This book is a fantastic, fast-paced, space romp with wonderfully written queer characters. As a polyamorous person, this is the first time I've really seen that kind of representation anywhere and I felt so seen! A fun, quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Intersteller!

A fun, rollicking beat of polyam relationships in space. The main characters are: Triz, the protagonist, a former guttergirl raised to a more comfortable living, her partner Casne, and her ex Kalo. Set is a queernorm, polyam-norm world, it's extremely refreshing to see both of those concepts used regularly and without shame. One friend of Tris's also uses (at the time of this ARC) e/eir pronouns! There aren't quite couples here, as most relationships have four people, casually called a 'gon (short for polygon). Casne, her wife Nantha, and Triz are in a relationship, and there's frank discussion that even if Triz does not find someone to complete their gon, they're happy with her all the same. It's a beautiful sort of discussion that validates the desire for partners to be loved and to want to see them happy, as well as saying they love her and they'll happily keep her where they're at, no matter if they're a triad, a quad, or a pent.

There's also the importance of family bonds: though Triz does not have a family of her own, she's more than accepted into Casne's parents' quadhousehold, who accept her. I might wish that Nantha had more appearances as she's mostly offscreen, though the times Triz considers her are clearly with love. I might wish also that Triz's fear/hatred of body mods was more explained, as it is something that plays a part throughout the book.

This book really delivered the description. It was a very enjoyable and fun read, and the book isn't even out yet but I already want more!

I wouldn't say that it's heavy on the sci-fi part and it's definitely more character driven, but there are so many things I loved. I really liked that there's a whole new terminology/vocabulary in the world this takes place in, this is always very lovely to see in SFF.
The story is fast-paced and there's a lot of action, but we still learn a lot about the characters (especially the MC) which isn't always the thing with novellas. The characters are loveable and the polyamory plotline was a really wonderful read (and, I think, also very easily relatable). I would absolutely want to read more about all the characters and where they go from here on!
The representation is probably what drove this story home for me. Nonbinary identities are, fortunately, becoming more present in books, but characters who use neopronouns aren't that common yet - and while admittedly they were minor/side characters, it was still wonderful to see (as someone who also has neopronouns, it really meant a lot).

I haven't read anything else by this author, but I am looking forward to reading more of Ogden's work!