A review by fic_it
Planet Zero by Lydia Hope

4.0

A Very Good Read!

This story might be about aliens but it is unabashedly political and in your face with the “human-ness” of it all. These characters live and breathe the embodiment of all sorts of different types of human spirit.

The optimistic almost innocent qualities of Addie.

A savage and unapologetic will to survive and overcome all odds to do so, Z.

The budding young woman who managed to stay afloat even in the storm of her own mothers manipulations and mechanisms, M.

The true born Queen who understood, at its most base, what it was to be a woman in this tribal society and even still, effortlessly held the ear of the many and the ability to make change whenever she chose to add her voice, O.

These are just a few examples. I’m each character we meet in this we are introduced not only to their character but unravel what it is they stand for. What it is they unconsciously embody. They are alien, but you can only see how human they all are. (Even the crazy priest)

A very good read. I wish there had been a Epilogue. I wanted to *cough* *spoiler* *cough* meet the you-know-what at the end. If you know, you know.

* * * * *SPOILERS!!!!* * * * *
The only thing I have to say is how confusing the beginning is. And I’m not even sure if that might have been my fault bc of how subtlety this author can explain things in hints and inferences. My biggest issue was Samantha. A human. How did she get to Planet Zero? Addie said she crashed on a ship with 3 others aside from herself, there was a girl who died and two guys who also both died. Addie was the only survivor from the crash. She detailed that her crews crash had been an accident on their way to another planet destination. So how did Samantha a human get on planet? Where did she come from? The City of Seraphim is also poorly described. The women there are constantly referred by all including Addie herself as “the women” but some of them sounded For and others didn’t seem like it. Like Anne or Iolanthe (or whatever the “queen” of that city was). There were almost like these inferences these woman were different. Like with how Addie knew so little For bc Iolanthe had difficulty with the language too and made everyone learn English. Idk, again, maybe I read those chapter too quickly. But it’s been NAGGING ON ME. Bc HOW did Z mate a human if there were none before Addie arrived??? Bc a hunting party found Addie and the survivors of her wreck and took them back and this was after Z had already left. So how the fck in Samantha? Anyone???

End of rant lol!

Side, side, note: I wish there was more romance. All the love in this was very anxty and I swear it wasn’t until the last 6 chapters the main characters finally fessed up to even liking each other romantically. Ugh. Enemies to lovers but without the slow-burn. It was all self-loathing, doubt, angst, fear and even hatred- just not the good kind.