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thegr8estangell's review
adventurous
lighthearted
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
So much fun. I genuinely enjoyed this.
sarah984's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I feel like there's a sort of tone you expect from a novel titled "You Sexy Thing" in a series titled "Disco Space Opera" that has a GBBO comp on the cover, and this book does not have that tone. It is extremely dark and graphic, as well as staggeringly cruel to one of the characters for seemingly no reason. Most of the characters feel like cardboard cutouts (the Firefly references are a mile a minute) and traits seem to spring up as required by the narrative. Most of the characters have no initiative at all and are simply shunted here and there by the plot. It's only getting 2 stars because I thought the cooking stuff was fun and the ship at least had a personality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Grief, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual content and War
the_discworldian's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
3.5
maggie92's review
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
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? No
2.75
elsecallerreads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I went into this book really expecting to love it. It has so many of my favorite things: a sentient space ship, a found family, cooking, unique alien species. But I found the book a little lacking. It felt like it was trying to accomplish what Becky Chambers did in the Long Way to a Small Angry Planet but fell short.
The characters were unique and interesting but I felt lacked the chemistry to make them a strong found family. The writing style also made it confusing at times but that may just be due to the fact I prefer third person limited over omniscient. The pacing was also all over the place and I was a bit bored in the middle.
Despite this I do see potential in this story, enough that I do plan to read the next installment. This story felt almost like a prequel rather than a first book of a story so I hope the next one does a better job.
The characters were unique and interesting but I felt lacked the chemistry to make them a strong found family. The writing style also made it confusing at times but that may just be due to the fact I prefer third person limited over omniscient. The pacing was also all over the place and I was a bit bored in the middle.
Despite this I do see potential in this story, enough that I do plan to read the next installment. This story felt almost like a prequel rather than a first book of a story so I hope the next one does a better job.
laufox's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.5
I really enjoyed this! It reminded me much of Becky Chambers meets John Scalzi style space opera. Loveable characters, fun plot that kept moving, and strong interpersonal relationships...in space! I don't know if it was the eReader version or what, but I did find the pacing and cut scenes a bit abrupt at times. I don't know if there were supposed to be scene breaks that didn't come through in the eReader format or what, but some if the scene cuts could be jarring and made the plot feel uneven at points. I also felt there was a lot going on, perhaps too much for the number of pages, that a lot was left unresolved or dropped suddenly in favor of the new shiny thing. I'm hoping some of these elements become better fleshed out and explored in future installments. Such as: Milly repercussions, ghost use and meaning, Talon's trauma, the Empress, the Sessile everything, Takraven's role, and of course, Tubal Last and Petalia. Just a LOT to take in and loose ends. Looking forward to book 2!
saloninareads's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Ok, so the first half of this is really good. So good that I'm going to read the sequel, Devil's Gun when it comes out. It just felt like in the second half the plot kept going but the characters stalled. Nico, despite everyone calling her a great leader and soldier, doesn't really do much. The other members of the main cast just fall to the side and the solution for escaping from Last was sort of random. To me it feels like a much larger book was split and the real second half is going to be the second book. This makes the book feel disjointed and confused. However, Tubal Last is a VILE villain I was actually repulsed by him so good on Cat Rambo for being able to write an antagonist I absolutely loathe. All in all, the writing is solid, main crew is great, their relationships are delightful, and I think a better balance between ex-military running a restaurant vs bleak space opera nastiness will do some good in the following books in the series.
For those of you that like the aliens and weirdos running a restaurant go watch Kid Cosmic by Craig McCraken on Netflix.
For those of you that like the aliens and weirdos running a restaurant go watch Kid Cosmic by Craig McCraken on Netflix.
clementineecho's review
2.0
I think this story would have been far more interesting to me as a movie. This should have been a screenplay and not a novel.
My main complaint is that I dislike when there is unnatural focus on sexual or gender issues. I wish these things could have been written into the story more organically.
That aside the plot has many exciting points and the station and space setting is very fun.
My main complaint is that I dislike when there is unnatural focus on sexual or gender issues. I wish these things could have been written into the story more organically.
That aside the plot has many exciting points and the station and space setting is very fun.
bookgrrl's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
red_sky's review
DNF about 25%
I liked what read but for some reason it could not hold my focus. I do plan on trying again at some point in the future
I liked what read but for some reason it could not hold my focus. I do plan on trying again at some point in the future