A review by novella42
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

Did not finish book. Stopped at 65%.

I keep trying but I cannot finish this book. I wanted to like it, but the early Becky Chambers vibes devolved because the misfits never really connected with each other outside of trauma bonding. Maybe they do in the last quarter of the book.

Vague spoilers and just me being grumpy:

I don't like the protagonist, I find her frustrating, alienating, and full of impulsive bad plans. I know she's in a lot of difficult situations but other than expanding my Spanish vocabulary to include better swear words than I knew before, I can't think of a single thing she's done for 280 pages that made me like her or think she's worthy of her crew. 

I liked Vakar. I liked the potential of the psychic cats. I liked the honest dep ctions of PTSD and intergenerational trauma. The Fifth Element scene was enjoyable.

I tried to see this as a lighthearted homage to pulpy sci-fi, but it kept getting really dark and disconnected. I didn't buy the villain, couldn't follow the plot, and couldn't suspend my disbelief any more. </Spoiler>

I will try her more recent books and see if I can get into those.