Shooting for the Stars

5 easy stars!

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

I've throughly enjoyed all of Sarina's previous books particularly the Gravity series. I've been excited to read Shooting for the Stars which is about Stella Lazarus and Bryan "Bear" Barry ever since I first read about them in Hank's book Falling from the Sky last year. Stella is Hank's sister and Bear his best friend.

Stella is confident and fearless while flying through the air performing jumps in her snowboarding competitions but once back on the ground and faced with Bear, her heart hammers in her chest. Why? She's been in love with him since she was 8 years old.

Bear has always had to work hard. He's had to work hard to train and progress in his snowboarding competitions, he's had to work hard to secure his sponsors and he's had to work hard not to act on his feelings for Stella.

In Falling from the Sky Stella isn't the easiest person to be around. She's angsty, sassy and clearly has some issues knowing what her place in the family is. As it's Hank's book we don't learn too much about her though I just knew she had a story to tell and I was not disappointed.

Right from the beginning of Shooting for the Stars we're inside Stella's head. She's just about to compete in a freeriding competition. When she reaches the end Hank and Bear are waiting for her. Her reaction to seeing Bear is the first glimpse of the real girl and not just the fierce force of nature in Hank's life we'd met previously.

The chapters in this book alternate between Stella and Bear. So by the 2nd chapter we're inside Bear's head and beginning to realise he feels much for the same for Stella as she does for him. But she's his best and oldest friends little sister. He's always accepted she's off limits.

Soon after Stella's competition Hank has to fly out of town for a competition of his own but the fact he was there for her is testament to how close they are. Before Hank leaves he asks Bear to take Stella out that night and celebrate her victory. I love that this book starts just before Hank's story begins and ends some time after.

Hank informs Stella before he takes off that he hasn't checked out of his penthouse room so she can reap the benefits. Bear plans to just drop Stella off at the hotel and meet up again later but she talks him into joining her for cocktails.

I really enjoyed the glimpses back to Stella, Bear and Hank's childhood in this book. Hank had it easiest coming from a family of wealth. Bear struggled the most but Stella too had her own struggles and not just those that came from the competitiveness of having an older brother. I finished this book with a much better understanding of Stella.

After Stella and Bear spend the night together they both have different reactions to it the next morning. Before they have time to discuss what happens next they receive the news that Hank's competition has changed his life in ways none of them could of imaged.

Back in Vermont, Stella and Bear dedicate their time to being there for Hank in anyway he needs them to be and trying to avoid each other in the process but inevitably cross paths at work, the local bar and at Hank's home. All three of them have reached a point in their life that they are struggling to move forward from. Bear in a burst of inspiration decides it's up to him to help all of them out of their slump.

I absolutely adored these characters and the fact they both so clearly have feelings for each other and have done for the longest time would have been realised if only they'd communicate. I loved the coming and going between them though so much so I pulled an all nighter to finish this book in one sitting. I just couldn't rest until I knew whether they overcame their insecurities and found their way to each other.

Two of the things I love most in books are different points of view and revisiting previous characters and this book delivered! While all the Gravity books are standalone some of the same characters make an appearance and I just love checking in with them again. In Falling from the Sky there were some dark months for Hank which are recalled in Shooting for the Stars from Stella and Bear's POV.

This book gets an easy five 5 stars from me and I know I'll continue to think about not only Stella and Bear but all the characters I've come to know and love across the Gravity books and who's lives are all interwoven.