Trouble comes to the twin islands of New Pacifica when violent revolution breaks out on the island of Galatea. The neighboring island of Albion can do little more than watch as revolutionaries rise up against the ruling class with the worst weapon imaginable. Centuries after war and Reduction nearly destroyed the world, the Galatean revolution is threatening to bring the last remnant of civilization back to the brink of collapse.
And no one seems able to intervene save for one bold Albion spy known only as the Wild Poppy.
No one can know that the Wild Poppy is really Persis Blake. With her vapid persona as a frivolous, stupid member of court no one could that Persis is the spy undermining the revolution at every turn. No one can suspect if Persis wants to continue her work.
The stakes become even higher when a Galatean medic named Justen Helo enters Persis’ orbit. As she and Justen engage in an extravagant flirtation as part of her cover, Persis has to work to keep her true identity a secret and her potential enemies close. With romance and confrontation on the horizon, Persis can lose much more than her heart if her secrets begin to unravel in Across a Star-Swept Sea (2013) by Diana Peterfreund.
Across a Star-Swept Sea is Peterfreund’s post-apocalyptic retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel. It is also a companion novel to Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars.
Though the novel references the same basic world building and certain characters, Across a Star-Swept Sea is essentially a stand alone novel that works on its own.
This time Peterfreund returns to the post-apocalyptic world after a world-ending war and Reduction in a very different setting with very different ideas. Across a Star-Swept Sea seamlessly expands the world introduced in For Darkness Shows the Stars while creating a new setting and plot that is entirely its own.
Given the revolutionary backdrop, Across a Star-Swept Sea is much more plot-driven with lots of action and adventure. The unique way New Pacifica has evolved post-Reduction also creates opportunities for conversations about the politics of the islands. On a personal level it also offers moments of introspection for Persis as she reconciles the personal costs of her double life with the benefits in lives saved.
Like its predecessor, Across a Star-Swept Sea moves beyond its source material to become more than a retelling. With a heroine who is as stylish as she is fierce, this novel is an anthem for stong women and a delightful read for anyone looking for a dramatic page-turner with just a bit of romance thrown in.
Possible Pairings: I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter, The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen, Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel, That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E. K. Johnston, These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid, Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Legend by Marie Lu, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
*This book was acquired for review from the publisher at BEA 2013*
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