Laura

3.5 🌟

I love scifi books featuring AI so this book's synopsis hooked me. Upon reading, I was fascinated by the various genres it fit into. Scifi, locked room mystery, police procedural, maybe a bit gothic? It felt a little claustrophobic at times, uncomfortable, haunting, and tense but it was also very thought provoking and asked a lot of great questions, many related to AI and freedom.

While I enjoyed the premise and the many questions, the story itself felt unresolved. I've read some other reviews that seemed to like this but it left me feeling disappointed, this the 3.5 instead of 4. I enjoyed it but wish we had been given a little more at the end.

I absolutely adore this book! Novellas are a hit or miss for me because it's so easy to include not enough or too much information but Olivia Waite was brilliant with balancing out the details! She sprinkled in just enough information about their society and tech for us to understand and all the characters were highly fascinating. This is truly a cozy queer scifi mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed and I'm so excited to read Book 2!

Thank you to Tordotcom for an ARC and getting us in contact with Olivia Waite for a Shit We've Read podcast interview!

I had so much fun with this book! It is such a strange and bizarre read with the cutest queer characters and while it's often described as a cozy scifi, it still has a good amount of depth, especially when it comes to our MC. Denver is non-binary and autistic and we learn what it's like for him to not only navigate his life around small town Muddy Gap but also exploring a new romance amidst an alien invasion. Overall, I enjoyed the representation, character development, and alien invasion mystery.

Thank you to Angry Robot for providing a digital copy and connecting us to Al Hess for a written interview with Shit We've Read podcast.

I loved this book! S.T. Gibson has a way of balancing so many different themes in one novel and I enjoyed the characters so much! I really loved the progression we see as their relationships flourish while they all work together to save David's life. While the focus was mostly on character development and romance, the magical secret society they reside in was also fascinating. I'm interested in seeing where these characters go as individuals and partners, as well as their involvement in the secret society.

Thank you to Angry Robot for the eGalley and getting us in contact with S.T. Gibson for a Shit We've Read podcast interview!

This was a fun coming of age type graphic novel. We get to know Tommy, his family, his friends, and his usual kid struggles and then he discovers a crashed spaceship and injured animal-like alien. Between his normal day-t0-day, he attempts to care for the alien and when they're able to better communicate, he learns Earth may be in danger.

The characters and plot aren't anything new but I liked the art and it was a fun little read. Perfect for middle grade reading.

This was such a great graphic novel! Wynd takes place in a fantasy world where magic is banned, including magical type beings. Wynd is one of those beings so hides his pointed ears while working at his adopted mother's restaurant. When someone comes to town that can sniff out magic, his mother tries to get him out of town before he's found.

Wynd was just a great character who, like any young person, was just trying to be himself. I loved how queer it was and his attraction for another young man was just normal and accepted. All the other characters were well written and mostly likeable and the art worked perfectly with the tone of the story.

I highly recommend checking out this series and I will likely read this again :)

I enjoyed Bubble a lot but as someone who hasn't listened to the podcast before, I don't think I understand a lot of references or jokes.

Overall, it was fun and enjoyable and made me want to look into the larger story happening outside the graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for this eARC.

I received a digital advanced reading copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot say enough how excited I was to read The Exiled Fleet and then how much I loved it. I really enjoyed the first novel in this series, The Last Watch, so I was definitely excited to read this and immediately put in my eARC request. Honestly, The Exiled Fleet is probably my favorite of the two.

The Last Watch centered on trying to escape and prevent the collapse of the edge of the universe, This novel continues their story and focuses on their attempt to build their own fleet and gain allies to rebel against the ruling family/corporation, which controls the military and essentially all of humanity. However, their plans to rebel are put on hold while they attempt to gather supplies and figure out a way to get back to the core (human inhabited space).

This novel had equal parts action and character development but the character development was what made me really enjoy it. Cavalon carries a lot of responsibility this time around and he takes it seriously, doing his best not to let his crew down. Though an amazing leader, Rake struggles with leading this new fleet with thousands of people into war. I adore the relationship they have with each other. Cavalon has a high amount of respect for Rake and though they still treat each other as a commander and soldier should, they've also cultivated a friendship. They balance each other in everything they do and it was kind of heartwarming. I'm not sure if this will turn into a romance in the future but I honestly think their relationship would be just as beautiful if it stayed a platonic friendship.

There were a few moments that actually made me cry, which is a rare thing for me. They were all different scenes that just made me feel hopeful or sad for the characters. I even messaged the author after one scene asking why she has to write so well and make me cry!

I also just want to mention that, like the first book, the science aspects of this novel were easy enough to understand, though it felt like a little more science was included this time around. Cavalon was able to use his college degree a little more this time and had numerous conversations about things he was working on, all of which were important to the overall plot.

To summarize, I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend it. It's a great story overall with good action, great characters, and the science is easy to understand so it'd be a great book for any scifi lover or even someone who is newer to scifi.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Tor Books for this eARC. And, of course, thank you to author J.S. Dewes!

I received a digital advanced reading copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to like it. The cover caught my attention and then I read the description. A SETI library on the moon, messages from aliens, and artificial intelligences?! Count me in! Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed, frustrated, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

POSITIVES
The overall plot and various details were fascinating. Humans colonizing the moon and Mars, how they communicate with alien artificial intelligences and study messages from undiscovered alien societies, contact with intelligent aliens, intelligent planets, wormholes, etc. These things alone are what kept me reading.

However, the negatives almost made me quit halfway and, honestly, I probably should have.

NEGATIVES
[Trigger Warning: The following section contains references to events that may be traumatic to some readers.]

Small Issues
The overall pacing was slow and the timeline was confusing. I had no sense of how much time was passing within and between chapters. Subplots were never resolved and some characters were just never mentioned again. It actually felt like the second half was a new plot and should've been a separate book. The editing needs some work as well. Words were often misspelled and the same sentence, paragraph, and even an entire section popped up twice as if the author had decided to move it and forgot to delete it's original.

Writing Style
This is a hard science novel, which is completely fine. I can handle some hard science but the writing style was straight like reading a textbook. I'm sure there are numerous, amazing ideas and theories but they were written in a way that was difficult to understand. Environments were overly described and I often zoned out reading them. Overall, it felt pompous and pretentious. This writing style also made it extremely difficult to connect with the characters, especially the protagonist, Rachel. We were often told what she was seeing, doing, and feeling, but never felt as if we were experiencing it with her.

[Trigger Warning]

Sexism
Surprisingly, most of the sexism was directed towards men in this book. Men were often implied to be aggressive and unsafe for women. Women make plans for how to deal with men in bars and there's a type of human genetically created to be sexless, being described as safe for women to be around them. Related side note, the genetically altered people are said to generally prefer they/them pronouns but Rachel chooses not to respect that, referring to her specific higher ups as men due to their masculine appearance. Somewhat rude and bigoted.

Sexual Assault and Sexuality
This is my biggest problem with this novel. Whether or not it's just an issue of a man trying to write from a woman's perspective, there are things that happen in this book that are just unacceptable. Red flags went up when Rachel was kissed and groped against her will by a stranger and no one, not even herself, said or did anything about it, acting as if it was fine and normal and just a little embarrassing.

Blaring alarms went off not much later. While communicating with an alien AI using a full sensory “pod,” it demands sex in return for solar system saving information. Rachel refuses, her commanding officer tells her to do it anyway, she still refuses, tries to get the info again, and the AI basically rapes her. Her higher ups deny knowing this was going to happen and when she confronts the AI later, it tells her it was acceptable because she wanted it. Then Rachel feels guilty because she thinks she actually enjoyed it. There were no consequences or punishments. Besides getting the information they needed, the only other result was Earth media found out she was the first to have sex with an alien AI, leaving out it was technically rape. In the end, she doesn't even seem the least bit upset claiming this like it's some kind of accomplishment.

I believe in women having sexual freedom but after this disgusting, pointless rape subplot, the way Rachel's sexuality was written just made me uncomfortable. Rachel goes out looking for men to sleep with regularly, sleeps with a coworker, finds a future coworker attractive and she becomes “moist” while looking at him. She even fantasizes about sleeping with a bird-like alien to then become his lover in the end. Were any of these details really needed to build her character and drive this story? No.

Conclusion
All that said, I really do believe the bones of a really amazing story with amazing characters is here. It's just buried under subplots and details that are uncomfortable and not needed. Needless to say, I do not recommend this book and I hope the author might consider making a number of edits before it's officially released.

I enjoyed this graphic novel! The story felt well-balanced between learning about the characters, the world they live in, and the adventure itself. I especially enjoyed learning more about the protagonist and his relationship with his parents growing up. I also really enjoyed the art style!

While I was entertained, I do think it took a bit too long to learn about the secrets they're protecting. Obviously no one is supposed to know what these secrets are but I feel that, as a reader, perhaps I would've have felt more invested in their mission and willingness to die over them if I had more knowledge a little earlier.

Overall, I was very entertained and I can't wait to read the next volume!

This graphic novel was a little deeper than I expected, exploring loneliness, grief, and how to cope.

It follows a boy who deals with a number of issues inside and outside his home. He discovers an entire different place where he begins to escape to and can literally spend forever, never aging, and reenter the world with no time passing.

The story was relatable for the most part, understanding we all experience these emotions from time to time and look for ways of coping.

The artwork was done well and feels like a lot of thought went into in order to get the reader to feel certain emotions. If that's the case, they were very successful. That being said, this graphic novel is not for everyone and may even be a little uncomfortable or triggering for some who may relate TOO MUCH to the main character.

But overall, it was a good story for what it was trying to communicate.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for this eARC.

Garlic and the Vampire is such a cute middle-grade graphic novel that touches on a number of topics kids may deal with. Garlic has anxiety, low confidence, and deals with bullying on a daily bases. When learning there is a vampire living nearby, she overcomes her anxiety and fear while investigating his home and learns not to judge others.

The artwork is beautiful and the characters are just so adorable. I highly recommend this wonderful, wholesome graphic novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for this eARC.

DNF at 89%. Should've done it earlier. I just got tired of being confused all the time