I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I was not really sure about this book. IT was a little strange and it made me thing that time was all mixed up. I have to say that Hijinks was my favorite character. A big purple furball. The adventure to do what is asked of someone. I just wanted more, but could be is that I trying to read more in this genre and just not found my niche in it yet.

Something weird happened with my laptop and a lot of my downloads disappeared, including this and other Netgalley ARCs I had not yet gotten around to, but are now archived and not available to re-download... I am sadness

In Between the Stars is a unique story inspired by the great science fiction of the past. It's a space opera full of drama and ridiculousness. Inan, Hijinks, aliens, and Alan, human, are thrown together through an unfortunate chain of events. Together, they must survive and save the universe. It's an engaging and fun read. The characters are likeable and entertaining. Overall a good read if you enjoy space opera drama. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have very mixed feelings this book. That makes reviewing it somewhat uncomfortable.

Inan is a fun character. She’s not human and her society is different, but she rebels against their expectations in such a familiar way. Add Hijinks to the story and things get even more fun. Hijinks is an odd mix of tough and endearing that makes her a great sidekick for Inan. And both of them need to work together with human Alan to achieve their goals. There are a few great scenes where one relies heavily on the strengths of another and where they help each other face fears.

However, the opening of the book was a bit tricky. It started slow then played with time in a way that really didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t really get hooked until Hijinks was involved. Also the early things about her not being supposed to read books about the stars confused me when it was then quickly established that interplanetary travel was normal for her species. That setup and anxiety about the book made me expect a closed society that didn’t allow contact with other planets.

A part of me is very unhappy not to rave about this book. The character interactions were fun. The world had some interesting and creative pieces. The characters made choices that impacted what happened to them.

But… There’s always a but, isn’t there?

But the conclusion didn’t feel fully satisfying to me, although I’m likely more critical than the average reader. It tied up a big aspect of the plot, but I don’t feel like Inan and the others had enough character development in achieving the climax of the story. Instead of that happy full of story feeling when I think back over the reading experience, I feel a little let down. Like the potential the story had wasn’t fulfilled.

It doesn’t help that an aspect of the ending relied on a coincidental fix. Nor does the blatant hook for a sequel on the last page assist in making me remember it fondly. But it’s more than that, although I struggle to explain it, especially without adding spoilers.

I would definitely read more work from this author because the writing showed real talent for character and world. And I suspect a lot of other readers will have far more warm fuzzy feelings for this one than I, which is great. I just want a little bit more from my reading experience.

Overall I am only able to give this 3 stars.

Inan is on her way to fulfill her duty to her matriarchal society of lizard beings by being part of a marriage alliance when the space ship she is on goes up in flames. She escapes with the help of a steward, Hijinks, who is a purple-furred marsupial. The two are stuck in an escape pod until they are rescued. Unfortunately, their rescuers only proceed to imprison them. Escaping from their captors with the help of a human boy named Alan, Inan and Hijinks find themselves running across the universe trying to evade capture by pirates, figure out Alan’s origins, identify a small black disc, explore new planets and space stations, oh, and save the known universe from being rewritten.

Honestly, I asked to read this on NetGalley because I thought it was a graphic novel for some reason. It isn’t a graphic novel. It is an adventurous and exciting space adventure featuring three very different and unexpected friends thrown together by a series of crazy occurrences. The focus of this story is definitely the adventures that the three companions experience, rather than character building or even world building (though they do visit some very imaginative places). They go out of the frying pan and into the fire again and again on their tangled route to saving the known universe. And they are all three rather unlikely heroes. Inan is more of an insecure scholar and manager. Hijinks is a surprising jack of all trades, who also turns out to be a grandmother. (She was my favorite character.) Alan was raised by pirates but not tenderly and his only friend prior to meeting Hijinks and Inan was a slightly crazy AI personality. He’s tech savvy but not the best at navigating relationships. The problems the three face provide diversion but usually turn out easily solved. Which could be good or bad for you depending on what type of reader you are. If you like high action but little anxiety about how things will turn out, you’ll probably love it. If you like to see characters stalwartly work through tough spots, you may be disappointed. Due to the shortness of the book and all that happens, there’s a lot of jumping from one scene straight to the next with no segue or transition at breaks. Sometimes hours will pass in those breaks and other times bigger chunks of time. They frustrated me at first, especially as we were supposed to be getting to known Inan. I felt like I got whiplash as weeks suddenly were gone. Later I liked it better when it just seemed like we were joining our heroes for their next adventure and skipped all the boring days in between. It looks like this is the author’s first book and if there were one thing she could improve on, it would be in these transitions from one scene to the next. She’s definitely got plenty of imagination. Recommended if you like quick and zippy, imaginative scifi adventures that read somewhat like a TV series of episodes with one overarching plot.

Notes on Content [Based on ARC]: No language issues. No sexual content. Violence is threatened but there is actually relatively little on page for a scifi adventure. Deaths in ship catastrophes and past conflicts are mentioned or implied but not described. One non-gory death somewhat described. One somewhat gory death only very vaguely described.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was really bizarre. The writing a bit bland, the characters a little under-developed. The story-line was ridiculous.