This is being pitched as a “science fantasy sapphic romantic comedy.” My only complaint with that description is, in my experience, rom-coms usually don’t have nearly this much depth, and very rarely this much heart.

The story here starts 20 years before the book itself does. The privately-owned starship *Providence I* is off to Proxima Centauri B to found the first extrasolar colony, powered by its (details kept secret by the corporate owners) dark matter engine. Except when the engine is activated, the entire crew of the ship just … vanishes. Twenty years later, Cleo and her friends (having grown up first obsessed with humanity’s grand project colonize the stars, and then crushed with disappointment after the program was abandoned following the disaster) decide to break into the derelict *Providence I* to see what they can learn about what happened to the crew.

They had no intention of triggering the launch sequence and stealing the ship, but shit happens.

Next they discover that the captain of the ship (Wilhelmina Lucas, Billie to her friends) uploaded a copy of herself into the ship’s computer, and her hologram is there to boss them around and snark at them.

The story progresses as Cleo and her friends figure out how they’re going to survive and, hopefully, get home; what happened to the crew twenty years before; and how Cleo is going to manage her growing desire for a relationship that is obviously impossible.

As I said at the top, this is a book with heart. The science-fiction aspects were well done, and I was thoroughly invested in both what was going to happen and learning what happened twenty years before. But what really kept me going was the growing relationship between Cleo and Billie. The challenges of a relationship between a human and a hologram have been explored before, but seldom so seriously (though Rimmer and Lister kissing remains one of the funniest moments in television history). I wasn’t sure, for most of this book, whether it was going to make my cynical heart grow at least three sizes, or if it was going to rip it into a thousand pieces.

Since I don’t want to say anything more, I need someone else to read this so we can talk.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.25/5

This was a fun and fairly ambitious read.

I will get my issues out of the way first, as they may be more of me problems and not something that will bother most people.

First and foremost, the science in this book is really bad, which is to be expected of science fantasy, but I am not talking about the fantasy parts. I like science fiction and can usually get behind the ridiculous science in the name of immersion, but the trick to that requires keeping explanations vague and in the made-up territory. However, the "scientist" protagonists of this book often try to explain things and make references to real-life scientific principles and methods that are wrong on so many levels. The book gets rudimentary physics wrong, (and biology and chemistry and what the divisions of engineering involve) which pulls the biochemist part of me out of the story every time. The fact that the book is supposed to be near future doesn't help with this.

The second issue was that the tone of the book was a little too twee for me. I recognise that might work really well for some people, but for me, it was a bit much.

These two issues aside, this book was mostly in line with what I wanted to read right now, which was light science fiction. Light science fiction(well, fantasy) describes this book perfectly. It's an easy-to-read space adventure with likeable characters, found family vibes, and quite a unique romance. The romance brings up some very interesting questions(the answers aren't necessarily the most satisfying, but interesting nonetheless) and is definitely one that would get you invested.

As I have mentioned before, the tone can be a bit too twee, but the plot was still pretty ambitious and fun. It had some fun twists and narrational choices made for a cool literary device.

Overall, The Stars Too Fondly is a fun, ambitious multidimensional adventure as well as a love story. If easy to read sci-fi adventure/romance with generous helpings of millennial humour sounds like your jam, then I recommend picking this up(as long as you can deal with inaccurate scientific references).

For the most part, I really enjoyed this! And there's a lot to like: the writing is very vivid; the more sci-fi parts of the book were relatively easy to follow and didn't feel bogged down with extraneous details; the characters were (mostly) very real and likable; the romance was sweet; the representation was great, too. I think the thing that worked against it, however, was that it sort of... lost its steam at the end. While some of that was the point, I still feel like there could have been just a tinier bit more time spent fleshing out the ending more. I also feel like Abe and Ros could've gotten a bit more fleshing out as characters. They were almost there, but not quite for me.

Overall though, if you like sci-fi stories and queer love stories, I'd say check this one out.

The best way I can think to describe The Stars Too Fondly is that it's like the writers of The Good Place had written Project Hail Mary. This is campy sci-fi for the sci-fi nerds, filled with (what I can only assume are deep-cut) Star Trek episode references, fourth wall breaks that feel self-deprecating and pull the reader in on the joke, and world-building you shouldn't ask a whole lot of questions about. In short, it's exactly as described - a joyful sapphic sci-fi rom-com. Some of the plot twists are fairly predictable - but a few genuinely surprised me - and ultimately, I had a blast spending time with these characters and read this story in one evening.

Also want to note that this fills a GAPING HOLE in the sub-genre of sci-fi and/or fantasy romance: it is an actual stand-alone with a single story arc, clear resolution, and a happily-ever-after. I honestly added a half star just for that alone, because an actually-efficient, sub-350-page tight storyline in sci-fi with a central romance?! Unheard of. Spectacular. Give me more.

If you enjoy overtly silly sci-fi and a romance where one of the main characters is an actual hologram, you're going to love this. I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy!

The Stars Too Fondly is a beautiful sci-fi space rom-com adventure about four friends whose exploration gone wrong sends them into space desperately trying to find a way home while unraveling a decades old mystery.

This book is stunning. The characters are hilarious, clever, and loving. The four of them have each others backs through everything and I appreciated so much that when problems arose, it wasn’t because of miscommunication or true deception. They worked together to move forward as a team, a family.

There’s enough logic behind the science of the world to make things believable and I loved that things stayed grounded as much as they could be without getting too overly technical and wordy.

Now Cleo and Billie, I loved the two of them so much. They were hilarious and devastating and absolutely perfect together. I only wanted them to be happy for the rest of their lives. There were a few times where I got teary eyed because these two just both deserved nothing but love! I loved how the tension built between them it was just *chef’s kiss*.

The ending to this book is perfect. I absolutely loved the resolution for the friends and the last scene with Cleo is perfect, such amazing growth and potential for an amazing future.

Overall, I loved, loved this book. The characters, the story, I absolutely flew through this book and can honestly say, bravo Emily! You’ve written one of the best sci-fi novels I’ve read in 2023.

Engaging, immersive and original. This is a first recommended purchase for collections where sci fi is popular.

What happens when you touch the wrong thing and the space ship takes off. What follows is a danger and tension filled journey. There was self discovery and multiple surprises. A hard to put down story.