User Profile

Grabs you by the throat and won't let go.

Elaine – Miss Oldenburg to her 6yo students – takes her job seriously. Very seriously. As a grade one teacher in the post-pandemic Newsflesh world, that job is quite different to what readers of our world would expect. And it's probably even further removed from what readers in 2014 would have recognised. Elaine is exceptionally good at her job. So when it all goes horribly wrong, no one could possibly blame her … could they?

Unfortunately, for me, there was frustrating technical issues with this one. For one thing, the leading was so tight that I had trouble (physically, I mean) keeping my eyes on the correct line. That slowed my reading down significantly. Secondly, although the text is clearly delineated into chapters, the ebook consists of one giant chapter from start to finish.

I don't blame the author for these flaws, so I haven't deducted any points. I blame the publisher. This is sloppy, haphazard work on their part. Trad pub continues to charge readers almost as much for an ebook as for a paperback without any justification. To do so and then make such a slipshod job of formatting the ebook is unforgivable.

There was a lot to love – but also a lot that detracted from its enjoyability.

Opal and her stolen stolen ship, Clarissa, stumble upon a ‘lost’ ship. They board, searching for … I’ll be honest, I’m still not sure what they’re looking for. And then the cavalry show up.

The pros: The story is unique and interesting. The writing is solid. I didn’t catch any distracting typos or grammatical errors. And the cover is fab.

The cons: The story is told largely in dialogue — yet there are almost no dialogue tags or indicators of any kind. I was constantly lost as to who was speaking. Big talking-head syndrome vibes. The other issue was that the story comes to repeated false climaxes. Like, this is it. There’s no way out. There’s literally nothing we can do this time. Oh, hang on, actually we can just do this thing and then it’s all fine.

For me this was 3.5 stars. Rounded up because that’s how it works.

This came up in my ARC list recently. Part of the tagline says: 'If you like diverse stories with lesbian heroines practicing science'. Well, that had me sold.

My favourite is Jellyfish Lovepotion by JS Fields. Andrea is a snarky scientist about to leave Earth for the last time when things – as they so often do – go awry. Dew Diligence was a close second.

This brilliantly diverse anthology runs the gamut from silly and fun to eerily prescient.

Radiant by NL Bates
Anna and Chris work together to clear away discarded radioactive material off Vancouver Island.
A superhero story set in Canada. For me the focus was too much on romance and not enough in character or plot (but that’s just me)."

Jellyfish Lovepotion by JS Fields
Andrea don’t really want to leave Earth, but gets called up at short notice to join the generation ship, Lovepotion.
Romance takes a back seat to both plot and character development in this high-stakes yet snarky tale. I really enjoyed this one.

Thorns and Fur by William C Tracy
Kamuli and Bhon are on opposing sides of a war when they meet. But that can't stop the intense attraction between the pair.

Dew Diligence: The First Fairyl@nd Story by Robin C.M. Duncan
Reeling from a bad breakup, Julia goes to stay with her grandmother in Berks for a bit.
A really fun tale with a wonderful combination of old-fashioned whimsy and legal geekery.

Killer Trees and Second Chances: An Evanstar Chronicles Story by Sara Codair
This one didn’t vibe with me, so I skipped over most of it. That’s probably because it’s set after the end of a series I’ve not read.

How to Steal a Planet by N.L. Bates
As a newly minted captain, Mae is assigned to a small mining ship. When they discover an uncharted planet and her brand new crew mutinies on her, things get weird quickly.

Brie and the Marsh Kraken by Sara Codair
Brie returns to her childhood home to find her childhood crush, Gretchen. eager to reconnect. Oh, and Gretchen’s a kraken.
Overall well-written and engaging, but the fact Brie doesn’t even bat an eyelid when she discovers Gretchen’s a mythical monster took me out of the story for a moment.

Down Among the Mushrooms by William C. Tracy
Agetha’s leading the work crew to build the new zeta radian in the colony on Lida. Management want it done ASAP, but the planet’s plant life has other plans.
This story took a while to get off the ground, but once it did, it was excellent. The science felt a bit iffy, but the struggles were all too real.

The Bibliothek Betrayal: A Quirk and Moth Debacle by Robin C.M. Duncan
Separately, both Cassie and Quirk are running from their part mistakes and successes.
The lack of dialogue tags or easy-to follow indicators made this one tough for me … which is a shame as it’s seems like a great story.

Rings: An Ardulan Tale by JS Fields
Atalant and Emn have won their wars and settled into their new life on Ardulum. Atalant is toying with the idea of proposing to Emn – but first she has to deal with outbreaks of both koalas and fruit.
I definitely got the sense this would be a lovely little wrap-up to their story – for readers who knew the characters.

I received an advance review copy via BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.