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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Absolutely hilarious! I cackled the entire time reading this!
Our FMC was the funniest!
I hated her family with a passion though.
Full review to come tomorrow because I don’t have it in my soul to do tonight!
Our FMC was the funniest!
I hated her family with a passion though.
Full review to come tomorrow because I don’t have it in my soul to do tonight!
DNF. After the bit about psychic cats I got bored pretty quickly. Just feels very mid.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
It was...fine. I mean, you'd think this would be right up my alley--a ragtag group of people trying to go honest but getting caught up in shenanigans, PSYCHIC CATS, lots of weird aliens, space ships and found families and cool tech, and I'm sorry did I mention the psychic cats? Because yes. This cover was enough to sell me on this thing, and in the end it was just...meh. Eva was only okay, and I feel like you need someone VERY strong (character wise, not like...physically) or at least really interesting to pull off something like this, which she was very much not in either regard. I wanted to smack her around for lying to her crew so much. She was also kind of wishy washy about the whole thing--yes I'll do this Serious Business but I'll fire my crew, oh I won't fire them, oh I won't do this Serious Business, and then in the end it kind of doesn't even matter at all so it's like, what were we even doing here? And the whole "weird alien sets fire to a whole station and chases our heroine across the galaxy because she wouldn't have sex with him (with lots of asides to make sure the reader knows he's at fault for being an asshole and not her, which like, true, but I felt like it was explained TO DEATH)" was just really weird and I'm not really sure how it helped the story except to move the plot along whenever it stagnated.
I dunno, there's promise here. But the psychic cats were lame and the fact that that I have to type that out because they're, you know, freaking PSYCHIC CATS, makes me very sad.
I dunno, there's promise here. But the psychic cats were lame and the fact that that I have to type that out because they're, you know, freaking PSYCHIC CATS, makes me very sad.
adventurous
funny
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
This book was a lot of fun, and I read the majority of it in one sitting. Our main character is irreverent and funny, with questionable morals and bad luck/good luck in spades. I love a space-faring found family, and all the missions and chaos they got up was a blast. the romance was so cute, and the incredible world-building (universe-building?) kept me super engaged!
The writing is just not great. The humour is often cringe. It's probably not fair to compare to someone like Becky Chambers, but that's clearly the vibe the author is aiming for and they've achieved the levity and nothing else that Wayfarers does.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF at 37%.
If you’re looking for Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels but in space, this is your book. If you want action set pieces intercut with interpersonal drama, this is your book.
It’s fine for what it is, but it wasn’t what I was looking for.
If you’re looking for Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels but in space, this is your book. If you want action set pieces intercut with interpersonal drama, this is your book.
It’s fine for what it is, but it wasn’t what I was looking for.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"That's like five bad plans you've had in two minutes. How are you still alive?"
"I move fast."
Eva Innocente has learned the hard way what lines she doesn't want to cross as a ship captain. She and her best friend, Pink, split from her father and his operation when his methods put them in the kind of situation that scars you for life and earns you the wrong kind of infamy. Eva and her crew now scrape by hauling cargo from one planet to another. At the start of the book, we see them rassling the psychic, hypnotic cats whose delivery fell through. Though they've received several sketchy offers that would find the cats new homes, it seems more and more likely that the ship is now home to a clowder of cats. The work doesn't pay well enough to keep the ship in perfect working condition, and the food they can afford is bland and uninspiring. All the same, Eva is content to be free of the morally questionable/reprehensible entanglements that kept her in more riches in the past.
Eva's not exactly idyllic but comfortable existence is interrupted when she is contacted by The Fridge, a shadowy underworld organization known for being inescapable and all-seeing. They've captured Eva's somewhat estranged sister, who studies ancient aliens for a living. Despite their lack of recent closeness, Eva would do anything for her sister, and she doesn't want her mother ever to find out just how much danger she was in. She doesn't have the exorbitant sum they want for ransom, but they graciously (?) offer to let her work off the amount. All she has to do is ferry around the goods they tell her to, no questions asked, no one else the wiser, and she will eventually, probably save her sister. With The Fridge's reputation lurking in her mind, Eva is too afraid to tell her crew the bargain she's been forced to make. That's how we find her making ever riskier pickups and even less likely escapes, much to her team's confusion and horror. If The Fridge weren't enough of a problem, we also see Eva forced to evade a princely pursuer. When Eva refuses his "request" to be forcibly placed in his royal harem, she responds (quite reasonably) with violence. Unwilling to deal with rejection, he follows her across galaxies, destroying space stations and cities that get in the way of collecting her.
The story features espionage elements, firefights, space battles, and an excellent sidebar romance. I appreciated all the action and angst of the situations our characters find themselves in, and the many places they visit are bursting with quirks and humor. From a planet where everyone must carry a card to prove sapience or find themselves murdered and eaten to a luxury cruise where the rich enjoy being robbed by theatrical pirates for entertainment to a monastery with mandatory parasitical brainwashing and great booze, each new setting more than delivers. I think the main draw, though, is Eva herself. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I couldn't help but feel for her each time she has to make a desperate and ill-advised decision.
I have a bit more random praise to offer. If you like the psychic cats, just wait until you meet the tiny engineering robots. Some cute lil Star Wars references aren't so bulky as to disrupt the plot. And my Google Translate got quite the workout with all the Spanish cursing flying around (I thought I knew the basics, but it turns out I was sadly mistaken). I was delighted but also kind of in awe. Finally, fans of alien romance can look forward to a cute cinnamon roll secret identity plot going on in the background. It's a bit forbidden and a lot wracked with pining, and naturally, they'll need to go undercover as a couple at some point. There will be many opportunities to save each other's lives, and a few other moments where one will stomp on the other one's heart. Vakar tracks down her favorite food as a gift, and Eva has expensive scent translators put in to more fully understand his communication. It's a wholesome plotline in the middle of a shitstorm. I'm excited to see what else the trilogy has in store for Eva and her crew.
"I move fast."
Eva Innocente has learned the hard way what lines she doesn't want to cross as a ship captain. She and her best friend, Pink, split from her father and his operation when his methods put them in the kind of situation that scars you for life and earns you the wrong kind of infamy. Eva and her crew now scrape by hauling cargo from one planet to another. At the start of the book, we see them rassling the psychic, hypnotic cats whose delivery fell through. Though they've received several sketchy offers that would find the cats new homes, it seems more and more likely that the ship is now home to a clowder of cats. The work doesn't pay well enough to keep the ship in perfect working condition, and the food they can afford is bland and uninspiring. All the same, Eva is content to be free of the morally questionable/reprehensible entanglements that kept her in more riches in the past.
Eva's not exactly idyllic but comfortable existence is interrupted when she is contacted by The Fridge, a shadowy underworld organization known for being inescapable and all-seeing. They've captured Eva's somewhat estranged sister, who studies ancient aliens for a living. Despite their lack of recent closeness, Eva would do anything for her sister, and she doesn't want her mother ever to find out just how much danger she was in. She doesn't have the exorbitant sum they want for ransom, but they graciously (?) offer to let her work off the amount. All she has to do is ferry around the goods they tell her to, no questions asked, no one else the wiser, and she will eventually, probably save her sister. With The Fridge's reputation lurking in her mind, Eva is too afraid to tell her crew the bargain she's been forced to make. That's how we find her making ever riskier pickups and even less likely escapes, much to her team's confusion and horror. If The Fridge weren't enough of a problem, we also see Eva forced to evade a princely pursuer. When Eva refuses his "request" to be forcibly placed in his royal harem, she responds (quite reasonably) with violence. Unwilling to deal with rejection, he follows her across galaxies, destroying space stations and cities that get in the way of collecting her.
The story features espionage elements, firefights, space battles, and an excellent sidebar romance. I appreciated all the action and angst of the situations our characters find themselves in, and the many places they visit are bursting with quirks and humor. From a planet where everyone must carry a card to prove sapience or find themselves murdered and eaten to a luxury cruise where the rich enjoy being robbed by theatrical pirates for entertainment to a monastery with mandatory parasitical brainwashing and great booze, each new setting more than delivers. I think the main draw, though, is Eva herself. She's stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I couldn't help but feel for her each time she has to make a desperate and ill-advised decision.
I have a bit more random praise to offer. If you like the psychic cats, just wait until you meet the tiny engineering robots. Some cute lil Star Wars references aren't so bulky as to disrupt the plot. And my Google Translate got quite the workout with all the Spanish cursing flying around (I thought I knew the basics, but it turns out I was sadly mistaken). I was delighted but also kind of in awe. Finally, fans of alien romance can look forward to a cute cinnamon roll secret identity plot going on in the background. It's a bit forbidden and a lot wracked with pining, and naturally, they'll need to go undercover as a couple at some point. There will be many opportunities to save each other's lives, and a few other moments where one will stomp on the other one's heart. Vakar tracks down her favorite food as a gift, and Eva has expensive scent translators put in to more fully understand his communication. It's a wholesome plotline in the middle of a shitstorm. I'm excited to see what else the trilogy has in store for Eva and her crew.