Blog post: http://sonichreads.tumblr.com/post/16... 
 3.5/5 
 Review: I first heard wanted to read this book due to Emily May's review on Goodreads. She absolutely loved the book and I always look out for good books so that is a decent reason. Empress of a Thousand Skies isn't a major. superior book in the sci-fi genre as I expected it to be. To be honest, I was kind of disappointed. 
 Empress of a Thousand Skies is about Rhiannon, one of the protagonists in the book, scouring her way to find the person behind her unsuccessful murderer as she is presumed dead. And Alyosha is framed for murdering the supposedly Empress because he's a Wraetan, immigrant after the Great War. Both run, in order to find a way to announce the truth. 
 Starting off with the writing, I thought the book was very well-written, but it's not one of those kinds that suck you right in. It needs some time to get used to this book and well, for me, it was about a hundred pages. It alternated between two characters' point of views, but in my experience, I was confused a lot of times with Alyosha's pov. So, that was very frustrating that I couldn't finish the book earlier. 
 From the beginning, this book felt so much like the Lunar Chronicles, but also very different. The plot was fluctuating yet it was consistent and understandable, also, it was not forgettable. I enjoyed the story and I really liked the portrayal of racial issues and an act of privacy invasion. I absolutely adored that this book didn't have cheesy romance/no romance at all until the ending, which also left a cliffhanger. I wanted the second book for that cliffhanger alone, thank you. 
 The characters in this book aren't phenomenal, in my opinion. I obviously enjoyed reading from Rhee's point of view, but I still didn't think that she's badass or whatever as everyone says. She's fine, I guess? I haven't a word to describe these two protagonists besides "fine" because that's the vibe I'm getting from them. I wouldn't say that they're "flat" because they're not, yet they're not incredible either, which left me to think they're right in the middle. 
 Overall: I enjoyed this book. I would pick the next book up, but I don't think it's anything crazy amazing. It's just entertaining "fine".