A review by wandering_not_lost
Happy Snak by Nicole Kimberling

5.0

This was no lie an awesome book. For a book about a space snack bar owner who gets tangled up in vaguely ridiculous alien shenanigans, it had FABULOUS alien worldbuilding. The aliens, their biology and biome, and their culture were all beautiful, relatable, and also very alien. (I love it when authors let the aliens be alien.) Gaia was also very relatable, and her inner voice was just my kind of funny: deadpan, grumpy, and good-hearted. She is a wonderful sort of everywoman protagonist who just wants to do the right thing and protect those she cares about, even if they're strange acid-smelling aliens with complicated sex lives. The plot was snappy, fun, and had enough tension and balls in the air that I read it in like two days, straight through. Though the premise might sound like Hitchhikersesque absurdity, it really isn't. It has its moments of satire, but really it plays it straight, and I love it when books do that. I just wish there was more to read in this universe.