The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

This was very sweet and weirdly cozy in its own way. I'll probably pick up the next one when I'm in the mood for something soothing. The characters are pretty good, and it's pleasant. It's a nice story but there's no real plot. There is absolutely no throughline involving a conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution.

Instead, there's an overarching mission that gives them a reason to sort of wagon train through the galaxy, and each chapter is a little vignette involving a stop along the way. And while the vignettes technically have conflict and stakes, they're barely established before they're resolved pretty neatly.

This is not a bad thing, but I was expecting much more “what happens next” energy when I picked this up. Instead, this is a series of fairly low-key character interactions, with occasional-but-brief moments of tension or serious emotional impacts. Instead of “what happens next” it's “hmm, let's check in with Rosemary and crew.”

That said, I liked a lot of the characters enough that I DO want to check in with them again!