Publishers Weekly
★ 04/08/2024
In this tantalizing space opera debut, Hamilton weaves a thoughtful, self-aware story bursting with witty repartee and provocative romance. The year is 2061, more than 20 years after the failed launch of the Providence, a spaceship that promised to save humanity from a dying Earth by using a newly developed dark matter engine to bring colonists to a habitable exoplanet in only seven years. Unfortunately, an unknown error caused the entire crew to vanish without explanation when the engine switched on. Still, the fervor surrounding the launch inspired a new generation of scientists and historians. Four such rambunctious young professionals—Cleo, a computer engineer; Ros, a doctor; Abe, a historian; and Kaleisha, a botanist—break into the Providence and accidentally start the engine, lifting off. Even after activating the ship’s computer—a hologram with the uploaded consciousness of its former captain, Wilhelmina Lucas—they’re not able to reverse course. They also find that the dark matter engine has altered their bodies, giving them superpowers. Captain Lucas—“Billie” to her friends—and Cleo investigate the source of their newfound abilities, while also agonizing over their growing feelings for each other. This Star Trek-inspired space adventure has something for everyone—heartwarming romantic comedy, cosmic superpowers, and humanity’s future at stake. It should win plenty of fans. Agent: Roma Panganiban, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (June)
From the Publisher
Emily Hamilton’s The Stars Too Fondly begins as a quippy heist with an endearing cast, then evolves into a space comedy that has as many thoughtful explorations of the inner-workings of dark matter as the – equally complicated – relationships that make up a found family. This highly self-aware novel prioritizes care and connection, without sacrificing any of the fun of space (mis)adventure. Because sometimes saving the world starts with saving each other. I cannot wait to see readers who love Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon and Harrow go absolutely feral for Cleo and Billie.” — Micaiah Johnson, author of The Space Between Worlds
"Funny and charming, The Stars Too Fondly perfectly balances Starfleet "can do" attitude, punk swagger, and cozy rom-com vibes. Emily Hamilton's debut is a wildly original tale that feels cozy and epic at the same time. My Trekkie heart adored it." — Mike Chen, New York Times bestselling author of A Quantum Love Story
“Heartpounding, heartwarming, and flat-out fantastic, this book is as brilliant and beautiful as the stars! I laughed, I cried, I cheered — I absolutely loved it! A new favorite!” — Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of The Bone Maker
“A perfect hope-punk science fantasy that reminds me of Doctor Who in all the best ways. The Stars Too Fondly is magnificent in its spaceship stealing adventure and twisty plot. Where Emily Hamilton excels is the bonds between friends and loved ones that stretch between light-years and dimensions with the comfort of a weighted blanket. It is an achingly beautiful and hilariously funny debut.” — K.B. Wagers, author of A Pale Light in the Black
“The Stars Too Fondly is a sparkling debut filled with found family, queer joy, and a delightful romance that made me swoon. It hooked me from the start, and I couldn’t put it down as I rooted for Cleo to find her way home—both literally and figuratively. I adored every word, and I can’t wait to see what Emily Hamilton writes next!” — Jessie Mihalik, author of Hunt the Stars
“The Stars Too Fonldy is a romantic, joyful, and often poignant sci-fi romp that scratched an itch I didn't know I had. An utter delight.” — Hannah Fergesen, author of The Infinite Miles
“The vacuum of space is anything but dark when your found family is with you. This cozy space opera is delightful and full of heart.” — Al Hess, author of World Running Down and Key Lime Sky
“The fate of the world rests in the hands of a ragtag group of queers stuck on a spaceship bound for Proxima Centauri. Even though they live in the future, their concerns are all too familiar: astrology, quoting Mary Oliver, watching The Watermelon Woman, and processing their feelings. Emily Hamilton's debut is as addictive as it is funny, and as interstellar as it is human.” — Amelia Possanza, author of Lesbian Love Story
“In this tantalizing space opera debut, Hamilton weaves a thoughtful, self-aware story bursting with witty repartee and provocative romance . . . This Star Trek-inspired space adventure has something for everyone—heartwarming romantic comedy, cosmic superpowers, and humanity’s future at stake. It should win plenty of fans.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The found family of the friends is at the heart of the characters’ actions, and Hamilton deftly keeps the story moving through action and emotion. . . .This delightful debut is a space odyssey with just enough mystery and romance to keep readers thoroughly entertained.” — Library Journal
Library Journal
03/01/2024
DEBUT Twenty years ago, the world watched as the 203 crew members of the spaceship Providence I disappeared at launch. Today, Cleo McQueary and her best friends just want to know the truth about what happened. Breaking into the abandoned industry building where Providence I now sits was easy for these young people; dealing with a dark-matter engine starting on its own was not. Now the four friends are on their way to Proxima Centauri B and cannot turn around. Cleo always wanted to be an astronaut, and Earth is on its decline, so why not enjoy the ride? But strange things begin to happen the further into space they get, and decades-old secrets are revealed along the way. Also, the ship's hologram holds the face, mind, and acerbic attitude of the missing Captain Billie Lucas, including the emotions that neither Cleo nor Billie wants to admit to. The found family of the friends is at the heart of the characters' actions, and Hamilton deftly keeps the story moving through action and emotion. VERDICT This delightful debut is a space odyssey with just enough mystery and romance to keep readers thoroughly entertained.—Kristi Chadwick
Kirkus Reviews
2024-04-20
When a group of friends sneak into an abandoned spaceship, it inexplicably roars to life and takes them on a journey to another solar system.
It’s the year 2061. Cleo McQueary, Abe Yang, Kaleisha Reid, and Ros Wheeler are now young adults, but they were children at the time of the infamous Providence I disaster. The Providence I was a feat of human engineering, featuring the top-secret dark matter engine that would take a group of 203 colonists to another solar system. But when the dark matter engine fired up for the first time, every last one of them vanished. The corporation that built Providence I never discovered what happened to them, and the world was so traumatized by the mass disappearance that they left the spaceship to sit on the launchpad, fully abandoned. Cleo and her friends, all trained scientists with various specialties, sneak onto the neglected ship with the goal of finding evidence that might help explain the colonists’ disappearance. But simply touching the dark matter engine brings it to life, and soon they’re soaring through space on their way to a far-off planet, with no hope of rescue. The mystery of the Providence I colonists is a tantalizing start to what soon becomes more of a romance and friendship-focused story than an SF mystery. If some readers find that change a little disappointing, they still have a compelling SF action plot to look forward to, as well as an engaging discussion of artificial intelligence from the surprising form taken by the onboard computer.
Love finds you in the least expected places, even in other galaxies.
