Huge thank you to Dark Matter INK for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank Almighty Cake, a sci-fi novel that doesn’t bury the reader in deep political landscapes. I am so unbelievably happy to a real, honest sci-fi story to dig into!

Welcome to Hibiscus, or Hib. The first pages immediately launch you into the world of Young, who’s working as a miner in a penal colony. Her crime? Trying to kill herself. Her story is revealed slowly and reluctantly not unlike Young herself. Battling with her past, flunking out of pomp training, and coming to terms with her new existence, Young has a lot of issues to work through. Everything changes the morning she’s late to work and an explosion takes out the cave her team is in, sparing her. And everything Young thought she knew was wrong, even about herself.

This world is so well-built and detailed I can’t help but feel as if I’ve been plopped down in the middle of a book series. I’m not mad about it, though. Maria Dong’s writing pulls you into the story and does not let you go. I was more than halfway through the book before I knew it. It was a single day read for me, I just couldn’t put it down. This is true sci-fi and I’m thrilled to have it front and center again!