Lauren

To be completely honest, I had no idea what this book was about past that I took place in space and followed a man who had no memory as to how he ended up in space alone. I think that’s really as much as you want to know going into this book, because knowing more kind of gives away the plot.

In the spirit of keeping this review as vague as possible in this first part, I like this book overall. It is non-liner but very easy to follow. Half of the chapters follow Ryland in space, and the other half shows the events leading up to that event. While this is a sci-fi and the science is important, it’s explained plainly enough that even if you don’t fully understand the science, it all makes sense enough for the story to progress. I found Ryland to be a really interesting character. The reason for the subtraction of .5 stars is due to one event I cannot mention here for spoiler reasons, and there was a small section of chapter that kind of dragged (maybe 4-5; I didn’t keep count).

My more spoiler-y thoughts are below

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I’m obsessed with Rocky. I think I would do anything for him, which is saying something because I am terrified of spiders. I never would have been brave enough to befriend him, but I adore him and he really made the book. I don’t think this book would be half as enjoyable without him.

Unfortunately, names don’t stick with me in books, and I had to return this book to the library before I got around to writing my review, but o was really disappointed with how everything went down with the main scientist lady that recruited Ryland. Don’t get me wrong, I actually do believe she would keep him on standby and at the ready in case he was needed, but not only were her actions heinous (I know Ryland said he was a loner but surely there had to be SOMEONE panicking about his absence and lack of good-bye), but Ryland was nearly angry enough about it. He was lied to, drugged, and denied any last conversations with those he cared about (including those on the mission). He was forced to sacrifice his life DESPITE SAYING NO. Yes, yes, “for the greater good,” but that never pans out. Instead his rights and consent were violated, and the angriest he got was wanting to show up and make her face her actions. I just think that warrants a bigger reaction. I was horrified and disgusted, and Ryland moved on so fast (again, I know, dire situation, but you can try to save humanity, maybe yourself, and be pissed at the same time.)

The Great Mann is essentially The Great Gatsby, but told from the perspective of people of color. As someone who loved Gatsby in high school, I really enjoyed this take on it. It wasn’t modernized much (1940s instead of 20s) so perhaps it could be argued that it’s redundant, but the issues surrounding race added a layer of depth to the story.

I believe this is also Laurie’s debut novel. I look forward to seeing what else she writes. The writing style itself was simple, but in a way that made the story feel accessible and let the characters be the focus. Each character felt like their own person, and while he is flawed, I did like Charlie’s perspective.

The story beats are all the more or less the same as Gatsby, so readers who didn’t like the classic probably won’t enjoy this one. That being said, you do not need to be familiar with the source material to enjoy the book.

If you’re more interested in trigger warnings, my review ends here. Trigger warnings are listed below:

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It is worth noting that this book does deal with topics such as classism, racism, mentions of violence, mentions of war, mentions of the KKK, and infidelity.

I’ve been digging into Hazlewood’s backlog as I’ve read most (if not all) of her current work. Her work is very formulaic, which I enjoy. I pick up her books when I need the silly, goofy, romcom vibe to break up my heavier reads, and typically they hit just right. This was one of two now that didn’t work for me (Problematic Summer Romance being the other). Her writing has clearly gotten better in her more recent books (which I expect), but that wasn’t really the issue. I felt like Olive had no spine. After the event that causes our third-act problem (as all romances have), I just wanted to yell at her to stand up. What happened to her is real and serious, but her reaction to it, I just wanted more from her.

The dialogue was also extra cringy. The millennial vibes were overly strong in this one.

It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the books that came after it.

I remember when Great Big Beautiful Life came out, there was something debate over if it was a romance, and honestly, I’m not sure I see where that debate comes from. We primarily follow Alice and Hayden as they compete to write the biography of a famous woman who had seemingly disappeared. While the book didn’t only show the two of them interacting (they needed time to work), most of the book is about them. I actually thought they were pretty sweet together. Now, it isn’t a romcom, but it is a romance.

I would have liked more time to understand who Hayden is more, but I liked them together. I also thought understand the hesitancy they held (primarily Hayden) over getting together. I can see how it could feel messy.

I also thought Margret’s life was interesting and tragic. While some of her choices were frustrating, I understood where they came from.

The only reason I didn’t rate it higher was totally vibes based. There was some spark that was missing for me

fell in love with Tana French’s story telling in book 2 of this series, having read it before book 1 due to it being required reading for one of my Master’s courses. While I liked this one well enough, it was hard going from that to this, because that book was so strong.

The things that remained strong in this book were by far her characters. All of her characters are unique and have distinct personalities. (I also liked seeing Cassie get to where she was before The Likeness - there were definitely things hinted in that book that I didn’t catch on to & my guesses for the missed drama was way off).

While o saw some reviews mentioning they didn’t like the ending, I thought it was fine. It wasn’t spectacular, but not all endings have the blow us out of the water. I think it wrapped things up decently, while also staying true to the characters and their experiences.

Unfortunately, I really hated Rob. It was just hard being in his mind because I didn’t particularly like how he viewed people. I do think that was partially intentional and partially a product of when the book was written, and I actually don’t mind reading about characters I don’t like, but there was just something about being in his head that took me out of it a little. Maybe I’m just ruined and wanted more Cassie.

I do think I will continue the series as I’m sure I’ll like the future books even more. I think this one mostly suffered from my points above and my only other experience with her works being a 5 star read.