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Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J.
Their only communication with each other is via email – and due to the distance between them, their messages take months to transmit across space. And yet Romy finds herself falling in love.
But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean?
Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . .

It’s been 5 years since I originally picked this book up, and it was so interesting to give this one a re-read. I wasn’t necessarily planning on picking this one back up anytime soon, but I ended up impromptu-ly buddy reading it with a friend. The first time I read this book, I finished it in a day, and I’m not surprised. I didn’t quite read it in a day this time, but I was quickly drawn back into the story and sped through it when I picked it up.

The premise for this book is interesting, and definitely keeps you reading as it becomes darker and develops into more of a thriller. However, there is a lot of plot-holes to do with the setting and situation of Romy, our main character, who has been alone in space for many years following the death of her parents. But if you manage to overlook these and not compare the book to real-life too much, it’s a highly enjoyable read.

I just want someone who holds on.

I was 17 when I read this book for the first time, and I definitely found it much easier to relate to Romy as a main character. Now I’m 22, and I must say Romy could come across as quite annoying and naive (which is natural due to her situation). I did still relate to the discussions of her anxiety, however, and felt like her panic attacks were written well and still made me feel emotionally connected to her as a character.

The setting was interesting and I could picture the spaceship well. This book clocks in at just under 300 pages so is pretty short, but there is still really only one setting throughout the story. Despite this, it kept my interest and never felt small, just right, in fact.

 Someone who won’t ever let me go, whatever tries to tear us apart. Is that too much to ask?

If you’re looking for a gripping, fast-paced YA sci-fi romance, this is definitely up there. Although I had a few more pet-peeves now than I did as a teenager, I still found this one highly enjoyable to read and was captivated by the story.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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