Bluebird is a wonderfully paced sci-fi adventure with a bombastic protagonist who is supported by a host of great characters.

Read my full review: https://www.thebellaedit.co.uk/blog/podcast/1

Snappy and Irreverent space opera. Rig is a smuggler/freedom fighter with a haunted past. When the mysterious Ginka unexpectedly joins her on a job, spies and secret police start chasing them. Rig scrambles to protect her new maybe friend, as well as the people she cares about—Her girlfriend (who is a kickass librarian) and her sister—and her own secrets.
Very tropey yet does not have any love triangles.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

I absolutely loved Bluebird from the very first page, just as I hoped that I would. It was such a fun book, with wonderful characters and strong world building, as well great relationships. I loved Rig instantly, she's such an enjoyable main character and I adored the way her relationship with June throughout (June being the librarian that Rig, a wandering spirit, is desperately in love with and wants to settle for) coloured her actions. Rig and Ginka, though from opposite planets and opposite sides of a centuries long war, were a brilliant team and I massively enjoyed the way they went from cautious enemies to full on friends by the end of the book, especially considering all that Ginka and Rig had went through. The interludes to Ginka's past were an excellent example of how she became the character she is now and I massively enjoyed the reveal about her relationship with Crane. Ciel Pierlot has created a thrilling adventure with Bluebird, one that will stick with me and one I'll definitely reread again.

I'm not really even sure exactly how to describe this book. It was a mix of space opera and thriller (spies in space!) with a dash of gunslinger/Western vibes thrown in for good measure. Whatever the classification, it was a fun adventure that I'm glad I got to experience. It had interesting world-building, characters you can't help but root for, and important themes that will make you think. The writing was snarky and exhibited lots of personality, and the pace of the story was steady and engaging even in the slower moments. The story itself was an outstanding adventure filled with action, mysteries, and double-crosses that kept things exciting up until the very end.

The world-building in this book was immersive without being overwhelming. The politics was interesting and explained within the course of the story in a way that avoided massive info dumps. Science fiction can often get bogged down in the technical details, but this book avoided that. The technology and weapons were a lot of fun to read. There was enough detail to get a rough idea of how it all worked without derailing the story or becoming bored from being drowned in minutiae. The world-building effortlessly supported the direction of the story and the journey of the characters without becoming a distraction from them, which I appreciated.

Speaking of the characters, I loved them all! Rig was sassy and determined. I loved her strength and her willingness to do whatever it took to help others and save the ones she loved. Her character arc reminded me a bit of Sabine from Star Wars Rebels, which I enjoyed because I love that character as well. Rig exhibited a great deal of growth as she struggled to come to terms with her guilt while working to undermine the existing social order. I enjoyed following her perspective and seeing most of the story through her eyes. I think my favorite character was Ginka, though. Her story was incredibly compelling, and I enjoyed seeing the effect of love and friendship on her as the novel progressed. She started out dehumanized by her society and completely enthralled by the religion keeping her oppressed, and it was fascinating and incredibly moving to see her become deprogrammed by the power of connection with others. The author's use of the interludes to accomplish this was perfectly executed.

There were a lot of great themes and tropes in this book, including found family, fighting against systemic oppression, the devastating effects of colonialism/imperialism, the power of connection, and learning how to forgive oneself. I enjoyed a lot of the political commentary because it was delivered in such a captivating way that felt natural to this story. Even a day after finishing the book, I'm left reflecting about several different things and how they apply to my life and current issues facing society. As I mentioned before, one of my favorite things about this book was the illustration of the importance of human connection and its centrality in defining personal identity. My favorite quote illustrates this concept quite well:

"Her life is made up of different bits of different people and stories, stitched together until they form something that resembles a complete person. Pieces of memory and myth poured inside the shell of her body. Not that she doesn't think of herself as being, well, herself. She is the master of her own body, her own form in this galaxy, and she'll fight anyone who says otherwise. Those bits and pieces are her. All the way through. She chose them to take with her."

Overall, this was an excellent debut. If you are looking for a new space opera to read, I highly recommend it. Even if you are not usually a fan of sci fi, this one is worth the read and is well-written enough to keep readers unfamiliar with the genre engaged due to the excellent character work and entertaining plot. Therefore, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I had a lot of fun reading this book! I mean, lesbian gunslinger in space, what’s not to like? Ginka, the bounty hunter, is a great addition to the team and the helltech that she wields is fascinating (and the “interludes” were an awesome way to introduce her history). The pacing for the majority of the book is very good, although I do think that the ending was a little too neatly wrapped up for my taste, but that’s just personal preference. Oh, and as someone who has read a lot of Victorian history back in the day, I loved the references to the chatelaines that the librarians wear.
Overall a good debut novel & I look forward to seeing what the author has in store for the future.

Thank you to NetGalley & Angry Robot for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Lesbian Gunslingers fights spies in space. From Forbidden Romance, sister love, delicious Villains to bad ass females who are relatable AND some library love, Bluebird ticked a lot of my favourites box! TW : Violence & Amputation
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My Rating : 3.5/5 🌟🌟🌟✨
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This book follows our main characters : Rig, a thief and a badass rebel who is thrust into her past to save someone she loves; and Ginka, who adds a lot of mystery to the adventure. Rig is torn between her different relationships: her girlfriend June, her sister and her heritage. The way she juggles everything was interesting to read about. The relationship between Rig & June was quite adorable and cheesy at times, but I loved reading all the library scenes and their difference of opinions. Ginka was a mystery and I liked the air of indifference she projected and the way she viewed the mission. It gave a contrast of personalities that I enjoyed reading about! Rig and Ginka would take over the world if they decide and I would be all for it. Their relationship was something that gave the book an extra cherry on top feel, as a lot goes down plot wise.
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Coming to the story and character development, I think one of my favorite characters was Ginka (With Rig coming close second) just for her personality. The author did a wonderful job of giving just enough when it came to her. I absolutely loved the world building and the different factions and their past hold a lot of weight to the story. If you are not a fan of SciFi books, you'll have difficultly getting through the scientific infos and technology, but the adventure and the drama makes up for them. The first half of the book might feel slow paced, but it doesn't drag. The world building and the characters have a lot going on and it snags your attention.
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While I really loved all of the above, I still felt certain plot and characters were under utilised. The writing style was good, but the conversations were predictable at times. I really loved the ending though as it felt relatable and it fit the book. For a debut novel, this book managed to surprise me with it's beautiful world, the flawed yet strong characters and really good writing style! Definitely a book you have to pick up if you enjoy Space rebel cowboy warriors with agenda and some rescuing!
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Thank you Angryrobotbooks & Netgalley for the gifted arc copy!

Queer space!! The relationship between Rig and June, as well as Rig and Ginka was my absolute favorite part of this story. Also a very cool and original world that I feel like there is so much more too. All around a good sci-fi book! 4⭐️

As soon as I read the tag for this ("Lesbian gunsling fights spies in space!") I knew I had to read it; however, I went in with caution because I had been burned by similar tags in the past — both Gideon the Ninth and Stina Leicht's Persephone Station come to mind.

I really liked the way Ciel Pierlot built the world. The galaxy has been divided into three factions, each of which believe they should be the rightful rulers of the whole galaxy. As the novel progresses through various locations, Pierlot writes in enough detail to make it all feel real and lived in. She also maintains a sense of kindness throughout the book despite all the guns and death that reminds me of Becky Chambers, so if you ever gave up on The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet because of the lack of plot, definitely give this a shot.

I also thought the characters were a lot of fun and their personalities and conflicts were written very well. While the plot was a fairly basic space adventure romp, I think it is still very relatable to current society and the themes of creating community and choosing friendship will always be applicable.

Overall, I had a great time with this and while this seems to be a standalone, if Pierlot were to ever return to this world I would preorder immediately. Either way, I'm very excited to see what she writes next!

Rig is a space pirate. Raised within one of three governing and warring galactic factions, rising to the ranks of exalted technician and accidently designing something that could be used as a weapon of mass destruction, she quickly became disillusioned after witnessing the abuse and oppression that was happening to her people. So she left, taking her weapon schematics with her, and now spends her time smuggling refugees to places of safety in an attempt to make amends.
Everything's going great. She has a ship she loves, a girlfriend she loves even more, and she's making ends meet while doing good until she gets spotted by the authorities and has to ellicit the help of a passerby named Ginka to escape. But Ginka is more than she appears to be and has a story of her own, and Rig's woes with the galactic overlords are just beginning.
I cannot state loudly enough how much I loved this book. It's got found family, it's got strong complex women (and librarians), it's got themes of rebellion, and oppression and difficult family relationships, and it's got excellent banter, The stakes are high, but the relationships are solid. And it's a LOT of fun. It's this year's A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet.

I wish I could articulate why Bluebird didn’t quite work for me. I really wanted to like it, and it has a lot of elements I did enjoy. As a whole, though, it took me a long time to get through the book and left me feeling frustrated.

The blurb is great.

Lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space!

Three factions vie for control of the galaxy. Rig, a gunslinging, thieving, rebel with a cause, doesn’t give a damn about them and she hasn’t looked back since abandoning her faction three years ago.

That is, until her former faction sends her a message: return what she stole from them, or they’ll kill her twin sister.

Rig was a weapons designer for the Pyrite faction, until she realized a weapon she designed would be used to kill what’s left of her people. She escapes and spends a few years on the run trying to balance her ledger working against the factions and their eternal war. Her girlfriend, June, is a librarian on the homeworld of one of the other factions.

The Pyrites catch up to her and she learns they are threatening to kill her twin sister if she doesn’t turn over the weapon’s schematics. She wants to save her sister and keep the weapon out of the hands of the factions. Along the way she has picked up the mysterious and deadly Ginka. Together they put together a plan and a team.

I should have loved this book. There were moments of swashbuckling adventure, and I really enjoyed those. There are interstitials set in the past that I also enjoyed. But, something about the way the story was told, especially between the spots of adventure, made me feel so distant and removed from the story that I would forget what I was reading while I was reading it. I liked it well enough that I would try something else by the author, but this one didn’t work for me.

Content warning: violence, betrayal, and mutilation.

I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley and Angry Robot. My opinions are my own.

Rig is a woman on the run, deserting her faction on Pyrite and taking with her schematics she’s developed for a powerful weapon. Leaving behind home and family, Rig cuts her own path across the galaxy in her ship the Bluebird. She attracts the attention of an operative assassin, a Zazra woman from Ossuary named Ginka, and while they find themselves at odds, they realize their best chance at survival is together. On an R&R stop on the homeworld of the third galactic faction Ascetic while visiting Rig’s girlfriend June, they learn that Ossuary has captured Rig’s twin sister Daara, and are using her as bait to barter for the weapon schematics. Even though they aren’t close, family ties pull Rig to help her sister, ensnaring her in an intrigue of galactic proportions.

With the tagline “Lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space!” I really wanted to love this book. I’ve been in the mood for space operas, spies, and intrigue, and this sounded perfect. It’s written in third person present tense, which I find difficult at best to approach personally. While it enmeshes the reader in the action, making one feel present, in this case the choice of tense is at the expense of clear worldbuilding. I felt thrust in the middle of a story, with no chance to orient myself to a new universe. I found it difficult to relate to the characters - not because Rig is a blue-skinned Kashrini alien, but because the reader’s knowledge of the characters’ relationships feels superficial.

This is a universe with some significant potential, and the threads of great space opera are present. If Ciel Pierlot writes more, I’ll likely read it, even though I was ultimately lukewarm on this one and gave it 3.5 stars. I’m always up for more spacefaring adventures, particularly ones featuring sassy lesbian gunslinging pilots. Pick this up if you want an action-packed and intrigue filled journey through space.

This was an amazing adventure to read! I adored every moment of it.

To start, I really loved Rig's character. She had the perfect amount of sass, and her relationship with June was beautifully written. It was great seeing WLW romance in Sci-Fi - I hope it becomes even more commonplace! Aside from the fact that I loved the representation, the two characters had a genuinely well-written romance which I felt was a great motivator for Rig's actions. June, as well, was a great character on her own. I would have loved to see even more of her, but I understand the focus of the tale was more on Rig and her space-faring companions.

Initially, I wasn't sure how to feel about Ginka; she seemed very... brooding, and I was worried she would just stay that way. I desperately wanted her to open up to Rig more, and blessedly, she does. I legitimately cried when they confirmed they were finally friends near the end of the story, and was in great pain whenever Rig doubted Ginka. The two made for a fantastic pair. I also really loved the interludes that told more about Ginka's backstory, and Ossuary as a whole! It was fascinating to see how Ossuary's Windshadow agents operated, and also beautiful seeing Crane and Ginka's romance grow.

One thing that really sold me on giving 5-stars was how satisfying the ending was. It tied up every pressing issue throughout the novel, and did so perfectly. I teared up seeing everyone finally reunited. I also appreciated that Daara and Rig's reunion wasn't perfectly flawless. It was refreshing seeing Daara not instantly love her sister with all her heart after being rescued - Daara had her own personality, and both her and Rig had their own reasons for their rocky sibling issues. I like how Rig went out of her way to save her sister, even if they left on bad terms. It goes to show how strong Rig's motivation was to save her last remaining blood-related family.

As for the villains, wow. I sure did dislike the factions! I totally understood where Rig was coming from with her hatred... and yet, I could also see why someone would not want to fight back. It was immensely satisfying seeing the start of a faction "healing" at the end of the novel. For the individual villain characters, they were all well-written and easy to hate. Mainly, I think it was just SO seamless getting into Rig's shoes. If she hated someone, well, she generally had a really good reason to. As such, I could feel Rig's rage towards them when one would hurt her family/home.

All in all, a fantastic book. I loved EVERY moment of it. Ciel Pierlot writes so smoothly, making the book hard to put down. I cannot wait to see what else they write in the future!

Lesbians in space? Yes please. Lesbians on the run and on a rescue mission, also featuring a librarian girlfriend? What a dream.

I believe this book is best read going in blind so I don’t want to spoil the plot. But I loved the use of two intertwining stories, and how the book launches straight into the thick of it without tediously explaining the civil war from the beginning in an info dump. There were a few pacing issues but this is a common experience for me in sci-fi and I thought this was overall very impressive for a debut.

3.5 stars. A good sci-fi debut book. This book is not without some debut book bumps, but overall, I found it super entertaining, the worldbuilding and descriptions are rich, the characters complex and there is plenty of action.

There are two intertwined storylines in this book. I’ll only tell something about the main storyline which is about Rig who stole something from her ex-faction. They want it back and kidnapped her twin sister, now she has to save her sister. During the chase after her sisters’ kidnappers she encounters a mysterious bounty hunter and they end up traveling together.

The book doesn’t start with a lot of worldbuilding, instead it drops you immediately into the story. I like this approach, it can grab your attention immediately, but it still took me some time to adjust to the story and get a grasp of the world. Basically, the galaxy is ruled by three factions that are at war with each other, then there are also the factionless rebels. During the entire story you learn how the factions are formed and how they interconnect and why they are at war, but I could have used some of this info a little earlier on in the book to save me some frustration of not understanding much about the war.

I highly enjoyed the descriptions of the planets, species and tech, it’s substantial and imaginative, and the bad guys have a lot of power, people, intel and tech, resulting in good action parts and a fun plot.

There are two main characters Rig and the mysterious bounty hunter, who you’ll slowly get to know. My favorite character was the bounty hunter, she is shrouded in mystery and I wanted to know more and the more I got to know, the more I started to like her. She’s flawed and has some beliefs that I could never have, but at the same time I did understand her. Rig is a gun wielding outlaw and that role fits her perfectly, but she is also a brilliant scientist, and honestly, I was not very much convinced of that part because some of her decisions really made me think that she’s not the smartest of the bunch and she often has luck on her side. Rig is in an established relationship with June, who has a relative minor role as she is bound to her planet, so you only get to see her for a little bit.
The importance of connections between friends, family and loved ones and what choices to make in life plays an important role, it gives the characters depth and makes them interesting.

The writing and the pacing could have been smoother, sometimes it was a bit slow, but considering that this is a debut book, I think the author did a good job and I will keep my eye on new books to come. This book is heavy on the sci-fi and has all the elements that fans of space opera can enjoy.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't a bad book, but it was somewhat rote. Things happened because they seemed to need to, or because that's what happened in similar other media, and not necessarily because it applied to the characters here.

Another issue was that a LOT of time was spent on very repetitive world-building. The three factions were described again and again, and at first it was helpful and gave a sense of how the people who lived in this world knew of them but it went on maybe too far.

The writing itself was not bad, though, and the descriptions were good at evoking imagery in the mind's eye. I feel that there's definitely an audience for this book, but it wasn't to my taste.

Unfortunately, this just didn't hit well for me. The world was interesting enough but the characters felt juvenile. I am interested to see where this writer goes though, I did like the writing!

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher - thanks!

Bluebird won me over with the tag line: lesbian gunslingers in space, and it didn’t let me down in that regard.

Well, there’s one lesbian gunslinger. Rig is a rebel, operating outside the three factions that run the galaxy, working with a team of mercenaries called the Nightbirds to help free people trapped or indentured by the faction rules. She’s also on the run from her former faction, Pyrite, for whom she worked as a weapons developer, a little too successfully, it turns out because she’s also on the run after stealing the schematics for a weapon that she decided shouldn’t be in the wrong hands. She’s quite content spending her life on mercenary work, with occasional jaunts to see her librarian girlfriend, June.

This is all perfectly set up for Pyrite to abduct Rig’s twin sister, Daara, and threaten to kill her unless Rig hands over the schematics. Since she can’t do that, she’s forced to undergo a daring rescue mission and recruits a mysterious assassin, Ginka, to help her.

It’s a fun book, and Rig is an entertaining lead. She’s smart mouthed and sarcastic, reminding me a little of Han Solo. Paired with Ginka, who retains her loyalty to her faction despite having suffered because of them and is considerably more straight-laced, they’re an explosive team that you can’t help but root for, particularly as the story develops and they become friends. Both have people they care for on the outside, and that seeps into the narrative as it deals with colonialism and the question of having to choose between one person and thousands.

As a character-driven reader, I was very much here for the characters, and while the world building wasn’t too in-depth, it told you enough of what you needed. The plot wasn’t anything particularly original, but it was fun to see women take the lead for a change – and though it was a little meandering in the middle, hence the reason for four-stars, it was compelling enough to drive me though those parts when the action slowed.

Overall, an enjoyable read and highly recommended.

I was very impatient to read this book because, well, “lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space!” And it has everything I was hoping for and more: spaceships, rebels, forbidden love, horrible villains, flawed heroines who kick ass…

In a universe in which three factions are at war, two stories are told in parallel. The main story is that of Rig, formerly known as Traxi, whom the Pyrite faction is looking for after she deserted with schematics for weapons she created. Pyrite took Rig’s twin sister and in her efforts to save her, Rig finds herself accompanied by an unlikely partner, in between stops in Ascetic to spend time with her sexy librarian girlfriend. The second story, told in interludes, is that of an Ossuary bounty hunter who broke the rules while never losing her loyalty to her faction. Yeah, it’s complicated. As the book progresses, the two stories intermingle in a very organic and satisfying way.

The worldbuilding is very efficient, very rich. The characters are diverse, the various species reminiscent of classic space operas (my Star Wars-loving self was delighted with the descriptions), the worlds distinct enough to reflect their philosophies while proving that different rules, different modi operandi can lead to the same deadly results.

The pace is uneven (which often happens with debut novels) and didn’t keep my attention at all times, and as a consequence, this book took longer to read than I expected. Despite this, I’m sure the characters will stay with me for a long time, and that’s what I’ll remember.

Once again I want to say a lot more but I don’t want to spoil, so I’ll stick to this: the plot is complex and deep, the characters are multidimensional and as relatable as alien gunslingers can be, the atmosphere and tone are awesome and exciting and I’m looking forward to the author’s future books.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book is a fun, sapphic cowboy-bebop space adventure. The characters are loveable and spunky. The story was just a fun adventure to be on. A 3-way civil war stale mate and everyone is looking for for Rig to get her bioweapon. It was action packed, exciting, and entertaining. Was the writing Hugo Award winning Sci-fi? No. Was some of the dialogue really corny? yes. BUT! in a fun campy way.

If you are looking for a fun gay space adventure, this is the book for you!

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.