Reviews

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for allowing me access to an eArc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was immediately drawn to this book as I had read Tracy Wolf’s Crave series and absolutely loved it, and could not wait to see what she would do in a more sci-fi themed novel. I have never read anything by Nina Croft, and I am so glad this was my first. I had seen this advertised as Aurora Rising but for adults and I wholeheartedly agree. I absolutely loved the Aurora rising series and I loved this book as well.

It features a wide variety of cast, with great LGBTQ rep so far, that come from all different backgrounds and lifestyles. Throughout the course of the book you see these characters get stuck in space together and slowly get to see their dynamics and interactions change over time. They start off as a group of strangers, yet they all become united by extraordinary circumstances, leading
to a deep connection between them all. A lot happens in this story and the writing is fast paced and so easy to read. Sometimes the writing isn’t the best, but I’m here to have a great time so you can kind of move past it. It does start off a little slow and the world building can get a little intense, but oh my god the ending is so worth it!

The romance in this book is also really sweet. You have grumpy sunshine with Beckett and Rain, as well as and enemies to lovers with Ian and Kali. My personal favourite part of this story is their ship Starlight, which they come to realise is sentient. I can’t wait to see what they do with the ship in the next book, and hope they do a lot more with it then! I would highly recommend this to any space sci-fi readers out there!

lexi_mohney's review against another edition

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3.0

I don’t normally read Sci-Fi but I loved her other books so I decided to try it. It’s okay, the plot is very YA but entertaining. The smut scenes were so out of left field because the writing is YA but the smut was more intense than I was expecting for something YA like. But hey, I’ll take it. A fun read but nothing you haven’t read before.

kayceelain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kirsten01's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

3.75

fizzy_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

kneewallreads's review against another edition

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5.0

If you love space adventure, morally gray characters, naive characters who have yet to see the universe plus some crazy twists, you will love this book. This is in my top reads for 2023. And I need everyone to read it so I can talk about it.

I think marketing at Entangled/Red Tower was spot on with their tagline: Firefly meets the Breakfast Club.

A princess, a priestess, a warrior, a prisoner, a con artist, a mercenary and an asshole who is in charge of them all. Forced proximity at it's finest on a piece of junk spaceship. One this spaceship is lack of trust, hate, sarcasm, definitely some secret pining (and lots of tension), drinking and explosions.

The chemistry between Ian and Kali was the best. He fell first (and hard). Loved that Beckett and Rain got some action as well.

This adventure was so much fun. I need more of their of story, please.

Check out if you like:
-Found Family
-Morally Grey Characters
-LGBQT+ rep
-Multiple POV
-Evil Scientist
-Political Intrigue
-Forced Proximity on a space ship
-Hidden Identity

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