This review originally appeared on the book review blog: Just One More Pa(i)ge.

ATTN: this book is an insane and wild ride, from start to finish! I always find it a little difficult to full on review books that are in a series. For one thing, after the first one, everything I say could potentially be a spoiler. For another, the story is really not over until the final installment is read, and I find judging in pieces hard. If you’ll notice, most of the books I’ve read in series have been reviewed all together, in one post, after I’ve binged the whole thing. There are exceptions, of course, like Crazy Rich Asians, which could all sort of be read as standalones anyways. Or, sometimes, if I read series that aren’t fully published yet (i.e. The Poppy War) or, occasionally, series like This Broken Earth, that are intense and deep and I know I’ll need to have space between reading each of the pieces and therefore want to write/post reviews before I forget all my thoughts. So, basically, I guess there are actually a lot of exceptions. But here, here is something I have never encountered before. And entire opening novel that I feel like is both a spectacular first salvo of a greater epic tale and, simultaneously, an incredible standalone adventure. Like, standalone as in after finishing, I would be ok waiting for the next part of the story because this one ends in a satisfying and conclusive way, yet the hints we have for what the next books with cover are tantalizing AF and I still can’t wait to pick up the next one.

First, a summary. Kady and Ezra broke up this morning. And understandably, they thought that would be the worst thing they were going to face for the rest of the day. But then their planet is invaded, violently attacked, and they are some of the sole survivors that make it out on three escape ships. Different ships, but at least they both make it out alive – most of their friends and family are not so lucky. And things are just getting started. There’s a biochemical weapon that was used and is causing horrific psychoses among survivors, there’s a AI system that got damaged in the retreat to the point where it’s making some unprecedented (and not-override-able) decisions, and there’s the matter of one of the attacking ships being hot on the trail of the evacuees…trying to wipe out the last evidence of the invasion. Meanwhile, Kady and Ezra are realizing that, just perhaps, their feelings for each other aren’t completely gone after all. Too bad it looks like there isn’t a lot of time left to do anything about it.

Ok WOW. I mean, I know when this came out it was a bestseller and I barely saw a single bad review. But I mean, hype can get out of hand, we all know that. And I’m not always in the mood for crazy sci-fi space adventures and espionage and conspiracies. The tension and “edge-of-seat” reading experience, while amazing, can be exhausting. And I have to be in the right mood for it. Well. I’m glad I waited, because this was all of those things and more, as far as blood-pressure-raising thrill and excitement go, and being in the right mood for it made things that much better. This book is like 600 pages and I literally read it in two days. I could not put it down. And it’s not just from the phenomenal pacing and pedal-to-the-metal action. No, this is, by far, one of the most visually striking and creatively written books I’ve ever read. It’s presented as a dossier of all documents, etc. collected from the events that are unfolding – transcriptions of conversations, memos, recordings, countdowns, written descriptions of surveillance video, text message conversations, and more. And it’s not done like any old epistolary novel. No. It’s got graphics and doodles and “classified” stamps and coffee ring stains and more…as if everything we are reading was legitimately collected from any remaining evidence of the events. And the parts that describe space battles are written in weaving words, curlicue shapes, in graphics of blasts/explosions, in patterns following the trajectories of missiles. I literally cannot do it justice with a normal review – you have to go pick up the book and look at it yourself.

Now, back to the plot and stuff. Holy crap it grabs you and doesn’t let go. There are so many layers of who is the good guy and who is the bad guy and who do you trust and how to do you know and what actually is the best course of action to save the most lives? I almost couldn’t keep up with the leaps and jumps of theory and hypothesis bouncing around in my head. And I loved that. Plus, I am definitely a sucker for an end of the world romance situation, so I was cheering hard for Kady and Ezra (and even of parts of that story are unlikely…I’m not mad about it). I also LOVE a strong female lead, one who fights the odds and never gives up and has a penchant for breaking rules to save the people she cares about (added bonus, this particular female lead is also a teach genius – I’m not personally that into science, but I strongly support a ladies in STEM situation like this). Another bonus, for me, of the fast-paced (and sometimes super scary) unfolding drama of the plot is that I never stopped to think too deeply for the reasons/people behind it. It just wasn’t the focus. So when, at the end, we get a hella shock/twist addressing those questions, it totally took me by surprise. I definitely gasped out loud. I LOVE that feeling. Another thing I want to say is how much I was surprised about how emotional I felt at certain parts, especially in relation to some of the AI sections. I mean really, its artificial intelligence, but the authors did a great job evoking tons of feels there. Plus, of course, there was (no spoilers here) a ton of death and destruction and fear and more, so obviously some of those parts got tough-going at times as well. And last, if you are a YA fantasy/sci-fi reading nerd (like me) keep your eyes peeled for some super fun Easter egg name drops of other authors of the genre. I got a big smile every time I found one - they’re small (and not obvious), but the satisfaction and fun is real!

Anyways, basically, I just want to add my voice to the chorus saying that this novel is just straight up fantastic. I cannot wait to pick up the next one(s)!