I always have nightmares about my indoor cats accidentally escaping the house, trying and failing to grab their little bodies as they flee from a scary noise or an intruder, eventually losing them to woods or city. If you’re like me: don’t read this book. The amount of danger the cat gets shoved into, the number of times he almost successfully runs away on dead planets because of the violence his humans throw him in the middle of… phew. My palms sweat every time the main character, Scout, put that cat in danger, which was roughly once a chapter. Leave. The cat. On the damn ship.

I need you to know that I went into this book with positive vibes, but somewhere around the 25% mark my annoyance reached the point where everything, every single little thing, irritated me. I hate to be this person today. I’m sorry. But here we go:

Nothing in this book stands up to more than two seconds of scrutiny. Not the tech, or the lore, or the characters’ motivations (Scout, by the way, is, incredibly selfish and unthinking). The entire plot is just hopping from one planet to another looking for the same thing. Like, four whole times. I love a road trip but can we have at least different excuses for planet hopping? The thing we need is here! No wait, it’s here! Actually it’s over there! It just became repetitive and stale very quickly.

And these dead planets we’re visiting? Supposedly completely alien to us, nothing like humanity has ever experienced, and yet… the aliens are just like humans, only purple. Their society is like ours, only… they are purple people. Alien infrastructure and technology completely unknown to us, and yet our main archivists easily traverse their cities and landscapes because “we just know what we’re doing” and AI somehow magically fills in the rest? How does your AI know anything about this alien planet if it’s… ALIEN???

The story was meaningless, often ridiculous, the villain was uninspired, and the characters were plain or unlikeable. Then there’s this whole passage reflecting on fond family memories of pastries, and that’s all it’s ever described as: pastries, with a fruity smell. Are the pastries flaky, are they golden brown? Are they rectangular, or more like a croissant? Is the fruity smell from a filling or a frosting? What fruit is it?? Like, describing a baked good just seems to be such easy writing that I’m baffled it wasn’t even attempted. To be fair, I was hungry while reading this scene, but still. Please tell me about the pastry. It’s not even alien.

I knew within two chapters that this book was directly in my lane.

Cozy elements combine with a riveting adventure to tell a story that asks us to look at our own motivations behind exploration and innovation. Thrilling and hopeful, Last Gifts of the Universe is a story that continued to deliver. Themes of grief, greed, and the things that define humanity exist alongside a space traveling cat, video games, your favorite hometown pizza, and the love of family.

A gem of a novella, I’ll be passing this along to many a reader. Fans of Becky Chambers who are seeking the thrill of Project Hail Mary should run, not walk, to their TBR.

I was in when I saw the cat in a spacesuit and read that the main character is a space archivist.

This is a really moving story about grief and the loss of, well, everything. Two narratives are intertwined - Scout's (our space Archivist), and the first person narrative left by an alien that Scout recovers. The stakes couldn't be higher (the entire universe is at stake), but it's also intensely personal.

That's not to say there's not action and danger and cozy space pizzas to be had. There is, and a great deal of it. But it's the sense of grief that stays with me.

In other cases I might be frustrated to not see our characters save the universe, but this stands alone. There could be other books set against the same backdrop, but this story satisfied me as a snippet out of its situation. A really lovely book.

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

"The Last Gifts of the Universe" is a fun romp through space. (With a space cat!)

Looming in the background of the story is a terrifying presence that has the potential to wipe out all life in the universe. Our protagonist, Scout, is determined to find the information needed to potentially stop this terrifying presence, but is constantly thwarted a private company who wants to sell the information.

I enjoyed the author's commentary of private business, how we react to grief, and I really enjoyed the love story that was intertwined into the action of the rest of the story.

Unfortunately I didn't really connect with any of the characters, and I thought the ending fell flat. While the story was fast paced and easy to read, I desperately wanted more from everything! The story potentially could have benefited from being longer, as some of the fast pacing was extremely fast, but I still would have been disappointed by the ending.

I will read more by this author if the opportunity presents itself. And shout out to the fantastic cover art!

Siblings Scout and Keiran, and their cat, Pumpkin, are exploring space on behalf of the Archivists, looking for some weapon or defense or even information about whatever/whomever has completely destroyed almost every civilization out there. Their mission sends them to a solar system and caches of information... but of course it's far more complicated than that. What elevates this from the usual space exploration adventure is Pumpkin, who not only is on their spaceship but has her own spacesuit and gets to explore with them.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss.

Another book that SURPRISED me in the best possible way. Initially was only planning to give this a 3 out of 5, but by the end I am giving this a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a millennial's space opera fever dream mixed with every dystopian novel we grew up reading. There are a lot of little references and easter eggs that many might not understand had they not grown up in the 90s/00s. Despite its whimsical writing style and space-faring cat, the story had a darker shadow following it, where a mysterious entity is destroying sentient life across the universe and capitalistic companies are competing with altruistic anthropologists for said knowledge.

I did not expect this story to worm its way into my heart the way it did, but its depiction of grief and how to move on from it was beautiful.

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

Honestly? I can understand why this book would merit a 4 or even 3 star rating for some people. It’s way too short for what it wants to do, and the overwhelming amount of millennial cat-lover quips are a little much? But hear me out - I think that the message in this book hits WAY harder than it needs to.

I almost DNFed this book simply because it was too close to the stress of current life on Earth. Corporations want you to die if you can’t help them turn a profit, and they’d let the world burn with a smile on their face if they were holding a dollar while doing it.

I couldn’t do it. I wanted to know more - I devoured this book, letting its revelations about grief and trying despite the futile feeling of it all open up little parts of my brain I didn’t know could be put into words.

It’s not perfect, not by a long shot, but that’s why I liked it so much. Scout could be annoying, Kieran could be stupid, but name me one person who isn’t! I think that this book should be read by anyone who sees the point in trying for a better life, even if everything else around you is mind-blowingly terrible.

_The Last Gifts of the Universe_ by Riley August is a bittersweet, emotional, and unputdownable science fiction read. Scout, an Archivist, and their technology-gifted brother Kieran, are tasked with finding helpful relicts on dead planets that were destroyed by the same force threatening the siblings’ people. When they find an alien message that promises helpful information, they must follow the lead that proves to be dangerous but also healing (also it features an adorable and fierce feline named Pumpkin). This book is tragic but hopeful, and will resonate with the reader.

A universe slowly blinking out of existence, sinister capitalistic organization hording vital knowledge, a sibling team of space archeologists in a race to find that one info cache that will provide the information they so desperately need to save their home, and amidst all this sci-fi tropiness lies a slow moving examination of grief, loss & a lovely space kitty named Pumpkin!

Interesting & thoughtful, more "arthouse indie film" than "sci-fi blockbuster". A tale on the sadder side for fans of The Wayfarers style of science fiction.

ARC provided by NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing

Okay, so I went into The Last Gifts of the Universe with some skepticism, but came away absolutely loving the novel. Pumpkin is, obviously, my favorite character. I really think our sci-fi readers are going to have a blast with this book, so we will be purchasing a couple copies, and may end up reading it for our Sci-fi book club, too.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

Things that appealed to me about this book: archiving, cats, and a short page count. Things I didn't expect about this book: hating June so much, crying my eyes out, and a nearly 300 page count. I guess the Goodreads page is incorrect on that front.

The Last Gifts to the Universe is a story about two siblings who are travelling through space searching for cache data remnants of intelligent life, following a trail of planets left cold and dead with no signs of life and no explanation as to why. And they're dealing with Verity Co, the corporation who charges exorbitant amounts of money for information they have copywritten, like the cure for the common cold, or the secrets to saving the universe.

Scout is our nonbinary main character who loves their brother, Kieran, and their cat, Pumpkin. They lost their mom a year ago, right before taking off on their archivist journey to space, and so far they haven't had much of any success retrieving important cache data. Everything is Hello World messages or corrupted. Until they find one cache that speaks of the nameless thing eating planetary life. And Verity Co snags it right from under their noses. And the next one, and the one after that--- and it's up to Scout, Kieran, and Pumpkin to obtain the last cache that might have the answers they need.

The answers are actually in the life story of an alien who details the love she has for her husband, the first cache they managed to scan. The answers don't actually go to the question they need, but they're still answers. This made me cry a lot. I never like seeing animals in danger so I was absolutely bawling like a baby. The love story in the cache is absolutely heart-wrenching. And I hate June SO much, oh my god, she's so insufferable. But there's so much heart in this story, so much love. I hope that maybe there will be a sequel. Because this does end unresolved. So, take those three warnings with you: animal endangerment, familial death, and unresolved ending.

A little too cozy for my tastes and I did struggle to get into it, but ultimately had a good time with this one.

The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August is not typically the type of book I gravitate towards. I attempted to read it, but unfortunately, I struggled to become engaged with the story and ultimately did not finish it.

This was a quick and cozy read. It wasn’t as rigorous or exotic as alien stories can be but it was fast-paced with good message. The endings was a little disappointing and inconclusive to me and the book uses a ton of tropes but it worked for this slight story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

There's a lot to appreciate in this heartfelt novel. It's a very quick read - I finished it in one sitting. I think a lot of people are going to absolutely love it. While it didn't fully work for me, it had some wonderful moments, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for Riley August's future books.
I'm a huge mood reader, and this might just not have been the right time for me to try this one.

This book will really appeal to readers who like:
- Becky Chambers
- Quick, relatively light sci-fi with a slightly melancholy core
- Cozy and/or hopepunk sci-fi
- Archeology and/or geo-caching in spaaaaaace
- Cats in spaaaaace

Things I liked:
- The non-binary protagonist, Scout, and the fact that they didn't experience any transphobia or trauma relating to their gender identity
- The themes of grief, loss, and hope
- The story of Blyreena and Ovram, as told through archeological recordings; this was definitely the highlight of the book for me
- The existence of Pumpkin the cat

Things that didn't work for me:
- The prose, unfortunately
- The generic corporate villains
- The plot, which felt underbaked to me
- The fact that they kept taking poor Pumpkin the cat into incredibly dangerous situations. Why would they do this?? This was a strange and baffling choice that kept breaking my immersion.

Overall I recommend this book if you're looking for a quick, wholesome, archeology-tinged space adventure.

I really appreciated the chance to read this book. Thank you to Riley August, NetGalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press for graciously providing an ARC for review!

this was a really fun book with a unique concept. It wasn't super deep or complicated for a sci-fi book so it's definitely one anyone can enjoy. Overall this is just a light and fun space rope with a cute named pumpkin!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August is a dual first person-POV cozy sci-fi novella centered around grief. Siblings Scout and Kieran and their orange cat Pumpkin are on a mission to find out how to defeat the Endri, a force that has destroyed other civilizations. Scout finds the recordings of a Stelhari woman named Blyreena and listens as Bly recounts her love story with Ovlan.

I always love a grief story and this really delivered. It's short, but the ending packs a real punch that is strengthened by the time spent with Ovlan and Bly. Bly is a researcher who got an extremely critical review on her thesis when she accidentally collides with Ovlan. Instead of being upset, he takes her to dinner, listens to her, and proceeds to become her biggest supporter and partner. The two understand and believe in each other, rooting for the other’s career and being present for failures.

Scout and Kieran read as two siblings who only have each other but still have those same issues siblings tend to have. They share pizza and squabble and play video games, adding a sense of normalcy to the space setting. One of my favorite details was that the two forsake forty space-ready meals for the storage space for twelve pizzas to be rationed during their mission. It's a little detail, but it's human and realistic. Pumpkin is an absolute delight every time he's on the page and I would read a whole book of this fluffy, orange cat traveling around space with his two humans.

I would recommend this to fans of grief stories with a cozy bent, readers of sci-fi looking for a personal story with large stakes, and those who just love the idea of an orange cat in space

🚀 What’s it about?
Scout, their brother Kieran, and their cat, Pumpkin, are archivists scouring the universe for information on what has decimated every planet but their own. Along the way, they discover aliens caches with verbal accounts… only to have to fight to keep them from Verity Company who will lock anything they find behind a paywall.

Scout, Kieran, and Pumpkin find themselves on a race from dead planet to dead planet, trying to get answers. And along the way way they encounter death and danger at every turn.

🪐 My thoughts:
This book is alien, world-ending plague science fiction, but mostly it’s an examination of grief.

From Scout’s reflection on their mom’s death, to listening to aliens accounts of life and death from found caches, this story urges us to live every moment of life because it’s worth living.

🐈 (It’s also an ode to loving cats with so many great details about living with a cat in space).

I walked away from this book feeling deeply moved. And thought I would have loved more answers and story resolution, I enjoyed the writing so much that I highlighted sentences constantly.

🚀 Read this one to scratch the sci-fi itch and shed some tears along the way.

As an anthropology student, I loved the sci-fi take on a mission following cultural studies. This follows two siblings on a mission to analyze dead, empty planets in order to figure out what caused this universe-wide desolation. It was fascinating to follow characters who lived a more quiet life traversing the universe with their cat (whom I love). I was expecting more of an adventurous space romp, but instead it led to an emotional discussion of grief and living one's life. I genuinely didn't expect to be brought to tears, but I was. Overall, this felt like a fantastic exploration of this world, but I wish there was more closure resolving their mission of how these worlds became lifeless. This open ending thematically fits the point of the story though, that life continues even when another has stopped- the story continues for these characters even though the book has ended.

An interesting space caper with a family crew of two and their cat, chasing answers to the nebulous end of the universe, in a race against agents of a vague evil corporation. Which is pretty much all there is to this narrative...a lot of vaguely cool and kitsch elements. While it's a fairly easy and short read, there is very little to get super invested in, and the pacing could have been somewhat more taut and established the world-building better.