4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book.

» Solara was an awesome lead. I liked her from the start after her little plan with Doran, and it only grew from there. She was a bit morally gray, but hopeful for a new start and a humble life.

» The crew of the Banshee. Acorn was my favorite. What, I can't pick the sugar glider? Yes, you read that right. THE CAPTAIN HAS AN ADORABLE PET SUGAR GLIDER. Okay, my favorite person is Renny. That aside, I liked the ragtag group of friends vibe they had, kind of like the Dregs in space.

(Omg that could work!! The captain = Kaz, Solara = Inej, Doran = Wylan/Matthias, Kane = Jesper, Cassia = Nina... Renny doesn't really fit anyone though, and obviously there are differences, but still. I'm so proud of this comparison.) 🙌🏻

» Acorn. Yes, she deserves her own point. She's adorable, okay?!

» The world... or the galaxy, I guess? Being a space book, there were multiple worlds. I liked the variety and the uniqueness of each. Only a few were explored, but they seemed well-thought-out. The extravagance of the tourist planets, the abandoned fringe planets. Even in space itself, there were quadrants ruled by different pirate crews and also a group of terrifying, emotionless mercenaries (sort of) that hunted down troublemakers. It was really intriguing.

» This was really easy to get into and quick to read. Maybe it was just my excessive free time, but I read this in a day. I enjoyed it, and it's probably one of my favorite sci-fi books.

I did have a couple of problems, though. Mainly...

» Doran. As the other main character, my dislike for him was too strong to brush aside. How can I truly like a book when one of the narrators irritates me? Doran was so entitled and the epitome of a rich bad boy. Granted, there ended up being more to him and he did go through a lot of development, but I disliked him for 80% of the book. And the last 20% I only sort of liked him. So. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

» In the last 25%, certain things seemed unrealistic and kind of convenient. It wasn't major, as one event balanced the scale, but the feeling was still there. I think some things could've been more difficult to achieve. Also, one of the plot twists, while being something I didn't expect, felt a bit too common to have much of an effect on me.

» I'm not sure what the point of the sequel is. The end of this book wrapped things up nicely. There was no cliffhanger or even any loose strings to hint at future trouble for our space Dregs. (It's their new unofficial nickname.) While I don't know anything about the second book at this moment, I have to say that this honestly could be a stand-alone.

So overall, this was a much better book than I expected it to be. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I had a handful of problems, but I'm excited to read the sequel and get more of my favorite sugar glider. Oh, and the space Dregs. 😉

(Although I'm going to be a bit wary, because I've heard the sequel is disappointing. Bring it on!)