I did not enjoy this book. I am rarely hooked by SF books, but the plot seemed interesting, unfortunately I did not enjoy it. I found the characters a bit flat and the pace lacking.

Leaving Hope is a fantastic new sci-fi series with a strong female protagonist, Anya, who desperately wants to join the initial Terrace Colony crew. This is the team that will prep the planet Shindashir for the eventual landing of the full colony ship, Hope. However, dysfunctional patriarchal forces conspire to keep her away as her father keeps a tight rein on her freedom even to the point of arranging her marriage so she can keep the Euro bloodlines pure.

Sadly I didn't finish this book before it expired as I was so disheartened as I was hooked. I reached around 42% of the way through the book when it expired. The story was so hooking I really wanted to know what happens to Anya and her Dad with the predicament of the restaurant and what happens next with Ryan and Anya and whether the illegal betrothal takes place.

Before I begin my review for Leaving Hope by R.L.S Hoff I would personally like to thank the author, the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and I have reviewed it honestly.


Embark on the invigorating, coming of age, science fiction story of Leaving Hope by R.L.S Hoff, with two, tantalising, teenaged protagonists, a spaceship of scandals and secrets and an impending colonisation of a new planet. This first novel in the new Golden Terrace Colony series promises an entertaining and empowering read.

Leaving Hope features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ YA Sci Fi
○ Colonisation
○ Manipulation
○ Arranged marriage
○ Hacking
○ Art
○ YA romance
○ Domestic violence
○ Multi POV
○ Coming of age
○ Futuristic technology

My overall rating for Leaving Hope is…

4.5 Stars!

Leaving Hope was a beautifully written YA Sci Fi novel with loveable characters and an empowering storyline. I loved the mixture of themes and how well everything just worked. This book explores domestic issues as well as science fiction and space exploration. A fun read for teenagers and adults alike.

I received an ARC of LEAVING HOPE by R.L.S. Hoff thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

LEAVING HOPE is told in dual POV with Anya coming from one of the last “pure Euro families” (who want her to continue that trend, even if it means resorting to illegal betrothals) and Borsk being a hacker that is constantly in trouble and trying to get out of working at his family’s restaurant.

The world building and plot were really interesting. The civilization is currently living on a space-station and have been for hundreds of years. But one organization is working to send the first group of couples to the planet to start rebuilding civilization. However, to find the best couples the company is making them try out for a spot. Anya wants to try out but her betrothed sides with her evil father and she needs to convince him that going to the planet is the best option.

The characters were easy to identify with (I love Anya’s artistry!) and found myself rooting for even a ‘bad guy’ by the end of the story.

I have signed up to Hoff’s newsletter for access to what has been written for the sequel (due to be released next year!). I’m super excited to dive into it so I’m cutting the review short. Although if that does speak more than the review itself I don’t know what would!

I honestly hated the entire premise of this book. The social stratification/arranged marriage trope is so jaded and this offered nothing unique to make it remarkable. The main character, Anya, comes off as one of those "not like other girls" protagonist who tries to escape the expectations of her parents, which is an extremely overused trope that honestly turned me off the book. The writing style was decent, though.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I finished the book and didn’t really know what to think about it to be honest !!!

I really like Anya and her dreams, she’s only 15, but her dream of going to the colony is the last hope she have in her life. She’s also very passionate about arts and going to work at the greenhouse.
Her father isn’t a good man at all, he’s cruel and only care about himself and his interest.
He doesn’t care about his wife or his kids, we barely hear about Anya’s older sister who isn't happy at all in her marriage and who had been forced to marry a man who is more cruel than her own father....
Her father also did something horrible to her, and he won’t be punish about it.... That was really wrong for me.
Anya did everything possible to go to the colony, even asking the man who she was to supposed to marry, her father had choose him for he !!!

I was also heartbroken for her friend Borsk !!! Sometimes it felt like the characters went 15 but more like 30 years old !! They were reacting as adult, probably because of their lives !!!

I still don’t really know what to think of this book !! I liked the end’ even if I would have loved to see the colony, but even the contract part was a bit too much for me !!

Leaving Hope is an amazing and wonderful Sci-Fi world set far in the future! We are taken on a journey alongside Anya who is doing everything in her power to not only grow into an amazing woman, but to earn her place on the group that will be sent down to recolonize Earth. It is filled with romance, hardships, friendships and so much more. I had trouble putting this book down once I started it!

I am honestly dumbfounded on how this book has not received more buzz since it's release! I am DYING to know what happens next, and literally can't thing of anything I disliked about the story. The main characters had amazing character development to where I felt like I understood why they were doing things the way they did. The only exception on character background was her parents, whom I am interested in seeing if the author dives more into detail on why they act they way they do (you'll understand once you read it as I don't want to spoil).

Overall, this was an amazing read that I can't stop gushing about! I can't wait to read what comes next in this journey!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this opportunity!