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mallorypen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Look, I was not expecting this book to have any redeeming qualities. It was a Booktok recommendation for queer sci-fi, and those tend to be either AMAZING or laughably bad. I judged this book by its cover and was betting on laughably bad but entertaining nonetheless. And though there were things I didn't like - alien rape being high on that list - there were a few elements that were thought-provoking and used the genre well.
First and foremost - the alien technology of the stasis pod. I thought the backup system of syncing the heartbeat to another, similar life form was an interesting failsafe, and it was a great device to kickstart the forced proximity trope in a way that felt critical to the plot. The alien writing on the skin, the membrane, the way the person in the pod reacted to stimuli externally ... it was a cool bit of sci-fi tech. The idea of the aliens being so technologically advanced that humanity is given all the consideration of a pest and/or pet made for an interesting dynamic.
Secondly, Brady. I'm not going to list him as a top favorite character of all time, but his motivations were crystalline the entire book. He was a coward, consistently, and in a way that made me sympathetic towards his character while still getting frustrated with his behavior. Even after he'd fallen in love, his terror of the Faceless was strong and consistent enough that his not-exactly-a-romantic-hero actions on the bridge were completely understandable. He was smarter than he thought - strategizing the best way to keep his head down, get back to his sister, using his connections to Doc to better his experiences while being drafted, etc. - but his brains weren't amazing or Hermione Granger-ish; Brady just had street smarts that were a great reflection of his upbringing. He was also very much so a young man in a deeply stressful situation where he was being forced to confront all the things he didn't like about himself and things he had never been given the tools or emotional room to deal with before.
And that's about where my list of "things I liked" stops. The sexual abuse - ESPECIALLY WHEREIN CAM LIKED IT?!- the weirdly paternal vibes that sometimes came across between Brady and Cam, the clunky dialogue that swung between locker-room talk and poetry ... in some ways, the book seemed to realize that the plot was a vehicle for forced proximity tropey sex and that was it. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most of the cool things about the alien worldbuilding might be ruined in book two, since it seems like the author is angling for there to be more rape-fantasy in the plot.
I will not be reading on - I will take my mild surprise at this not being hot garbage through and through and move on with my life.
First and foremost - the alien technology of the stasis pod. I thought the backup system of syncing the heartbeat to another, similar life form was an interesting failsafe, and it was a great device to kickstart the forced proximity trope in a way that felt critical to the plot. The alien writing on the skin, the membrane, the way the person in the pod reacted to stimuli externally ... it was a cool bit of sci-fi tech. The idea of the aliens being so technologically advanced that humanity is given all the consideration of a pest and/or pet made for an interesting dynamic.
Secondly, Brady. I'm not going to list him as a top favorite character of all time, but his motivations were crystalline the entire book. He was a coward, consistently, and in a way that made me sympathetic towards his character while still getting frustrated with his behavior. Even after he'd fallen in love, his terror of the Faceless was strong and consistent enough that his not-exactly-a-romantic-hero actions on the bridge were completely understandable. He was smarter than he thought - strategizing the best way to keep his head down, get back to his sister, using his connections to Doc to better his experiences while being drafted, etc. - but his brains weren't amazing or Hermione Granger-ish; Brady just had street smarts that were a great reflection of his upbringing. He was also very much so a young man in a deeply stressful situation where he was being forced to confront all the things he didn't like about himself and things he had never been given the tools or emotional room to deal with before.
And that's about where my list of "things I liked" stops. The sexual abuse - ESPECIALLY WHEREIN CAM LIKED IT?!- the weirdly paternal vibes that sometimes came across between Brady and Cam, the clunky dialogue that swung between locker-room talk and poetry ... in some ways, the book seemed to realize that the plot was a vehicle for forced proximity tropey sex and that was it. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most of the cool things about the alien worldbuilding might be ruined in book two, since it seems like the author is angling for there to be more rape-fantasy in the plot.
I will not be reading on - I will take my mild surprise at this not being hot garbage through and through and move on with my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Body horror, and Vomit
downtown_kb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.5
“With a field of stars behind it, it was a black shape. It was the absence of light. It was a thing carved out of the never-ending night. It was dark space.”
Cameron Rushton is a hero, captured 4 years ago by the alien race known as The Faceless. When he suddenly turns up on Brady Garrett’s space station in an alien stasis pod and the doctors botch his extraction, Brady finds himself as some sort of human battery to keep Cameron alive. They have to touch frequently. In fact, the closer they get physically the stronger Cam becomes.
I found the set up of this book: a post-apoc/dystopia/space war setting where the Earth is ravaged and doing its best to defend itself against an evil alien race, fascinating and it sucked me right in. Partially because Brady’s very conversational, stream of consciousness rambling narration was pretty funny and endearing. But I’m also a sucker for good sci-fi.
I’ll admit I was a bit thrown by this being a gay awakening, and by the forced proximity/intimacy of these two being very dubcon in nature. It threw me off because I didn't expect this to be such a bleak setting. That combined with Cam’s history and position being complicated. He’s keeping secrets and Brady’s glimpses of his time with the aliens are disturbing. So their connection feels a bit unstable and contaminated? There is also a lot of homophobia in this book, internalized as well, and yes the book was written in 2012, and has a very bro military setting but I would hope if we were that far advanced in the future to space travel that gender and sexuality would be less archaic. But I guess that might be very optimistic of me.
Anyway, I loved Garrett, the tone of this book is very stark and melancholy. The suspense gave you a strong sense of impending doom and I could not stop reading. The last 70% was wild, and intense, with some serious space horror elements. I could not put it down and things started to make more sense. Just whoa. What a ride. I’m excited to read where they go in book 2.
Cameron Rushton is a hero, captured 4 years ago by the alien race known as The Faceless. When he suddenly turns up on Brady Garrett’s space station in an alien stasis pod and the doctors botch his extraction, Brady finds himself as some sort of human battery to keep Cameron alive. They have to touch frequently. In fact, the closer they get physically the stronger Cam becomes.
I found the set up of this book: a post-apoc/dystopia/space war setting where the Earth is ravaged and doing its best to defend itself against an evil alien race, fascinating and it sucked me right in. Partially because Brady’s very conversational, stream of consciousness rambling narration was pretty funny and endearing. But I’m also a sucker for good sci-fi.
I’ll admit I was a bit thrown by this being a gay awakening, and by the forced proximity/intimacy of these two being very dubcon in nature. It threw me off because I didn't expect this to be such a bleak setting. That combined with Cam’s history and position being complicated. He’s keeping secrets and Brady’s glimpses of his time with the aliens are disturbing. So their connection feels a bit unstable and contaminated? There is also a lot of homophobia in this book, internalized as well, and yes the book was written in 2012, and has a very bro military setting but I would hope if we were that far advanced in the future to space travel that gender and sexuality would be less archaic. But I guess that might be very optimistic of me.
Anyway, I loved Garrett, the tone of this book is very stark and melancholy. The suspense gave you a strong sense of impending doom and I could not stop reading. The last 70% was wild, and intense, with some serious space horror elements. I could not put it down and things started to make more sense. Just whoa. What a ride. I’m excited to read where they go in book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
friends2lovers's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape
bonriki's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This book was seriously lacking in plot. Brady’s internalized homophobia and the narrator reading Cam’s dialogue in a flat monotone made me totally uninterested in the couple so I was just here for the aliens. Unfortunately, there’s very little info about the aliens (what’s their physiology, culture, and planet like? What was first contact like? What’s the military’s current strategy?) so this was a bore. Also, the alien communication via sex thing was a stupidly unnecessary trauma gimmick
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Rape
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
smasson13's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Only one bed. Aliens. Gays in space. Need I say more?
Honestly, this book was NOWHERE near what I thought it was going to be like from the blurb. Much more sciencey/almost fantasy like with the aliens 👽. But the writing was good, so I stuck through.
It was also a lot more emotional, dark, and filled with sexual violence than I was expecting.
Good writing, 🌶 scenes, dark themes, and a decent plot (though the end was rushed and kind of randomly wrapped up). Will definitely be reading the next in the series.
Definitely make sure to read TW first!
Additional TW:
Homophobic slurs, Internalized homophobia, Lack of privacy/control due to forced telepathy, non-con/dub-con
Honestly, this book was NOWHERE near what I thought it was going to be like from the blurb. Much more sciencey/almost fantasy like with the aliens 👽. But the writing was good, so I stuck through.
It was also a lot more emotional, dark, and filled with sexual violence than I was expecting.
Good writing, 🌶 scenes, dark themes, and a decent plot (though the end was rushed and kind of randomly wrapped up). Will definitely be reading the next in the series.
Definitely make sure to read TW first!
Additional TW:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Death, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
Additional TW: Homophobic slurs Internalized homophobiajennyjc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I’m just going to put the review for the whole series here. I *loved* this series. It’s a new favorite of mine. It’s tense for a romance and there are some rape/dubious consent moments that are... hard. But I felt like, especially after the second book, most of what felt sort of problematic to me in the first had been resolved in ways that made sense to me. I liked that the author contrasted Wade’s rape of Brady with Kai-Ren’s rape of Cam, and I thought some interesting questions were asked as part of that contrast.
These books are compulsively readable. I was thoroughly invested in both plot and characters. Like Brady, I’m terrified of space. It has always scared the shit out of me to think about how incomprehensively *large* it is out there and how small I am in comparison. Many of Brady’s anxieties are similar to my own and it made him a highly relatable character. I have not read a romance set mostly in space before now, and I enjoyed the novelty and the science-fiction-y parts. Brady and Cam’s telepathic connection worked really well for me, both in terms of the sex scenes and the character development, too.That scene in the second book, in the bathroom with all the other “connected” folks listening in... HOT.
There were some minor annoyances. Doc’s “hairy eyebrows” were mentioned about 4,000 times and once I saw it I could not unsee the repetition. And in the first chapter of the first book, “Cameron Rushton” is repeated - in full - to the point of hilarity. But those are minor quibbles, and I was easily able to get past the hairy eyebrows in order to appreciate Doc’s overall character.
This series will become one I recommend frequently; if you’re someone is fine with some tension and dark concepts, I think you’ll like this one. Content warnings listed in this review; there are some graphic moments of various types.
These books are compulsively readable. I was thoroughly invested in both plot and characters. Like Brady, I’m terrified of space. It has always scared the shit out of me to think about how incomprehensively *large* it is out there and how small I am in comparison. Many of Brady’s anxieties are similar to my own and it made him a highly relatable character. I have not read a romance set mostly in space before now, and I enjoyed the novelty and the science-fiction-y parts. Brady and Cam’s telepathic connection worked really well for me, both in terms of the sex scenes and the character development, too.
There were some minor annoyances. Doc’s “hairy eyebrows” were mentioned about 4,000 times and once I saw it I could not unsee the repetition. And in the first chapter of the first book, “Cameron Rushton” is repeated - in full - to the point of hilarity. But those are minor quibbles, and I was easily able to get past the hairy eyebrows in order to appreciate Doc’s overall character.
This series will become one I recommend frequently; if you’re someone is fine with some tension and dark concepts, I think you’ll like this one. Content warnings listed in this review; there are some graphic moments of various types.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicide
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