I’ve been looking for a book like this for a long time, I think.  A little YA, but an overall very digestible fantasy-sci-fi. While the stakes are technically world-saving-ly high, the reader rarely feels them to be. 

If you’re looking for something cozy, this is marketed as a romance, so you count on it for a HEA.

 

A sweet sapphic love story with a foundation of astrophysics and queer friendships.

While I’m sure there are plenty of folks who love this book, it’s not for me. I didn’t vibe with the characters, particularly the dialogue, the romance didn’t hit, and I didn’t find the mystery engaging. It ended up being a slog to get to the end. 

I also found hologram Billie being shunted aside for IRL Billie with a brief “we can make her an hologram Cleo, I guess” more sad and troubling than I think the author intended it to be.

This book was so close. It read very much like a YA novel, the plot was simple and not very in-depth, the characters were quirky, but it just lacked something?? 
This book is missing the tension, the chemistry, the connection between the characters. It felt flat reading it. But it really had a lot of potential. 

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This was a cute book. I had fun reading it. I liked the characters and the themes of found family. Abe, Ros, and Kal were awesome -- and my favorites. Billie and Cleo were good, and I liked how their relationship to develop with snark and banter. There were parts of this book that I found predictable.

This book is an absolute delight. I discovered it as one of the free audiobooks for librarians this month on LibroFM, and then I saw Vico Ortiz narrated it, so it was an immediate add. If you're sleeping on Vico Ortiz (yes, the Vico Ortiz from Our Flag Means Death) as an audiobook narrator, don't. Their narration style is fantastic, and they have so many great voices. I'll honestly probably listen to anything they narrate.

If you enjoy queers in space, this is the book for you. Especially when it involves accidental heists. The premise is fun, and it has a cast of characters that are almost immediately likable. The romance at the center is worthy of a rom-com, all set to the backdrop of trying to get back to Earth. It has adventure, suspense, romance, space, and just a lot of great qualities that make this a perfect summer read.

My only complaint is at times, I would forget whose point of view we were in, because it does kind of switch on occasion. However, I do think this was partly because I was listening to the audiobook, so I'm not sure how reading the physical book would affect this.

All in all, if you're looking for a sapphic, space adventure romance, definitely pick this one up!