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!

I wanted to love this so much more than I actually did. When I received the ARC and was promised a queer sci-fi I thought this would be a 5-star read for sure. While it delivered the queer love interests and a diverse cast to boot, there was almost no science fiction or romance here. It is set in space but that’s where the science ends. The romance felt extremely YA, which is fine, just not what I was expecting. There just wasn’t a ton of chemistry despite the very cool sounding romantic premise. Overall this book was fine and I’m not sad I read it, but I don’t know that I would re-read.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Spice: 1 - open door, vague/euphemistic language

This was just a fine, cute book. For me, it wasn’t particularly memorable but it was definitely fun!

This was my first sapphic romance read and I loved it! Loved the relationship between the MCs - Cleo and Billie, it started off as a love story between a human and a hologram. It has a lovely cast of likeable and diverse characters. The only thing I didn’t like was that all the characters were adults, but it felt more like a YA novel. But it didn’t bother me as much because I love YA books.

The dark matter and powers aspect of the story gave me the feels of a CW show, kinda giving me ‘The Flash’ vibes. Also going to Proxima Centauri B to live over there as Earth was dying gave me major ‘Lost in Space’ feels. I always love stories where they try to find other planets to live on, so this was right up my alley. But nothing beats home, nothing beats Earth, which the MC Cleo also realizes by the end.

Everything works out and will be fine as long as you are with the ones whom you love and here, Cleo had her closest friends with her while they were all propelled into space accidentally. Also liked the suspense/mystery plotline of showing what happened twenty years ago when the entire crew disappeared.

So, if you’re looking for a science fantasy rom-com, do check this out! Its got a dash of everything with even some adventure and mystery.

A Solid 3 stars.

Admittedly it took me awhile to get through, like months, but mostly because I was struggling to read with my eyes lately.

The good news was the book was funny and snarky and it was really easy to pick up after putting it down for days at a time.

I loved the concept, a sapphic ROM com set in space with interdimensional travel and cool magical abilities? Cool!

The romance was..meh I did not feel like it had much substance, and (spoiler) I wish the hologram was somehow controlled by Billie somehow because I personally felt a little weirded out by it all.

The novel was very YA coded until the second to last chapter when it was decidedly adult.

This was an alright read for me.
Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy.

Emily Hamilton’s The Stars Too Fondly is a fun sapphic scifi debut with some flaws. It started strong. I enjoyed the story and the characters. However, I found myself putting it down when we got to the unknown narrator interstitials. The bits of communication between the crew members who disappeared didn’t bother me, but the unknown, omniscient narrator who popped in annoyed me and broke my reading flow. That’s very much a me issue, and my frustration is as much with myself as with the book. At a certain point, the unknown narrator becomes known, but I still struggled with focusing on the story because the font changed. It’s too late to say long story short, but basically the way the storytelling was structured and formatted worked against my ability to stay in the story. Not everyone has my unruly brain, so give this a try.

Emily Hamilton isn’t afraid to go big or to go weird in The Stars too Fondly. That was my favorite thing about the book. It’s an accidental interstellar roadtrip and an across the multiverse love story. The found family is strong, but not conflict free, and the story is pretty cozy, but not without tension. There were moments when I had to remind myself that the characters are not teenagers, and then moments that handled complex emotional situations with maturity. For reasons that will become clear, the romance is slow burn, but it isn’t entirely closed door. I think this would make a great full cast audiobook, and I think the storytelling issues that bothered me so much would be less noticeable. I’m interested to see where Emily Hamilton goes.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Harper Voyager and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

Wow. This was amazing.

This is a blend of space adventure and sapphic rom-com that hits all the right notes. This is a heartfelt story that will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the power of love and friendship across the galaxy. If your brain needs to feel like you've gotten an accepting hug, this book is for you.

Cleo and her friends accidentally commandeer a spaceship that was previously involved with the disappearance of 200+ colonists looking for a new world. The mystery of the vanished crew, the shock of the unexpected seven-year journey, and the moody hologram of the former captain set the stage for a thrilling story.

The character dynamics in this book are its strongest suit. Cleo’s evolving relationship with Billie is beautifully portrayed. The found family aspect is executed flawlessly, celebrating platonic and romantic love in its many forms. Conflicts among the crew are resolved in mature and satisfying ways, making their bond all the more compelling. I love these smart dummies so much.

Diversity and inclusivity are woven into the story. The characters’ diverse backgrounds and identities are represented with care and authenticity. It’s a joy to see such a wide range of experiences and perspectives celebrated and accepted.

Hamilton’s writing is beautiful and the themes of acceptance and love brought a tear to my eyes so many times. This is a rare feat, making this book even more special to me. There are darker themes here, but the positive and hopeful tone is uplifting. My brain really needed the sugar-sweet goofy romance.

However, there is a minor flaw in the audiobook narration. The voices for Ros and Abe are too similar for me and I have to wait to hear who is actually speaking. While this initially distracts, it becomes less noticeable as the story progresses. Despite this, Ortiz’s narration overall is wonderful.

This is a gorgeous and moving debut that excels in its portrayal of found family and diverse, inclusive love. Hamilton has crafted a story that is both entertaining and emotionally satisfying. I felt so content and happy after the last sentence. Cozy sci-fi fans looking for excellent characters will adore this.

There is just something about queer, sci-fi novels that JUST HIT DIFFERENT

This book started with maybe the most terrifying concept I could possibly imagine... accidentally turning on a spaceship and being hurled into space for 7 years and there's NOTHING you can do to stop it or turn around... Genuinely, it gave me anxiety.

Once we got past that initial anxiety attack, this book was full of such interesting issues and concepts. The idea of homesickness, friendships being tested in such an environment, etc.

I enjoyed each of our characters. I thought the plot was so interesting. The conversations of love, of loss, of identity, of purpose, it was all great.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is into queer love stories and/or who is into sci-fi novels. It. Just. Hits.

This was a fun and entertaining science fiction/fantasy story involving the accidental heist and launch of a space ship between a group of friends trying to figure out what happened to the original crew who vanished 20 years ago. We get a lot of quirkiness, cute and cozy moments, and fall in love with a found family. The character building was perfect and the storyline was entertaining and easy to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Contains SPOILERS:

I’ve been in a reading slump and this book got me out of it. I had a smaller hiccup at the beginning (where there were TikToks in 2061, which feels a bit optimistic, considering nothing 40+ years old stays relevant with youths), but the story itself made up for that bit.

I love the blend of scientific and basically magical explanations of dark matter that became the solution for faster than light travel, first of all. It was fun and a bit creepy.

The characters were all very individual and I loved them all. I would have liked more of Chloe and Kaleisha’s friendship, but the amount of individual dynamics was a lot to juggle, and primary relationship was that of Chloe and Billie, and I would have read a whole other book of the original Billie falling in love with a Chloe that already knows and loves her, if things had played out differently.

Overall: 4.5 stars, rounded up for the rating system.

SAPPHIC SCIFI WITH A HOLOGRAM SIGN ME THE HECK UP! HAPPY PRIDE YALL! I am so happy this book exists and cannot wait for the world to fall in love with this book like i did

This book absolutely took me by surprise by how quickly I was locked in and completely captivated. It is easily going onto my favorite reads of the year list because of its perfect balance of action, romance, and the supernatural.

There was never a dull moment and Vico Ortiz made every character feel so recognizably different and so true to their personalities. I cannot recommend this book more and I implore you to give it a shot!

A MUST read if you’re into:
🪐 found family
👽 yearning and pining
🪐 space travel
👽 celebrity crushes