Science Fiction Romance needs the same amount of love as Romantasy!

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton is a story that follows Cleo, a woman who accidentally steals a spaceship (or more accurately as was stated in Doctor Who, the spaceship stole her) with friends. This leads the unwitting crew on the adventure of a lifetime. This sapphic sci-fi romance is what I needed for a fun pick-me-up!

If you like Jessie Mihlalik, Valerie Valdes, or Everina Maxwell, this book is aimed directly at you.

Let it sweep you away.

Whoa what a ride!
Emily Hamilton does a really fantastic job of building a world you feel immersed in, with characters you care about having to face impossible decisions.
I cannot emphasize enough that the One Last Stop comp felt so accurate, it’s part of what drew me to this novel to start and I’m glad it did.
Though The Stars Too Fondly comps One Last Stop and Becky Chambers it feels totally original.
The story is engaging and there is something about falling in love with your idol who is maybe or maybe not frozen in time and space.
Maybe love really does conquer all.

The Stars Too Fondly is a delightful blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and romance, centered on the adventures of Cleo and Billie. The story follows their journey as they uncover the mysteries of the ill-fated Providence 1 mission, which vanished 20 years ago. The characters are vibrant and endearing, particularly Cleo and Billie, whose dynamic and growth drive the plot. While the novel sometimes feels more YA than adult sci-fi, this adds to its charm, making it a fun and engaging read.

Emily Hamilton's debut excels in creating a cozy, queer space adventure filled with humor and heart. The narrative balances personal conflicts with intriguing sci-fi elements, like dark matter and space exploration. The diverse cast and their camaraderie make the story feel like a warm, found-family tale set among the stars. If you're looking for a light-hearted, sapphic sci-fi romp with a mix of romance and adventure, this book is a must-read.

Such a surprising cozy sci-fi book! I don’t know why I expected any different based on the gorgeous cover but it still somehow surprised me. I adored all the characters and their interactions. They all felt solid and real in the way they loved each other but still disagreed. Then we have Billie and Cleo and their relationship which I loved. The way the mystery of the Providence unfolded was so satisfying. My one critique is the initial first chapters felt so fast. All the sudden we were in space and I wish we had an extra chapter or two establishing the characters before that happened. Overall though I would easily recommend this to so many different people.

Growing up in the age of space exploration and colonization, Cleo and her friends are consumed with the mystery surrounding what happened to the Providence's crew that disappeared when the dark matter engine was fired up 20 years prior. What they are not expecting is to find themselves accidentally launching into space on the abandoned ship. Joined on the journey by a hologram of the missing captain (with all of her memories and attitude), their lives and relationships depend on how quickly they can figure out what went wrong to avoid the same fate.

I thought this was an entertaining read! It's a space odyssey that isn't super focused on the scientific details, although with alternate dimensions, and dark matter there is enough to appease most readers. I feel the story's true heart lies in the relationships that are formed and the family bond of this group of friends. Can you have a lasting relationship with a hologram? Is physical touch vital to romance? The characters of Cleo and Billie had fun personalities and definitely put the com in rom-com with their banter. I will say that at times the characters come across as younger than the 20-somethings they are supposed to be. But overall, it was light hearted and fun with likable characters. All of the inclusivity is a great touch. I feel like it's a solid debut for Hamilton, and I would pick up what she writes next. I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley for my opinions.

this was such a cute and fun read! some things were kind of predictable but it didn’t tale away from my enjoyment. i can’t wait for more book by this author!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

I have never watched Star Trek, but after reading this sapphic sci-fi, I’m actually tempted to start it! I’ve only recently delved into sci-fi, but really enjoyed this cozy-ish novel and I’m glad I picked it up.

From a sci-perspective, there aren’t too many confusing, technical aspects to keep track of. Some reviews have criticized the underdevelopment of the sci-fi elements, which I can partially agree with. However, if you go in expecting a lighter sci-fi with more focus on characters, you won’t be disappointed.

This book started off slow for me, but the pace starts to pick up about halfway through. I thought the characters were very well-developed for a debut novel and I really loved the found family aspects, in addition to the romance. I read the ebook version, but I also think this would be a great reread via audiobook!

Overall, I recommend for someone who enjoys a lighter sci-fi with LGBTQ+ rep and a happy ending!

My actual rating for this would probably be closer to a 3.5. This book had an interesting premise. In the year 2041, a dark matter engine was developed, a crew was assembled, and a plan was created to go start a colony on another inhabitable planet in an attempt to save the human race from themselves and the destruction they wrought on earth. Then, on launch day, the engine was started and the whole crew...disappeared. Into thin air. Leaving only the head engineer, quiet and confused, to disappear one year later himself. Now, twenty years later, four phD students who grew up in the shadow of such a wonderful plan falling apart are finally acting on their plan. These four are going to break in to the space ship and solve the mystery of what happened to the crew once and for all. And then the engine starts and launches them into space. This leaves the crew to solve the mystery while hurtling towards a distant planet while still trying to solve the mystery, now with the help of...a hologram duplicate of the former captain??
Here are the positives: the crew was pretty fun. It was a diverse cast, and it was a good size at just 5 (mostly). The romance with a holographic AI was interesting, at least. I've waffled on it. On the one hand, it was unique and the moral dilemma of a relationship between a person and someone who seems incredibly real but can't touch/be touched was cool, along with the fact that ideally at the end, they won't need Hologram Billie anymore. On the other hand, it was weird. It got kind of weird. No spoilers, but yeah. The sci-fi aspect was also a positive. The dark energy and counterminous dimension and energy was interesting and well done and that was good.
The cons: a fair amount of this book felt forced or contrived. For example, the found family aspect felt more like it was ticking a box to attract readers than a natural dynamic. The odds of these four people still being this close after meeting at the same time in elementary school? Low. Also, it adds more interest to have to show growth between their relationships, or to provide even just different backstories as to how the gang got together. Billie, at least, got this. Cleo was a pretty annoying main character, to be fully honest. She was insanely lax about the whole potential fourteen years in space thing, and her initial brushing off of her friends' concerns was immature. The whole crew felt a little more like undergrads than anyone older. On that note, all the conflict was resolved so easily. Every single roadblock they encountered was recovered from without issues, if it wasn't fully deus ex machinad. That, I feel, cheapens the conflict.
But if you're looking for space lesbians and a fun, fluffy little read, this one might be for you.

I really really wanted to like this one, but sadly DNF'd at 30% which for me is pretty rare. The premise was so enticing and the cover is gorgeous. I just couldn't get into the prose. I might try and come back to this later this year, it could have just been my mood at the time. Thank you, Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this tiitle.

DNF. The plot was pretty far fetched, the characters felt really juvenile (like 16 year olds) but were supposed to be in their late 20s. It also had interludes that switched from past to present tense that REALLY bugged me but that’s more minor. I was excited about the setting and the diversity rep, but ultimately the cons outweighed the pros so I DNF at 22%.

🌈Queer rep: Nonbinary main character, trans woman main character. Probably more rep too but this is what I picked up on before DNFing.

I had high hopes for this book, and I wouldn't say my expectations were entirely met, but I didn't DISlike it?

This was a super interesting and fast-paced book that felt like a sci-fi book with romance elements. The balance of romance to scifi felt really great to me, but I did find myself wishing the scifi elements were more science based. For example, a few of the scifi elements made me laugh out loud because they were so unbelievable.

Another minor complaint I had was that I wanted to feel the connection between the friends a little stronger. The book goes out of its way to tell us that this group of friends is basically family, but since we didn't SEE those connections happen on the page, they didn't feel as connected as I wanted them to feel.

Overall though, I had a good time reading this one. It's pretty clearly a debut to me, and I would definitely be interested to see what this author does with another book under her belt.

We all know the pattern of summer bombarding us with silly romances to read poolside. The Stars Too Fondly is another summer romance, but it’s not a silly one. Hamilton gives us a deeper story that makes us think instead of a silly fluff piece that makes us horny. It can still be read poolside, but don’t expect it to stay there. Cleo and Billie’s love is going to follow you around for a while, asking questions and demanding answers to just what love is and who deserves it.

Full review at link https://thecosmiccircus.com/book-review-the-stars-too-fondly-by-emily-hamilton/

I didn't know what to expect going in to this but is was actually a lot of fun. I liked seeing them develop superpowers and figure out what to do with them. Billie and Cleo were cute and I enjoyed the little twist.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Thank you to Harper Voyager for the review copy, my opinions are my own.

Space adventure with an improbable situation, a sapphic love story across dimensions, and a queer crew of geniuses. This story combined all of the things I loved growing up watching sci-fi tv shows, movies, and anime, with characters I connected with, an intriguing plot, a love story that defied reality. Cleo and Billie initially clashed hard, but as the story unfolded Cleo's hero worship of who Billie was wears off as she discovers who Billie actually is.

This story examines the issues when humans delve into things that are beyond their understanding and what happens when the humans find out (FAFO syndrome), and how sometimes it takes the next generation to go find out what happened and take care of the issue.

Highly recommend for those that thought River was the best character in Firefly, who loved Seven of Nine in Star Trek, who thought the whole idea of Sliders would have been so much better with a female lead, and that sci-fi needed to be more queer in general, then give this story a try.

Wow wow wow did I love this. A group of twenty-somethings accidentally steal a defunct spaceship when it takes off while they're exploring it. Fortunately, the captain from the crew that disappeared twenty years ago when the dark matter engine first started uploaded her consciousness to the computer, and her AI persona is there to help them. If she and Cleo can stop bickering for 5 seconds, that is. Queer found family space opera at its finest. I can already tell I'm gonna read this one again and again.

What a fun little book that had a dash of everything: sci-fi, sapphic romance, humor, cozy goodness.

"The Stars Too Fondly" is a fun, fast-paced space opera with themes of found family and coming into your own as you enter adulthood. "Accidentally stuck on a spaceship" is one of my favorite sci-fi micro tropes, and this certainly delivered on that.

I loved all of the characters in "The Stars Too Fondly." I thought the dynamics between the characters were extremely well written as well as the different ways they all processed the situation they found themselves in. I understand that this was primarily Cleo and Billie's story, but I wouldn't have minded seeing some of the other characters have more fleshed out arcs of their own.

I also really liked how the book tackled both the general struggles of transitioning to adulthood, and the struggles and bleakness of living on a dying planet. I thought that generally all of the themes in this book were well done. They were poignant without hitting you over the head with explicit political statements (not that I mind an explicit political statements).

This book is being marketed as a space rom-com, and while the writing style definitely allowed for plenty of moments of brevity, and was reminiscent of the style of a rom-com, I wouldn't call the book itself a rom-com. The romance shares pretty equal page time with the plot itself. There were times I actually wished it took more of a backseat to the plot.

3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 336 / Genre: Sci-Fi

A group of twenty-somethings accidentally steal an ancient spaceship and get hurled into space headed for Promxima Centauri. The only thing in their favor is the original captain of the ship made a hologram of herself to help guide them on their journey and help them figure out how to get back home.

I love sci-fi adventures, especially when the crew consists of quirky and interesting characters. Unfortunately, this one fell short for me. The main characters are supposed to be in their twenties but they were so immature and annoying to me, it all felt more like something from the young adult section, which is one of my least favorite genres for exactly that reason. It only got slightly adult at the very end when the sapphic romance finally kicked in, which by that point felt almost inappropriate after the whole YA vibe I had to endure for most of the book. Just a meh for me.

Thank you, @NetGalley and @harpervoyagerus for my gifted copy.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my voluntary and honest review!

This is an incredibly heartwarming and cozy queer space rom-com. The main characters were diverse and likable, while the sci-if elements remained super approachable. The story read a bit more YA than I anticipated but it was still a really fun read.

This is the cozy space adventure I never knew I needed! It blows my mind that this is a debut novel! This book follows Cleo and her friends as they try to figure out what happened to the Providence crew all those years ago!

I highly recommend reading this book, it was such a delightful book! This book is out now!

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpervoyagerus for the ARC!