I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

And All the Stars by Andrea K. Höst
Published by Smashwords on October 1st 2012
Pages: 260
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Sci-fi
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Amazon
Goodreads

Come for the apocalypse.
Stay for cupcakes.
Die for love.

Madeleine Cost is working to become the youngest person ever to win the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Her elusive cousin Tyler is the perfect subject: androgynous, beautiful, and famous. All she needs to do is pin him down for the sittings.

None of her plans factored in the Spires: featureless, impossible, spearing into the hearts of cities across the world – and spraying clouds of sparkling dust into the wind.

Is it an alien invasion? Germ warfare? They are questions everyone on Earth would like answered, but Madeleine has a more immediate problem. At Ground Zero of the Sydney Spire, beneath the collapsed ruin of St James Station, she must make it to the surface before she can hope to find out if the world is ending.

Most dystopian’s tend to be the story of what came after, of how the Earth had changed and how lives were transformed. In ‘And All The Stars’ we get a glimpse into the inner-workings of the change while it’s actually happening and affecting people now. Strange clouds have spread across the skies of the city and sparkling dust is emanating from them.

‘The rest, from just below her collarbone down, was an unbroken dark blue, studded with motes of light. Galaxies, nebulae and fiery novae. They weren’t on the surface of her skin, but seemed to float below it, as if she had become a window on a night sky at the centre of the universe.’

As time progresses, Madeleine’s symptoms begin to show: from extreme hunger cramps, all-over body aches, and then the velvet begins appearing on her skin. She has no idea why this is happening and who is behind all of it but she’s determined to survive this.

The story incredibly original and the writing was extremely well-done and descriptive. Unfortunately I still felt that things weren’t as clear as I would have liked and I felt myself getting completely lost in the story. Highly original story that focuses more on friendships than relationships and just so happens to be a stand-alone novel. Recommended for fans of dystopians with a sci-fi twist.