A review by justabean_reads
The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Ann Older

4.0

More lesbian Sherlock Holmes on Jupiter, though a much lower-key story than the first novel: smaller stakes and fewer attempts to murder the main characters, for example. Really, most of this was an echo or reverberation of the first novel, with the heroine slowly coming to terms with the consequences of what happened, and trying to figure out what to do next, or if she needs to do something different. She's in a new relationship, which given it's the latest try at an old college fling doesn't feel at all secure, while at the same time her career might be either pointless or actively making things worse, which she's not really willing to face as yet. We also see a bit more of the history of the colony on Jupiter, the relationship with the colony on Io, and how dysfunctional the government is. Overall, it's a sombre book, more about slow decay than anything. I appreciated how it kept coming back to the theme of the title: how people set themselves up to fail wanting what might be instead of what is.