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This is one of those stories that had all the pieces in place for me to love it wholeheartedly, but it just wasn’t long enough.
It’s a classic fish out of water sci-fi story, featuring a smart girl from an isolated culture who gets into a university for geniuses. She leaves without the approval of her family, and on the way to the school, their space ship gets hijacked by an alien race long known for their violence. It has all the markers for being a fantastic tale, but I think the short novella format does it a disservice.
There simply isn’t enough time for the story to go quite as in depth as it needed to make all the elements work together.
I usually love sci-fi tales that simply dive into the universe, giving us a feel for the world created by trusting the audience is smart enough to get it. Unfortunately I was mostly confused, and not in a good way here. What was the ancient doodad she had? What was the weird math she studies? Why were they at war with the aliens? Why didn’t I realize that there weren’t just humans going to this school until the last fifth of the novella? (That last part might be my own fault, I don’t know.)
Ultimately I wanted so much more out of this than it provided. It needed more time for world building, and it could be a fantastic universe if expanded. I’ll pick up the second novella to check it out and see if it grows the way I hope it will, since there’s so much potential here. Fingers crossed.
It’s a classic fish out of water sci-fi story, featuring a smart girl from an isolated culture who gets into a university for geniuses. She leaves without the approval of her family, and on the way to the school, their space ship gets hijacked by an alien race long known for their violence. It has all the markers for being a fantastic tale, but I think the short novella format does it a disservice.
There simply isn’t enough time for the story to go quite as in depth as it needed to make all the elements work together.
I usually love sci-fi tales that simply dive into the universe, giving us a feel for the world created by trusting the audience is smart enough to get it. Unfortunately I was mostly confused, and not in a good way here. What was the ancient doodad she had? What was the weird math she studies? Why were they at war with the aliens? Why didn’t I realize that there weren’t just humans going to this school until the last fifth of the novella? (That last part might be my own fault, I don’t know.)
Ultimately I wanted so much more out of this than it provided. It needed more time for world building, and it could be a fantastic universe if expanded. I’ll pick up the second novella to check it out and see if it grows the way I hope it will, since there’s so much potential here. Fingers crossed.
I don't think there's much to say that hasn't been said already in terms of the main problematic element in this book. Knowing it existed made it easier to read through, though Kill Bill sirens starting going off when I got to that scene.
Anyway! This is great fun! I can see why this series was made into a TV show, and both are incredibly fun in their own ways. Everything is very light and fun and makes for a breezy read when you just want to turn your brain off and enjoy yourself. I LOVED the Bridgerton sibling dynamics a lot more than the story itself, though I think that is mostly my fault for reading the book after having watched the TV show.
I'm writing this review after having already started in on [b:The Viscount Who Loved Me|861326|The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)|Julia Quinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379594308l/861326._SY75_.jpg|3363], and I'm enjoying the series as a whole so far.
Popsugar 2021 Reading Challenge: A book with a family tree.
Anyway! This is great fun! I can see why this series was made into a TV show, and both are incredibly fun in their own ways. Everything is very light and fun and makes for a breezy read when you just want to turn your brain off and enjoy yourself. I LOVED the Bridgerton sibling dynamics a lot more than the story itself, though I think that is mostly my fault for reading the book after having watched the TV show.
I'm writing this review after having already started in on [b:The Viscount Who Loved Me|861326|The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2)|Julia Quinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1379594308l/861326._SY75_.jpg|3363], and I'm enjoying the series as a whole so far.
Popsugar 2021 Reading Challenge: A book with a family tree.
You know what? This was just FUN. It's fun and charming and I loved watching Anthony and Kate get all up in each other's business.
Plus, even MORE Bridgerton sibling shenanigans!
Plus, even MORE Bridgerton sibling shenanigans!
This turned out to be a re-read, because I apparently read this at some point on audio during my year of commuting pre-Covid, but never logged it here.
Still excellent. Still heartfelt. Murderbot is the best.
Still excellent. Still heartfelt. Murderbot is the best.
This has all the hallmarks of a great cozy mystery read: a cute hook, a great cast of cute neighbors, and a mystery that is interesting, but not at all thrilling. In short, it's what I love out of cozy mysteries, with some vampires thrown in.
Definitely continuing this series in the future!
Definitely continuing this series in the future!
