Saturday Shorts: Among the Nameless Stars

Before Kai joined the Cloud Fleet, he wandered… AMONG THE NAMELESS STARS

Four years before the events of FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS, the servant Kai left the North Estate, the only home he’d ever known, and Elliot North, the only girl he ever loved, in search of a better life. But the journey was not an easy one.
Featuring narrow escapes, thrilling boat races and at least one deadly volcanic wasteland. Quoted from Goodreads

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Last Tuesday was a wonderful day for book releases, so last Monday I was a little bit at a loss as to what I should read.  I didn't really want to start something big because I wanted to be ready on Tuesday to read some of these new releases.  I was thinking of picking up and rereading pieces of books I love, when I discovered this prequel novella. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. I loved For Darkness Shows the Stars, and finding out there was a prequel and that it was free on Amazon was just icing on the cake.  

Plus, this book is well done.  It shows Kai's struggles after he left the North Estate, the hopelessness of what he face, and why he made the choices he did.  We also get to see his and Elliot's relationship from his perspective, sort of.  None of this takes place with her, so we just get his thoughts and feelings, but still it's a nice insight.  

The story is, in itself, a story.  It's not just glimpses or scenes from Kai's POV that we already saw from Elliot's. It expands the world beyond the North estate that we only hear about in FDStS.  Of course, it also made me spend most of the next day re-reading bits and and pieces of FDStS, since I wanted to see Kai and Elliot together.

Probably my favorite part of the story are the letters Kai composes to Elliot in his head.  It shows not only what he's thinking and feeling, but how much he and Elliot were connected to each other even when they were separated with no reunion (or even the want for one) in sight.

All in all, this is one of the better novellas out there.  If you liked For Darkness Shows the Stars, you absolutely have to read this.  If you're thinking about reading For Darkness Shows the Stars, this is a great introduction (again, it's free).  It was a lovely 4 star novella for me, and I can't wait to read Diana Peterfreund's sequel, Across the Star-Swept Sea.