Tag: sci-fi

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers – A Review

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Hi! Let’s skip the introduction. I’ve a review for you for the second book in the Wayfarers series today!

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
  • Publication date: 2016
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
  • Genre: Sci-fi

Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in a new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.

Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.

I didn’t realise this book wasn’t following the exact same characters as book one and I must admit, at the start I was bummed out. Just when I really fell in love with the crew of the Wayfarer, I had to leave them? Ahhh… My disappointment didn’t last for long, though.

I think I still love the first book a tad bit more, but this one is so close behind it’s incredible. Once again, even though it’s not necessarily a happy story, it’s one that is cosy and inviting. Chambers really lets us get to know Lovelace and Pepper and shows us what it is that make them tick, while still building onto the already rich world set up in the first book. We learn so much so effortlessly. And yes, there is a plot to it, but it takes the back burner while we really delve deep into the characters and their lives.

Lovey is a character I found incredibly fascinating in the first book, as she’s a sentient AI, with a personality and feelings, and I appreciated the way Chambers approached the subject. Lovey/Sidra really grows into herself throughout the book, and I was very invested in her journey.

Similarly, Pepper’s story is also really well done, and follows the character from childhood to when we know her, which inadvertently shows off more of the galaxy, laws, customs and all the good world building stuff that’s super intriguing.

Overall, A Closed and Common Orbit is a fantastic, engaging and warm story that I’m sure non sci-fi fans would also enjoy!

Thank you so much for reading! I’ll be back with a review for the 3rd and 4th book soon!

Take care!

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – A Review

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Hi there! We’re nearing a year of the pandemic in Ireland and I’ve gotten so fed up and uninspired, hence the lack of posts. Thankfully, I’m reading a fair bit, still. I thought to try and combat the bad feelings, I’ll post about a book I’ve read recently and LOVED, and spread the good vibes instead. Also – a new book in this series is out tomorrow (and I’m currently in the middle of it)! What better time to do this?

If you couldn’t tell from the title, this is for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Let’s go!

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
  • Publication date: 2014
  • Published: Hodder & Stoughton
  • Genre: Sci-fi

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn’t expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that’s seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful – exactly what Rosemary wants. Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They’ll earn enough money to live comfortably for years…if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful. But Rosemary isn’t the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.

I wish I could give this book all the stars in the world! 2021 barely started and I know for sure that this book will end up in my top 10 reads.

I loved every second of this book, every character and all that happened in it. I shed a tear at the end. If that doesn’t describe my feelings enough, I don’t know how to do it better.

I’ve read Chambers before, although only one book, so I knew I liked her style, or what I’ve seen of it. But this was something else. She managed to write the cosiest, warmest sci-fi book I’ve ever read. Found family trope is my absolute favourite, and it’s a big part of this book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but there’s something about it that makes it a great comfort read.

It’s definitely a more character than plot driven story. Chambers describes different species and their culture with such ease you believe they really exist. She mentiones their struggles, differences, politics and by it creates such vivid, multidimensional (no pun intended), real characters that feel both human and alien. They’re effortlessly diverse. I fell a bit in love with every crew member of the Wayfarer and I cared about them so deeply, and this might be weird to say but they almost felt like friends.

I was not once bored, not once disappointed. There’s nothing I would change about this book. I think it’s a story that would be approachable for non sci-fi readers, because it’s about so much more than space, aliens etc. You don’t have to like and understand these things, because they’re not the main focus. Anything that is alien to the reader, Chambers describes beautifully, and all the other aspects of it focus on the relationships and lives of the characters, which is something all readers look for regardless of the genre.

I’m so glad I finally picked up the series, it was a really special read. I would definitely recommend it to everyone who enjoys beautiful writing and well crafted characters.

Have you read this one? Let me know what you thought, I’d love to know!

As always, thank you so much for reading! Talk soon.

Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy – A Review

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Hi! Happy publication day to Sword in the Stars? I’m not sure how to begin because I can’t think of any reasons to celebrate that. Harsh, I know.

Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy
  • Publication date: April 7th 2020
  • Publisher: Rock the Boat
  • Genre: Sci-fi

In this epic sequel to Once & Future, to save the future, Ari and her Rainbow knights pull off a heist… thousands of years in the past.

Ari Helix may have won her battle against the tyrannical Mercer corporation, but the larger war has just begun. Ari and her cursed wizard Merlin must travel back in time to the unenlightened Middle Ages and steal the King Arthur’s Grail—the very definition of impossible.

It’s imperative that the time travelers not skew the timeline and alter the course of history. Coming face-to-face with the original Arthurian legend could produce a ripple effect that changes everything. Somehow Merlin forgot that the past can be even more dangerous than the future…

Thank you to NetGalley for providing and eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.


I’m going to try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but this is the second (and final book) in this series, so if you haven’t read the first – why are you even here?


In Sword in the Stars we’re transported to Medieval Camelot. Ari and the knights, and Merlin, obviously, need to retrieve Arthur’s chalice and bring it back into the future. I love me some heist stories, so I was hopeful. I got got once again.

While I’ve noticed some improvement in the overall story telling from the first book, it wasn’t enough to warrant a higher rating. The action got more structured, sure, but the time travel aspect was too convoluted and didn’t make sense.
Time travel stories are my absolute favourite, so this was a big let down. It’s a really difficult thing to get right – there are certain laws that need to be followed. My biggest issue was a certain character appearing in one timeline 3 times and all 3 of them interacting. Now, since there are different ways of viewing time travel, that could be possible and not destroy the universe, but if you want to do that, you set down your laws. Sword in the Stars had none, it just did what it pleased and when it pleased, and well… it did not please me. But it’s time to move on.

I thought, since we’re in Medieval Camelot, we’d get to see some of it and get a feel for how life was back then. Nope. The world building is minimal, and all we’re really told is how terrible those times were because people didn’t understand sexuality and assumed your gender. I get it, you’re really trying to drive the point across on every page and in every sentence, and identity is SUPER important, but it’s too much. One of the characters even tries to teach those medieval folk about the importance of pronouns etc. All while probably messing up with the future BIG TIME.

Speaking of characters. I honestly liked the story of Nin and how she became the big evil enchantress. Merlin was alright for most of the book, too. Everyone else stayed as much of a caricature of themselves as possible. What bothered me the most was how Kay was addressed. While reminiscing (though very rarely) about him, everyone treated him like a clown (Kay was annoying, awkward, got drunk and did embarrassing things etc. and not in an endearing way) and Kay from the past was a wannabe villain. What was that about? He deserved a better story arc.

I’m going to end this review on two things. Sometimes authors try to convey info by telling the readers, instead of showing, because it’s the only way to do it. The main message of this book (as far as I can tell) was identity. The amount of times we were told about it all really made me think the authors think their readers are idiots. It gets to a point where when a new character is introduced, the dialogue goes something like this:
“Introductions?”
“This is Yazmeen, everyone.”
“Mostly Yaz. She/Her. I’m a good ole lesbian.”
And only a paragraph or two later we find out she’s Ari’s cousin.
People are so much more than that…
And secondly… the slight shade thrown at Merlin the TV show at the end of the book? Excuse me, but… no. Just no.

Rant over. I tried to be eloquent but the dumb comes out when I’m frustrated.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

After my March wrap up this review should come as no surprise. Let’s all learn from this experience, though, and swear not to request sequels to books we haven’t yet read, okay?

Thanks so much for reading. I’ll chat to you very soon!

Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins – A Review

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Hi, lovelies! We’re going to skip the introductions for now and get to the point, because every time I write one of these, I feel the need to declare some sort of a schedule and, quite frankly, it’s comical how unorganised I am.

It’s review time!

Stolen Time by Danielle Rollins
  • Publication date: February 5th 2019
  • Publisher: Harper Teen
  • Genre: Sci-fi

Seattle, 1913

Dorothy spent her life learning the art of the con. But after meeting a stranger and stowing away on his peculiar aircraft, she wakes up in a chilling version of the world she left behind—and for the first time in her life, realizes she’s in way over her head.

New Seattle, 2077

If there was ever a girl who was trouble, it was one who snuck on board Ash’s time machine wearing a wedding gown—and the last thing he needs is trouble if he wants to prevent his terrifying visions of the future from coming true.

Oh, what a lovely surprise. I got Stolen Time in a subscription box and the blurb smelled of a bad romance disguised as a time travel story, so I held off for a good year before my TBR jar made me read it. I’m really glad I did because this book is FANTASTIC.


If you like time travel, a found family trope and heist stories, this book is for you.

Dorothy comes from 1913. Raised by her mother who is a con artist, she’s lived a life of constant moving and well… swindling people. It helps that she’s really pretty and can play a damsel in distress quite well. But when she’s about to be married off to some doctor for money, she decides to escape her fate. That’s when she meets Ash. Ash is a time traveller. He travels through time to find his missing mentor. Their story becomes entwined when Dorothy stows away on his ship and travels to 2077.

The narrative in Stolen Time is split between Dorothy and Ash’s point of view, with some journal entries that break it up now and then and give us insights into how time travel works, where the characters came from and what happened to the world. 2077 Seattle is nearly all under water. The world is slowly sinking after a series of earthquakes. The journal entries come from Ash’s mentor, who discovered time travel. I thought they were really well done and set up the grounds for the story in an interesting way.

I fell in love with these characters already. Dorothy is such a complex character. She’s soft and naive at times, because she’s trying to find a place where she belongs, but she’s also really smart and cunning. Ash is the best kind of a brooding hero. I love Chandra’s back story and how well she adapted to 2077. She’s fun, but she’s also a boss lady. Willis is a friendly (or maybe not so friendly) giant. Zora is tough and protective. They really fit together as a group and complement each other.

Stolen Time is a time travel story done well! Shocking, right? The rules are laid out at the start, thanks to professor’s journal entries, and they make sense. It’s not a common occurence, in YA especially. Danielle Rollins managed to give us all the needed info and not bore us to death by too much info dump.

I really loved the plot and pacing of this one. The book never lost momentum. Things were happening constantly and it made for a very fast read. Stolen Time is a page turner, and it pays off at the end when all the pieces fall together. The ending was great and it came unexpected. In retrospect, it makes a lot of sense, but I didn’t catch onto it while reading and that’s great because I love being surprised.

There is romance in this book, but it escapes me why it’s the first genre listed for this book. It’s subtle and really intertwined with the plot where it’s almost there to serve a purpose. So, in other words – the best kind. Romance usually puts me off, but I think in this case it added intrigue and some conflict to the story.

I can’t wait to read Twisted Fates!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Thanks for reading and until next time!