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ismildlypoetic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 stars = I loved it!
This is one of the most unique books I've ever read. If you like science fiction, I recommend it, way more for the plot structure. If you're looking for a romance, although it's a main element in this story, I would choose a different book.
Oh my God where do I start? So I usually don't read sci-fi, because I don't like the idea of something not based in reality, but I always tend to enjoy it a lot more than I think I will. I got this book out of a little free library during a trip to San Fransisco because I needed something to read on the plane home, so I went in with very little to zero expectations.
Starting with Ambrose and Kodiak 1.0 (2.0? the one we meet at the beginning), I thought the characters were so funny, and I was excited about a classic enemies-to-lovers slow-burn plot, but it just happened in outer space. This, to my surprise, did not happen. They died about 40% of the way through the book, and I had absolutely zero hypotheses for what was going to happen next.
The mystery of the clones, whether OS was evil, if Minerva was alive, and where we were headed was such a great story and the author did an incredible job of pacing it out in a way that felt natural for the audience. However, after the first set of clones, I feel we lost the Ambrose and Kodiak we loved (i mean, we did), but I never was able to reattach myself to whatever version we saw next. I found myself caring for the original back on Earth more than whoever I saw in front of me. Part of this has to do with the romance. The first set of clones was great, loved it. However, with the second incarnation, the author never built up the love again; just said "here, date" and threw them together. And I never found the spark after that. It seemed like they were only together because they were both gay, and there was no one else around, not for any actual chemistry, which was a shame.
All that being said, I thought this book was great, and I'm very excited to read the sequel when it comes out in October.
This is one of the most unique books I've ever read. If you like science fiction, I recommend it, way more for the plot structure. If you're looking for a romance, although it's a main element in this story, I would choose a different book.
Oh my God where do I start? So I usually don't read sci-fi, because I don't like the idea of something not based in reality, but I always tend to enjoy it a lot more than I think I will. I got this book out of a little free library during a trip to San Fransisco because I needed something to read on the plane home, so I went in with very little to zero expectations.
The mystery of the clones, whether OS was evil, if Minerva was alive, and where we were headed was such a great story and the author did an incredible job of pacing it out in a way that felt natural for the audience. However, after the first set of clones, I feel we lost the Ambrose and Kodiak we loved (i mean, we did), but I never was able to reattach myself to whatever version we saw next. I found myself caring for the original back on Earth more than whoever I saw in front of me. Part of this has to do with the romance. The first set of clones was great, loved it. However, with the second incarnation, the author never built up the love again; just said "here, date" and threw them together. And I never found the spark after that. It seemed like they were only together because they were both gay, and there was no one else around, not for any actual chemistry, which was a shame.
All that being said, I thought this book was great, and I'm very excited to read the sequel when it comes out in October.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Confinement, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content
The main charactersbeeping_librarian's review
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
The mystery is interesting, the characters less so. Weird binary opposite stereotypes of people, with forced romance. Didn't really get into it until halfway through. It doesn't say a lot with its ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Cancer, and Vomit
figsofpeach's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: War and Suicide
Minor: Grief, Vomit, and Cancer
roquerynn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Suicide
storydragon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
There are quite some plot twists.
Just when I thought I knew what was going on, it turned out to be something else...
The plot has a very interesting structure.
It's cool!
Just when I thought I knew what was going on, it turned out to be something else...
The plot has a very interesting structure.
It's cool!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, War, Murder, Grief, and Death
Minor: Blood, Terminal illness, and Cancer
phoofy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: War and Vomit
adrianas65's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Murder, Suicide, Blood, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement
Moderate: Vomit, Medical trauma, and Sexual content
kteliza28's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Much more than o thought I would. In the first several pages I wasn’t too sure but I got hooked quickly and found myself so curious about the mystery unfolding. As with most YA, the romance development was kind of erratic and unlikely though throughout the book, things start making more sense. At times, hard to follow descriptions. Given this is a science fiction, there’s times when the environment just isn’t easy to imagine and the verbiage is confusing but the story is fantastic and keep you wanting to find out more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
scumlow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
this was such a cute little read. funny and sweet, and surprisingly violent and gory at times for YA, too, which i love. it honestly had me tearing up for a couple of moments as well, especially at one point where i really thought we were delving into some sort of AIDS crisis allegory. i think there’s certain elements of this story i struggled with, but i can’t get too much into it without spoiling things. the problems i had here are the same problems i have with this type of story every time though, so it’s not an issue unique to this book. if a creepy space mystery gay YA love/thriller story sounds fun to you, definitely give this a shot! also if you’ve ever read any type of gay kylo ren fanfic this is also one for you bc i was referring to that kodiak dude as russian kylo ren without fail every single time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Gore, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
tlaynejones's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
This is not a book to make you feel good. I found the experience of reading it often made me feel claustrophobic; the building sense of horror reminded me of Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro. The story is set on a space ship in deep space. It’s about two boys, late teens I think, who wake up with compromised memories and a situation that doesn’t quite fit what the on board AI is telling them. It’s also sort of a queer love story. The story is almost entirely about cis men, and there are lots of unresolved/ unexamined issues around corporatisation, colonialism, classism…
I enjoyed much of the interactions/ relationships between the two boys, and I found the problem solving around how they managed their situation quite interesting. Cautiously recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Vomit
Minor: Homophobia