At first I was irked because this novel is told from the POV of Nicole Wargin, not Elma. I'm getting worse and worse about remembering details, and I didn't remember Nicole from the Calculating Stars. However, within a couple chapters I was riveted. Lots of tension, maybe not a lot of action but the increasing suspense (and surprising twists) makes up for it. Sabotage, murder, and spies, oh my. Set as the same time frame as The Fated Sky so you see what is happening on Earth and get a little bit of the previous novel's events on the way to Mars. The one thing that still irked me is Nicole's anorexia. Did we really need another female astronaut with a mental health disorder? I get it that characters need something to overcome, but, hmmm. Anyway, excellent story and the afterword from the author is well worth reading.

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