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crownoflaurel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Gaslighting
magglett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
iam's review against another edition
5.0
Book 2 about the NeoG pulled me in just as much as book 1, was an absolutely delightful series that I do not want to end!
It plays about 2 years after the start of the first book, and comes with some changes to the crew: Rosa finally got promoted and is off to a new position, with Nika taking her spot as new commander after having worked with Intel for a while. Ma is finally retiring, and Jenks is taking up his spot as chief, and a new spacer Chae joins to fill the empty spot.
With these changes comes plenty of tension: both Nika and Chae have secrets they are hiding, which are endangering not only their crew and missions, but also their personal relationships.
The stakes in this one felt much higher, which gave the book a much more serious vibe, and overall darker and less light-hearted feel.
There's still plenty of the fun readers got used to in book1, including the boarding games, but there's several more hard hitting scenes.
Again, I loved the casual queerness, especially with Chae as a nonbinary character being a POV character now. The one thing that I found a bit strange is that when a character is binary trans, they are always described as "the trans man/woman" rather than as just "the man/woman".
Still, so, so much fun, and I was very disappointed when I realized book 3 isn't released yet. I cannot wait to read it, and I will definitely fall into a reading slump now that the series is over for the time being.
It plays about 2 years after the start of the first book, and comes with some changes to the crew: Rosa finally got promoted and is off to a new position, with Nika taking her spot as new commander after having worked with Intel for a while. Ma is finally retiring, and Jenks is taking up his spot as chief, and a new spacer Chae joins to fill the empty spot.
With these changes comes plenty of tension: both Nika and Chae have secrets they are hiding, which are endangering not only their crew and missions, but also their personal relationships.
The stakes in this one felt much higher, which gave the book a much more serious vibe, and overall darker and less light-hearted feel.
There's still plenty of the fun readers got used to in book1, including the boarding games, but there's several more hard hitting scenes.
Again, I loved the casual queerness, especially with Chae as a nonbinary character being a POV character now. The one thing that I found a bit strange is that when a character is binary trans, they are always described as "the trans man/woman" rather than as just "the man/woman".
Still, so, so much fun, and I was very disappointed when I realized book 3 isn't released yet. I cannot wait to read it, and I will definitely fall into a reading slump now that the series is over for the time being.
jemery's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
rynaissanceenby's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Similar to the first book in this trilogy, this book is lighthearted and fun, while still having the fate the world hanging in the balance. I thought it had decent depictions of mental illness, PTSD, and childhood trauma in ways that didn't make them a big plot point, but mostly just character development. The representation continued to feel somewhat heavy-handed, but decent in most ways. Something I observed in both this book and the Farian War trilogy is Wagers seems to have an extreme reticence to killing off characters, which I find to be to the detriment of the feeling of genuine stakes and investment in the story. Overall, a fun space adventure that was worth reading!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
elisenic's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
smasson13's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book is so hard to rate. It took me a very long time to get through, yet I never wanted to give up on it and always found myself coming back.
I think the writing is easy but the novel is trying to do too much. As a result, nothing was as fleshed out as I wanted it to be. The main plot was interesting, but predictable. The inclusion of the boarding games felt wildly unnecessary in this one, much more than the first novel.
And while the glimpses of character development, relationships, and romance were enticing, nothing was ever emotional and it felt difficult to connect to any of the characters.
I just wanted less of the random plot additions and lengthy and unnecessary events, and instead a more clear and meaningful story.
I think the writing is easy but the novel is trying to do too much. As a result, nothing was as fleshed out as I wanted it to be. The main plot was interesting, but predictable. The inclusion of the boarding games felt wildly unnecessary in this one, much more than the first novel.
And while the glimpses of character development, relationships, and romance were enticing, nothing was ever emotional and it felt difficult to connect to any of the characters.
I just wanted less of the random plot additions and lengthy and unnecessary events, and instead a more clear and meaningful story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ofliterarynature's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
amampersand's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mtaylor270's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol