Preface
I have that lovely form of ADHD where things can leave my mind at a moments notice so I’m writing these reviews down to look back at later and if they help someone find a book they like, all the better.
Remember to support your local library and/or book store, if you don’t have a local bookstore, I would recommend Treat Yo Shelf Books which is ran by some friends of mine and will ship to you even if you’re not local.
Rating scale
The rules are made up and the points don’t matter. I rate the books entirely on whim so read the premise and notes to see if you might like it. If I didn’t enjoy the book, it likely isn’t on this list either because I didn’t finish it or I don’t feel like writing about it.
Science Fiction
Golden Age of the Solar Clipper Series
By Nathan Lowell
Rating: A+
Keywords: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Cozy, Progression
Read: November 2022
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A young man’s mother dies and he is stuck on a company planet. Instead of finding a job in the company, he sets off with a shipping company on an interstellar ship. Starting at the bottom of the career ladder and not knowing anything about working on a ship, he works hard and gets better.
Notes: I first read this series a long time ago and nostalgia brought me back. If I had to sum up the series in a phrase, I would say “wholesome character development”. There isn’t a lot of action in this book but there are tense situations even though they are spread out enough to let the story breath and the characters grow. With 6 main books and a couple of off shoots: A Seekers Tale 1-3 and SC Marva Collins 1-3, both set after the main series and A Smuggler’s Tale 1-3 with a different protagonist; there is a lot of good reading here. Great world building if a little utopian but sometimes it’s nice to let go and enjoy the ride.
The Murderbot Diaries
By Martha Wells
Rating: A+
Keywords: Science Fiction, Action, Robotics, Philosophy
Read: Aug 2023
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A security robot gains full sentience and slips it’s control module while on an alien planet. The series follows it coming to terms with it’s sentience and trying to understand who it wants to be.
Notes: The series is a good mix of action, adventure, and philosophy. I’m a sucker for a book that includes the philosophical development of it’s characters in and this series definitely fits the bill. The irritable main character just wants to be left alone long enough to think but keeps having adventures.
Activation Degredation
By Marina J. Lostetter
Rating: B
Keywords: Science Fiction, Action, Robotics, Philosophy
Read: February 2025
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: Unit Four lives and works on a Helium mining outpost. It awakens to find the outpost under attack by aliens and does it’s best to fight them off. It keeps finding inconsistencies in it’s memories and it’s communications with it’s handler.
Notes: An exploration of sentience and artificial intelligence told through a very unique lens. Trigger warning, trying not to spoil anything but if the term “flesh robot” makes you uncomfortable, maybe skip this one. Overall, the book was good but missed the mark in it’s pacing and just didn’t quite manage to answer all the questions it posed.
The Martian
By Andy Weir
Rating: A+
Keywords: Science Fiction, Realism, Action, High Stakes
Read: 🤷
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: After an accident leaving him stranded on Mars, an astronaut must use his scientific knowledge and sheer will to survive alone on the hostile planet and find a way to communicate with Earth and get home.
Notes: One of my all time favorites in the “hard sci-fi” space. The book is written from Mark’s perspective and that lends to Andy Weir’s ability to convey his train of thought expertly (IMO, this is what set the book apart from the movie significantly). In the sci-fi genre where most books hand wave details away, it is extremely impressive how logical and precise the science is in this book.
Artemis
By Andy Weir
Rating: B
Keywords: Science Fiction, Action, Colonization
Read: July 2023
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A small-time smuggler living in the only city on the Moon gets a chance at a life-
changing heist. The job pulls her into a dangerous conspiracy for control of the city itself.
Notes: I came into this looking for more Andy Weir sci-fi with the memory of The Martian. Artemis doesn’t have the same realism but is good in it’s own right. He does a great job fleshing out a hypothetical society on the moon and the different societal aspects that make the backdrop come alive. For everything I loved about the setting, the plot just felt a little artificial for me. Still a good read and I’m a sucker for sci-fi twists on society.
Project Hail Mary
By Andy Weir
Rating: A
Keywords: Science Fiction, Aliens, High Stakes
Read: September 2023
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A man wakes up as the sole survivor of a last-chance space mission with no memory of who he is or what he’s supposed to do. He must piece together his mission to save Earth.
Notes: I can’t talk about what I love about this book without hitting spoilers. Medium realism sci-fi with a lot of interesting themes and great “universe” setting.
Bobiverse
By Dennis E. Taylor
Rating: A+
Keywords: Science Fiction, Robotics, Space Exploration, Philosophy
Read: September 2023
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: After his death, a man’s consciousness is uploaded into a self-replicating interstellar probe. He sets out to explore the galaxy, cloning himself and encountering strange new life while retaining his nerdy sense of humor.
Notes: This series scratched so many itches for me and is one of my most highly recommended series. It’s got space opera, programming, aliens, space war, you name it. Bob, the main character, has a personality of dad jokes and 90s nerd culture but he has surprising depth which made his character development such an important part of the story.
Tales of a Former Space Janitor
By Julia Huni
Rating: B
Keywords: Science Fiction, Action, Slice of Life, Romance (no spice)
Read: January 2024
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A young woman with a secret identity gets fired from her job on an orbital station as a maintenance technician. She keeps getting involved in things she knows she shouldn’t and somehow ends up at the wrong place at the right time.
Notes: An entertaining series that reads like episodes of a space romcom with a decent helping of action to tie the plot points together. The main character is technically skilled but lazy (can relate) and doesn’t really experience any character development over the series. A good series when you’re looking to not pay that much attention and just be along for the ride.
Monk & Robot
By Becky Chambers
Rating: A
Keywords: Science Fiction, Philosophy, Low Stakes
Read: October 2023
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A tea monk in a utopian society, feeling unfulfilled, ventures into the wilderness where they meet a robot from a bygone era. Together, they embark on a journey to answer philosophical questions.
Notes: This one surprised me a bit; it’s simplistic in it’s premise, there isn’t a lot of plot, the pacing is pretty slow, but it’s got a heart to it. I see this series as a philosophical trip with a somewhat sci-fi setting. I read this at a time when I was feeling pretty burned out and the questions the main character was working through really resonated with me and I worked them, in a way, to answer those same questions for myself.
TruLove
By Nicole Pyland
Rating: B
Keywords: Romance (moderate spice), LGBTQ, Light Science Fiction
Read: February 2024
Link: Author’s website
Premise: In the future, you can take a test and be matched with several potential soul mates. Two people who dislike the system for different reasons end up finally meeting. However, the tests might not actually be as straightforward as they seem.
Notes: The ideas posed by set up of this book are really interesting to me in how they might shape society which does get explored quite a bit. The characters fell a little flat to me and the angst was little cringe in the first half. Second half was paced a lot better and the plot was pretty good.
Shades of Starlight
By B.L. Dean
Rating: B+
Keywords: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Romance (no spice)
Read: June 2024
Link: Publisher’s website
Premise: A smuggler and a confederation special operative work together to track down a rogue spy they both have ties to while hiding their true motives from the other.
Notes: A slow-burn romance featuring characters that have depth and development. The plot is interesting and the political backdrop sets the scene for a lot of action. The romance aspect, while obviously inevitable, doesn’t step on the rest of the story making for an all-around solid series.
Wayfarers
By Becky Chambers
Rating: B-
Keywords: Science Fiction, Space Opera, LGBT, Romance (some spice), Slice of Life
Read: January 2025
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: The series follows the diverse, multi-species crew of a tunneling ship as they take on a dangerous job to build a wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy, focusing on their found-family relationships and daily lives.
Notes: The series is highly recommended within it’s slice of the sci-fi space but it didn’t really live up to the hype for me. The world-building and characters are really good but the writing was kind of annoying to follow. The books in the series are roughly related but not necessarily the same characters. I thought the first book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, was okay, held up mostly by the desire to know more about the universe. The second book, A Closed and Common Orbit, was my favorite (I would rate it a B+/A- on it’s own). I only got part way through the third book, Record of a Spaceborn Few, before deciding I didn’t really care and stopped reading.
Fantasy
Rangers Apprentice
By John Flanagan
Rating: A
Keywords: Fantasy (no magic), Young Adult, Adventure
Read: 🤷
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A young orphan is chosen to train as a Ranger, a member of a secretive group that protects the kingdom. He must learn the ways of tracking and espionage to defend the realm from threats both internal and external.
Notes: There is definitely a nostalgia factor in my rating here but I read the series in my early teens so it is what it is. A coming of age story about a kid with a good heart learning how to be a spy/warrior to protect the kingdom. Later in the series, the topics get a little more intense for “kids” series but the story is worth it.
Legends & Lattes
By Travis Baldtree
Rating: A+
Keywords: Fantasy, Cozy, Romance (no spice), LGBTQ
Read: October 2023
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: An orc barbarian, tired of a life of violence, hangs up her sword to open the first-ever coffee shop in a new city, finding unexpected friendship and community along the way.
Notes: My go-to recommendation for cozy fantasy. Fantastic character development, great plot, minimal suspense. I’ve come to realize as I get older, sometimes I just want to read a book where the fate of the world doesn’t hang in the balance and the characters aren’t the chosen one. This book hits all the right marks to enjoy after a stressful day/week/month.
Demon World Boba Shop
By Joshua RC
Rating: A
Keywords: Fantasy, Cozy, Isekai, LitRPG
Read: November 2024
Link: Author’s website
Premise: After being transported to a world of demons, a man decides to open a boba tea shop, using his knowledge from Earth to navigate a strange and magical new society.
Notes: This was one of my first forays into LitRPGs and I was worried that would take over the story but I think it actually helps provide a “plot” to an otherwise cozy story about finding your place in the world and what really matters. Each book and the series itself is pretty long so if you’re having a good time, you can spend a lot of time with this one.
Deadworld Isekai
By Joshua RC
Rating: A
Keywords: Fantasy, Isekai, LitRPG, Survival
Read: December 2024
Link: Bookshop.org
Premise: A man is reincarnated in a fantasy world that turns out to have gone through an apocalyptic event. He must use his new abilities to survive and level up in a world that is hostile to his very existence.
Notes: For being from the same author as Demon World Boba Shop, this book is a sharp contrast on the cozy front. The survival is gritty and if it weren’t for some crazy luck (plot armor, the main character wouldn’t have made it very far. The plot is driven by trying to find out how he will survive in the face of insurmountable odds but kept me interested and invested the whole time.
The Bookshop and the Barbarian
By Morgan Stang
Rating: B
Keywords: Fantasy, Cozy, LGBTQ, Romance (no spice)
Read: October 2024
Premise: A quiet bookshop owner’s life is turned upside down when a hulking barbarian enters her shop searching for a rare book, leading them on an unexpected adventure.
Notes: To be honest, I was really just looking for more of Legends and Lattes and this mostly scratched the itch but with books instead of coffee. A good cozy read that loses points for being a little too tongue-in-cheek at times and bumping into the fourth wall in a jarring way.
Beers and Beards
By JollyJupiter
Rating: B+
Keywords: Fantasy, LitRPG, Isekai, Cozy, Slice of Life
Read: October 2024
Link: Author’s Patreon
Premise: A brewer from Earth get’s Isekai’ed into a fantasy world as a dwarf. He struggles to find his way in this world and it turns out that the beer sucks.
Notes: I’m not into beer and I’ve never really been interested in the brewing process but that’s not important to enjoying this series. The main character gets a second chance at life and is determined to make the best of it which leads to some good character development over the series. Progression and LitRPG elements are moderately heavy in this one but help drive parts of the story so it doesn’t feel too cumbersome.
Gilk’s Fables
By H.D. Scott
Rating: C+
Keywords: Fantasy, Adventure
Read: February 2025
Link: Bookshop.org Author’s website
Premise: A goblin who just wants more stories to tell ends up in all sorts of mishaps and adventure.
Notes: I wanted to like this one, but there was just too much everything. Too much world-building that was never used again, too many characters that didn’t matter, too many plot threads that either never get resolved or have fantastical resolutions. The book felt like it could have been a trilogy but instead you get to speed run past everything in a blur and looking back, how the plot got from point A to point Q feels like a grab bag of half-explored ideas.
Soul Guardian
By Alex Karne
Rating: B
Keywords: Fantasy, Cozy, Romance (mild spice), Comedy
Read: February 2025
Link: Author’s website
Premise: Two powerful demons get summoned to earth and end up taking care of a young child in a small town.
Notes: Likeable characters, heartwarming feelgood plot, enemies to lovers trope, makes it a fun, easy read. The main plotline is interspersed with several side plotlines which makes it feel a little slow especially for how “short” the main plot feels excluding the side plots.
Legends of the Known Arc
By Patrick Cumby
Rating: B+
Keywords: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Virtual Reality, Adventure
Read: March 2024
Link: Author’s website
Premise: A game developer creates a virtual universe that is impossibly detailed. Two teens discover it’s more than just a game.
Notes: A lot of really interesting ideas and world-building in this series. The characters are fleshed out and the plot is well thought out. There is a level of techno-babble that kind of steps on your suspension of disbelief but that’s a minor gripe. The books are long but do a good job with pacing and still leaves room for new plot threads without leaving too many unanswered. I think I preferred the second book out of the two.