'Absolutely gut-wrenching and gorgeously written. This book sucked me in instantly' ? ? ? ? ?

'I love the way the relationship between Cleo and Billie developed. I fell in love with them, with their relationship. And they made me cry a lot. AND THE LONGING !!!!!!!!' ? ? ? ? ?

So, here's the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn't mean to steal this spaceship.

They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. But then the stupid dark matter engine started all on its own, and now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri, unable to turn around, and being harangued by a snarky hologram that has the face and attitude of the ship's missing captain, Billie.

Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is kind of a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise people talk about. But as the ship gets deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting, old mysteries start crawling back to life, and Cleo's initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman is prepared for.

Part space odyssey, part Sapphic romance and all spaceship-stealing fun, Emily Hamilton's breathtaking The Stars Too Fondly is a wild tale of galaxy-spanning friendship, improbable love, and wonder as vast as the universe itself.

'I'm a huge fan of that bombastic, earnest, interdimensional aspect that 80's sci-fi had, so seeing it here, just as earnest and openly Queer, was a real treat' ? ? ? ? ?

'The vibes of this book are seriously so great. It had some of my favorite bookish elements - found family, great banter, forced proximity, and women in STEM' ? ? ? ? ?

'QUEER ROMANCE. IN SPACE. ROMANTASY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The number of times I silent screamed while reading this cannot even be counted on one hand. This novel is so, so, SO funny and heartfelt' ? ? ? ? ?

'Space? Check. Sapphic? Check. Rom-com? Check. . . . I loved it from the first page' ? ? ? ? ?

'I adored literally everything about this. I am a huge Trekkie and also a huge Star Trek Voyager fan and a queer woman, so it did feel like this book might have been made in a lab for me' ? ? ? ? ?

'I adored this book. The science, the found family, the relationship between Billie and Cleo - it was absolute perfection' ? ? ? ? ?