Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

TLDR: Sapphic, accidental heist in space with found family, cool superpowers, and an almost cartoonishly evil villain.

I think I have a contender for my favorite genre of 2024, and it's sapphic space stories. Between Lady Eve's Last Con, the Teixcalaan duology, and now The Stars too Fondly, apparently all I needed to read more sci fi was a couple lesbian love stories.

If you're looking for something with stakes and a happy ending, this is probably for you. The Big Bad is Big and Bad, the protagonists are Good, and altogether it seems cozy in hindsight. I've seen reviews that talk about the characters seeming younger than they are - they average late 20s, but do come across as late teens, early 20s. I didn't personally have a problem with that - the situation was that of a couple "too smart and too young for their age" kids, which the group definitely was.

I did initially have an issue with the "Narrator" who did a lot of telling over showing. This became less of an issue when I realized that the "narrator" was an actual character, and then a lot of it made sense. That said, there were some things that I felt could have been explored in a less direct manner.

Overall, very much enjoyed. 4.5/5, rounded down.

First of all, a massive thank you to HarperCollins for reaching out to me about this title and the opportunity to read it in advance of its release. My biggest qualm with this book is that it isn't out yet and therefore I have no one to talk to about the events of this book. From the very beginning, these characters were so obviously flawed and imperfect but never once in a way that made them unlikable. Quite the contrary. It was impossible, despite frustrations with their actions throughout, to ever dislike or feel truly angry with the characters. In all honesty, they felt not only like old friends, but like MY friends. They reminded me so clearly of people I know and have loved for years, and they meant so much to me because of this. They feel like a home you never knew you were missing. I have always been a major fantasy fan, and as I have gotten older and the genre was introduced, Romantasy. I have read little sci-fi in my life, mostly because I don't feel smart enough to understand it most times, but this actually relied on a premise of one of the few sci-fi books I had loved most recently, and I felt that I owed it to that one love to try. This book made all of the scientific information so easily digestible through characters needing explanations as they all came from different fields, which was a fantastic way to handle the world-building without allowing it to feel too contrived or info-dumpy. This book was pitched to me as "Spacemance," the sci-fi version of romantasy, and I was immediately intrigued. Beyond that, hearing the author say that she couldn't wait for audiences to meet her "disaster girls and their disaster friends" was my final straw, and I had to start reading. For a book with a complicated scientific premise on top of the character dynamics that round out the story I absolutely devoured this book much quicker than anticipated. I found myself racing through it with an insatiable desire to immediately knew what was going to happen next, and it fueled me through the entire story. While the world building and sci-fi plot of the story was incredibly well-handled, that is not what makes this a stand-out novel for me. In all honesty, the writing style and world-building and plot were enough to make this a four-star read, but it was the character development and the true improvements they all made that pushed this book over the top. Cleo, Billie, and their friends all grew and changed in so many ways over the course of the story and became the best versions of themselves. I won't say too much so that you can enjoy exactly how incredible they were and became for yourselves, but Emily Hamilton managed to tell a story of love and friendship and family better than many literary fiction books with that as the only plot manage to accomplish. I deeply enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what Hamilton writes next. And also for this book to release because I'm not joking, it genuinely might kill me to have to keep the contents of this book to myself for much longer.

This book has everything from a big mystery, to an epic adventure, and plenty of found family and romance. Although I didn't always follow the scientific explanations that were given, I was still able to figure out what was happening. I loved watching the characters learn how to navigate the crazy situation they ended up in, and seeing their relationships with each other and Billie grow. There were many times in the book where I wasn't sure how their situations could be resolved, and I was pleasantly surprised every time (this book does end in a HEA). Overall, this is an amazing debut novel, and I recommend giving it a try, 5/5 stars.

Haha i really liked this it was so bizarre but super fun

thanks to netgalley and harpervoyager for the arc!!

This was a cute and quirky mish-mash between a sci-fi and a romcom, more romcom leaning. I enjoyed it for what it was, and we need more sci-fi romance books,

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too Fondly to be fearful of the night."

Space ghosts. The Providence. Cleo. Kaleisha. Launch day. Holograms. Dark matter. Stardust eyes. We meet the space crew: Abe Yang, the historian. Ros Wheeler, doctor. Kaleisha Reid, botanist.

The Other Place. Proxima B. Space bugs. Auroras. The Red Sun. A mystery. Different truths and different lies. Cleo's sacrifice. The boundary.

Creatures and the concept of a human self. Spaceflight. Dark energy. Unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Rainbows. Ashes. A red-dark sun.

I love an action-packed space tale, one littered with adventure and mysterious happenings. This novel definitely did not disappoint. I loved everything from the dialogue to the texting logs to the love story.

It was so cozy, I could not pass up this sci-fi fantasy book. Exploring a new generation finding their place amongst the stars is a new trope I did not know I needed until now. Any reader who loves space exploration and sapphic romantic comedies cannot pass this one up. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars (Rounded up to five)

I had been keeping my eye on this title even before Harper Voyager reached out to offer me an ARC. A sci-fi mystery? A queer norm cast? Sapphic pining in space?! Sign me up! Needless to say, I was not disappointed. The characters were snarky and fun and REAL, with just a dash of existential dread that anyone in their mid to late twenties can relate to. After all, these characters grew up in the future-- on an Earth even more damaged than our own-- is it any wonder they'd look to the stars for salvation?

The characters were definitely the highlight of the story for me, but I did also enjoy the mystery. I had problems at times suspending my disbelief, but I think that's more about me and my relationship with the genre than it is about the book itself. However, there were a few moments that took me out of the story, which is the reason I didn't give this book a full five stars.

[SPOILERS]


One of these moments was a literal "deus ex machina," that I'm still unsure of my feelings on. It helped the novel come to a nice conclusion, but it also felt like it took away some of the stakes that the story had spent so long building.


[SPOILERS END]


The pacing as well felt a bit off to me at times-- too slow in some sections and too fast in others. I wish we had taken more time to linger in big plot moments in the same way we did the romantic moments, because at times it almost felt like the mystery was second to the romance. And hey, I love a good gay romance, but I do feel like being lost in space should take precedence. I know I'm contradicting myself a bit because I said the characters were my favorite part of the story, and that's true, but I think it's in part true because the mystery plot could have been stronger. The characters were so well written and fleshed out and authentic that of course I was going to love them over everything else, how could I not? I just wish the story they were in had been a little bit tighter.

BUT, I don't think that should stop anyone from reading this book! I literally read through it in less than two days because I couldn't put it down. Take off with these space gays, and learn to the love the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

This was fun! A sci-fi romance. Sometimes the sci-fi was over my head, but that’s more my lack of space knowledge. The romance was sweet and just a little weird because it involves a hologram! Thanks to @harpercollins and @netgalley for the ARC!

This was my first sci-fi like this and I really enjoyed it! The story was great, and I liked the characters alot.
5/5 Story
The 4 start rating is only because the chapters are so long. It felt at times like I wasn't making any progress.

STARS TOO FONDLY
GENRE: scifi, romance, lgbt
GUT REACTION: 😑
FINAL RATING: 2.5 rounded up to 3

I wish I had liked this book more -- on paper, it has everything I usually like, but the dialogue took me out of it so frequently that I just wanted to be done with it. This book is marketed as an adult novel, at least on Netgalley, and the characters are all in their late twenties, yet they speak like teenagers so consistently that I kept having to flip back to the (digital) page that stated Cleo's age. There was a point where someone legitimately smacked their forehead in a "eureka" moment when they finally understood something. It just felt very ... hokey? Cartoonish? Which I wasn't expecting going in.

I didn't care for the back-and-forth formatting of the "narration" type paragraphs and the present-day scenes of the book, the development of superpowers felt a bit ... out of place? to me? , and I don't think the side characters really enriched the book at all, but I did like the relationship between Cleo and Bobbie in the ... last quarter of the book. So.

A resounding meh from me this time, lads.

In 2041 a space mission is set to take place. All of earths resources are rapidly depleting, climate change has wreaked havoc everywhere, and the current plan is creating a colony on a distant exoplanet. On launch day for the Providence 1 rocket, just as the engine is set to go off, all 203 passengers on board vanish in a blink of flashing light. In 2061, after the 20th anniversary message goes out, Cleo and her friends decide they need to know what happened to all of them, so they break into the now defunct space center and onto the ship and accidentally jump start the engine and begin hurtling through space. Along the way Cleo has to navigate not only the space time continuum but also her growing feelings for the holographic computer system modeled after the consciousness of the former captain of the ship.


This book is ADORABLE. I read it in one sitting and could not put it down. I feel like we needed to address the issue of *how* the engine turned on a bit more since it wasn’t really explained and the ice powers seemed a bit out of left field imo but I really really enjoyed this. Especially for a debut novel, these characters were extremely well fleshed out and showed a ton of personality and had motives and reasons for the way they were I would have enjoyed an epilogue or even just a closing article interlude thing that sort of sums up everything for the world or breaks the news somehow that the dude was evil or that there’s another dimension power was being siphoned from or how the climate crisis was being addressed, but it’s not strictly necessary. I did also get some strange wall-e and pixel perfect vibes but I think it’s just the fact that it’s a space mission fueled by a climate crisis, and a hologram girlfriend.

This was an ARC I reviewed for honest feedback.

This novel was cute. The characters were all likable, and the plot never seemed stale. If you like inclusive, sci-fi, fantasy, or RomComs, this is an excellent book for you.

By the time I finished this book, I really wanted more. I'd love to know how the lives of all the characters play out after facing the life changing events they encountered. (I can't play, as I don't want to give the story away)

The message was great, too. Earth has only so many resources, and this book did a great job making you care about what we are doing to our planet!

I’m pretty particular about the type of sci-fi novels I read, but when I read the description of this in an email from the publisher…I wanted it on my kindle immediately. I mean, a stolen spaceship? Found family? Science fantasy? A sapphic rom-com? Sign me all the way up.

I was NOT disappointed. I laughed, I swooned, I sobbed. Five stars and beyond! Did I absolutely ache over the future of Hologram Billie and Cleo? Actual tears. The mystery around the Providence crew’s disappearance was intriguing and I couldn’t put this story down. I read this during a very anxious week in my life, and it was exactly the type of book I needed to escape into.

This debut comes out June 11, 2024! Be sure to preorder it or request it from the library because it’s SO good!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 I liked this book aside from 2 things. 1. The chapters were SOOOO long. 2. The dialogue in this felt very juvenile and silly for characters that are adults. I thought they were teenagers at first based on the way that they talk. But good plot and a decent romance!

The Stars Too Fondly is a sweet book about a group of friends who are trying to find reasons for why a spaceship crew disappeared twenty years prior and find themselves taking off into space.

The author includes themes of found family, inclusion and acceptance. Filled with thoughts about capitalism and consideration for others.

I LOVED THE SCIENCE included in this book so much so much. It got me so excited with the 4 friends. I really enjoyed this book. And have already been recommending to friends. It’s so cozy and a hug in a book.

Thank you to NetGalley the author and publisher for this ARC for my honest review

I don’t really read much sci-fi, but this was a pleasant surprise! It’s a gripping & emotional story about a mission to escape a dying Earth to create life on a new planet which goes extremely awry when the entire crew vanishes. Twenty years later, Cleo & friends accidentally get launched into space and find themselves involved in something much bigger than they could have ever imagined.

It did take me a little bit to get into the story and to feel connected to the characters, but after that I was pretty invested. There’s lots of action, banter, strong friendships, and life lessons. I also loved the magical elements and how they were incorporated into solving the mystery. The hologram romance was a little weird but oddly sweet, and the whole story was just really heartfelt and hopeful. Would definitely recommend this to lovers of sci-fi & sapphic romance!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for suggesting this one. I am so happy to provide my honest feedback.

Emily Hamilton’s “The Stars Too Fondly” is a sapphic science fiction romantic comedy that was a little outside my comfort zone - it was a slow burn for me versus insta-love, but once I adapted to the genre I totally immersed myself in this interstellar experience. I appreciated learning that the author has been working on this piece for nearly a decade spanning her first date to wedding day with her now wife.

I found this novel to lean into the YA/teen category and it was a bit hard to believe that these characters were in their late twenties and early thirties, but the end of the book surprised me with some more adult scenarios. I was able to enjoy this novel for what it was and I found myself invested in solving the Providence I mystery and seeing how Cleo and holographic Billie’s relationship would unfold.

This story is captivating and moves at a fast pace - I will say it was challenging to connect with some of the characters as we don’t get too much history or development, but I enjoyed spending time with this crew and seeing how they adapt to the surprises they are dealt.

I would recommend this cute story to fantasy readers who enjoy Star Trek, Star Wars, Interstellar, or any other space media with romance. At times it’s quite cheesy and sentimental, but I’m a sucker for sappy so I was able to lean into it. I think that young adults/teenagers would relate to these characters, but older readers will definitely enjoy as all as long as you’re not expecting them to act their age. I look forward to reading more of Emily Hamilton’s books in the future.

Emily Hamilton has written a snappy, accidental-heist, found - (diverse)-family, save the-universe, alien contact, love story. Lots of ingredients that are all familiar elements in a cozy sf story and just manage to not be overwhelming in The Stars Too Fondly. While I did speed through the book, I found a number of elements didn’t work for me. The choppy narrative in three different styles was surprisingly effective, though the italicized omniscient segments felt heavy handed and forced. The love story came together too easily, though it is sweet. The aliens seemed quite “Star Trek” and the mysterious menace felt a bit like a pastiche. And, as I said at the start, snappy, so while pacing is pleasant, monumental problems are too easily solved and the resolution felt a bit trite. So, amiable fluff but likable at its core.

The Stars Too Fondly is a fun, quick read that will be good to take pool-side when it is released in June. However, I do think it leans more toward the YA category. I would have tempered my expectations if I had known that going in.

The story starts off following a group of 4 grad students who have been friends forever breaking into an abandoned spaceship launch facility. It is pretty clear that the setting is a near-future Earth where the climate is a problem, but apparently not a desperate enough problem that the failure of a space-faring relocation mission that was supposed to be the hope for humanity changed anyone's behavior. You certainly do not get post-apocalyptic vibes from this story. The friends accidentally trigger the launch of the abandoned space ship and are launched on a (conveniently quick) journey to the nearest star system. Luckily, they have the ship's computer hologram to help them, and she happens to be the captain of the failed mission from 20 years ago. They all have to figure out the mystery of why that mission failed and why the ship launched now and how to get back to earth. Oh, and they all have super powers now too - weird. So they should figure that out as well. Whew - that's a lot going on, but there's still time for a romance to bloom between Cleo - the plucky main character of the friend group - and Billie the holographic captain.

I requested the ARC of this book because the premise sounded fun, the title was beautiful, and it was written by a debut author. I love giving new authors a try - you never know what you're in for and you may just stumble across someone who will become an auto-read author for you in the future. Unfortunately, I felt that this story might be mis-marketed as adult sci-fi. It definitely felt more like a YA novel to me. The age of the characters may put this out of the YA market, but the characters could have just as easily been late teens/early twenties and filled all of the same roles. I've certainly read YA novels where the characters filled the same roles as these characters. And I've also read more romantically spicy YA novels. I just want your expectations to be in-line when picking up this story.

The story moves along at a very fast pace. It is hard to connect with any of the characters because of the break-neck pacing and the number of characters. You get to know all of them on a superficial level. For me, that made all of the characters feel immature and fairly one-dimensional. Each character was there to play a very specific role, and they didn't really deviate from that role. When the emotional or romantic scenes played out, they felt flat because I felt like I was being told about the emotions or romance and not really seeing or experiencing it.

The moments that I enjoyed the most and where I thought this story was really successful were in the logs/journal entries and the back-and-forth communicator messages. These scenes made the story feel like sci-fi and we as readers were presented with a limited view on how a character behaves and feels. It helped flesh out the characters' personalities, but I think there could have been even more of these moments.

The tone of the story overall is optimistic. I liked that it focused on found-family and friendship bonds that bend but never break. If you like sci-fi with happy endings, this will be one to try out. With it being so fast paced and light, this would be great to read pool-side in an afternoon.

Did I feel like I wasted my time reading this book? No. While I didn't really connect with the characters and there were a lot of conveniences to the sake of the plot, this was still an easy, consumable (if not memorable) read. I can see this becoming a Netflix movie, but not a block-buster sci-fi spectacle. In that, I think it lives up to the rom-com description. This reminds me of those teen rom-com movies from the early 2000's that I enjoyed so much back then, but with refreshingly more diversity. If you are looking for a light, fun sci-fi read this summer, then maybe give this one a try to support a debut author.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Harper Voyager for providing a digital review copy of The Stars Too Fondly in exchange for my honest review.

The Straw Too Fondly is an epic Sapphic Space Opera Romance; complete with other dimensions, other universes, and abilities beyond our comprehension. The Main Characters are well rounded, complex, and easily lovable, and their love story is one of the most beautiful. I thought there was going to be more bittersweet in this story, but was pleasantly surprised. The author covered every eventuality and left us with a beautiful, sweet, action packed story. I would recommend this book to anyone.