I really enjoyed this story - the mystery aspect was gripping, I liked the main characters and was rooting for them throughout. Great science-fiction setting, emotional aspects to the narrative, and the ever-twisting-and-turning plot was so compulsive, I just had to read on to see where it went!

I love the world of this story and the twist, but the love story just fell a little flat for me. I got more we're in lust then the love of a lifetime.

A cool tale of space travel and survival, a culture-clash romance, and an intriguing space mystery and psychological thriller all in one! Gets a little more graphically violent than I was expecting, but very interesting and inventive.

I have never read a book as equally charming fun and heartbreaking as this one, The way this author told this story was so beautiful and catching I felt like reading it again once I was finished.
Cusk And Kodiak's Love story made me sob, and at a time when I thought "well if yourself told you you were in love with the only other person in your life you are bound to fall for then each time you don't really have a choice " but oh I was proven wrong they did have a choice and they didn't always choose each other but when they did... it hurt after they died.
To be frank I wasn't satisfied with the ending and I fully comprehend that it was the perfect one for a story like that I felt I wanted more of them.
Lastly, I would just love to say that the author did an amazing job with this one kudos.

I'm surprised how much I loved this book. I shouldn't be surprised, it's space, forced proximity and enemies to friends to lovers. I'm so there for all of that

The Darkness Outside Us does a great job of making you not just believe the story (seriously...sending 17-year-olds to space? Makes perfect sense in this story.) but also fall in love with the characters. They're not just two completely different people but they are also from two opposing countries that have to work together in such a close environment and there was only ONE BED!!! Not really but I would have been totally fine if that trope was included.

This is not just a space book, there's also a mystery attached. I don't want to give anything away but there's a reason the book is broken up into parts and not chapters, it really does work well for the story that Eliot Schrefer is telling.

I laughed, I cried (no seriously, I legit cried....more than once), I cheered them on. I also flew through this so I could find out what was happening/going to happen. I can't wait for this to come out so more people can experience it.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for an eARC of The Darkness Outside Us in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The mystery was really interesting and I couldn't put it down. I also loved seeing a queer romance in a sci fi book. Awesome story and characters - I definitely recommend it.

First impression was of the cover, one of the heroes looks like the Winter Soldier, so I had to read it. What I ended up reading was a fantastic sci-fi/mystery novel with great characters and intrigue and adventure that just happened to have an epic romance in it. Just a few hints, an AI that is withholding memories from our hero who is on a rescue mission. Save from a truncated ending (says me because I wanted a fuller wrap up of the romance), this was a great ride.

Incredible!!
Nothing like what I was expecting... but so so so good, nevertheless!
The Darkness Outside Us has such a unique style and structure and with every new “twist,” I was blown away by the impact it had on me!
I was so excited for queers in space, but what I got was so much more!
I can’t wait for this one to be out in the world! I just want, so badly, to see people’s thoughts on this twisty psychological sci-fi story!

All the praise and hype for The Darkness Outside Us. I was instantly sucked into Ambrose and Kodiak's world and their lives upon the ship. I wanted to know all their secrets and I never felt disappointed with each plot twist. This book made me feel like a young teenager again in the best way. It has angst and mood and it made me laugh and cry with the characters. Entirely endearing. I can't wait to purchase a physical copy.

Holy cow. This has got to be one of THE best books I’ve ever read. Everything was meticulously crafted and I found myself holding my breath at every turn. Schrefer is a master at worldbuilding without long paragraphs of exposition and the entire book was a dream to read. I’m not going to stop raving about this one for years. 6/5 stars. #TheDarknessOutsideUs #NetGalley

4.5/5 stars, absolutely would recommend to EVERYONE.

'And they were spacefarers! Oh my god they were spacefarers..'

This book left me feeling like someone opened the airlock in my chest and sent my heart careening into the void of space, freezing and boiling and macerating it all at the same time.

The Darkness Outside Us follows Ambrose and Kodiak, two young men from rival countries on Earth, on a mission through the solar system to rescue Ambrose's sister who sent a distress signal after being the first human to settle on Saturn's moon Titan. It swiftly becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems, though, in this sci-fi/horror/romance/locked room mystery.

The more the plot thickens (and boy does it get thick) the more my mind was whirring as it tried to figure out just what was happening. I never stopped thinking or theorising, even when I put the book down. I was trying to decipher what was going on and predict what might happen next when I was washing dishes or vacuuming. Before I finished reading it, I knew it would become one of those books I wished I could forget so I could read it over again, fresh and new, but I also know it's one I'll enjoy immensely when I pick it up again, noticing all the little details I missed before.

The Darkness Outside Us also comments poignantly on the deepest of human needs, whether they be for love or intimacy, or darker parts of the psyche like the desire to leave a legacy after death, or the desperation to do whatever it takes to ensure our species survives.

Well after I'd finished it, this book stuck with me. I had about nine (9) existential crises because of this. It serves as a potent reminder that we really are just a rock floating through space. So why shouldn't we treat each other with kindness and choose to love whenever possible?

I had only a few issues here and there, like allusions to life in the 21st century when the narrator wouldn't necessarily know about that, and it took me out of the world building a bit. But it was still great world building! I also wish the relationship between Ambrose and Kodiak was just slightly more developed, and easier for me to believe in. But I'll forgive it for the sake of such a brilliant plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC (my first one ever!) in exchange for this review.

(Tl;dr space boys that are enemies to work partners to lovers to enemies to work partners to lovers to enemies to work partners to—)

As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.

I enjoyed this book a lot--I read it in just a day or two. It kept me guessing, and the turns that it took were not ever quite what I expected, though they fit the story. It's kind of a psychological thriller set in a spaceship while also being a story of hope for humanity.

3.5 stars

This was much more sci-fi than romance, and I really enjoyed that. The plot is complex and interesting and had no trouble holding my attention for 400-something pages.

We start with the MC waking up from a coma onboard the spaceship he's taking to Saturn on a rescue mission, with no memory of anything that's happened since the launch. His only source of information is the ship's AI, who seems to be holding back on which memory gaps it's willing to fill in... and off we go on a sci-fi adventure and mystery rolled into one.

The ramifications of what we discover are extremely thought-provoking, and I loved the different ways the MCs each processed and reacted to that information. This was my absolute favorite part of the book, but I can't really say much without major spoilers, and this is definitely not a book you want to be spoiled for! The fun comes from discovering each new piece of the puzzle along with the MCs.

I did love the MC's opposite yet complementary personalities and how that slowly built into a pretty epic romance amid the background of this warped sci-fi adventure.

My only complaint is that we spend so much time on their journey that there weren't a lot of pages left to explore the destination. We do get answers and action once they get there, and the book gives us plenty of glimpses into their future to feel satisfying, it's just that the ship, by its very nature, can only contain so much variety of circumstances vs. the endless potential of an unexplored planet. 

And I would have loooooved more planet time. Especially to wrap up the romance. It doesn't get much play at the end, which was disappointing. Both the romance and the ship time could have trimmed some in the earlier/middle passages to get more planet time. Not that it feels padded while reading those passages; just in retrospect as a greedy reader who loves survival stories :)

As it is, I should still probably give this a higher rating if I'm being completely objective, but this is where being a 40-year-old reading YA sci-fi comes into play. I have consumed oodles and oodles of sc-fi fiction -- books/tv/movies -- in the last 20 years, and while this is definitely a very fresh, intriguing contribution, it's still YA.

When I got to the end, I couldn't help but think how awesome it would be to read this same plot written for adults. I mean that as a major compliment, though. This is truly excellent YA, written for the older and more discerning YA audience, and which I would definitely recommend for anyone who likes both YA and sci-fi -- this is just me acknowledging that I would probably be rating it even higher if I were anyone's definition of a Young Adult.

And now I need to see what else this author has written...

Unfortunately, I wasn't vibing with the writing of this book or the decision to have lengthy parts instead of chapters.

I was drawn in by the They Both Die at the End comp. This book was just as devastating and wonderful in its own way. Difficult to read at some points (emotionally) but so worth it.

Absolutely loved this! Its kind of a These Broken Stars-They Both Die at the End-The Loneliest Girl in the Universe mash-up and I am HERE FOR IT. It was the perfect mix of sci-fi thriller romance and by the end my heart was bursting.

Review posted on GoodReads (January, 3, 2021)
Review Linked.

3.75/5 stars! Rounded up to 4 stars!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for sending me an E-ARC for an honest review.

I have so many thoughts and feelings about this book! It was such an interesting read. I will do a spoiler review when this book releases, but until then, here are my non-spoilers thoughts!

I think that my favorite thing about this book was the romance and the plot. This book has so many different twists and turns and I could not stop reading it. There were so many moments where I would shout or jump up in shock and surprise and excitement because of the plot. The best way to describe this book is a LGBTQ+ interpretation of the movie 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY! If you love space missions, science-fiction, AI's and really interesting writing, then I really recommend this book!

Thanks for reading!
Caden

If you're looking for a fun gays in space romp, this book is not the one for you. If you're looking for a twisty mystery in space with gays in love, then this is for you.

Ambrose and Kodiak are gay. And in space. Humanity has done fucked up and the Earth is ruined. These two young men (both are 17ish in the novel) are off to a one of the moons of Saturn to retrieve a previous space cadet. They're also looking to see if humanity will be able to colonize space. Along the way, they realize that not everything is as it seems. These two need to put aside their differences (they're from two different countries) and figure out what's going on.

This was definitely a decent read. The author does a great job of setting up the plot and pacing it nicely. While I was able to call a few of the plot twists along the way (tropes are tropes for a reason), there was one or two that I wasn't expecting and was pleasantly surprised. I did call one of the biggest plot twists about 50 pages in though, so that was mildly disappointing.

While the characters weren't exceptionally well-developed, the author actually has a reason for that that I can (mostly) accept. I love how the fact that these protagonists are gay is not the focus of the novel. There's no huge gay freak out; they're in love and they're fine with that (in fact, they jump to having sex rather quickly. And then have a frank discussion on sex that I'm still not sure how I feel about). I do wish there had been a little more character development/relationship development in the story, but what is presented works well enough.

And I think that's how I feel about the book. There's nothing overwhelmingly great. Everything works well enough, but there's no major wow factor for me.

Ambrose and Kodiak wake up aboard a space ship, the Endeavor, heading to save Ambrose's sister stranded on the moon Titan. They come from different worlds. Earth has been divided into the Federation and the Dimokratia, each sending a representative on the mission. Post-Cold War Earth seems to be left in turmoil but Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together to accomplish their mission. However, they'll learn to depend on each other as they question the truth of their mission. With the help of an advanced AI system, appropriately named OS (Operating System), Ambrose and Kodiak ready the ship for arrival.

This book takes readers on an emotional journey flying through space to the outer edges of the universe. Ambrose narrates the story in first person and there are times it would be nice to hear what Kodiak is thinking. Both characters are complex and develop more deeply over the course of the novel. They develop a respect and love for each other that is the foundation of the plot. As readers, we get to witness the love between Ambrose and Kodiak grow, literally isolated in the vacuum of space. Their tension and conflict are hard to avoid when they only have the space ship in which to escape. It would have been nice to get more information about the historical context that shaped the division between the Federation and Dimokratia. It's a fascinating back-story that could be explored further.

There are definitely some plot twists and and ending that happened abruptly, but was in alignment with the overall plot structure. It's hard to talk about it without giving away any spoilers! If you are a fan of stories about space travel (like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Beth Revis's Across the Universe series), then I highly recommend this novel. The world is detailed and filled with facts about time, space, and the expanse of the universe.