Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu Narrator: Becca Q Co
Series: Stars and Smoke #2
Published by MacMillan Audio on June 11, 2024
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy Romance
Pages: 311
Length: 10 hours, 47 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
A year has passed since superstar Winter and secret agent Sydney Cossette went undercover - on a dangerous mission to bring down the baddest man in London.
Winter hasn't stopped thinking about Sydney since, and she's been trying not to think about him
Family secrets and nasty newspapers has Winter desperate to re-enter the secret world. And it's not long before he gets his chance.
Sydney is back, and this time the mission goes right to the heart of the United States of America. A rescue gone wrong, an assassination attempt - and the return of an old flame - puts Winter right back into the action . . . and into a country on the brink of chaos.
And when a murder accusation has Sydney on the run, suddenly it's not just a life at stake, but all-out war.
Icon and Inferno is the second book in the Stars and Smoke series. This is a fun spy type story taking a famous pop star and using him as cover to get into places that the Panacea group (Offshoot of the CIA) might not be able to get into. Winter and Sydney get a second chance at both another mission and exploring the feeling they have for each other as they team up again to find a missing agent and try and stop an assassination.
This is a really good follow up story to Stars and Smoke and while I don’t think it was better than the first book, it was a great book for some character growth and overall story development. The chemistry between Winter and Sydney is undeniable and even though both have their exes a bit in the picture for this story it never really felt like a love triangle or square, it just pushed them into really evaluating their pasts and prior relationships to discover what they want in their futures.
The plot to the story was fast paced and fun. There is a plot to assassinate the President of the United States and it is really hard to tell who is on team good or evil in this. In an attempt to thwart the assassination true alliances and huge deceptions will be revealed. It looks like Sydney might also be targeted in this story, which means her cover has been blown and someone in Panacea can’t be trusted. Sydney and Winter will learn that they can only trust themselves and possibly find a bigger bond in that.
The story ties up in the end really well and I think we will get to see more Rock Star Spy stuff in the future. Marie Lu has set this up well for at least one more story to the series. I liked the tone of the story and the nice blend of all the action with the romance between Winter and Sydney. Both were balanced well and never overshadowed the other aspects making it a really fun read. Sure you have to suspend some disbelief in this book, but I think that is known going in based on the concept of the story.
Overall a great YA read with a good blend of both action and romance. Just a fun series so far.
Narration:
My first experience with Becca Q. Co was in Stars and Smoke the first book of the series. She looks to be a relatively new narrator to the scene with only a few titles to her credit so far. I think that will not last long as her performance of all the characters was great. Her diction and voice changes made it easy to tell who was talking and she was able to capture both the fun and solemnity of the characters in various situations. I was able to listen to this at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
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I’ve been missing Marie Lu a lot and want to get around to finishing a few of her series that I didn’t get to finish when I started them years back (The Young Elites and Warcross in particular). I do want to read everything Marie Lu has written eventually, so I’m glad this one’s a good series so far! <3 Can't wait to love the MCs' chemistry, and the plot sounds chaotic in a fun way. 😀
O.o…I also need to finish those two as well. This series just reminded me how much I really love her overall writing.
This does sound like a fun series. I love that blend of action and romance. 😀
Yes! It was just a good time. Winter and Sydney are really likable characters that are slightly broken making them all the more fun to hang out with.
Awww I love the cover! It’s so pretty.
Yes I do like the covers in this series.
I think I’ve only read her first book in each of her first two series, lol. I need to finish those and then start this one. Great review!
I completed one of her series I think I only read the first book in two of her other series. I just need to do a binge read sometime and get them all done 😛