middle book in a trilogy is just that, a book in a holding pattern while things are set up for the finale. That was the case for this book. Starstrike is so different from Moonstorm in that there are multiple characters telling the story and there is very little battle action. Both of these things kept me from getting sucked into this book--and I actually had to do some re-reading of sections because my mind kept wandering. The last third of the story finally got interesting, and I am looking forward to finishing the series when the next book comes out. I would caution readers from not reading Moonstorm first, however, as that one really sets the scene for Starstrike.

[SS · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you hear screaming in the distance, that’s me after finishing this book.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone and everything is worse than you thought, the sequel. The ending made me so stressed!!! I need book 3 NOW....

[Harrison Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yoon Ha Lee did it again! So hyped for Crownworld

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to read through this from the library - this leans hard into the sort of arc you'd find maybe 2/3rds of a way through a classic mech anime - finding out the people you came from are maybe no better than the people you left, and the friend you left behind feeling betrayed and being seduced by the trappings of empire and the feelings of betrayal. Yoon Ha Lee has a great YA here and I'm excited to see how the last book wraps.

[Sam Reads Books *Just the Highlights* · Rating 4 out of 5]

2025: 4.0