Panacea (noun: a solution or remedy for all difficulties or disease) is an elite covert operations group tasked with taking on jobs outsourced by other government entities. Sydney Cossette joined Panacea's ranks in high school as a way of escaping her old town and old life, and slowly became the group's youngest spy with aspirations of becoming the best agent. While Winter Young, an international pop sensation selling out stadium tour across the globe, is oblivious to Panacea's very existence - that is, until he's picked up in a black SUV and recruited for a mission to take down a major crime boss whose daughter just happens to be his biggest fan. Winter and Sydney, who's tasked with being his bodyguard, travel to London and are tasked with infiltrating the boss' inner circle to find a way to take him down legally. The two don't get on the best at first, but as their mission expands and morphs into something neither one of the expected, so does their feelings towards one another.
First I'll say that I loved the characters of Sydney and Winter individually, and their dynamic as mission partners. Both Sydney and Winter have "secrets," or aspects of their family and past that they'd rather move away from, and it was interesting to see how they handle that. Sydney, at the first sight of an escape with Panacea after her mother passed away, took the chance and never looked back, because the men in her life had been abusive, both emotionally and physically. Winter lost his brother unexpectedly, at first he'd believed during an assignment with the Peace Corps but Artemis had secrets of his own. Their mother didn't know how to handle his death, and therefore is kind of uninvolved in Winter's life, and when she does make conversation with him she confuses facts and preferences of his with Artemis,' making Winter feel even more isolated. But simultaneously, both Sydney and Winter have adult figures in their life - Sydney has Sauda and Niall at Panacea and Winter has his manager, Claire. These adults respect and care for Sydney and Winter but also challenge them when needed. As for the plot, it was pretty much how I expected it to go. Until it wasn't. And at that point I was hooked and had to know how'd I missed the clues and how this mission was going to conclude. I really wasn't sure who was going to emerge victorious. I was listening to the audiobook and reading along while commuting to work, and I finished on my dinner break because I needed to know how it ended. I came to love Winter and Sydney's story, and while yes, I needed to know how it concluded, I was still sad to reach the end. I've never been so glad that I didn't have so long to wait for a sequel.
There was one aspect I wasn't expecting but really enjoyed, and that was the subtle queer representation. Before Winter fully sets off on his mission in London, and we're more thoroughly introduced to his band-mates, Leo and Dameon, it's made clear that Winter and Dameon have somewhat of a romantic and/or sexual past, before ultimately deciding that a secret relationship was not in the cards for them and they were better off as friends. It's unclear if Leo is aware of their past, as it's never directly mentioned in his presence, but it's not something that either of them are ashamed of. Winter doesn't express interest in any other guy throughout the course of the book, perhaps because he subconsciously is aware of how much he's starting to care for Sydney, and his identity is never explicitly stated on-page, but it was still nice to read it subtly mentioned.
In conclusion, I have the sequel preordered and placed a library hold on the audiobook so hopefully I'll be able to read it as soon as it's released, because I really enjoyed Winter and Sydney's story and can't wait to see what the second book in the duology has in store. I've found that when Marie Lu dives into more contemporary stories I tend to enjoy them more, so I'll be on the lookout for any of her new releases that fall into that category. Consider picking up Stars and Smoke if you're interested, and if you enjoy it pick up the sequel Icon and Inferno, releasing June 11th, 2024. *Thanks to BookishFirst and the publisher, Macmillan / Roaring Brook Press, for the copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
First I'll say that I loved the characters of Sydney and Winter individually, and their dynamic as mission partners. Both Sydney and Winter have "secrets," or aspects of their family and past that they'd rather move away from, and it was interesting to see how they handle that. Sydney, at the first sight of an escape with Panacea after her mother passed away, took the chance and never looked back, because the men in her life had been abusive, both emotionally and physically. Winter lost his brother unexpectedly, at first he'd believed during an assignment with the Peace Corps but Artemis had secrets of his own. Their mother didn't know how to handle his death, and therefore is kind of uninvolved in Winter's life, and when she does make conversation with him she confuses facts and preferences of his with Artemis,' making Winter feel even more isolated. But simultaneously, both Sydney and Winter have adult figures in their life - Sydney has Sauda and Niall at Panacea and Winter has his manager, Claire. These adults respect and care for Sydney and Winter but also challenge them when needed. As for the plot, it was pretty much how I expected it to go. Until it wasn't. And at that point I was hooked and had to know how'd I missed the clues and how this mission was going to conclude. I really wasn't sure who was going to emerge victorious. I was listening to the audiobook and reading along while commuting to work, and I finished on my dinner break because I needed to know how it ended. I came to love Winter and Sydney's story, and while yes, I needed to know how it concluded, I was still sad to reach the end. I've never been so glad that I didn't have so long to wait for a sequel.
There was one aspect I wasn't expecting but really enjoyed, and that was the subtle queer representation. Before Winter fully sets off on his mission in London, and we're more thoroughly introduced to his band-mates, Leo and Dameon, it's made clear that Winter and Dameon have somewhat of a romantic and/or sexual past, before ultimately deciding that a secret relationship was not in the cards for them and they were better off as friends. It's unclear if Leo is aware of their past, as it's never directly mentioned in his presence, but it's not something that either of them are ashamed of. Winter doesn't express interest in any other guy throughout the course of the book, perhaps because he subconsciously is aware of how much he's starting to care for Sydney, and his identity is never explicitly stated on-page, but it was still nice to read it subtly mentioned.
In conclusion, I have the sequel preordered and placed a library hold on the audiobook so hopefully I'll be able to read it as soon as it's released, because I really enjoyed Winter and Sydney's story and can't wait to see what the second book in the duology has in store. I've found that when Marie Lu dives into more contemporary stories I tend to enjoy them more, so I'll be on the lookout for any of her new releases that fall into that category. Consider picking up Stars and Smoke if you're interested, and if you enjoy it pick up the sequel Icon and Inferno, releasing June 11th, 2024. *Thanks to BookishFirst and the publisher, Macmillan / Roaring Brook Press, for the copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*