The Stars too Fondly is adult debut novel by Emily Hamilton that just came out this week!
The story follows Cleo and her friends after they accidently steal a spaceship. They didn't mean too. They swear. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace, but then the stupid dark-matter engine started on its own, sending them on an adventure they weren't ready for.
Now they are on their way to Proxima Centauri, with the guidance of a grumpy hologram that resembles the captain of the disappeared ship, Billie.
Hologram Billie doesn't know what year it is, or what they missed while the others went missing, but as they start to catch up on the story they become more and more concerned.
Though Cleo has always dreamed of being an astronaut and the Earth is a lost cause at this point. The idea of being sent to space the way her idols would have been, is exciting, until it isn't. The longer they stay on the ship and continue further into space, the laws of physics don't seem to exist. Cleo and her friends start to develop powers they don't understand and suddenly the mystery of the crew's disappearance starts to seem connected to what is happening currently.
As she works with her friends, and Billie, to try to solve the mystery of the real Billie's disappearance, they start to realize how many secrets were kept between the crew, the captain and the scientist who created the engine. Now working closely with Billie to solve the mystery, and potentially save everyone is missing, Cleo starts to develop feelings for the hologram she didn't expected.
This book had a lot of twists and turns I wasn't ready for, or expecting, but really enjoyed. There is an Interstellar vibe to the story, along with a few romantic subplots. There is a part near the beginning of the story were things feel slow, but as the mystery starts to unfold the story gets a lot better. The prose is mixed with logs of Billie's thoughts on the project and messages between the friend group as well as Billie, her brother and scientist who may be at fault for all of this.
I did really enjoy the set up of the story, having different information mixed in throughout the text, with the reader learning more than the characters knew at times. The ending of the book was really fantastically written, with a lot of turns that I found really refreshing.
Overall, this book is a really great sci-fi, especially for some who want something a little more 'tied to Earth'. I really enjoyed how it was written, and how the character's were portrayed dealing with everything happening around them. There is also a lot of representation within the book, with various types of relationships being shown.
A 4 out of 5 star read for me!
This book came out on June 11, 2024! So be sure to check it out.
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