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michaelion's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I love Romy. That's literally my baby girl child.
This is my second time reading so I knew what was gonna happen but it's been years. But the twists! The turns! I still have whiplash!!!
And to all the baby girls out there, this should be required reading! Master manipulators / groomers use the same tactics J used in this book! Every girl is special and wonderful and need to trust their instincts! Romy doubted herself because she's a girl, because she thought she was a foolish child; but I need every baby girl to know that you are wiser than you realize! You can doubt the world but don't doubt yourself!!!
Such amazing thrilling writing. I opened the book at 3 pm and finished it by 11 pm! Then I went and added several of James' books to my TBR as soon as I finished this. Lauren James you will always be famous!!!
This is my second time reading so I knew what was gonna happen but it's been years. But the twists! The turns! I still have whiplash!!!
Such amazing thrilling writing. I opened the book at 3 pm and finished it by 11 pm! Then I went and added several of James' books to my TBR as soon as I finished this. Lauren James you will always be famous!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Stalking
Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Self harm
Minor: Alcohol, Fatphobia, War, and Adult/minor relationship
emperor_aj's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Death
Minor: Pregnancy, Medical content, Vomit, Stalking, Blood, and Alcohol
lucielvalience034's review
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
This book made me question my life and I would like to do a brain cleansing because of what I had to endure. I do not recommend this book to anyone unless you love tormenting yourself. XXX
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, Child abuse, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Abortion
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
So, I read this in one sitting (audiobooks ftw) and... it was not what I was expecting.
I thought this would be a fluffy coming of age sci-fi romance that I would give 3 stars. And it definitely starts this way with some hints on a mystery in the past and resulting trauma for the protagonist. And then it changes course and goes some dark places. And I mean some really DARK places. I would recommend to check trigger warnings tbh.
The atmosphere is definitely what stands out. It starts with this lonely every-day routine in space, but it gets really unsettling and creepy. I do like these kinds of plots, and for the most part it is done well. I think the author accomplished what she wanted to accomplish. I just think some reveals towards the end were a little cliché and unbelievable. Oh yeah, you really need to suspend your disbelief for this one because I don't think the space science was super accurate either. But it works well enough.
Also, the ending drags a little, too. When I thought we're done, there was still an hour of the audiobook left, and it felt like the plot was just prolonged artificially. But maybe it just felt so jarring because the pacing had felt so natural up until that point.
But yeah, I enjoyed it for the most part. I was surprised, and I liked the themes of isolation and what it does to your mental health. The author also explored some complicated family and relationship dynamics. But some of this was hard to read, so again, please check trigger warnings.
I thought this would be a fluffy coming of age sci-fi romance that I would give 3 stars. And it definitely starts this way with some hints on a mystery in the past and resulting trauma for the protagonist. And then it changes course and goes some dark places. And I mean some really DARK places. I would recommend to check trigger warnings tbh.
The atmosphere is definitely what stands out. It starts with this lonely every-day routine in space, but it gets really unsettling and creepy. I do like these kinds of plots, and for the most part it is done well. I think the author accomplished what she wanted to accomplish. I just think some reveals towards the end were a little cliché and unbelievable. Oh yeah, you really need to suspend your disbelief for this one because I don't think the space science was super accurate either. But it works well enough.
Also, the ending drags a little, too. When I thought we're done, there was still an hour of the audiobook left, and it felt like the plot was just prolonged artificially. But maybe it just felt so jarring because the pacing had felt so natural up until that point.
But yeah, I enjoyed it for the most part. I was surprised, and I liked the themes of isolation and what it does to your mental health. The author also explored some complicated family and relationship dynamics. But some of this was hard to read, so again, please check trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
teslis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I don't know. This book was a real rollercoaster.
I really liked the concept of a lonely girl stuck in space and her only connection to other humans is digitally over chat to earth. And that one day it change when an other spaceship reach out to talk to her. Without spoling why I disliked this book to much is to say that the main character is young and being used. I also feel that she is not written as a person who's been alone for a long time and that she is "to strong".
So to explain it further: the first thing is that she is around 15/16, never been in love and starting to talk to the other spaceship. She finds out he is a 22 year old mail and "obviously" start to develop feelings. BUT thats not the problem, the problem I had was how he wrote back to her, like he was falling for her. There age gap felt so wrong and just no. The other parts are like I said earlier, I think she is "to strong". She has this big package of her parants dying and being left all alone out in space, that I think it would have given more to her feelings and how she handles stuff like the lights out. I also felt that it was un realistic for the other spaceship pilot to be the son of those other astronauts who died, and that he would take revenge. How could he be left alone awake when they were supost to always be two. Thats something thats drive me crazy.
It was some time since i listen to this book, but all I remember is that I had big problems with it :(
I really liked the concept of a lonely girl stuck in space and her only connection to other humans is digitally over chat to earth. And that one day it change when an other spaceship reach out to talk to her. Without spoling why I disliked this book to much is to say that the main character is young and being used. I also feel that she is not written as a person who's been alone for a long time and that she is "to strong".
So to explain it further:
It was some time since i listen to this book, but all I remember is that I had big problems with it :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking, Sexual content, and Vomit
mdride's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Murder
asiamd's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Holy shit this book was a little bit crazy and insane but I really loved it! First the beginning was a little slow to me, but it didn’t take away form the story at all. I loved the main character and how she truly acted like a teenager who had gone through extreme trauma and had to deal with it all by herself. The plot twists in the book were really good to me and I honestly didn’t see them coming, like I had to face time my best friend and explain everything that happened in the book just so I could talk about it. I do wish the ending was a little more fleshed out, it kinda felt too quick to me and I wish we would’ve gotten a little more of the main character and speaking to everyone she fell out of contact with during the book. Overall I’d give this a 10/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Death
drtx_bwt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse
Minor: War and Toxic friendship
laurenevlyn's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow! This book is awesome and I read it in just one sitting. <The horrifying transition from a (slightly creepy) romance to a full on psychological thriller was, though quite sudden, very well done. > I felt such intense loneliness hearing Romy describe her life and her future. It was very immersive. Great book and brilliant concept!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Torture, Mental illness, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Toxic friendship, War, Abortion, Toxic relationship, and Grief
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I am baffled because how could a book that started as incredible as this one end like THAT.
Romy Silvers was born in space. It was an accident, a by-product of her parents helming a mission to Earth 2 where a new world would be cultivated with a crew of astronauts and embryos. Except - Romy's parents died five years ago and she's been left by herself, at sixteen, helming a spacecraft. When she gets news from Earth that another craft has been dispatched to aid her, she's thrilled that she'll no longer be alone, until communications suddenly halt and she's left struggling to decipher the ghosts from her past from the unknowns of her future.
I'm baffled. I know I said that, but I'm truly baffled. This book started out as a four star for me and held that pretty heavily until the 50% mark. I chose the audiobook and already had a hurdle with the narration because it was grating on my nerves with the tone and the way Romy was written. She's a true 16 year-old, in over her head with things she shouldn't have to deal with, and I feel like that ratcheted up the sheer horror I had, as an adult, reading this. There is so much that happens to Romy in these pages that I felt my stomach twist at, it awoke something in me where all I wanted was this girl to be safe, but also for her to STOP MAKING DUMB DECISIONS.
We get a lot of hints about the reveal at the end. I love some foreshadowing, but even for YA this felt a little too heavy handed for me and the more I realized I could see the exact plot beats, the more I got frustrated with the book time and time again. There was only one moment that truly shocked me at the end, but once I realized how it would lead to the ending and help land this convoluted plot, I was sad that it was the only true twist in this. It's a very character-focused piece, and I really did find myself wanting to root for Romy. There's some mental health rep that discusses on page panic attacks and doesn't mince words, but I just felt like I didn't walk away from this novel with anything at the end. It was... just a story. And while that's fine if it's the kind of story that takes me on a fun journey, this one stalled out halfway and just left me wanting more, wishing it was an adult sci-fi that could dig it's teeth into the broader topics it barely brushed the edges of.
I don't think this is a bad book, but it's not the sci-fi piece I wanted. The tension holds fairly well for the majority of the thriller, ebbing into sheer rage (in my experience) at the end that has a just ending for the characters involved. But it unfortunately didn't have that spark I wanted.
Content warnings: death, death of a parent, blood, graphic violence, isolation, emotional abuse/gaslighting, on page panic attacks/mental health, vomit
Romy Silvers was born in space. It was an accident, a by-product of her parents helming a mission to Earth 2 where a new world would be cultivated with a crew of astronauts and embryos. Except - Romy's parents died five years ago and she's been left by herself, at sixteen, helming a spacecraft. When she gets news from Earth that another craft has been dispatched to aid her, she's thrilled that she'll no longer be alone, until communications suddenly halt and she's left struggling to decipher the ghosts from her past from the unknowns of her future.
I'm baffled. I know I said that, but I'm truly baffled. This book started out as a four star for me and held that pretty heavily until the 50% mark. I chose the audiobook and already had a hurdle with the narration because it was grating on my nerves with the tone and the way Romy was written. She's a true 16 year-old, in over her head with things she shouldn't have to deal with, and I feel like that ratcheted up the sheer horror I had, as an adult, reading this. There is so much that happens to Romy in these pages that I felt my stomach twist at, it awoke something in me where all I wanted was this girl to be safe, but also for her to STOP MAKING DUMB DECISIONS.
We get a lot of hints about the reveal at the end. I love some foreshadowing, but even for YA this felt a little too heavy handed for me and the more I realized I could see the exact plot beats, the more I got frustrated with the book time and time again. There was only one moment that truly shocked me at the end, but once I realized how it would lead to the ending and help land this convoluted plot, I was sad that it was the only true twist in this. It's a very character-focused piece, and I really did find myself wanting to root for Romy. There's some mental health rep that discusses on page panic attacks and doesn't mince words, but I just felt like I didn't walk away from this novel with anything at the end. It was... just a story. And while that's fine if it's the kind of story that takes me on a fun journey, this one stalled out halfway and just left me wanting more, wishing it was an adult sci-fi that could dig it's teeth into the broader topics it barely brushed the edges of.
I don't think this is a bad book, but it's not the sci-fi piece I wanted. The tension holds fairly well for the majority of the thriller, ebbing into sheer rage (in my experience) at the end that has a just ending for the characters involved. But it unfortunately didn't have that spark I wanted.
Content warnings: death, death of a parent, blood, graphic violence, isolation, emotional abuse/gaslighting, on page panic attacks/mental health, vomit
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse