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A review by analenegrace
The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
4.75
Thanks to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book!
I adored literally everything about this. I am a huge Trekkie and also a huge Star Trek Voyager fan and a queer woman, so it did feel like this book might have been made in a lab for me! As soon as the hologram appeared, I was like... LIKE VOYAGER... and then there were Voyager references, and Hamilton thanked Voyager in her acknowledgments, and I was just screaming!!!
Plot-wise, this is super interesting because it is only about 50 years in the future and, as such, deals with many incredibly relevant things to humans on Earth right now, like climate change and capitalism. It also felt grounded in the real world (ya know, minus the aliens, other planets, and superpowers), making it incredibly easy to get into and engage with. I found the story progression really fantastic, and it was such an easy and quick read because I was having so much fun! There are many twists and turns happening, which I mostly did not see coming, especially the big one, because I was so embedded in the story and our characters.
I loved our cast of characters, particularly our MC, Cleo, and found their emotions relatable and actions understandable. Cleo was a really fantastic character because of her "hero's journey" here, and I felt like her growth and emotional development were super well-earned.
Oh, Billie! I love you! Billie, both Holo and real, were so fun, and I really appreciated how their (hers? not sure how to say this) romance with Cleo played out, as well as the major twist of the voice of God narrator in this book, were super interesting. Her emotional growth was a particular highlight of the book and I loved her internal monologue when we got it.
Community was such an important part of this book: how we find community, how we care for our community, how we grow our community, how we protect our community, and more. It's such an important topic, and science fiction is one of the best places for that to play out in fiction, to me, so this book was such a joy, as our characters return to Earth with a hope they never had before.
I will absolutely be buying a copy of this when it comes out!
I adored literally everything about this. I am a huge Trekkie and also a huge Star Trek Voyager fan and a queer woman, so it did feel like this book might have been made in a lab for me! As soon as the hologram appeared, I was like... LIKE VOYAGER... and then there were Voyager references, and Hamilton thanked Voyager in her acknowledgments, and I was just screaming!!!
Plot-wise, this is super interesting because it is only about 50 years in the future and, as such, deals with many incredibly relevant things to humans on Earth right now, like climate change and capitalism. It also felt grounded in the real world (ya know, minus the aliens, other planets, and superpowers), making it incredibly easy to get into and engage with. I found the story progression really fantastic, and it was such an easy and quick read because I was having so much fun! There are many twists and turns happening, which I mostly did not see coming, especially the big one, because I was so embedded in the story and our characters.
I loved our cast of characters, particularly our MC, Cleo, and found their emotions relatable and actions understandable. Cleo was a really fantastic character because of her "hero's journey" here, and I felt like her growth and emotional development were super well-earned.
Oh, Billie! I love you! Billie, both Holo and real, were so fun, and I really appreciated how their (hers? not sure how to say this) romance with Cleo played out, as well as the major twist of the voice of God narrator in this book, were super interesting. Her emotional growth was a particular highlight of the book and I loved her internal monologue when we got it.
Community was such an important part of this book: how we find community, how we care for our community, how we grow our community, how we protect our community, and more. It's such an important topic, and science fiction is one of the best places for that to play out in fiction, to me, so this book was such a joy, as our characters return to Earth with a hope they never had before.
I will absolutely be buying a copy of this when it comes out!