ursula_fricke's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
littlemouselibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I throughly enjoyed this book. The plot is fascinating and totally draws you into this new world. The world building is amazing, we learn a lot in this first book about the distinctions between different factions, their space-faring past and their current politics and motivations. One of my favourite parts was learning about the different alien species that they have discovered, even if they are sadly extinct.
I would have liked to see more interaction between Nora and Liam in this book but I don’t think it necessarily takes away from the story. This book was to me sci-fi first with a romance sub-plot, that I hope will grow in the following books. I really liked Liam’s crew and their teasing.
The writing is good. We learn a lot but it never feels like an information dump and it really sets the stage for the conflicts and everything that is going on. One thing I’m most fascinated by are the lenses and the way that space travel works here, can’t wait to learn more about the rivers and black holes!
This was a great opening book, both the plot and the cast of characters capture your attention. It maintains a great balance of revealing enough to interest you but leaves stones unturned for the reader to discover in the next instalment. I’m looking forward to book 2.
I would have liked to see more interaction between Nora and Liam in this book but I don’t think it necessarily takes away from the story. This book was to me sci-fi first with a romance sub-plot, that I hope will grow in the following books. I really liked Liam’s crew and their teasing.
The writing is good. We learn a lot but it never feels like an information dump and it really sets the stage for the conflicts and everything that is going on. One thing I’m most fascinated by are the lenses and the way that space travel works here, can’t wait to learn more about the rivers and black holes!
This was a great opening book, both the plot and the cast of characters capture your attention. It maintains a great balance of revealing enough to interest you but leaves stones unturned for the reader to discover in the next instalment. I’m looking forward to book 2.
smitch29's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
3.0
This book was okay. The exposition was a bog that was difficult to wade through. The ending was more captivating and made me consider reading the next book.
Nora is determined to live a solitary life. She relocated after the war turned her from a newlywed to a widow. She now works at the far reaches of known space, venturing into unknown territory to provide mapping (tagging) info for government and businesses. She harbors many secrets that keep her from getting close to people. Those same secrets involve a weird ability that leads her to an unmapped section of space where she gains a new addition to her ship. Without giving away too much, she gains new secrets. She also keeps dancing around the new Naval officer heading the battle cruiser that is newly stationed at the border. He of all people doesnt need to know her secrets.
The beginning of the story was very hard to comprehend. Keeping the species vs colonies straight was confusing. And I just struggled to understand the world. The characters were fairly compelling, except for maybe Liam. I also didnt really feel any chemistry between Liam and Nora. By the time the expositional portion was over, I enjoyed the story more. I may be willing to read the next book, but I need a break to forget my issues with this book.
Nora is determined to live a solitary life. She relocated after the war turned her from a newlywed to a widow. She now works at the far reaches of known space, venturing into unknown territory to provide mapping (tagging) info for government and businesses. She harbors many secrets that keep her from getting close to people. Those same secrets involve a weird ability that leads her to an unmapped section of space where she gains a new addition to her ship. Without giving away too much, she gains new secrets. She also keeps dancing around the new Naval officer heading the battle cruiser that is newly stationed at the border. He of all people doesnt need to know her secrets.
The beginning of the story was very hard to comprehend. Keeping the species vs colonies straight was confusing. And I just struggled to understand the world. The characters were fairly compelling, except for maybe Liam. I also didnt really feel any chemistry between Liam and Nora. By the time the expositional portion was over, I enjoyed the story more. I may be willing to read the next book, but I need a break to forget my issues with this book.
eb00kie's review
Get an editor. I’m reading this rotten lazy over-indulged garbage because I’m feeling off, but the cheap moralising is too cringy.
Enjoy:
Enjoy:
”What the fuzzy slimeballs’ fuzz was she thinking?”
“Um, you did hear the bit where I said the temporary nature of her contract with the gaming club is unusual?”
“I’m not deaf! They’re parading her there among drunk and horny men so that someone buys her contract—” She broke off at his sharp headshake.
“Not someone. You.”
“What?”
He answered patiently. “No matter how you view your relationship, from Cherry’s perspective, at nineteen and still a reckless teenager, she expects her big sister to buy her freedom. For human adolescents, consequences are someone else’s problem.”
Nora opened her mouth, closed it, and slumped back to stare at the ceiling.
“If it helps, there’s no record of her father or brother on the station.”
Nora blew a raspberry.
“Well, that’s mature.”
She straightened to scowl at him. “Nineteen in Angkor isn’t like nineteen somewhere middle class where a teen can still run to mommy and daddy. At nineteen in the towers, Cherry could already have two children. Her coming out to the Hadrian Line isn’t thoughtlessness. She’s trying to force my hand.”
“To force a relationship,” he corrected, and added with a rueful smile. “If Scott and Keith were your family, wouldn’t you want to swap them for someone else?”
Stars damn. Yes, I would. She went back to staring at the ceiling.
“Cherry’s contract costs less than the fuel for this expedition.”
“Fuel is the biggest cost of any expedition. And I need it. I don’t need Cherry.” Abruptly, she bounced out of the captain’s seat. “Cherry is not my sister. Maya made that decision.”
“You can make a different one.”
“And burden myself with Scott’s daughter? You give a leech money once, and you never shake them.”
“Or you show a person kindness, and you change their life forever.” Sitting in his chair while she paced, he had to look up at her. “I pinned all my hopes on you. I was right to do so.”
lizziegracereads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
reading_ninja's review
4.0
A great sci-fi read
We are in the outer edges of space, in a future where humans have gone to the stars, and one group of 7 ships ended up where this story takes place, many years after the 7s arrival. Enter a kickass heroine who is trying to hide in said outer edges of the 7 ship human space, but fate intervenes in the form of 3 people & so adventure and action enter her life, now a life where hiding is pretty frigging hard....
We are in the outer edges of space, in a future where humans have gone to the stars, and one group of 7 ships ended up where this story takes place, many years after the 7s arrival. Enter a kickass heroine who is trying to hide in said outer edges of the 7 ship human space, but fate intervenes in the form of 3 people & so adventure and action enter her life, now a life where hiding is pretty frigging hard....
cosmictantrum's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
cselpl's review
4.0
Good storyline
Start of a new series by jenny schwartz. Enjoyed the plot and characters. Looking forward to next one, and more details about this world. Really enjoy her books.
Start of a new series by jenny schwartz. Enjoyed the plot and characters. Looking forward to next one, and more details about this world. Really enjoy her books.
small_alex's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Okay loveeee the FMC. She's realistic and intelligent and I absolutely love her vibe. The man is also cool I like him. There isn't really any romance in this book BUT it sets up very nicely for some future slow burn. The plot is interesting, though at times it got kind of boring/infodumpy. Still, I'm excited to see where this goes!
The ending took me majorly by surprise. Not the actual plot, just that it ended very abruptly lmao I haven't read a book that ended on a cliffhanger in a while.
Okay loveeee the FMC. She's realistic and intelligent and I absolutely love her vibe. The man is also cool I like him. There isn't really any romance in this book BUT it sets up very nicely for some future slow burn. The plot is interesting, though at times it got kind of boring/infodumpy. Still, I'm excited to see where this goes!
The ending took me majorly by surprise. Not the actual plot, just that it ended very abruptly lmao I haven't read a book that ended on a cliffhanger in a while.
mhlreadsbooks's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Space opera with an interesting start. A bit slow at parts and I’m glad that I enjoyed another series before starting this one. Hard to resist a xeno-archaeologist!