Arc Review- Under the Milky Way by Vanessa Barneveld

*Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of the book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Nothing ever happens in Dawson, Colorado.

Until high school senior Cassidy Roekiem’s mom checks into a “wellness center,” but nothing is wrong with her.

Then people start seeing lights in the sky and missing chunks of time, but the town insists nothing is going on.

And now Hayden, the new boy at school who keeps to himself and is more than a little mysterious, starts to notice her like it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, “nothing” is starting to feel a whole lot like something. And everything leads back to Hayden. The boy she’s starting to fall for. The boy with too many dark secrets for his kind heart. The boy she’s pretty sure isn’t human…

This book, had me very, very much intrigued when I read the synopsis. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and the plot was really something new. I was very excited to read this as it is also my very first e-arc!

Things I liked in ‘Under the Milky Way’

1. The plot. The plot was a very different and new idea which I haven’t seen much in YA.
2. The character of Hayden. I loved how he wasn’t this perfect YA love interest, he had his insecurities, his problems and complications.
3. The INTRIGUE. Gosh, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t obsessed with this book. From day 1, I knew something could happen, in any page.
4. The character development. Honestly, our Cassidy, was like a new version of ‘Bella Swan’ in the first few chapters. But unlike Bella, Cassidy actually had the brain and guts to do something PROPERLY, without help.
5. Insecurity discussion. Yes, I’m saying it again. Not much in this book was the typical picture perfect YA. No prefect parents, best friends, friends our boyfriend’s families. I love how every relationship was very in depth and realistic.
6. The cover. Yes, I ADORE the cover, honestly, look at it. It’s gorgeous.
7. How it managed to not give Twilight vibes. I mean, look at it. A gorgeous guy, very fast and very cute. A normal girl, ordinary of sorts. Total twilight stuff. But still this book didn’t follow Twilight which I’m grateful for. If it had, I might have broken my heart.
8. The Suspense. I am totally not a sci-fi reader. I still haven’t read ‘Lunar Chronicles’ because I’m worried about how I’ll feel after reading that. But the fact that this book was sci-fi and still managed to keep me hooked is fantabulous.

Things I didn’t like in ‘Under the Milky Way’

1. The way it was written. The writing at many times, didn’t make sense to me. There are tons of snippets of news, articles, reports, that I didn’t understand how that works. I mean, I did understand it when I finished the book. But really, I was so confused when our story halted and random articles came up. After a point, I started detesting it.
2. How everything eventually leads to one thing. There were a ton of mysteries in the beginning of the book. About Jane. About Cassidy’s mom. About Hayden’s family. I hate how it ultimately leads to one thing.
3. The ending was rushed. I had hoped for a happy ending, which I did get. But as I reader I’m still left confused. What exactly happens? Does the government re-approve the treaty? Does Hayden live on Earth? What even was that with Cassidy on a beach and then in the forest with Hayden’s dog and him?
4. The start didn’t make sense. The starting of the story was no doubt very well crafted. We see a struggling musician who becomes successful, and encountered certain beings, Why is the start so unrelated to the whole story? Not even once, is the musician from Australia mentioned again. I had hoped he had some role to play.

Well! And that’s a wrap for my very first e-arc review. I totally recommend this book to all sci-fi, fantasy, YA, Twilight lovers. Grab it if you love suspense, intrigue and realistic books!

Did you like this book? Are you going to add it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below!