thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for a review!

this gets four stars because i had fun. cleo and billie are the most compelling characters by far, which is good, because the book is about them! i do wish i'd gotten to see more of literally any of the other characters, because ros's arc was genuinely interesting, but cleo and billie are great and i like them a lot.

this read like a ya book i'll be real, even though the characters were supposedly 28 or so. i personally think it's more fun if you just ignore that fact and pretend everybody is like eighteen. there are definitely scenes that are not ya (and reminded me that in fact i was not reading ya!) but the general space-fantasy-wobbly science is especially interesting if you read it like you're reading ya.

the writing style irked me at times and then i came to terms with the fact that it sounded like MY writing style so ignore that complaint completely. i understand why my english teacher wanted me to stop using em dashes because at one point i did count 13 on one page. if you are not a pedant you will probably not notice this! i am simply hyperaware because i have that problem in my own stories.

however, despite any issues i had with this book, i had more fun. if you're looking for an airtight sci-fi thriller, this is not the book for you---if you are looking for a good time with sapphic romance and science fantasy, you will LOVE this book !

This was a lot. If your a seasoned scifi reader it will probably be a lot easier to grasp but for a newbie not so much. This one also blends in fantasy elements into the sicfi story really well. It all starts when these young 20 somethings plan a heist and ends up way off the beaten path. There's a saffic love story between a girl and a hologram basically that develops along with a great mystery of what happened to a crew and their captain. The mystery and mind bending communication are what really set this apart from other space stories. Space itself felt like it's own character at one point and definitely makes you feel claustrophobic at times. Overall cleo and her group are all really relatable and fun to root for on their incredible journey on their stolen ship. Highly recommend for young scifi readers.

This is a fun, quick read. It has just the right balance of science and heart to make this breezy but not too fluffy. I really enjoyed how the story unfolded in parts, with old articles and interviews.

I loved the idea of falling in love with a hologram of a real person and the juicy drama and confusion that would entail, but that wasn’t explored. My main complaint is that the relationships felt a bit too easy, both platonic and romantic. I don’t mind love at first sight, but the characters need to gel. Billie has a history of loving “sunshine” people and Cleo doesn’t fit that description, so their instant attraction didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

But they were sweet, and the characters and the story were sweet too.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperVoyager for the ARC!

Plot summary: a team of four idealistic-yet-somewhat-jaded twentysomethings (Cleo McQueary, MC, computer engineer; Ros Wheeler, red-headed genderqueer doctor; Kaleisha Reid, trans Black botanist; Abe Young, Chinese-American historian and Kaleisha’s bf) break into an old decommissioned spaceship, accidentally end up in outer space, get super powers, and save the galaxy. In short: fun!!

I feel like maybe this should be classified as YA and I like it more when I think about it that way. I think a lot of YA books would work much better with older characters rather than teenagers, like with this book, although there is a tiny bit of spice at the end. It’s very Gen Z (will TikTok still be around in 2061? Honestly I hope not… hopefully we have something much better by then), so there is a feeling that the language and some references will feel dated in a few years, which seems like the opposite of what science fiction should be. But for now, it’s cute and relatable, if a bit more towards the younger side.

Some things that might not work for certain readers: the science and the dialogue. I’m not a huge sci-fi girlie and often only read books in this genre that are gay because I’m just a sad queer myself, so I’m not going to speak to the science parts of the book. I feel like it leaned into science fantasy anyway. It is also very dialogue heavy. I enjoyed the conversations between Cleo and Billie, but the crewmates were sort of interchangeable to me. Cleo and Billie did have distinctive personalities and I actually really liked Billie as the love interest. Full marks for her! Though maybe deducting one point for liking Torres over Seven of Nine. We can’t all have flawless Star Trek taste.

It does have some very important things to say about capitalism and progress in the name of progress, but at its core, The Stars Too Fondly is a light-hearted space adventure where love wins and everybody lives.

<img src=“https://thephasemag.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/lives-alive.gif?w=498”/>

Don’t think too hard. You’ll have more fun that way.

<i>“You love me? So much that I felt it across dimensions?”
“Of course,” Billie said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.</i>

If you're as old as I am, you remember the movie Space Camp, and the premise here has some similarities - a bunch of kids end up being launched into space. In this case, Cleo's dream of being an astronaut has come true, but along with finding what happened to the crew of a former mission twenty years ago, other things start getting weird.

For one, the hologram of the ship's captain, Billie, is not the nicest to Cleo - but aside from the secrets that abound, there are changes on the horizon for Cleo, and not just regarding her dream of being in space.

The Stars Too Fondly is probably at my limit for how science-y it was, but I am glad I got through it because of the rest of the story. Cleo and Billie carry the book and they are a delightful pair of characters.

This book is a really nicely done balance of the space odyssey and the romance aspects of the novel. I really don’t have too much to day about this book other than I really enjoyed it, but one major thing I want to point out is that one of the romantic interests (the older one if you can believe it) is canonically gen alpha, which is absolutely insane to me. I mean I know it’s set a few decades in the future, but still. I also love a good queer found family every once in a while, and this absolutely delivered that.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

2 stars

First, the good things:
The opening line of this book is great. It was memorable, funny and a great way to start.

I thought the world building was interesting. I liked the big mystery of a crew that disappeared.

There were a lot of things I struggled with in this book.
The biggest one was the amount of dialogue in this book. I think at least a third of this book was dialogue. Because there was so little prose, it was often hard to follow what was happening. Also, all the dialogue was the same five people the majority of the book, which made it quite monotonous. Something happens - the group bickers about it. I never felt like there were tonal shifts where there should have been because all the action took place in the dialogue. I wish we were in the characters heads more often.

I also struggled with how science-y the book was trying to be. This could come from me being a science guy, and others wouldn't have this issue, but it always rattled my suspension of disbelief. The author definitely did a little research on dark matter, but it felt out of place and strange. I wish they had just hand waved the science of it. I think if the author's going to talk about WIMPs, they also should have to address general relativity. Also, there was already so much handwaving.

Another problem I had was the pacing of the book, especially at the beginning. The characters go from their mission to in space in a matter of moments, and then past Jupiter 5 hours later. I wish it took more like 2 days to get past Jupiter.

The romance I also struggled with. Because the entire book is dialogue, there is no time that we are in the character's head to understand how she is feeling. Instead, the first we hear of is she's dreaming about the other person, and then they're in love. I also felt like I never got any sense of affection from the other character until quite a ways in. (view spoiler) Also, Billie is so rude and snarky at the start, it put me off her character for a while. She's not fun snarky, she's just unlikable.

Also, the BBEG is referred to as the "rainbow voice" multiple times, just say "the voice," readers will know who you mean.

I'm always looking for sapphic sci-fi so I was excited for this one. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm the audience for this book.

It's about people in their late 20s and early 30s, but is reads distinctly like a YA. None of these people feel like adults. Nearly everything is dialogue-driven which doesn't give you a feel for the internality of these characters. They're surface-deep, you simply know them by their identity-markers.

I enjoyed the "asides." I think they were a smart choice. They were well-executed and brought some much-needed life to the story.

Billie is the highlight of the characters. She's given the space to be messy and interesting.

This was a miss for me at 33, but I'm certain I would have absolutely eaten this up at 17.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Normally I am not a space girl, however, give me some LGBTQIA romance a good plot and I am sold. Cleo was so cute, and I loved the sapphic rom-com twist to the tale.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

TLDR: Sapphic, accidental heist in space with found family, cool superpowers, and an almost cartoonishly evil villain.

I think I have a contender for my favorite genre of 2024, and it's sapphic space stories. Between Lady Eve's Last Con, the Teixcalaan duology, and now The Stars too Fondly, apparently all I needed to read more sci fi was a couple lesbian love stories.

If you're looking for something with stakes and a happy ending, this is probably for you. The Big Bad is Big and Bad, the protagonists are Good, and altogether it seems cozy in hindsight. I've seen reviews that talk about the characters seeming younger than they are - they average late 20s, but do come across as late teens, early 20s. I didn't personally have a problem with that - the situation was that of a couple "too smart and too young for their age" kids, which the group definitely was.

I did initially have an issue with the "Narrator" who did a lot of telling over showing. This became less of an issue when I realized that the "narrator" was an actual character, and then a lot of it made sense. That said, there were some things that I felt could have been explored in a less direct manner.

Overall, very much enjoyed. 4.5/5, rounded down.

First of all, a massive thank you to HarperCollins for reaching out to me about this title and the opportunity to read it in advance of its release. My biggest qualm with this book is that it isn't out yet and therefore I have no one to talk to about the events of this book. From the very beginning, these characters were so obviously flawed and imperfect but never once in a way that made them unlikable. Quite the contrary. It was impossible, despite frustrations with their actions throughout, to ever dislike or feel truly angry with the characters. In all honesty, they felt not only like old friends, but like MY friends. They reminded me so clearly of people I know and have loved for years, and they meant so much to me because of this. They feel like a home you never knew you were missing. I have always been a major fantasy fan, and as I have gotten older and the genre was introduced, Romantasy. I have read little sci-fi in my life, mostly because I don't feel smart enough to understand it most times, but this actually relied on a premise of one of the few sci-fi books I had loved most recently, and I felt that I owed it to that one love to try. This book made all of the scientific information so easily digestible through characters needing explanations as they all came from different fields, which was a fantastic way to handle the world-building without allowing it to feel too contrived or info-dumpy. This book was pitched to me as "Spacemance," the sci-fi version of romantasy, and I was immediately intrigued. Beyond that, hearing the author say that she couldn't wait for audiences to meet her "disaster girls and their disaster friends" was my final straw, and I had to start reading. For a book with a complicated scientific premise on top of the character dynamics that round out the story I absolutely devoured this book much quicker than anticipated. I found myself racing through it with an insatiable desire to immediately knew what was going to happen next, and it fueled me through the entire story. While the world building and sci-fi plot of the story was incredibly well-handled, that is not what makes this a stand-out novel for me. In all honesty, the writing style and world-building and plot were enough to make this a four-star read, but it was the character development and the true improvements they all made that pushed this book over the top. Cleo, Billie, and their friends all grew and changed in so many ways over the course of the story and became the best versions of themselves. I won't say too much so that you can enjoy exactly how incredible they were and became for yourselves, but Emily Hamilton managed to tell a story of love and friendship and family better than many literary fiction books with that as the only plot manage to accomplish. I deeply enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what Hamilton writes next. And also for this book to release because I'm not joking, it genuinely might kill me to have to keep the contents of this book to myself for much longer.

This book has everything from a big mystery, to an epic adventure, and plenty of found family and romance. Although I didn't always follow the scientific explanations that were given, I was still able to figure out what was happening. I loved watching the characters learn how to navigate the crazy situation they ended up in, and seeing their relationships with each other and Billie grow. There were many times in the book where I wasn't sure how their situations could be resolved, and I was pleasantly surprised every time (this book does end in a HEA). Overall, this is an amazing debut novel, and I recommend giving it a try, 5/5 stars.

Haha i really liked this it was so bizarre but super fun

thanks to netgalley and harpervoyager for the arc!!

This was a cute and quirky mish-mash between a sci-fi and a romcom, more romcom leaning. I enjoyed it for what it was, and we need more sci-fi romance books,

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too Fondly to be fearful of the night."

Space ghosts. The Providence. Cleo. Kaleisha. Launch day. Holograms. Dark matter. Stardust eyes. We meet the space crew: Abe Yang, the historian. Ros Wheeler, doctor. Kaleisha Reid, botanist.

The Other Place. Proxima B. Space bugs. Auroras. The Red Sun. A mystery. Different truths and different lies. Cleo's sacrifice. The boundary.

Creatures and the concept of a human self. Spaceflight. Dark energy. Unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Rainbows. Ashes. A red-dark sun.

I love an action-packed space tale, one littered with adventure and mysterious happenings. This novel definitely did not disappoint. I loved everything from the dialogue to the texting logs to the love story.

It was so cozy, I could not pass up this sci-fi fantasy book. Exploring a new generation finding their place amongst the stars is a new trope I did not know I needed until now. Any reader who loves space exploration and sapphic romantic comedies cannot pass this one up. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars (Rounded up to five)

I had been keeping my eye on this title even before Harper Voyager reached out to offer me an ARC. A sci-fi mystery? A queer norm cast? Sapphic pining in space?! Sign me up! Needless to say, I was not disappointed. The characters were snarky and fun and REAL, with just a dash of existential dread that anyone in their mid to late twenties can relate to. After all, these characters grew up in the future-- on an Earth even more damaged than our own-- is it any wonder they'd look to the stars for salvation?

The characters were definitely the highlight of the story for me, but I did also enjoy the mystery. I had problems at times suspending my disbelief, but I think that's more about me and my relationship with the genre than it is about the book itself. However, there were a few moments that took me out of the story, which is the reason I didn't give this book a full five stars.

[SPOILERS]


One of these moments was a literal "deus ex machina," that I'm still unsure of my feelings on. It helped the novel come to a nice conclusion, but it also felt like it took away some of the stakes that the story had spent so long building.


[SPOILERS END]


The pacing as well felt a bit off to me at times-- too slow in some sections and too fast in others. I wish we had taken more time to linger in big plot moments in the same way we did the romantic moments, because at times it almost felt like the mystery was second to the romance. And hey, I love a good gay romance, but I do feel like being lost in space should take precedence. I know I'm contradicting myself a bit because I said the characters were my favorite part of the story, and that's true, but I think it's in part true because the mystery plot could have been stronger. The characters were so well written and fleshed out and authentic that of course I was going to love them over everything else, how could I not? I just wish the story they were in had been a little bit tighter.

BUT, I don't think that should stop anyone from reading this book! I literally read through it in less than two days because I couldn't put it down. Take off with these space gays, and learn to the love the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.

This was fun! A sci-fi romance. Sometimes the sci-fi was over my head, but that’s more my lack of space knowledge. The romance was sweet and just a little weird because it involves a hologram! Thanks to @harpercollins and @netgalley for the ARC!

This was my first sci-fi like this and I really enjoyed it! The story was great, and I liked the characters alot.
5/5 Story
The 4 start rating is only because the chapters are so long. It felt at times like I wasn't making any progress.

STARS TOO FONDLY
GENRE: scifi, romance, lgbt
GUT REACTION: 😑
FINAL RATING: 2.5 rounded up to 3

I wish I had liked this book more -- on paper, it has everything I usually like, but the dialogue took me out of it so frequently that I just wanted to be done with it. This book is marketed as an adult novel, at least on Netgalley, and the characters are all in their late twenties, yet they speak like teenagers so consistently that I kept having to flip back to the (digital) page that stated Cleo's age. There was a point where someone legitimately smacked their forehead in a "eureka" moment when they finally understood something. It just felt very ... hokey? Cartoonish? Which I wasn't expecting going in.

I didn't care for the back-and-forth formatting of the "narration" type paragraphs and the present-day scenes of the book, the development of superpowers felt a bit ... out of place? to me? , and I don't think the side characters really enriched the book at all, but I did like the relationship between Cleo and Bobbie in the ... last quarter of the book. So.

A resounding meh from me this time, lads.