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caitlinjadams's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
It’s a testament only to how busy my work week was that I didn’t finish this book in two days tops. I never wanted to put it down—I kept getting more and more pulled into the story. Both the mystery and the sci-fi were firing and I enjoyed the underpinning of person-to-person connections and small worldedness. The final act felt rushed and that’s the only reason this wasn’t five stars for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Drug use, Death of parent, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Stalking, Murder, Medical trauma, and War
Minor: Cancer
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think there are lots of flaws in this book, some minor, some a little bigger, but oh I had so much fun with it. The main issue I had was the pacing of the plot. There was so much happening and so much chaos that I didn't get as much time with the two protagonists and the main plot. And I really wanted to spend more time with these two... I especially wanted them to spend more time together... I loved their chemistry, okay.
Anyway, the second issue was the many, many backstories we got. They were necessary for the main plot, but at the same time distracted from it. I loved all the connections, though.
Also loved the characters, the humor, the diversity, the many creative and unique alien species and technology, all the pop culture references that I understood because they were clearly added specifically for me, loved the twists. I even guessed some of them... by accident, I definitely didn't pay attention to the correct clues. I loved the different and complicated family and friendship dynamics.
I don't think this book is for everyone because it really is chaotic, confusing and over the top, but it was definitely for me and I can't wait to continue the series.
Anyway, the second issue was the many, many backstories we got. They were necessary for the main plot, but at the same time distracted from it. I loved all the connections, though.
Also loved the characters, the humor, the diversity, the many creative and unique alien species and technology, all the pop culture references that I understood because they were clearly added specifically for me, loved the twists. I even guessed some of them... by accident, I definitely didn't pay attention to the correct clues. I loved the different and complicated family and friendship dynamics.
I don't think this book is for everyone because it really is chaotic, confusing and over the top, but it was definitely for me and I can't wait to continue the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Cancer, Child abuse, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Stalking
bugaboobear's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I was excited by the premise of this book but the execution let me down.
The human characters were enjoyable, but there was SO much hopping between present and background for each character. It was disorienting to have no paragraph breaks or anything to let you know you're in a time jump.
The aliens were the biggest let down. There were a lot of reused tropes and the alien races all felt like things I'd seen before. They weren't fleshed out and it really felt like a story about a bunch of humans with the aliens as mostly colorful background. I wasn't very invested in the mystery either.
The human characters were enjoyable, but there was SO much hopping between present and background for each character. It was disorienting to have no paragraph breaks or anything to let you know you're in a time jump.
The aliens were the biggest let down. There were a lot of reused tropes and the alien races all felt like things I'd seen before. They weren't fleshed out and it really felt like a story about a bunch of humans with the aliens as mostly colorful background. I wasn't very invested in the mystery either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: War, Cancer, Child abuse, Racism, and Death of parent
mlewis's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Body horror, Death of parent, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide
schnaucl's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed this book. The characters and the setting were both very interesting, the aliens were actually very alien.
I really hope there are more books in this seriesthough I wonder how it will work if the station is running at normal capacity since it seems like maybe the station would know immediately who the murderer is. Though the second epilogue suggests not, but not why the station wouldn't know since she was able to piece things together after she had a compatible host.
I really hope there are more books in this series
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Violence, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Medical content, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Death
quiet_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Murder and Transphobia
pvbobrien's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Child abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, Gore, and Car accident
readundancies's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
So I think 2022 is The Year of Sci-Fi just kicking ass and taking names for me and I am here for it.
Because I really enjoyed this sci-fi mystery moment.
The highlight for me was the worldbuilding. The worldbuilding was so well developed and while it did make the pacing a little inconsistent (the beginning felt rather slow in comparison to the action-packed and wildly quick pace of the latter half), I was so thoroughly hooked by the worldbuilding. The Gneiss and Gurudev and Phantasmagore and Sundry and Silence, and the sentient space station/ships of Eternity and Infinity - so imaginative, so gripping, so interesting. I’ve never come across a series of alien species interacting with humans on an isolated sentient space station in the manner that they’re depicted in this story and I think the mystery aspect was the perfect framework to implement it all.
The characters paled in comparison to the world-building but that’s more because this is definitely a plot-driven story. But I still really liked all of the characters. There were quite a few to finagle, and I don’t think that helped matters when it came to character development, but the limited glimpses we got of the characters were pretty great. I think I would’ve liked this even more if there was a romantic element incorporated with our two lead characters, Xan and Mallory, which is sort of implied and could be cultivated as the series progresses. But the diversity with respect to race, sexual orientation, age, etc. of the cast of characters was so seamlessly integrated without feeling forced and there were some great personalities to explore, with Mrs. Brown and Calliope being a couple of my favourites.
And the way that the mystery and plot kind of converged at the end worked really well with the incredibly fast pace as we got to the conclusion. It wasn’t about any plot twists that stood out for me, it was how it all came together at the end, because the number of connections between Xan and Mallory and the shuttle of human passengers that end up boarding Eternity was a lot.
I will definitely be continuing on with this series just so I can immerse myself in this world again, and definitely encourage anyone who’s a fan of fast paced sci-fi mysteries with aliens and military involvement to try this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Blood
wanderonwards's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sending me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Station Eternity was such a fun read! I thoroughly enjoyed this spin on murder mysteries with aliens on a sentient space station. I loved the sci-fi setting, the characters quickly grew on me, and I liked how layers were added to the mystery as the plot progressed.
My only complaint was with the pacing: each time something major happened and the plot felt like it was picking up, the story was interrupted with another POV - usually with backstory in the form of a flashback. While I did enjoy these chapters (and there was a heck of a lot of world building to accomplish that needed these chapters), they did detract from the overall pace and might have benefited from better chapter markers (such as “then” and “now”).
I think I will enjoy future books in the series, and I can’t wait to see what happens next! Thank you again to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to review an ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use
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