Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood

Inherit the Stars begins in the middle of the action which creates a bit of confusion amid the chaos. Once I got engaged with the main character, Asa, I was hooked. I was a bit confused in the beginning about Asa, as I have only heard of males with that name but she is indeed an intrepid young woman, one of three sisters of the House of Fane who are integral to the story. Elwood does a decent job of world building without burdening the plot with the details of scientific elements. This is more fantasy than sci-fi and scientific elements are important but this is essentially a story about relationships: between sisters, between parents and children, and between a man and woman. Sustainable fuel and fuel shortages are at the root of the plot but it is character that drives this story. The beginning of the novel is a bit slow as we get to know the players, but stay with this one. There is much potential here. Of the three planet systems involved, the readers learn the least about Galton which becomes significant at the end of the novel leading one to expect a series. Inherit the Stars does finish with a satisfying ending but all is not resolved. My biggest reservations about the novel I hope will be improved before going to publication. The e-book I read was provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review. There were numerous formatting issues in the book; broken paragraphs, lack of clarity about the speaker since there are not new paragraphs for dialogue, and dangling first letters on the chapters that may be a design element that still needs tweaking. These were quite annoying at the beginning of the book and continued throughout but I am giving 4 stars since the story and Asa are worth reading in spite of these errors. The title I fear may cause some confusion among readers as there are so many “stars” books out there but I think fans of Anne McCaffrey and Tamora Pierce, who are both known for their strong female characters, would enjoy Inherit the Stars.