The romance – I did not enjoy how the f/f romance turned out at all.

This book should have either been restructured a bit to remove the dangling plot points or made into a duology to better explore some of the issues involved. Characters acted in manners contrary to earlier behavior, several major plot lines were dropped (rebellion, embryos, sisterkin), and the resolution just felt rushed. But towards the end, a lot of the story fell apart and shattered me verisimilitude.

The writing structure – The majority of the book was engrossing and fun.

The characters in general – Besides the main couples, ye really did not get enough of a feel for any of the other people onboard.

She felt resourceful and yet did not live up to her earlier potential.

The main character – While I was cheering for Seske in the beginning, she wore on me by the end.

I wouldn’t have minded more exploration of these issues.

I loved the other ships in the fleet and differences that entailed.

The diversity – I loved that this story focused on the black experience and had f/f, and polyamorous in addition to hetero-normative relationships.

She had the most interesting character development and I loved watching her grow into her own person.

The characters – I particularly enjoyed the character of Adala and kinda wish she had been the main focus.

I thought the significance constellations and family lines in terms of hair-braiding was cool.

The familial structures – I really liked the idea of the matriarchal political structures and how each child was raised by multiple adults of both genders.

The world building – Besides the awesome ship, I liked getting some backstory into how the society, politics, and culture of the ships had changed over the generations.

are described in (sometimes icky) detail.

People worked or lived in all areas of the ship from the heart to the stomach to the rectum. The ship of course! I enjoyed the concept of the ship being inside a live creature and how organic it felt.

I really enjoyed this introduction to the author’s writing with some quibbles. And then I won! This book was quite an experience. The gorgeous cover and the mention of the spaceship being “insides of a spacefaring beast” is what made me click this cover and enter the giveaway. I heard about this book from Matey Sarah. I have been meaning to read this author’s work for a while now. Arrrrr! In return I will write an honest review. Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi eARC from Goodreads Giveaways.

Nicky drayden escaping exodus