Fiona Cook (back and catching up!)'s Reviews > You Sexy Thing

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet meets Envy of Angels and makes something completely new - You Sexy Thing was a lot of fun, and also managed to pack in some real emotional depth.

Niko and her crew, ex-members of the Holy Hive Mind, have managed to leave and start a new life running a restaurant on a space station. But just as a visit from a critic promises to give them the boost they've been looking for, an attack leaves them on the run in a bioship called You Sexy Thing. Hijinks ensue, as they do, and before too long we're dealing with Imperial heirs, space pirates, and revenge that's been due for decades.

This was really enjoyable - I love the found family trope and this is a great example. Niko and her crew are strong and individual characters, and there's nothing like having been linked into a hive mind to build bonds. The descriptions of cooking were great too - it really reminded me of the Sin du Jour series, marrying familiar and unfamiliar cooking concepts in a way that felt really natural.

There was a pretty big tone shift when the space pirates got involved - before that, there's a fair bit of travel in space, which is mostly waiting for an event we know is coming. Post-space-pirates, though, there's death, betrayal, and some pretty heavy moments - I like the additional depth to the story, but the transition could have been smoother.

Overall though, if this turns into a series, I'm all in - and though it wraps up well enough to be a satisfying standalone, there's definitely room for more.