For me, the idea for this book was better than the book itself.

I liked the first few chapters better than the rest, it just all felt a bit flat: the universe, the characters and the story.

My expectations were more Sci-Fi and less Romance, which might be the reason for my slight disapointment.

It's fast and easy to read, if you are on the lookout for something for the plane or the beach I can recommend it.

Not a bad sci-fi story. Enjoyed the plot and the characters. First I've read by Ms. Marting but the not last.

Although few errors in copy editing were present, Spindle's End could have otherwise done with a look from a good editor. So little happens and character development is so minimal that I struggled to finish. The author had a nice idea but the execution is flat.

(Vague spoilers in some of the following.)

The space opera is excessively dependent on Star Trek, and has asteroid fields, extremely short trips over interplanetary distances, and all the usual nonsense, though at least the ship does need fueling (often not the case in space opera).

The romance... well, there's a period of "We can't be together because reasons," and then basically a Doc Brown moment: "But then I figured, what the hell?" And that's the romance subplot. Though at least the hero understands consent, and that a kiss from a woman who's very drunk is not it.

The main plot is totally dependent on a massive coincidence; the villain is about to retrieve something that's been sitting there undiscovered for 104 years, and the protagonists get there first by pure chance.

Two characters have basically the exact same parental issues.

Apart from that, it's pretty mediocre. Not great, but could be a lot worse. A solid three stars.

*thank you to Netgalley and Shadow Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review*

2 stars.

A story set in Space where a girl gets awoken to discover that 104 years have passed...? This sounded like it was going to be great but what I got was, Meh. While this story started off strong, grabbing my attention and shutting everything else around me out, the story started to slide downhill pretty fast until it settled at mildly interesting to a bit boring and stayed at that mark the whole rest of the way through. Now with saying that, obviously its more me than the book as I've read the few reviews (its still early days for this book), and they have been very positive. So what exactly was it that made me lose interest? I think it's that the story lost just that. An actual story. I felt like nothing much happened for ages and that's where I grew bored. It was a challenge to get through and I haven't made up my mind about the cover yet. Im not sure if its a bit or miss. It seems to have fallen into that fine line area of being on the edge of both sides.

So would I suggest others read this? Yeah sure. While it's not a hit from me, as I mentioned, it has been a hit for others. So yeah, give it a go. You may love it.