What I love about E.K Johnston is that she's willing to take a lot of chances and write different types of books. I'm not certain this one was for me, the calorie counting, the forced insemination, all of that was just not at all what I was expecting.

Thank you for sending me the link to this book! I read it alongside the hardcover for my July of Sci-Fi stunt and absolutely loved it. At first I was skeptical; the beginning 25% or so is difficult to read, Pendt's treatment on her spacer ship is horrifying. But then she escapes and it's like the sun breaking through clouds. Can't wait to shout about this on my instagram!

I am a huge lover of scifi books but I struggled getting through this one. The world was interesting but the plot seemed like it was missing something. It took me a while to finish this book as I just couldn't get into it. Also be wary of the trigger warnings before going into this book as there are a lot.

This book is the definition of, “Had us in the first half, not gonna life.”

I thought I was going to love Aetherbound. Spacefaring sci-fi with rigid, though breakable structures? A compelling, complex protagonist (at first)? A transgender primary character? Sign me up!

Then everything changed when part two attacked.

This book had an excellent start and truly thrilling build-up, but simply forgot to make the story worthwhile. I appreciated certain aspects, such as the ones I listed, but the second half (or even, the last three-fourths) of the story were so underwhelming and rushed that I found myself wishing that my Sora audiobook could exceed 3x in playback speed. The main relationships were rushed — this could have been attributed to how short the book is (5 hours in audiobook form), which I usually appreciate if the book has substance — and each plot point disappointed.

I kind of want to lower this to 2 stars, but it’s an excellent premise on-paper, so it’s a 3.

I’m a big fan of E.K. Johnston’s work in the Star Wars universe, so I was very excited to receive and ARC of her newest stand-alone sci-fi YA novel, Aetherbound. I was even more excited to learn that the incredible Ashley Eckstein was going to be narrating the audiobook – what kindStar Wars fan doesn’t love Ashley?!

Aetherbound is an interesting foray into worldbuilding. Society has been seemingly reduced to live aboard space stations and cargo ships, everyone having a place and a use to the rest of the collective or else they are placed elsewhere (or even killed for being a waste of supplies). A certain kind of magic exists as well, in tune with a force called the Aether. Pendt Harland is in tune with the Aether but in a way not useful to the crew, but of potentially high value to others and is at risk of being sold to another ship or station upon her 18th birthday. When she decides it’s time to escape her life and her family, Pendt meets the Brannick twins and the three of them work together to make their lives their own.

The worldbuilding in this novel is intense. I loved all the concepts introduced and the complexity of the essentially closed societies that have been formed on the stations as well as the ships. That being said, a lot of it was told through massive info-dumping rather than being teased out by the characters. It made the novel feel like it wasn’t quite formed in its entirety at times and read more like a planning guide rather than a finished story. I would have liked it to have been explained more through dialogue or character actions rather than informative narration as I feel that would have built a closer connection to the characters and been a more immersive story. I liked the characters enough, Pendt is a sweet and perseverant girl and I loved the Brannick twins immediately, but I wanted more from them. I wanted more of a reason to cheer them on than just the upsetting circumstances this world has put them in.

Said “upsetting circumstances” definitely did make me uncomfortable at several moments, so I did appreciate the trigger warnings for medical trauma and calorie counting (not eating disorder based for anyone wondering, it’s more of a portion control thing) that were listed at the beginning. Selling off young girls (yes, 18 is young) for the sake of them being able to have children is really uncomfortable and the insemination moments had such an intense air of violation that I skimmed over the scene as fast as I could. I almost think that this novel would have been better has it been longer, with more time to tease out the world building, and marketed as more of a new adult or even straight up adult science fiction novel.

I still love E.K. Johnston and I will still continue to support her work, but I won’t like and say my 3-star rating for this one is mostly based on Ashley Eckstein doing an amazing job with the audiobook….

Aetherbound, YA scifi novel that takes place in space, is a wild ride. The main character, Pendt Harland, is seen by her well-known and respected family as useless and works to earn oxygen on the ship she's lived her whole life on. She hopes to escape off the ship with twins, who all hope to live their own lives away from the shadow of what others expect from them.

While this book was really intriguing in the beginning, I had a hard time with the middle. It was an interesting read and while Aetherbound has a lot of promising aspects, it ultimately fell a little short for me. That being said, I hope to read more from Johnston in the future.

Big thanks to the publisher for allowing me early access to this title! This in no way impacts my review,

Aetherbound is a fun space romp that has a slow start. We follow three MCs as they navigate rebellion, familial stress, and adult responsibilities. Pendt is a fun character who is easily likable for her curiosity. My favorite aspect of this book was the found family between Pendt and the Brannick brothers. The world wasn't explored as much as I'd like so hopefully that will be addressed in the sequel! This was by far one of my favorite reads this month!

This book seemed like the first half of a novel, like there was suppose to be more. I liked the idea, but wanted more from the story. I wanted more description about the setting and the people.

I think this book is marketed in the wrong way. It looks like a YA but is definitely filled with a lot of heaviness that is better suited to older readers. Some teens will like it, especially if sci-fi is their genre of choice, but the triggers could be a lot for some.

Some of the tropes are uncomfortable, but I really enjoyed the book. The friendships, the reveals, the romance.
I did want more info on the way the magic system worked without the info dump at the beginning.

Instead of an epic space story, it felt more like an episode or two of Star Trek...a slice of life story.

This is a ya book set in space. You watch the main in character grow at the age if 5 and see how her family treats her which is awful / they are seriously useless as the MC works hard and everything.

I was expecting more adventure but overall I still enjoyed this book.

Thanks NetGalley and penguin teen

2.5/5 Stars

Pendt Harland has spent her entire life on a space ship, being told she is worthless and unwanted. During a space station layover, Pendt decides to escape by sneaking off the ship and hiding in Brannick Station. She is discovered by the Brannick twins, and they decide to hatch a plan to escape their pre-determined destinies, that is beneficial to them all.

I honestly don't know how to feel about this book... I think the premise could have been really cool, but the overall execution was a bit of a let down. The genes-mage aspect was pretty cool, and I was definitely intrigued with that but there were a lot of plot points that made me really uncomfortable and I was not a fan of. There is a giant info-dump at the beginning, and then it is mostly just a lot of the main character telling us events that are happening. The book is an extremely fast read though, and I finished it in two sittings. But I wouldn't say it was a necessarily good book.

Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13+
Overall: 2 stars
Characters: 2/5
Plot: 2/5
Setting: 2.5/5
Writing: 2/5

This book… was… so… boring. According to Goodreads, it’s only 250 pages. I’m shocked, because it felt so long.
There was so much potential in the premise and in the characters, but everything fell short. The plot slogged, and I had to force myself to finish the book. I felt like I should have liked the characters, but I couldn’t get myself to connect with any of them. They felt emotionless. I liked Fisher, I guess, and I was rooting for him, but I still didn’t care about him or connect with him nearly as much as I wanted to.
If I hadn’t gotten this book as an ARC, I’d have DNFed it a couple pages in. It was just so dense. The book is split into 4 or 5 parts, and each part is preceded with a 5+ page info dump of history of the character/galactic politics/etc. and they were not presented in an interesting way. Using back story before each chapter or part is something I tend to really enjoy, if it’s done right. This was pure info dump, and it was painful to get through. Not to mention, everything in those info dumps was explained well enough within the body of the story as needed, so they were completely unnecessary in the long run.
There was also this huge plot hole that just bothered the hell out of me the whole time—why didn’t Ned just sleep around. Like, they spend all this time stressed because if he dies, the whole station dies with him. He’s a man. It would not be that hard to get a bunch of girls pregnant and guarantee the safety of your people. Like, I get population control, but they never talked about being concerned with that. They let people immigrate in. Just close your borders, dont let other citizens procreate until you have a solid two male heirs to protect yourselves. Humans are incredibly easy to kill. Why was there no back ups?
The point is, I did not enjoy this book. It sounded like it was going to be interesting, but the plot was extremely slow and lacking, the characters’ personalities and growth were nonexistent, and it just wasn’t worth it.

This was not the space-opera vibes that I am used to from EK Johnston. There's also a plot-point that, I personally, did not jive with as the relationships did not really feel real to me.

The concept for Aetherbound sounded fantastic, but this book definitely wasn’t for me. I ultimately ended up skimming the last 75%. I kept hoping that it would get better, but instead it got more off-putting. The majority of the beginning of the book centers around Pendt and her family, who run an interstellar freighter. Unfortunately, most of it is focused on calorie counting and food restriction. Plus there’s a few other scenes with different types of abuse that really put me off this book, which is why I skimmed the rest of the way. While the concept of this was incredibly interesting and I liked finding out more about this world, the execution just did not work for me.

To say that this book was a disappointment is a a huge understatement. I requested this book because the premise was really enticing. The execution was anything but. This book reads like a severely underdeveloped novel and/or a novella that lacks depth.

The story opens with one hell of an info dump about to orient the reader to the history as well as the magic that some are capable of wielding. That is one of the few times we actually see magic other than our main character's (Pendt) who can alter genomic sequences.

The first half of the book focuses on Pendt's upbringing, which is abusive and traumatic. Much of the story focuses on her childhood until she's finally able to escape when she's about to turn 17, After escaping her abusive family, she meets the Brannick twins (Ned & Fisher). Collectively, they decide that Pendt and Ned are going to get married and have a boy in order to be safe from her family and to have a male to take over the Brannick station. So much about this pissed me off. It reinforces the narrative that the only way to escape an abusive family is to get married and have children...and that's just not something I expected to be pushed in 2021.

The character development in this book was virtually nonexistent. The first half of the book focuses solely on Pendt, but once the twins are introduced, we focus more on Fisher. Because of that, Pendt's character arc stalls and so much of Fisher's background is just a big question.

Anyways, yeah, I didn't enjoy reading this.

Aetherbound is a book about characters rather than action, though there’s some of that, too. It feels like a slice-of-life story where we’re invited to view snapshots of one person’s journey through space and then sent on our way. This isn’t the kind of book I’d normally enjoy (I’m a plot-driven rather than a character-driven kind of person), but there’s something deceptively charming about it.

In all honesty, this book has everything I like in a novel. It’s a good science-fiction tale set amongst the stars; it has a rich history full of wars and empires and rebellions; it has a sympathetic main character and a cute boy; plus, there is an obvious and intense of love of cheese within these pages.

You’ll find a content warning at the beginning of the book, and for good reason. We meet Pendt when she is only five years old and follow her until she is 18. Throughout that time, she counts her calories and is treated as though she is subhuman because she does not carry a useful kind of magic. However, if you can stomach the way she’s treated in the beginning, you’ll find plenty to celebrate in the end.

This book is about forging your own path, using your own choices as your stepping stones. It’s also about freedom, duty, and family—whether it’s made up of blood relatives or near strangers. Where this book lacked conflict, it made up for with truly good characters. If E.K. Johnston ever writes a sequel, I will happily pick it up.

Pendt Harland is the Cinderella of a generation ship in this saccharine sci-romance. The first half of the book Chronicles Pendt's life as the least favored child in a large family that operates a space-faring cargo ship that travels at sub-light speeds across a decaying empire. From ages 5 through 17 we follow Pendt as she contends with a ruthlessly pragmatic family that only keeps her fed the minimum amount of calories per day and considers her worthless due to her lack of lightning magic, until the age of 18 when they ominously tell her that she will become very valuable to them through selling her to another family for an undisclosed for a labor. This first half of the book has captivating world building and strong writing that has you rooting for Pendt.

The second half of the book is a stark tonal shift and sharp decline in quality, as Pendt meets her princes charming. From this point onwards, every mystery is quickly answered without tension, every conflict is immediately resolved without difficulty, and every character becomes flat, without flaws, and difficult to differentiate. That the book began so strongly makes this latter half feel particularly disappointing as Pendt receives everything she could ever want and more without having to fight for it. Everyone universally loves Pendt, understands her on a deep level, and wants to support her, except for her biological family. Pendt succeeds at everything new she attempts without difficulty despite having been abused as an uneducated child laborer for 17 years, for which she seems to have come out relatively unscathed in terms of trauma or difficulty in adapting to the life of a princess. Perhaps this book will be pleasant escapism for some, but it is unlikely to be relatable to most.

Pendt's primary love interest is heavily implied, but never explicitly stated, to be a transgender man. While the book cover depicts a woman of color, every character is described as having either very pale or mildly tanned skin, and the topic of race is never brought up.

Okay, so the thing to know about Aetherbound is that it’s weird and the plot isn’t going to be paced as you’d expect. You look at the cover and think high octane sci-fi adventure but it’s actually a lot slower than that and if you accept that going into it and just appreciate the book for what it is, rather than what other books are like, I think you’ll find it to be the same beautiful little tale that I did.
I will admit that it took me a while to settle into the pacing. It does not have an easy beginning. We begin with an info dump about an epic and greedy space empire and wars and a lot of big things that happened in the past and then from there, this big Stavenger empire becomes background players that we never see directly but instead feel the echoes and the effects of their iron grip. Then we’re dropped onto a slow-moving generational ship where resources are scant and life is hard and progress is slow and we stay there for a good long chunk of the book. It’s a bit of a whiplash but the worldbuilding, or in this case, the universe building is deep and fascinating and I was very interested in the magic system at play among these stars. More than that though, I just loved and cared for Pendt and wanted better for her than the hand she was dealt in her family aboard the Harland.
I don’t want to give spoilers for the book but I also loved the Brannick twins so very much and more importantly, the bonds forged in this story. It’s a slow-moving plot but one that I read quickly. Aetherbound was just so unique in what it would choose to focus on and how it would treat certain bonds and plot moments and I would just turn each page, unsure but very curious to see what would happen next. Normally when reading I’m always trying to figure out the next move but that wasn’t something I could do here because the pacing was so unusual but I began to find that I didn’t mind not being able to guess.
It was a thoroughly weird and unconventional book but honestly, that’s part of what I loved about it. I say this as a compliment but it read like good fanfiction. It was all about the emotional development and the slow burn and the found family and domesticity and less about the fate of the universe and the big battles but I loved that so much. I don’t always want these big grand fights and stakes and painful battles, sometimes I just want a book about a girl escaping from a bad life and learning how to live for herself and love with the help of two wonderful brothers. Also space and space magic. Yes. This book will probably not land with everyone with its unique pacing, priorities, and stakes but it really hit the sweet spot for me and I just loved it very much. Seeing Pendt blossom with Fisher and Ned did my heart so much good. What a unique and lovely book. If they have the patience and heart for it, I hope others can see Aetherbound for the little gem that it is.

I had a hard time getting through this book as it was so slow. The story doesn't really pick up until the last 20% of the book and even then I wasn't into the story. I wasn't invested in the characters and din't feel for them when bad things happened. The beginning of this book contains a lot of world building but it read more like info dumping than anything else.

I do love me a space adventure, so I was so sure this was going to be a home run for me. But from the start, I just felt a bit underwhelmed. Much of the beginning felt like a bit of an infodump, and so my interest wasn’t really piqued at that point. Add to it, Pendt is just a very young child for the first portion of the story, and is being treated horribly (and in some cases, downright abusively), and you’ve got a story I was just not keen on.

The Harland family is awful, but like, so unbelievably awful (and to their own family, no less) that they became a bit like cartoon villains for me. Sure, it helped Pendt to escape by illustrating that there were definitely no redeeming qualities to be found among her kinsfolk, but beyond that, it didn’t really do much for the story. They’re clearly the baddies here, no nuance given. (And yes, I do realize this type of person exists in life, but still, does not a great villain make for me.)

Things did pick up a bit when Pendt managed to escape her family’s ship. And I did like the characters of Fisher and Ned, who Pendt meets upon her escape, but so much of the plot surrounding them felt quite convenient. So while I did enjoy the second half much more than the first, I still didn’t feel particularly pulled in.

Bottom Line: It’s not a bad book, but it really just didn’t draw me in at any point, nor did I find it particularly exciting.