I didn't finish this book. I couldn't get into the story or the characters. Could be a perfect fit for someone else, but it just didn't work for me.

There's a reason the original Count of Monte Cristo is so long. I think you could write a novella version of the classic, but it would need to not try to cover all the same ground. I loved Palumbo's writing, and the narrator brought so much richness through her narration, but I won't be recommending this title unless you're desperate for more Monte Cristo narratives (which, to be fair, I usually am).

Countess is a Caribbean inspired retelling of the count of monte cristo in space. This book was quite the compilation of genres. I enjoyed many aspects of the book (the Caribbean inspiration, anti-colonialism theme) but parts of the story were not fully flushed out. It should have been longer to address the pacing and some of gaps in the story. The narrator added to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Quick, easy listen. Could have been more in-depth but still a decent read. The narrator did a good job.

A queer, Caribbean, science-fiction version of The Count of Monte Cristo? Sign me up! And I am so glad I came across this one. I loved it. Verica is the daughter of immigrants who have fought their way to the center of the empire to have the life the colonies could never afford them. Even as they try their hardest to integrate, they still face prejudices. So Verica does the most Imperial thing she can think to do: join the navy. As a young woman, she's given temporary command of a ship and seems to have a bright future ahead of her. However, she's accused of murder and treason and locked away, losing everything she'd worked so hard for. Deep in the bowels of her prison, she plans not just revenge on those who wronged her, but the entire empire who has spent centuries taking advantage of the colonies.
Relatively short and incredibly fast-paced, you could take this one out in an evening. It occupied my thoughts when I wasn't listening to it. I think I finished it in only a couple sittings. The narrator does a great job bringing the story to life. It's a great retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. Verica's character arc is fascinating, and I love that pirates got involved. Really good.

This is a Science-Fantasy story (with minimal world building), BIPOC main character (with a tragically B&W aspect to everything), Queer rep (closed door sapphic and not a romance!), Overthrow-The-Oppressors wish fulfillment plot written by a Foodie. For all these things, it is overly vague on details, ignores taking care of themselves (or any ramifications for NOT doing so), very light on the grim-dark tendencies of most feminine-rage and eat-the-rich type reads, and over all just does its wish fulfillment thing without other considerations.

TLDR: Not mad I read it, but I do wish it had stuck the landing.

Eh. So. I liked the idea and themes of the story. A Count of Monte-Cristo retelling, but make it sci-fi and anti-colonialist was a great idea and it was pretty well executed in regard to the themes discussed here. However, it was just missing the meat of the story. I mean, you're retelling a 1,200 pages long novel in 140 pages? It was bound to be pretty lackluster and underwhelming as well as underdeveloped. I just wanted more of the world, the characters, to truly feel the passage of time instead of being told 10 years had passed. I wanted to see some scheming on Virika's part, the longing for her mother and Alba, more scenes between her and Dominique, more time in prison, just more. What makes Monte-Cristo such an amazing story is how unnecessarily long it is, you can't help but end up loving those characters after all those pages, even the more minor ones. Here, I couldn't name anyone aside from like 5 people and even then, they don't have that much personality to distinguish them from one another. It truly felt like a carcass of a story without any flesh, any meat to stuff it, and although I'm a vegetarian, I love myself some meat, at least in my books. 2.75 stars

What an unexpected treat. This novella was a fast paced tale of a young woman, who did everything within her power to fit into the mold colonialism had set fort for her her, and still failed. As is often expected in such society's the oppressed can never excel under the thumb of their captives no matter how much they contort themselves to fit the expectations. this Space opera took me on an interesting journey through planets, and revenge, and I enjoyed every page. This was my first Caribbean inspired space opera, and I hope their will be others to follow.

Countess is a short novella that is a sci-fi version of inter-planetary colonialism inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo. The character arc for Virika sees her going from empire loyalism, to falsely accused for treason and imprisoned in basically hell, which sets her on her path to seek justice for herself and her impoverished and colonialized people.

My heart did break for Virika during her trial and imprisonment. The voice actor did a really good job of portraying her depression, heart-break, frustration and other emotions. There were individual voices, accents and personalities for the different characters, and I could tell everyone apert. I really enjoyed the Caribbean accent for some of the characters.

The writing was slow in the first half of the book for me. The events towards the end felt forced and rushed at times, with months of political tension and resistance basically glossed over in a few sentences. I struggled to connect with the last quarter of the book and didn't understand why the main character's quest to improve the lives of her people was not given the time and attention to detail it should have been given. I feel like there was opportunity there to do some interesting things. The closer towards the end, the more I stopped enjoying the book, and kind of hate the ending. That whole last quarter took this book from what could have been 4 stars to my 3 star rating, and I feel like it should be 3.5 stars, if I could give half-stars.

"Countess" is a short and fast-paced reimagining of "The Count of Monte Cristo" set in space. The first half of the story does a great job building Virika's character, her emotions, and her reasons for imprisonment. The world-building is solid, and the narrator does a fantastic job bringing the characters and accents to life. It's easy to follow even if you’re not familiar with the original tale. However, as the story progresses, things start to move too quickly, with major plot points feeling a bit rushed and key moments skipped over.

While the second half felt a little underdeveloped, the themes of revenge, oppression, and fighting against colonialism were still engaging. The story touches on important issues, like discrimination, while weaving in romance and action. Though it could have benefited from more detail, *Countess* is an enjoyable listen, and I'd recommend it for anyone who loves reimaginings or space operas.

Countess by Susan Palumbo and narrated by Shante McCormick. If I could rate the book before she gets arrested I would give it a five star rating and everything else seem to go haywire. I love reimagining‘s and when I saw this was one for the count of monte Crisco I was so down to listen and thought the narrator had a great voice and for the first two Or three hours the story was plotted out skillfully, with great character development it was very similar to the original but I think from her breaking out of the space jail to her becoming the bad ass Countess just happened too quickly, but there is a satisfying ending. I think because the Count of Monte Crisco is one of my favorite books by Alex Dumas I was expecting something more detailed sort of like the beginning was but I digress I still recommend this book because like I said I am a big fan of reimagining‘s despite the author glossing over huge main points towards the end I still think it was a pretty good read. #NetGalley, #DreamscapeLaw, #SusanPalumbo,#ShanteMcCormick, #Countess,

Countess is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. The inclusion of not only discrimination against women but individuals with darker skin drew me in from the beginning. The layout of Virika’s journey was well thought out and helped me connect with her character. The world building was amazing, especially considering this is a shorter novel.

I listened to the audiobook and I thought the narrator did an excellent job with the different character voices and various accents. I would certainly recommend checking this book out. It’s a quick read in an interesting world that portrays similar sociocultural topics from reality.

Thank you NetGalley for the access! And thank you to Dreamscape for allowing me to listening to this short but, captivating story.

A story that is The Count of Monte Cristo meets Star Wars.

The writing is superb and world is easy to grasp.

I really liked the book it was a simple and quick listen, but the ending upset me so much that It went from almost 5 stars to 3. Don't get me wrong the whole story is very good, I'm just salty how the author decided to end it.

This is a relatively short novella. One thing that speaks for it is that it can be understood if you haven't read the original story it is based on (The Count of Monte Christo). On its own it is an interesting space opera featuring a marginalized main character and an anti colonialist revolutionary plot. In the first half of the story we are told about the reason for Virika's imprisonment and her time in prison. This part of the story is interesting and nicely paced. Her emotions are clear, her loss heartbreaking and I really enjoyed the character building provided here. While there wasn't a lot of world building at that point, the story provided enough opportunities to understand what was going on anyway and by being in a very confined space it worked brillantly. When I reached the second part of the book, the escape and her revenge I was incredibly excited for this character I had started to really care for to finally shine in action. Unfortunately the lenght of the novella really started to shine through here. Many things happen in the second part of the novella and the plot speeds up a lot. This wouldn't be soo bad, if there weren't also many scene changes, which made the story feel a bit underdeveloped at times.
Especially towards the last third of the book there are a few time skips, which greatly impacted my enjoyment of the story. We are told of some really interesting things Virika did... We just don't really see her do them and if we get a scene it is short and more tell than show. Including these scenes instead of skipping them would have increased tension, extended the story a bit and slowed the pacing in the second half of the book, which were my three main issues with the story.
Despite my criticisms here I still enjoyed the story and found it particularly interesting in its depiction of what oppression does to marginalized people and how they can internalize it. I also did very much enjoy reading about a colonized lesbian woman getting revenge on the empire that betrayed her.
The romance portrayed in the novella is also very sweet and I adored the bonding over shared childhood food, but the falling in love bit could have been more interesting if it had been extended a bit. Like this it happened very fast and felt a bit flat, as I couldn't really get that invested.
All in all an interesting story, even if it was too short to live up to its potential, but I definitely want to read more by the author since I can see a lot of really interesting parts here.

tw: suicide, racism, homophobia, murder, sexual harassment, mass murder, isolation, imprisonment

Hmm. I'm left with mixed feelings for Countess.

First: Palumbo’s prose is serviceable, but flawed. She writes both raw, steering lines about colonization and injustice, and middling lines conveying Virika’s actions and emotional state riddled with weak words like “made” and “felt.”

The original Monte Cristo lends itself well to an anti-colonial narrative, and Palumbo effortlessly builds and presents a setting that supports and drives the narrative, drawing on both the real history of the slave trade and the Antillean islands to create something new and plausible, sci-fi style. The political elements are easy to follow, but complex beneath the surface.

I enjoyed a lot of the small details, like how the “real” traitor’s name means “white.”

Unfortunately, overall I was disappointed. A lot of the book feels like set-up for the When it comes to examining a book–particularly a book with an inherent message or goal for the reader to decipher–two elements sometimes conflict with one another: plot/character satisfaction vs. thematic satisfaction. I believe it's okay to “hamper” potential plot/character satisfaction by refraining from things like hand-holding the reader to revelations for stronger thematic satisfaction, especially because the alternative often greatly cheapens meaningful messages. My issue with Countess is that it doesn't deliver thematically, as a retelling/remix, or as a narrative on its own.

As a Monte Cristo retelling, there is an inherent promise of vengeance or justice or something–the original Count, although ultimately musing if he took his retribution too far, executed numerous schemes. To that end, Countess is largely set-up, and although it's fine to read, it's rarely engaging, but it's tolerable because of that inherent promise of revenge. The titular Countess lines up her dominoes for a revolution, not necessarily personal revenge, and as we approach it, the narrative stops. The story ends. There's a wishy-washy sort of epilogue, but it doesn't satisfy narratively, thematically, or as a loose retelling.

The ultimate message is, what?–That bipoc, especially Black people, rarely receive justice? Even with funding and a united front, justice is almost impossible? It's not worth remaining pliable and pleasing to your oppressors because they'll betray you anyway? That colonization and colonizers are inherently cruel and dehumanizing by nature?

None of this is new information. The world sucks and is cruel, and the world is and has historically been particularly cruel to Black people.

Audiobook:
Again, mixed feelings about the narrator of the audiobook. She has a lovely voice and does a good job with different character voices, but I felt her actual narration was weak. Sentences sometimes had an odd cadence–she'd falter or slow in strange places–and although the writing would have Virika respond in a “strong” way–yelling, etc.–in the spoken narration her response would sound much weaker or softer, not matching what the story was dictating at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I loved this !! It was a tiny bit hard for the first 10 min getting into the story. It really threw you into the deep end but trust me it’s worth it. The story has so many relevant undertones , and in such a short amount of time gets you attached. An emotional and powerful story that just gripped me the whole way through. I’m making sure to get the physical version when I can!

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 14th September and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of October.

To be honest, it's been a very long time since I read The Count of Monte Cristo and so the entire draw for me was "queer Caribbean anti-colonial in space". I was not disappointed and I think there was a benefit to not remembering much about the original novel, because it meant parts of it were a surprise to me.

The pacing in the last half of the book was a bit weird for me, a lot of things happen quickly that I think could have stood to have more time devoted to them. It didn't diminish the story, I just wish it was a bit longer.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

*Countess* is a powerful sci-fi novella infused with Caribbean culture and deeply relevant themes of colonialism, identity, and sacrifice. The world-building is richly detailed, with political intrigue and family bonds at the heart of the story. Virika, our protagonist, navigates the difficult balance between two worlds—neither fully embracing her.

The exploration of colonialism is handled with nuance, and Virika's perseverance in a system designed to see her fail is both heartbreaking and empowering. While the story's brevity leaves some arcs feeling rushed, the depth of the themes ensures a satisfying read. A must for fans of space operas with sharp cultural commentary.

A queer sci-fi novella with infused with Caribbean culture, amazing food descriptions and a scathing critique of British colonialism.

I love the world building of worlds and politics with a very direct analogue to British colonialism. The first half of this book hurt my heart, because our main character is trying to be the perfect immigrant daughter, who isn't ethnic enough to fit in her home world and isn't 'cultured' (read white) enough to fit in her new one. She exceeds at schooling, in her career and yet, the system still sets her up for failure.

Themes of sacrifice, identity and truth are explored in deeply compelling ways.

The description of generational poverty and policy-led racism was a bit heavy handed for me. We are often 'told' that racism is bad and this is why, instead of being shown how it's affecting the characters to live in this world and feel it's crushing oppression. I also wish there was more rage from our main character, although perhaps that is also part of the story. She has these terrible things done to her, and still tries to succeed in the oppressors world, by there rules.

Chanté McCormick does an amazing job with the audiobook narration. The addition of Caribbean accents and inflection added to the story in a way my mind wouldn't have been able to if I read the book. If you want to read this book, I highly recommend choosing the audiobook!

I really want to talk about the ending, because it feels as influential to the story as everything that leads up to it. Which is to say, it fit the story perfectly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC.

This book is best read while eating a sweet mango on a spaceship.

Hmmmm. This tiny book tries to be so much and I can't say it failed. Oppressed queers, Antillean/Caribbean ancestry, black history, cycles of oppression, political intrigue, colonialism, martyrdom, revolution, equality, freedom, familial bonds, cultural solidarity but also revenge, love, interstellar travel, tech, space opera backdrop with the relevant details regarding factions, planetary groups etc etc. There's quite a bit of everything here.
Doesn't mean it'll be everyone's cup of tea though. I also suspect each reader will feel differently about different parts of the book. I didn't really care for the start and might've DNF'd if this novella weren't so short, but I really enjoyed the 2nd half. I've seen another review say the exact opposite but there are also those that liked/ disliked the whole thing so idk.

This is not a perfect story but the writing is surprisingly tactful. The way we stuck with the character for over a decade, experiencing the monotony of the passage of time without having to read through long and repetitive passages... *chef's kiss*. The way the different subplots seamlessly (and perhaps too conveniently) blend together was satisfying and gave the story the feeling of completion and progress.

This is a political/empowering story first and sci-fi after. Somehow, the sci-fi elements are more than just a backdrop but this isn't for the hard sci-fi enthousiasts.