"Love isn't war. Life is war; love is a truce you find in the middle of all that violence. And I bet there's someone out there who loves you, even if you don't know them yet."
Title: A Complicated Love Story Set In Space
Author: Shaun David Hutchinson
Rating:
A Complicated Love Story Set In Space is quite possibly one of my new favorite science fiction/romance novels of all time.
I had never heard of Shaun David Hutchinson before stepping into Barnes & Noble about a month ago. I was perusing the young adult fiction novels when my eye caught the gorgeous cover of "A Complicated Love Story Set In Space." It combines my two favorite things: love and outer space. I adore sci-fi films. I love a good sci-fi book too, but there just haven't been any recent releases that caught my eye. That is until I saw this book and read the inside cover:
When Noa closes his eyes on Earth and wakes up on a spaceship called Qriosity just as it's about to explode, he's pretty sure that things can't get much weirder. Boy is he wrong.
Trapped aboard Qriosity are also DJ and Jenny, neither of whom remember how they got onboard the ship. Together, the three of them face all the dangers or space, along with murder, aliens, a school dance, and one really, really bad day. But none of this can prepare Noa for the biggest challenge: falling in love. And as Noa's feelings for DJ deepen, he has to contend not just with the challenges of the present, but also with his memories of the past. However, nothing is what it seems on Qriosity, and the truth will upend all of their lives forever.
Love is complicated enough without also trying to stay alive.
I. Love. The. Premise. Of. This. Book. SDH throws us right into the action on the first page: Our main character Noa suddenly wakes up in outer-space, floating in a spacesuit outside a spaceship that is about to explode. He doesn't remember how he got there. In the same situation as him are DJ and Jenny, who also randomly wake up in outer space. Noa, DJ, and Jenny have such detailed personalities and trauma that make them unlike any other characters I have ever read before. SDH does a spectacular job developing these characters to make. you fall in love with the, even though they make so many stupid decisions that I wanted to throw a book at their heads. I became emotionally attached to the three of them immediately, praying with every atom in my body that they were going to end up alright. I can say that this book does have a happy ending, but boy does SDH put you through a rollercoaster ride to get there.
A Complicated Love Story Set In Space is like no other sci-fi book I have read because the main plot is driven by this unexpected relationship between Noa and DJ. While I absolutely adore Jenny and the friendship that blossoms between her and the boys, I am a sucker for a sad and dramatic romance. From my in depth dive into SDH and what he has written, a majority of his novels are sci-fi/world ending stories with a focus LGBTQIA+ relationships. The connection that Noa and DJ have is so touching, heartbreaking, and honest representation of a relationship affected by the trauma of the past and the fear of the future. On top of navigating their relationship, they are trying to make their way through outer space without dying. I couldn't ask for more drama from a romance book!
Noa, DJ, and Jenny live a pretty boring life on the space ship for about 40% of the book. Then, SDH starts throwing curveballs left and right and doesn't stop until last few pages of the book. Everything I didn't expect to happen is exactly what happened. I am usually really great at predicting the endings of books, but there is no universe in which I could have predicted the way this book was going. If you are a fan of GIGANTIC twists that completely change the pace of a book, then this one might be for you.
This is the kind of book that will get you out of a reading slump. Is it technically a young adult/childrens book? Yes. Is it one of my new favorites ever? Yes. It is a fast paced, hilarious, and a great time from start to finish. Recently, my friends have been asking me how I rate my books and films on a five star scale and what makes something five stars. The only way I can explain five star reads is that I would take them to a desert island with me, and A Complicated Love Story Set In Space is high up on that list.
I give A Complicated Love Story Set In Space five stars as rated in Nutreesh, Earth's favorite nutritional meal substitution bar and proud subsidiary of Gleeson Foods.
If you want to know a little bit more about this book or more of what Shaun David Hutchinson has written, I am linking his website below. I am also including the youtube link to a silly little animation that SDH made for the book to give you a better idea of what the book is about!
SDH Website:
A Complicated Love Story Set In Space Youtube Video:
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