It feels a bit weird to boil down this novella as a sapphic noir style Supernatural but, in a way, it is. You’ve got deals with demons, supernatural detectives and a secret order of human magi trying to keep them all in line. Not to mention the morally grey angels. So, if you’re familiar with Supernatural, you can see why that comes to mind. But where it diverges is in its discussion of queer relationships and the homophobia surrounding Chicago during this time along with the questionable “therapies” used when someone was outed. For such a quick novella, there was a lot to cover, including the bittersweet heartache that comes with unconditional love.

I’m not that familiar with the hoax that this psychological thriller is based on, in fact, I hadn’t even heard of it before this book. All that to say, I don’t really know what is or isn’t pulled from the annals of history, but even a fraction would be a doozy. This book follows Daniel who, in the early 90’s, is experiencing a type of depression that will be very familiar to many people: a quiet type of loneliness and pain where you just want the time to pass and to wake up to something better. For Daniel, a divorced man cheated out of his full pension, that becomes a reality. But when he wakes up from his sojourn of sorts, things only become more complicated. This book, with its medical and psychological thriller elements, felt like it was leading up to a type of moral the entire time, but even now, a day after finishing, I’m not entirely sure I got the message?

I’ll just come out and say it: I need more sapphic regency romance like this one! You have Lucy, a burgeoning astronomer trying to take up the mantel of her deceased father all while recovering from crushing heartbreak. And then the Countess of Moth, Catherine, who thought she was done with scientists after her husband’s death, until Lucy shows up on her door demanding to be allowed to undertake the challenge of translating the latest French astronomer’s text into English. Smart, artistic women forging a way for themselves in “proper society” on their own terms where they are given their due AND can remain independent without having to marry themselves off? 10000% yes please! There was only one thing about this book that made it drag at times…

This book took me a minute to get really immersed into it. I blame that mainly on the start of the story focusing a lot on the High School social politics that Darius is dealing with. I have a hard time connecting to a lot of High School drama as an adult these days. But the voice with which the author uses to portray Darius, how Darius’ depression is always there, but not the loudest thing in the room, how the author portrayed the relationship between Darius and his dad, and how Darius struggles to fit into a heritage he always felt on the periphery from… now THAT really got to me. I probably should have been more mindful of what I was going through emotionally before picking up this book, because the end had me in tears. But that’s a good thing, I promise!

Oh boy, I don’t even know where to begin here. Did I love the fact that this book is so obviously inspired by Mass Effect? Especially the Shepard and Garrus relationship? Yes. Because I, too, am obsessed with that and will play only that relationship arc each and every time. But I guess I was also expecting more of the story, and the sexy bits, too? We have a plot: Olivia is abducted by aliens because they need a profiler like her to help their commander infiltrate a human sex trafficking ring. Cool. Or it would have been except the trafficking aspects were only present as a vehicle to get Olivia and Thel into sexy situations which… I did not love. But it could have worked if those elements of the plot had been woven into the book, which they were not. Allow me to explain.