This started out fun with a great cast of characters with beautiful found family dynamics, who are witty and funny. But very quickly the stakes became high and the science of being in space became hand-wavey and downright fantastical, and the romance was so forced. The writing and pacing was gripping enough to keep reading but it really hit me how much this wasn't working for me when the villain literally says "oh so we're all talking like cartoon characters and not scientists, got it". This would've worked much better as a space fantasy film, but in print this was quippy and cozy in a way this premise has no right to be.

3.5 stars.

I'm pretty sure I was invited to read this and when I got the email, I felt based on the cover alone it would be up my alley.

It was. And it wasn't. I thought a space odyssey would be a little more sci-fi, maybe I was thinking too much about Andy Weir. This has a more fantastical side to it which, hey I love too. I just was expecting more science less magic. No biggie.

It had a lot of moments where I blew through, excited to continue and some parts where I was hoping to get back to something else. I'm also a huge mood reader so this is likely a more me problem.

The premise and everything about it is interesting and I quite enjoyed falling in love with the captain as well. I'll gladly read more from the author

I picked up The Stars too Fondly without knowing much of anything in terms of the book’s plot, and I’m so glad I decided to read it. The vibes of this book are seriously so great. It had some of my favorite bookish elements – found family, great banter, forced proximity, and women in STEM. It is also a delightful mashup between romcom and SciFi/fantasy mix. This was such a cozy read while also forcing you to think. At what point is progress going too far or how do you choose between your world’s survival if it harms another. I loved watching the relationship development between Billie and Cleo. They had a superb push/pull type relationship which forced Cleo to grow and become a better version of herself. I thought Hamilton did well to produce an interesting plot line that kept you guessing on how it would all turn out in the end. I also really loved the dual timelines as I felt the flashbacks were crucial to understanding the current plot. It also helped me become more invested in certain characters. Really, though, the main selling feature for this book is the emotion if will invoke. The one thing I was missing with this book is that I felt it stayed too surface level at times, and I wish there was more development. I highly recommend adding it to your TBR pile.

A grown up version of the 1986 movie Space Camp but with dark matter, pissed off aliens, and a hologram. I really enjoyed this one, for both the adventure and sapphic romance parts, as well as the dimensional physics. Cleo and Billie should have talked to Horatio and Hayden from. THE DEATH I GAVE HIM for some AI/human pointers.
The info dump at the beginning slowed me down a little but once I was past that, I essentially read the book in. 2 sittings interrupted by my sister’s wedding.. Looking forward to more from Hamilton.

💫 The Stars Too Fondly ARC Review 💫

Thank you so much to Emily Hamilton, Harper Voyager and Harper Collins Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book

The Stars Too Fondly is a sci-fi sapphic romcom. Twenty years ago, the crew of the Providence disappeared mysteriously. Now, Cleo and her friends are curious why and they snuck aboard. What they didn’t plan for is the ship being operational and taking off with them all on board

This was an interesting read. This book had an intriguing mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements. Cleo and her friends were fun characters and I liked their strength in this book. As always this will be spoiler free, I did struggle a little bit with a few turns the plot took but it was a good read

Overall this was a three star read for me. Interesting characters and sci-fi fantasy story. This book did have some darker elements, so please check triggers if you’re sensitive. This book did have a romantic subplot and some on page spice later in the book, so two flames for spice

If you’re a fan of sci-fi fantasy with fun characters, interesting storylines and impossible love stories, then definitely pick this one up.

Please Note: review will be posted on Amazon upon publication

The Stars Too Fondly is a sci-fi odyssey with a diverse (and very queer) group of college students who accidentally launch themselves into space. While they figure out how to get home, Cleo, the main character, falls in love with Billie, the ship’s hologram captain.
I wanted so badly to like this book. Unapologetically queer sci-fi with an ensemble cast, a little epistolary-style writing, and space shenanigans? I was so ready to have a new favorite book… and unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Personally, I found the first 25% to be the best part of the story. I was so invested in the characters and the mystery of the space magic (yes, there’s space magic — you should at least read it for the space magic).
However, once I got past the initial excitement of the beginning, I found the story to be boring. There were times throughout the book where it would get exciting, but as soon as I got invested, it would switch to something else.
It felt like it was trying to cover too many genres in one book, and I didn’t feel a strong connection to any particular element. I also found that the characters read as very average YA, despite being college-age geniuses.
Now, I definitely recommend this book at least for the diversity. The main cast is 100% queer, at least 50% POC, and 200% badass😎 Definitely pick it up if queer sci-fi books are your jam.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

CW - isolation; death; kidnapping; panic attacks; medical content; sexual content (closed-door)

Do we have a term for science fiction "romantasy" yet? Because that's what this felt like. A little hand-waving with the science in favor of the romantic relationship, which was fine. A fun, queer read, but ultimately kind of forgettable. Will definitely recommend to people who like romantasy, but not necessarily my personal cup of tea.

3.5 stars rounding up for the recommendation potential

Cleo McQueary is lost in life and absolutely obsessed with what happened to the crew of Providence I. Twenty years ago all 203 of them had simply disappeared and no one at NASA seemed to care enough to figure it out. Cleo and her friends, though, hatch a drunken plan to break into the space ship to puzzle it all out for themselves. The plot spirals out of control from there in ways the official synopsis doesn’t touch on so I feel obligated to leave out as well.

The Stars Too Fondly is marketed as a queer space odyssey rom-com and while I can see where they’re coming from, it (along with the mention of a heist) wasn’t anything like what I was expecting. I’d compare it to Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers more than just about anything else and it has too much heart to be distilled down into just ‘rom-com.’ I can see it being an absolute hit with the right audience. That audience just really wasn’t me.

First of all, this is very much science FANTASY more than the hard sci-fi I’d expected. I’m a chronic overthinker so every modern day pop culture reference and impossible piece of science magic sent me spiraling. And there was a metric ton of that. So, if you’re the kind of person who will wonder why TikTok and Thomas the Tank Engine are still relevant in 2061 or if a ‘food extruder’ would be super convenient or a hellish prospect for someone with celiac, then this might be a skip for you. I think I’d have had an easier time with all of it if Providence I hadn’t been launching a mere 17 hypothetical years from now when it seems people from 2061 had made little to no new scientific advances (despite so many kids purportedly having gotten obsessed with Providence and then going into STEM fields). And also if there was a single pop culture reference that wasn’t from 2019 or later. I care far too much about the logic of it all and this is a book that requires the reader to largely just go with the flow. It is intentionally silly and often requires a hefty suspension of disbelief.

Because I am nothing if not nitpicky, a couple smaller things that made it difficult for me, personally, to stay within the narrative: Sometimes conversations lacked dialogue tags and it tripped me up every time. This is about a group of 20-somethings, but it absolutely leans very YA (by which I mean I haven’t read someone sticking out their tongue so often since fanfiction in 2010 but also the cadence of the writing/narration is very bright and young and often immature). I just cannot pinpoint why the formatting chosen for this novel didn’t work for me. It flips from a close third following Cleo, to old Providence I reports and private messages, to a [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS] perspective rapidly within each chapter. Usually I love having multiple weird perspectives, but I think there was a lack of separation, especially at the beginning, that got under my skin as a reader.

Probably the biggest issue I had over all was honestly a marketing problem where huge parts of what the plot of this book is about were fully left out of any synopsis I read before or after. I was honestly so excited to read this book (between sapphic space heist, the title, and the cover I was so sold) and I’d have never requested it if I’d known that it contained a plot point (plot gimmick, trope, ??) that I almost always dislike. For the record, it’s a totally fine plot point/trope and doesn’t require a content warning of any kind, I’m only not being explicitly clear about what I’m talking about here because they chose to leave it out of their marketing and I’m writing this review before the book is actually out. I’m trying so hard to avoid spoilers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not holding marketing decisions against Hamilton, it’s just super frustrating in general.

I feel like I’m being so negative when I don’t necessarily mean to be. This debut was not all bad. Not in the slightest. I can recognize that it wasn’t meant for me. It didn’t focus on what I wanted it to and I went in with all the wrong expectations. It’s just that as someone who often reads reviews before I pick a book up, I want to get all the reasons I wasn’t 5-star in love with this out of the way first.

So now for some of the things done right: There’s what I can see being a solid romance here and beautiful found family dynamics. I enjoyed the diversity and the different places each character was coming from and how easy it was to distinguish where their priorities differed. There’s action sequences that fully drew me in. I love the inclusion of multimedia bits, especially the ones that give new information from an unexpected direction (I mean, the one that’s very clearly the abstract for a scientific article? So good!). There are ideas and themes here that I absolutely adore, like how far people will go for those they love and how easily power can corrupt an ideal and just the messy business of still having growing to do into your twenties and thirties and probably forever. I can absolutely see this book being loved. Truly and fully.

I’m just so utterly bitter that it couldn’t work for me.

[I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this eARC.]

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy of this in exchange for an honest review. TLDR: Science fiction that reads like YA. It's cute, it's funny at points, and it's decently lighthearted, but it also lacks substance in a very real way. Easy read, but not particularly memorable.

I blew through this book over a long weekend, and finished it on a particularly slow day while the AC wasn't working and I had to wait for an appointment. I picked it up because that cover is lovely, it gave me similar vibes as Becky Chambers (no one could ever measure up - ugh!), and the premise sounded interesting. Plus, I'm listening to another science fiction and I also am reading a very literary science-fiction-ish book right now, so I thought, why not just fully commit to the sci-fi bit going into the summer? (please also keep in mind that this might impact my review because of comparative bias).

I liked a good deal about this. The characters were fun, and the premise was cute. Accidentally stealing a spaceship was a fun idea, and the coming-of-age parts of the story were a blast! Here's the issue though - it shouldn't be a coming-of-age story. The characters are all adults. Like, very adult-y adults with Ph.Ds and what not. So the weird 'who am I and what am I' vibes, and the 'slow-burn' romance that was actually just kind of awkward and emotionally immature romance wasn't really working. Had you told me these characters were 19? Hell yes I am on board and I'm buying it. But you're telling me they are in their late 20s to early 30s and still can't seem to communicate, with each other or themselves? Nah. They're too emotionally available in some regards for me to buy that. And that annoyed me.
Also, some of the science was neat, but other parts were just.... crazytown. Like, I love a good science fiction book with HARD science. Project Hail Mary comes to mind when I think about this particular genre - LOVED that book. I also love me some science fantasy. Don't care what the science is or if this is plausible. I just want a good plot. But you can't (shouldn't) have it both ways. This did some science-y stuff, but then it did some weird magic dues-ex-machina stuff that really annoyed me. Either be science-y or be magic-y but don't try to do both. If you're going to focus in on one part of the science, commit to it fully, or don't focus on it at all.

Nicole, you might be thinking, you ripped this apart.
Yea, that's not fair of me. All things considered, this was actually really cute. It has 'fun summer-y science fiction' vibes and it really was an enjoyable read. The dialogue was cheesy at points and the writing was very debut-novel and very YA, but the story was super interesting, and the pacing was on point. I liked some of the twists and the way the whole thing was set up, with the story, and a weird unnamed narrator peaking in at points, and the declassified briefs woven in. So there's that. This novel isn't bad. It is just perhaps misbilled and, like the characters within it, could use some more clarity on what, exactly, it is and what, exactly, it's trying to do.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Avon and Harper Voyager for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Stars Too Fondly is a Sci-Fi set in the near future of 2061. Following the tragic loss of the Providence I crew in 2041, the world became STEM obsessed and fearful of ever attempting to navigate the stars again. But when Cleo and her friends decide to break in to view the spaceship in person, things take an unexpected turn. Part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com, this story combines fierce friendships, improbable love, and wonder into a sweeping adventure. The Stars Too Fondly comes out on June 11th and is available for pre-order now.

There was so much to enjoy in this one which makes me so, so glad both that Lala from BooksandLala talked about it in a video AND that the publishers let me read it early. I’ve been missing Sci-Fi so much lately and the absolute joy and wonder that the friend group experienced was exactly what I needed. The characters were so fun and fresh while still having their flaws. Each had their own distinct personality and their own relationships with each other (not just a friend group where everything’s about the main character). I enjoyed seeing this take on intergalactic travel and how boring it can get. How completely wonderful and amazing and yet also emotionally draining being stuck in a tin can flying at near-light speed can be. I found the world they’re traveling to to be so extraordinary and I wish we had more time to explore what kind of hardships they could have faced there. I know that’s not the point of the novel but it would have been so much fun.

I wish there had been more of an explanation for the Other Place because, without it, the ending felt a little too deus ex machina for me. I also felt like it wasn’t enough of a hard Sci-Fi for me. This one is totally a me problem and not a book problem. Since reading The Expanse, I’ve been really longing for a hard Sci-Fi with good character work and it’s been difficult to find something similar to that. But this story had so much else going for it and there were so many other places it went that most people won’t care about it being a…softer(?) Sci-Fi.

Overall, this was such a fun (and sometimes tense) read for me. If I had more available free time during the week I probably would have finished this one in a couple of sittings.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. The Stars Too Fondly was a fun, bubbly space-opera. It did read more as late YA/early NA over Adult, which I don't mind at all. I thought it was fun and adventurous, and I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, and the adventure. I'll be keeping my eye out for more of Ms. Hamilton's works! A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

A sweet, cute, and entertaining sci-fi romance, The Stars Too Fondly is great if you want a light, sapphic love story set in space.

This book is like a ray of sunshine. It’s sweet, has a slow-burn forbidden romance that starts off almost like enemies to lovers, and it’s also sapphic. I found it quite cozy with its found family friendships. It has a very queer and diverse cast of characters, which I found lovely.

This book was quite delightful, though it has its issues. It took me a while to get used to the dialogue, as it’s very colloquial and quite twee, which made the characters feel far, far younger than they were. This was a bit disappointing because I was excited that the characters were in their late 20s and early 30s, not young adults, but they acted even younger at times, like teenagers. Then, strangely, the characters had interests that felt a bit anachronistic for the 2060s, like 90s movies - for comparison, do we in 2024 watch movies from the 50s regularly? I mean, aside from a few well-known quotes that have pervaded through time (like from Gone with the Wind), most people I know don't watch movies that old.

In the same breath, though, the dialogue did suit the tone of the book and helped you understand the friendship dynamic right away. It just took me about 20% to adapt to it.

I also enjoyed the love story - I’m always one for a forbidden romance - though it took a bit to get going as the tension wasn’t really there at the start. Eventually, it began to grow - this delay could also be because one was a hologram - but by around the one-third mark, I did begin to ship them and hoped for a happy resolution. I much prefer this slow and subtle build to the typical Romance subplots that throw sex and yearning at you the first ten pages in.

I also thought the concept was actually quite relevant today with the rise in AI programs designed for people to have romances with. This wasn't the same thing but had a similar vibe.

The writing itself was a little clunky. I did not mind the POV swapping at all—it was integral to understanding the hologram’s point of view—but there were just some rudimentary writing errors that might be resolved in the final printing (so I didn't count that towards my rating).

I will also say that this is barely a sci-fi. The science in this book is heavily cocooned in fantastical elements so that the end felt less like resolving a quantum predicament than the characters battling a wizard. Had this been a straight-up sci-fi, I would have railed against this, but because it’s a Romance first and sci-fi second, it didn’t really bother me - I just went with it. I thought a lot of the plot points or devices were silly, but they also fit the tone of the novel. The plot made sense, even if the mechanics around the science felt a bit fantastical.

This might seem like a lot of critique, but truthfully, I enjoyed the novel and thought it was a lot of fun!

Oh man, I loved this book. It was soft and loving and bright and adventurous and surprised me in a wonderful way at several key moments. I will be looking forward to everything Hamilton writes. A brilliant debut.

This book felt very YA. overall that isn’t a bad thing. However when it’s not what I’m expecting, it reduces my enjoyment.

A fun little space opera romp. Fell in love with the captain myself. Quite fun and engaging.
Highly recommend!

This book has big Star Trek vibes. I mean that in the best way. It's science fiction in the way Star Trek is. A little science and a lot of science magic. It also has four friends who accidentally steal a spaceship, a hologram with emotions, dark matter, and mysterious forces. There's a group of really smart people trying to solve a really hard problem in the face of very difficult obstacles.

It's written with a lot of humor and accessibility. I'd DNF'd a couple books right before this, and it was such a relief to slide into something FUN. And funny. And, whoops, who accidentally steals a spaceship?

Why doesn't this get five stars? The very ending, while kind of expected, felt a little too easy to me. And I felt weird about the complications in the human-hologram relationship, particularly some proposals near the end of the book. If that's confusing and vague, well I'm trying not to be too spoiler-y.

But I am here for a space romp full of friendship and love. I look forward to Emily's next book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2SLGBTQIA+ Science Fiction Romance set in 2061 that follows a computer engineer and her friends who accidentally launch a spaceship and with the missing captain's hologram's help must uncover old mysteries.

5/5 stars: Hamilton's 2SLGBTQIA+ Sci-Fi Romance that's set in near future 2061 which features a computer engineer and her three friends who are determined to uncover what happened twenty years ago when the entire crew of a landmark mission disappeared and the entire programs shut down. But after they accidentally launch the spaceship and are in route into deep space they must uncover old mysteries, figure out a way home and navigate strange new powers all while dealing with the snarky hologram of the original mission's missing captain. Hamilton's writing and character work is stellar; the characters are well-rounded, complex and yet remain incredibly likable. Cleo's smart and tough and I very much want to be her friend. Billie's great, tough too but fragile and fallible. Cleo's friends and accidental shipmates, Kaleisha, Abe and Ros' are incredible. Oh and the slow burn (90%) OPS scene's deliciously steamy and the romance is delightfully swoony. Hamilton touches on some serious subjects; so take care and check the CWs. You won't want to miss this terrific read, highly recommend!

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

The Stars Too Fondly follows a group of four friends who accidentally launch themselves into space and have to solve a 20 year old mystery and maybe one accidentally falls in love with a hologram along the way.

This book had all the cozy vibes even though the stakes were actually quite huge. I loved the found family aspect of this one. A lot of times it's hard for me to feel invested in already established friend groups, but not with this one. It really felt like Cleo, Kal, Abe, and Ros had truly been friends for their entire lives. There was a lot more to this story than I expected. Emily Hamilton described everything in this story clearly and it was pretty easy to follow all the complex things that were happening throughout the plot.

My only issue was the romance. I really wanted to love it and at the end I could see why Cleo and Billie were perfect for each other. However, I needed more build-up and more interactions between them at the beginning that would have made me root for them more. It made it feel almost like insta-love when they finally announced their feelings for each other because of the lack of emotional build-up. If this part of the story was a little more fleshed out, this might have been a 5-star read for me.

Overall, I can't wait to see what else Emily Hamilton comes out with because I would absolutely check it out.

Wow, this book was such a fun surprise. It was a bit like an episode of Dr. Who. There are big universe ending stakes and yet it's still funny and light-hearted.

Everything about this book just worked for me - the friendships, the romance, the story. Seriously, all of it. I love stories where friendships are front and center. This story heavily leans on the strength of the friendships to get them through and it's very heartwarming. And the romance is a bit of a slow burn and very tender and it took me by surprise how invested I became.

I can't wait for publication day, so I can go back for a re-read with the audiobook! I think this is going to become a comfort read for me.

Cleo and her friends want to solve the mysterious disappearance of the Providence crew, so they break into the abandoned spaceship. When the dark-matter engine starts on its own, they have to find a way to survive and return to Earth. But as Cleo interacts with the hologram of Billie, the missing ship captain, their combative banter turns into something deeper…

The mystery was interesting and unraveled at a fair pace. Cleo and Billie’s banter was fun but felt young, and their developing relationship was slow and vulnerable. Found family was central to the story.

This book felt more like a cozy rom-com in tone and content than sci-fi romance. The science was confusing at times and after some unique abilities developed in the characters, it felt more like science fantasy.

It was difficult to get into a rhythm because the unfolding action alternated with electronic messages, backstory passages in a variety of formats, and a separate POV not identified until partway through.

Overall, this was a light, quirky story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC.