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Five years into humanity’s mission to colonize Proxima Centauri, Chief Engineer Maya Sato is the only one awake aboard the starship Artemis. Two hundred colonists lie sleeping in cryo. Her only companions are ARIA, the ship’s watchful AI, and the ache of loneliness pressing in from the endless dark.
When critical systems begin to fail, Maya discovers that someone is sabotaging the mission from within.
Then Julian Chen, the ship’s brilliant, infuriating lead architect, is forced out of cryo after a pod malfunction. Arrogant, maddening, dangerously attractive, he is now the only person she can trust.
Their uneasy partnership ignites into undeniable heat. Every system failure pulls them closer. Every dark corridor, every repair, becomes an excuse to touch, to linger, to fall deeper into something neither of them can afford.
But the sabotage escalates. Trust fractures. And as the Artemis spirals toward disaster, Maya must uncover the traitor before they all become ghosts in the void.
There’s nowhere to run. No one to call for help. Only heat. Only gravity.
Only the man who might be the one thing holding her together.
Genre: science fiction romance
Publication date: June 2025
Mature content: yes
Review: The Stars We Carry had an interesting and original premise that immediately caught my attention, and I appreciated that the story wasn't predictable. The plot twist genuinely surprised me, which is something I always enjoy.
That said, I felt the execution didn't fully live up to the concept. While the twist was unexpected, it didn't seem to fit seamlessly with the first half of the story, making it feel somewhat disconnected rather than like a natural progression. I also found the romance between the characters a bit awkward at times, with some interactions feeling strange or unconvincing. On top of that, the writing is quite repetitive, with dialogues and scenes almost copy/pasted in different sections of the book and Maya's inner thoughts almost always trying to push the same messages across.
Overall, I enjoyed the originality of the idea and appreciated the attempt to do something different, but the plot inconsistencies, uneven romance, and repetitive writing kept it from being a more satisfying read for me.
I confess I'm still curious about where Julian and Maya go from here, so I'll probably give book two in the series a try one of these days.
Happy readings!
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