England is about to send the first manned mission to Terra-Two and found the first interstellar colony. The crew of the Damocles is made up of several seasoned senior astronauts, and under them is a crew of six teenagers who began training singlemindedly for this moment as children and were chosen from among hundreds of hopefuls for this mission. With the available technology, they will reach Terra-Two in 23 years. But, of course, things immediately begin to go wrong. 

I absolutely could not put DO YOU DREAM OF TERRA-TWO? down. The book has an uneasy atmosphere and I was immediately drawn in. Each character was compelling in a different way, and I felt actually stressed when things went wrong for them. 

I won't get too much into the plot since things take a turn pretty early on. I'll just say if you like books about people having FEELINGS in SPACE and commentary on the ethics of interstellar space travel, give this book a try. 

Content warnings: suicide, eating disorder, physical abuse, emotional abuse, cancer, attempted murder, hallucinations. 

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the free advance copy of this book. 

The royal love story of Nick and Bex continues, picking up after their grand wedding. However, instead of a fairytale, it was a nightmare, as a scandalous secret about Bex leaked to the public in the middle of their ceremony. The pair try to pick up the pieces of their relationships while also unraveling some old royal family secrets.  

THE ROYAL WE is one of my favorite books, and it's so wonderful to be reunited with these characters I love so much. Bex remains a delight, as do Nick and Freddie and their crew of friends. Bea in particular got her moment in the sun in this book, and I aspire to be on her organization and planning level some day.  

However, THE HEIR AFFAIR pretty quickly got bogged down in repetitive, circular conversations about the mixed up feelings of Bex, Nick, and Freddie. It felt like it took forever to advance forward even a tiny step, and while that might be realistic for repairing such a relationship breach as depicted here, it doesn't make for a gripping read. I think part of the reason it felt so stuck was that we only got Bex's point of view, so it was hard to see when or if other characters were growing until they told her directly.  

Content warnings: emotional affair, stroke, mental illness stigma, infertility, miscarriage. 

 Ada is born with gods inside her. As she grows up and experiences various traumas, the selves inside her splinter, and each self comes to the forefront when needed. But over time, Ada herself fades back, and these alternate selves begin to take control of her body. 📚
•
Wow, that is the least effective summary of a book I've ever written. FRESHWATER is too complex and engulfing to boil down to a paragraph! This book is honestly one of the most compelling, terrifying, thought-provoking books I've ever read in my life. I've been sitting on writing this review because it simply took my breath away. It's a totally unique look at how one defends oneself in the face of unspeakable trauma, of how gender and self-expression can manifest, and how spirituality and religion interweave with and affect one's life. 📚
•
I apologize for not being able to explain things further than that. You really must experience being inside Ada's mind for yourself. 📚