2.5 stars. Thank you netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m extremely disappointed in this. I was expecting to love it, yet by page 30 I was forcing myself to continue(I got to 56%/151pg). There’s no substance to it. It’s just all running and action. No time to bond with the characters. I did sorta like fitz, but that’s only because there was a drop of info from her about her past. The characters for the most part are dull, entirely 2d. The world building and dialogue are both good, but the rest destroys it. I kept trying to convince myself to continue reading, to finish it, but I’m not going to. As much as I want to, I’m not enjoying it, so I’m not going to waste anymore time. I’m very saddened by my feelings towards this book, and I honestly might finish it before the arc time is up just because, but that’s only if I can muster up enough strength to push through. Most likely, in a week it’ll have blurred into the back of my mind and I’ll move on. :(

This is a fast-paced, sapphic sci-fi thriller following a team of four female con artists trapped on a warship-turned-penal-colony with a rogue AI threatening to thwart them at every turn. It's a compulsively readable space opera, one that sucked me in immediately. For the last 40% or so, I couldn't put the book down.

I ended up rating this one 4 stars instead of 5 because there were a few places where the plot seemed a little flimsy. I also wanted to know more about the lives of other prisoners onboard the ship. There are so many cool ways to explore this and I wanted more information about the other settlements, etc. Maybe a companion novel following someone who's been on the ship for a few years?? 👀

And maybe it's just me, but some of the characters and their relationships with each other reminded me of Red Dead Redemption 2. Murdock is Arthur Morgan, Hark is Dutch, Bea is Hosea, and I haven't been able to place Fitz (combo John, Molly, Mary-Beth?) but the dynamic very much is reminiscent of the video game.

DNF around halfway. The plot so far is a series of constrained choices set up by the author, so not much room for agency or even personality. One scene is basically an escape room, so we get to watch as she figures it out. Yawn. Her backstory is given with an internal monologue. There is a tiny bit of relationship development between her and a couple of characters in the most recent chapter, but it isn't really enough. Our opponent is a centuries-old all-powerful ship AI, so I'm pretty sure that the ending has our hero being the smartest person in the universe or a deus ex machina.

I'm sure there are people who'll enjoy this book, but I'm not one of them.

The Salvation Gambit had me hooked from page one to the end. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about what I had read. Thank you Emily Skrutskie for an excellent space novel.

I love a good space caper but unfortunately I just could not connect with this one - the characters and plot didn’t pull me in. Many will probably like this one, but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

The Salvation Gambit is an exciting futuristic AI story in space, with a non stop plot. Sometimes it felt like things were moving a little bit too fast, but overall a really good story!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

The Salvation Gambit was an exciting ride from start to finish. It had amazing world building while still being a very contained story. It was well paced with a good mix of action and introspection. Murdock is a fun main character to experience this story through and you still manage to have fleshed out side characters who feel like their own characters with their own motivations and stories. There are more than a few I’d like to learn more about if Skrutskie ever feels like writing more in this universe (even a chapter or two from another point of view perhaps). But even if this is the only story, it was a satisfying one. If you’re a fan of sci-fi, I highly recommend this book

I found this book to be quite enjoyable. From the first page to the last it keep me wanting more. This is one of my top reads of the year.

The Salvation Gambit starts off running from the opening scene and doesn’t stop until you turn the last page. This book is action-packed and exciting, and there’s never a dull moment.

We’re also treated to a host of fun characters, a sprinkling of romance, and a giant prison ship god. Who can ask for more?

The plot was so fast-paced and fun, the pages turned themselves for me. Sometimes it all felt a bit too convenient, and I’m generally allergic to first person present tense, but on the whole, this was a blast to read.

A group of con-women are arrested and deported to an alien constructed ship that turns out to be run by an AI who "reforms" convicts into productive lives and/or worshiping it as a god and doing its bidding. It has its eye one one of them, hot-headed Murdock, a brilliant hacker who it thinks will be "useful" for repairs. How do you say no to a god?
This had several worlds going on at once, the world of the ship itself, that the group are just learning about, with its hierarchy and survival methods, and then their personal relationships as they are split up and made to rely on different individuals or only themselves, and new relationships are made. And both are equally rich and well-realized. The plot is complex and well thought out, the characters also complex and great development occurs. And the suspense builds nicely as well, with a very grand finale. Highly recommended.

This book was So Cute — if your definition of cute is lesbians in space taking down the oppressors in the most heisty way possible. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read, even more so because it was a standalone: none of that trilogy fatigue or extending the plot by hooks at the end here. The cast of characters is fleshed out well, the action doesn’t leave you hanging, and it’s such a pleasurable, easy going read. Inhaled it in a weekend, and I’ll definitely keep my eyes on more from this author!

Thank you to #Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an arc of #TheSalvationGambit.

Another novel exploring relationships between humans and artificial intelligences, but this one is exceptionally well done. I had the pleasure of reviewing this for Library Journal and highly recommend it.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I'm conflicted. To me, this was a super slow start but it really picked up at the 65% mark. The premise is fantastic. A group of queer con artists (each with their own specialty) are stuck on a war turned jail ship housing thousands of "sinners". The world building was great, it was easy to picture and I could see this being a TV series. But did it take FOREVER to get through each "scene"? Yes. I felt like this book could have been trimmed down another 25% and been even better. I had to really push myself to keep going until I found myself invested in it. In the end, I'm glad I did. Hence the 3.5 stars.

The relationship between the con group was really well developed and I absolutely loved the relationship between Murdock and Fitz. I definitely wished there was more of that.

In the end, I do recommend checking this out if you like space operas. Check it out when it's released on Sept. 26th, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for a complimentary eARC so that I may share my honest review and feedback before the publication date.

I will be posting this on my Goodreads and IG and FB account stories.

The Salvation Gambit is the thrilling story of a group of con women. Their last heist goes wrong and they wind up on a large ship, the Justice, which is full of sinners from around the galaxy. The Justice is a sentient machine, that thinks it is a god, and even has worshippers called the faithful. Murdock, the hacker of the team, is faced with the choice of joining the faithful, or trying to con the god-like ship to save herself and her team.

This story is full of twists and turns and adventure. There is a surprise romance, but it doesn’t impede on the thrilling adventures at all. The characters were great (Fitz was my favorite!) and the society on the ship was explained so well. I did find this a little slow at times, but by the end I was so invested in what was going to happen next.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy!

Did not finish at 38%

Nothing is happening and the world development hasn’t showed me enough to keep me interested.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

I have been interested in trying out Emily Skrutskie's work for a while and the description for this seemed right up my alley.

This was a fun little sci-fi adventure with fast pacing and a relatively shorter length for a space opera, which made it a pretty easy read. The premise was quite unique and the world built prison colony in a sentient ship was a very interesting. I would have liked to see more of the ship explored, but that probably would not have made sense with the book's pacing.

In terms of characters, the main character definitely felt a bit young, despite she supposedly being my age and there definitely was a coming of age arc going on. This along with the on page violence being pg-13(the antagonists only chase people away, but never does anything lethal) did really surprise me for an adult SFF novel, but it wasn't a huge issue. I really enjoyed the rivals to lovers romance and it had great chemistry between the leads. Fitz was probably my favourite character. In general, while the cast didn't have as much depth as I wish it did, they were still a fun set of characters.

Overall, an enjoyable romp, though one that may, on occasion, veer a little young.

Queers?? In space?? Uh, sign me up. I loved this book, loved the characters, and more than anything, loved the unique world and premise that the Salvation Gambit takes place in. The society and culture that has developed on the Justice, an abandoned ship from a long gone empire, makes me wish for more stories involving the people who were unwillingly brought there, lived, and died there. Told from the perspective of Murdock, the behind the scenes brain of a 4 person heist group, the store grapples with the debilitating nature of imposter syndrome, fitting in, and taking the good where you can get it. All while being trapped in a 300 year old battle ship with AI intelligence that has nefarious intentions. All in all, I enjoyed the antics, the wit, and adventure of Murdock and gang, and hope it’s not the last time we see them.

a queer space adventure?? sign me up! this story was impeccable. the characters were interesting and well written and the plot was amazing, loved it!

Who knew that I would fall in love with a book about a queer space heist! Yes you read that correctly a queer space heist! What a read! I loved this book from start to finish!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC!
I really enjoyed this book . It is different. Our protagonist is part of a criminal group. It’s an adventure in space that really moves. .Narrated in first person by Murdock, our protagonist, the reader is pulled in by her resistance and the ensuing fight she puts up to avoid being “ingested” (not what you think or what she thinks).
This book is primarily about four women who are to be ingested by a war ship as throwaway people who have nothing to offer a sick society (they are prisoners who have committed crimes in a corrupt society). They find themselves on a AI ship called the Justice, who fancies itself God,,seeking to redeem the prisoners (AKA Cult leader) with a particular interest in Murdock. Hark seems to be the leader but it turns out she is flawed and not the end all be all that Murdock thinks she is. Murdock in turn, becomes accountable for the choices she makes, and begins to learn, grow and trust herself more.
Murdock and Fitz are separated from Hark and Bea. There is a Sapphic romance between Murdock and Fitz.. Initially, they are not quite enemies but seem not to like each other, at times being antagonistic to on another, but as Murdock begins to analyze the situation, she realizes that Fitz has cared about her at least since they have been on the Justice. Murdock and Fitz add a security type man named Ham to their journey, reasoning that his knowledge of the justice and muscle will be useful, which it is.