Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

This is giving love boat in space. I felt like I was transported to a different realm while reading this- it was such a fun twist on your typical romance story.

Where can I get a Freddie?! He was the perfect male love interest.

This was a very fun sci-fi romance! The characters were very likable and so quirky in an endearing way. I loved that this had an action/adventure aspect as well. For how quick of a read this was, Jess Hardy really delivered on providing a funny, flirty, exciting story that also navigated trauma and grief very well.

Space romance combining sci-fi? Sign me in?The story was sexy with a lot of humor, heartbreak and really well written characters.

It's not really a review because I didn't finish. It turned out to be very different from what I expected. It's set in the space, right? I didn't feel so. What did they do? I didn't know. All I knew was the female protagonist gets up in a disorientated state (why?), and then she meets with very handsome Joshua, and they make out right after the meeting. I am not a fan of this kind of romance. Moreover, I couldn't connect with the characters or the writing style. 

It wasn't for me. Thank you for the copy. Sorry, it didn't work for me. Not posting the review anywhere else.

Snarky romance aboard the ultimate pleasure cruise as a casual hookup turns the world upside down as she runs and he chases and they each meet their past that won't let go head on. All while trying for business as usual, playing matchmaker, and thwarting the bad guys, when they find out who they are. Sci fi fun and adventure, a romp worth jumping in to.

Terrific story and romance! I was hooked from the beginning! Sci-fi space romance, with humor, danger, and spice! Great balance of spice with plot, and also a great balance of light-heartedness and seriousness. I think fans of Ruby Dixon would definitely love this book

This was so much more than “The Love Boat” in space (although that is a great catchy descriptor for the story). We find Sunny as a hospitality specialist on the Ignisar, sent off ship to a company "retreat." Where she manages to find a Tinder-style one-night stand that is the stuff dreams are made of. What Sunny does not expect is to later find Freddie again, as the new cultural person assigned to the Ignisar. Not wanting to mix business and pleasure, they settle into a friendship with each other amid the watchful eyes of the rest of the crew. A friendship with simmering tension and a lot of emotional baggage that eventually comes to a boil.

This story has the humor, the heart, and the absolutely bonkers ship passengers like Garran that make it incredibly fun to read, and incredibly easy to fall in love with not only Sunny and Freddie, but everyone around them. The hijinks are worth a read alone. But the real heart of everything is Sunny and Freddie. Their connection, and the unspoken secrets that threaten to keep them apart (there are some emotional histories for both of them). And also some political-style thriller moments that one would not normally expect from a pleasure cruise spaceship wandering between the planets.

I loved that the leads were older, that they had a push and pull that kept things moving and respected each other's boundaries (even when it was hard). And that even the miscommunications and omissions made sense in context. Jess Hardy writes "mature" romances so well (The Bluebird Basin series is a favorite), and it extends into space romance perfectly. I found myself blinking back tears one moment, and laughing out loud the next as I read this one. I hope we can come back and revisit the Ignisar again (there are a lot of stories left to tell with this ship and crew).

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. When I first started reading this book, I thought to myself “this is BONKERS!” but in, like, a great way that kept me reading any chance I had. I very quickly acclimated to the genre-bending rom/com/adventure/space of Jess K Hardy’s new universe. So glad this will be a series!

Admittedly space romance is wayyyyy outside of my reading comfort zone, but I really like Jess K Hardy's novels so I thought I'd give it a shot. And while it wasn't my favorite, I still enjoyed the challenge that it provided. The 'world' Sunny and Freddie inhabited required me tapping into my imagination but the romance they had didn't and I think that's why I could read past the things that didn't always click in my brain. The thing I've really enjoyed about Hardy's characters is that they tend to be older, more experienced characters and she continued with that in this novel too.

Truth be told, this won't be everyone's jam, but I think many will really enjoy it; so if you're like me and you normally don't read space romance, maybe give it a shot and see what you think.

We love to see more scifi romance! When Sunny's one night stand shows up as her new crewmember, she has to confront personal hurts as well as navigating her much more complicated workplace. Think the Love Boat in space.

I'm sure fans of Jessie Mihalik and Ruby Dixon would enjoy this cute space love story.

Sunny has basically sworn off letting herself get close to anyone, but then along comes the one night stand she can’t forget. The two end up working together on the same ship and exploring whether they might be able to let each other in as they work closely to prevent disaster both on their ship and across the Known Universe.

This spicy sci-fi romance that doubles as a workplace romance was a fun read. It had spice but also a decent plot. The world they’re in isn’t explained very much, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyability or understanding of the plot.

Thanks to the Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This cute and sweet. I liked that it took place in space on board basically a pleasure cruise. It was different and the story was heartfelt and cute. I would recommend this to others wanting to read something quick and sweet.

**4 Stars – A Fun and Steamy Space Romance!**

*Sunastara & the Venusian* by Jess K. Hardy is an exciting blend of humor, heat, and suspense set aboard an interstellar pleasure cruise. The chemistry between Sunastara, a no-nonsense hospitality specialist, and Freddie, her unforgettable one-night stand turned crew member, sizzles from start to finish. With witty writing, a thrilling plot, and a dash of danger, this romance kept me hooked. While the romance is the heart of the story, the high-stakes adventure adds just the right amount of excitement. If you love steamy, character-driven space adventures, this is a must-read!

I was excited to read this book as I love stories set in space! However, I was disappointed to find that I couldn't connect with the characters and the story wasn’t hitting. The world-building was also confusing and I found myself having to re-read passages multiple times. I was hoping for a more immersive experience, but this one fell short of my expectations.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC.

Well, this is quite the twist on the workplace romance - work-space romance? could that be a thing? - and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The author strikes the perfect balance on the world-building: enough information woven in where appropriate without over-explaining or distracting from the plot. There's a cast of extremely well-drawn and disparate characters, there's an ongoing intrigue which builds up to a knuckle-biting conclusion, and at the centre of it all is a beautifully developed romance. Sunny is dedicated to her job and her own pleasures as a coping mechanism to deal with past tragedy and is determined to avoid anything deeper, but Freddie proves to be downright irresistible - and the various events and facilities on a pleasure cruise ship are deployed to great effect in, ahem, furthering their connection. Full of funny, emotional, spicy and tense moments in turn, this is a captivating read that will stay with me for a long time.

3.5⭐️. To escape a devastating event in her personal life, Sunny joined a pleasure cruise (which has a reputation as an “orgy-in-orbit” 😂), on which she’s been working for the last 5 years, doing her best to live a carefree life with no ties. She meets Freddie on Squee, an intergalactic dating app, where they use the names Phoebe and Joshua and have an intense, passionate night together (which includes achieving: “Simultaneous Orgasm Achievement Badge attained! Ultra-rare!” 🙈🤣). But Sunny’s one-night stand only stance is challenged when, several months later, Freddie joins the crew and pursues Sunny.

You’re thrown straight into this world and there isn’t really any explanation of what happened and how the old world became the new one. But if you’re willing to just go along for the ride, it’s good fun.

Something about Sunny (particularly at the start of the book) gave me Gideon the Ninth vibes (although the books themselves are very different). And I liked her bionic, Elanie, who Freddie described as follows: “She is a very unique bionic. Like a breath of fresh air that occasionally, for reasons unknown, slaps you hard across the face.”

Aside from the romance, there was a parallel plot involving a Senator, her wife and child who joined the boat, and were concerned about a possible security breach. This part of the story, which played out more in the latter half of the book, felt a little anticlimactic. It all happened pretty quickly and I never found myself worried about how it would turn out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC.

I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it. I read it in a day and I rate it five stars.

Firstly, I loved how immersive the world building is, in terms of life on the space cruiser and what planets and species there are in the 31st century.

Secondly I loved the characters of Sunastara (Sunny) and Freddie and their love story. The blend of spice and sensitivity was perfectly balanced and I adored their character development.

The book also had great humour around some of the guests on the cruise as well as an intriguing political plot line that added a bit of mystery and drama.

A trigger warning comes with this book, in terms of Sunny having lost a young child, and you follow her as she comes more to terms with her grief. It was sensitively done and I will admit that one scene did have my eyes welling up with tears.

If you want a book with romance, spice, strange alien species, hilarious dating apps and a journey of healing- this book is definitely for you.

Y’all I highly recommend this one. Do not let the space setting deter you. Sunny is an experienced employee on an outer space pleasure cruise ship. Think “The Love Boat” but space. She is not interested in a relationship and matches with someone for a one night stand on “space Tinder.” After the best night of sex ever, she says goodbye…

Until her mystery man shows up as a new crew member the next week. Meet a cast of interesting coworkers from various worlds, watch as Sunny tries to deal with being around the new guy, all while unraveling a political mystery and seriously laughing out loud multiple times.

The romance between the main characters is sweet *and* spicy and the pace is fast.

Review posted to Goodreads and Fable on 11/10/24


First, thanks to Victory Editing and NetGalley for letting me read and review this book!

I had such an enjoyable time reading this book! Sunny is such a fun yet complex character whose growth and character development are just *chef’s kiss*. Freddie has now set my standards too high. He’s so sweet and caring and devoted and overall just the perfect being. If he’s not like Freddie, then I don’t want him.

Hardy combined two of my favorite things and made it into a binge-worthy book: office romance and sci-fi! I was a little hesitant at first because how does one combine a contemporary romance troupe with space? But Jess K Hardy did it and did it well. I’m so glad that my curiosity lead me to such an amazing book!

Sunastara & the Venusian by Jess K. Hardy is a sci-fi romance set on a spaceship. Sunastara Nex, who works on a space cruise, is drawn to Freddie, a former one-night stand who unexpectedly joins her crew.

I loved the plot, and this is my first time reading a romance set on a spaceship. The author skillfully weaves humor into the story, mixing just the right amount of science and spice.

Fans of science fiction romance with humor and adventure may enjoy this space-centered love story, releasing in December 2024.