A fun sci-fi read with a more interesting premise than actual plot.I wanted to like this more but it really was exactly what was on the tin.

This was a fairly enjoyable read and I'm always here for lesbians in space but overall I just didn't feel like there was a good balance between the romance / gender introspection stuff and the mystery / sci-fi plot. Her ship, a cargo ship, has been hit either by accident or on purpose. She remembers deciding to take a short cut because she was late in delivering her cargo. Now, not only does she not know where she is, but neither does anyone else. Almost by accident, she finds the Swift outside her porthole with hundreds of souls on board that simply disappeared one day – with Maggie’s wife on board. The entire galaxy had been looking for the Swift, but Maggie has found it – entirely by accident.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is emotional for sure, not exactly romance and more about gender identity. It's honest. The sci-fi aspect wasn't too bad, but I am a huge Sci-Fi fan and did have a few details I didn't particularly like about how it traveled distances, but I was willing to overlook it.

Though I can see how others would really love this book, this book wasn't my cup of tea. I had a hard time engaging and I don't understand why I couldn't really settle and click into it. The plot though is completely on point and that was engaging all in itself.

I think others will really enjoy this book! 3.5/5 stars!

This was a fairly enjoyable read and I'm always here for lesbians in space but overall I just didn't feel like there was a good balance between the romance / gender introspection stuff and the mystery / sci-fi plot. I think both were fairly well developed but they didn't really seem to go together a lot of the time and weren't integrated in a way that I thought flowed very well. Sometimes I would be very invested in the mystery of what was happening on the station and it would stop for a long internal monologue on something completely different and then once I was like 'ok that was interesting' it would throw me right back into the events on the ship and I was like 'oh yeah that's what we were supposed to be doing'. It was still an enjoyable read though and I would probably be interested in reading the next book in the series depending on what the summary looks like.

This book took me on such a wide range of emotions! Metzger is truly talented with words and was able to pull at my heartstrings throughout the whole journey. Typically sci-fi isn't my genre, but this one won me over.

It took me a while to read this, and I can't quite tell why. I certainly enjoyed the plot and characters, but something about either the pacing or the deep integration into a science fiction landscape made it occasionally feel like I was trudging through. An enjoyable read overall but it didn't grab me.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters especially the chef with her illustrated body and I have to admit to being suspicious of her all the way through the story. (An avenue missed there) It wasn’t apparent that that Maggie was black at first but I did get the feeling that her/his gender was a question that was explored well. I read a lot of science fiction and the topic of gender inequality isn't an issue I do hope that in the far future it wouldn’t have been necessary to discuss racism and gender but I understand why the author felt it appropriate. I felt, for me, the science fiction side need bulking up a bit but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it immensely.

A very cool sci-fi novel that ticks all the boxes of that genre, while simultaneously providing some very thought-provoking material about identity, racism and some really well written representation of what I'll call 'non lesfic-stereotypical lesbians' (eg the characters in this book, despite being from a world almost unrecognisable to ours and centuries in the future are more true to life than those in many books with contemporary settings.)

Maggie is the pilot and lone passenger of a long range cargo ship, after getting delayed she decides to take a short-cut to make up the time and save her pay. Unfortunately this leads to a crash and her only way of surviving is to space walk to a mysterious ship that has appeared off her bow. Doubling the mystery is the fact that this ship is the "Swift", which is officially missing and the navigator was Maggie's estranged wife. Once onboard, Maggie finds a modern day, (for her) Marie Celeste, although Lídia the ship's eccentric cook is still on board and very much alive.

Like all good sci-fi, "Like the First Moon Landing" has a hopeful utopian message tightly wrapped up in its dystopian world. We learn that Maggie has suffered greatly because she is not white and not cisgendered, but the progression of her friendship and relationship with the fabulous Lídia is a joy to watch. In the foreground is the investigation into what happened to the "Swift" and her crew (including of course her wife Helene) and if it is possible for Maggie to fly it back to civilisation and save their lives. The pace and tension throughout are incredible and I seriously cannot wait to read the next book in the series!

I really enjoyed this story. The first few chapters did rub me the wrong way, but at the 30% mark we got really into the story and it picked up. I did feel like this book lacked some sci-fi elements, I wanted a bit more techno-babble and futuristic technology.

I usually like my sci-fi with a dash of optimism, like how humanity overcomes all our differences and we can all live together in peace (you can tell I'm a Star Trek fan). Unfortunately, this story takes humanity back a few steps, but it's a very important story in today's climate.

This story is about accepting yourself, and I think everyone should read this book. The story punches you in the gut and pulls on your heartstrings and makes you want to laugh and cry and rage at the same time.

Read this book. Understand that humanity has a long way to go, but accept every human being you meet regardless of what they look like. Compassion is missing from the world and I just want everyone to be nice to each other.

This story was a great read and thought me many lessons, so I definitely recommend this book.

I wasn't sure when I finished this book whether it was the first in a series or not, but looks like it is! I liked this book enough that I'd definetly read the sequel once it comes out. It leaves off with a very interesting communication signal...

This whole story takes place from Maggie's POV, and I really liked her internal dialogue as the story got set up. At first I was admittedly confused if she was trans or not, but I think I understand that she's both sexes. The main theme of the story and her journey is that it doesn't matter regardless. We, as individual people, aren't confined to being defined by our sex.

Speaking of sex, there isn't any in this book and very little romance. Since this is the first in the series, I'm assuming the relationship that does start will continue more in the second.

What is really brilliant about this book is how well planned out the space world is by the author. I always admire the creativity that is in a well written sci-fi book, and this did not disappoint.

Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing how this series continues.

This book was just so beautiful. I loved the sci-fi setting of space ships (one of my favourite settings).
The writing was stunning, I felt so connected to Maggie and enjoyed her thoughts. I also enjoyed the relationship she had created with Lidia. The LGBT representation was just *chef kiss*.
The story I did lose interest slightly at the 1/4 point but it soon came back at full force.
Then the ending was all I could of asked for.
I'm so glad I read this! I would highly recommend to any other sci-fi fans.

4.5/5 stars
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Such a beautiful LGBTQ story about identity, relationships, acceptance, struggle, questioning, confusion ... all of those terrible things we all deal with, but even more so as an individual who doesn't feel like the labels of the world quite fit who they are ... and does it even really matter? Does a label matter? Should it?

Beautifully written and beautifully emotional. It reads more like a story of self and relationships, placed against the background of space and suspense, than a true sci-fi fantasy adventure.

What I liked

I flew through this book in the series of a few hours time ... and it felt like minutes. This book captured my attention from page one and never let me go.

The story was a beautiful representation. A story for anyone struggling with identity ... especially those struggling with gender identity. It brings to light the various labels we find throughout the community and asks the question ... are labels truly necessary? Or is it enough to just be "you" and loved for "you"? This story also brings up relationships - why we hold on to them, and when it is better that we let them go. As a whole, this is a story that makes you question and makes you think ... and this world needs books that force us to do just that.

If we're being honest, not a lot really happened, but the suspense that Metzger was able to paint across the entire setting was brilliantly done. Even with little action taking place, I was constantly on the edge of my seat, and consistently engaged.

And the writing ... absolute perfection.

What I did not like

I wasn't completely hooked on the relationship between our two characters as I felt like I could have been. That being said, it quickly grew into something that felt very honest.

In conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was very excited to find that Metzger has plans for a second book in this series. I went into this book thinking it was going to be a stand-alone, of which it is not. Thank goodness ... because when I read the final sentence of this book I audibly shouted "What? You can't end it there!"

I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who are facing the internal struggles of ones self.

Maggie McLean comes to in so much pain and on the deck. She doesn’t know how she got there, but she knows where she is. Her ship, a cargo ship, has been hit either by accident or on purpose. She remembers deciding to take a short cut because she was late in delivering her cargo. Now, not only does she not know where she is, but neither does anyone else. Almost by accident, she finds the Swift outside her porthole with hundreds of souls on board that simply disappeared one day – with Maggie’s wife on board. The entire galaxy had been looking for the Swift, but Maggie has found it – entirely by accident.

This is a fast-paced hard SciFi novel with a strong woman character and so many twists and turns, that the reader doesn’t dare stop reading. The ending was stunningly unexpected and took a few seconds to comprehend.

If you love hard SciFi this book is for you. If love strong women driving the story, this book is for you. If you love books that are unique because of the issues raised and discussed within the confines of finely written novel, this book is for you. It needs to sit at the top of your to-be-read list.

My thanks to NineStar Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC.

vibrating at a frequency that can shatter glass: i love this book a normal amount

I just.... what can I even say about this when my head is filled with so much love all I can think is: AHHHHHHHHH.

This is a story about Maggie, whose ship gets hit while on a cargo run which leaves her only option to try and dock with a seemingly unresponsive ship that is stranded nearby. Only problem is, this ship is the same ship that has been missing for two months and that Maggie's estranged wife is currently employed under. What happens next leads Maggie on a course of self-discovery that I certainly wasn't expecting but appreciated so much.

Because, ultimately, that's what this book is about. Yes, a large portion of the plot is dedicated to finding out what happened to this ship and how Maggie is going to survive. Yes, there is definitely a budding relationship depicted between Maggie and Lydia. But more than that a major theme in this is self-discovery and figuring out who you are when the world wants to tell you you're something different.

There is also more diversity in this than I was expecting. Maggie is black and intersex, Lydia is a trans women of color and Helene is also black and a lesbian.

Overall, this is a fun - sometimes intense - and quick sci-fi read that I loved with everything I have and highly recommend.

tws: some gore, some vomit, mild transphobia and mild interphobia

*this was provided to me as an arc through netgalley but that does not affect my review*

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. This book just didn't click for me, for some reason - it's well crafted, but I found it difficult to engage. I'm always glad to see queer rep in SFF, and the ruminations on gender identity here were interesting. I was also keen to unravel the mysteries involved and find out what happened. However, even when I was invested in the plot, I wasn't invested in the characters - and I can't quite pinpoint why. Considering the plot centres around Maggie on a quest to find her ex-wife, the book is strangely unemotional - the gore is visceral, but the feelings are not. I still might be tempted to pick up the next in the series, but I won't be in a rush to do so.

Lesbians? In space?! That alone will sell it to a lot of readers, I'm sure. It was, admittedly, what interested me in reading this book, even though sci-fi isn't something that usually interests me. I'm a sucker for representation in a book, especially something that is still all too rare in mainstream novels. And in that regard, I couldn't have been happier with Like the First Moon Landing. The main character Maggie is intersex and Black, the former of which is what most of Maggie's internal struggles center around. Lídia, the love interest, is a trans woman of color.

Maggie is the space equivalent of a trucker. After an unknown crash, she's left stranded in space in a ship that's barely able to keep together. Luckily, she's stranded right next to The Swift, a much larger spaceship which had gone missing without a trace months earlier. After a risky spacewalk, she makes it to The Swift, where she meets Lídia, the only living crew member left on The Swift. Together, they figure out both what happened aboard The Swift and how to survive the trip home.

Between suspenseful moments of trying to fix dead in the water spaceships and the horrors of being alone in outer space, there's some wonderful moments of introspection from both Maggie and Lídia about how their identities have affected their lives and the ways they interact with others. It's hard to find these type of stories without an all white, all cis cast, and it's even harder to find diverse characters whose identities aren't just slapped on for kudos and never properly acknowledged. When they first meet, there's even a scene where they ask themselves for each other's pronouns, something I see happen a lot among real life queer friends, but rarely in fiction. That was great to see and easily my favorite part of the whole novel.

As a relative newcomer to the sci-fi genre, there was probably a lot of the world building lost to me, but I did appreciate the bits I understood easily. There was enough to give me the sense that this really is a futuristic universe, with a rich culture and history, without ever bogging the plot down and detracting attention away from Maggie and Lídia. It kept things fast paced and exciting, while creating a well rounded world for future installments of the city.

One thing I didn't enjoy was some of the more medical gore stuff. Gore is probably an extreme way of describing it, but I'm pretty squeamish. Accidents happen while stranded in space and there's a few scenes describing in pretty vivid detail the injuries and how they're being treated. To squeamish readers, I'd warn them to be prepared for that. The warnings preceding the book warn about offscreen violence, but I wish they had mentioned the medical procedures. However, I do acknowledge a lot of that is just my own personal weak stomach and not a fault on Metzger or the novel.

Another aspect I didn't enjoy was the last few lines of the book, a communication sent out into space. It's not exactly a 'twist', but it does reveal a lot of things that had been happening outside of The Swift, while Maggie and Lídia were getting it to safety. Mostly, it seems to be setting the stage for the sequel. My biggest problem with those last few lines is it does a complete 180 on the mood of the ending. It goes from a pretty happy, hopeful ending, to incredibly dark. Maybe this was the intention, but it just felt like getting the rug pulled out from underneath me in a nasty way. It just left a sour taste in my mouth about the whole thing. While I understand wanting to set up the sequel, this seems like it would have been better off as an epilogue, another chapter, or even just in the beginning of the preview for the sequel.

Ultimately, I'm going to give Like the First Moon Landing 4 stars. While the ending did detract from my overall enjoyment of it, a lot of that has to do with the direction that the sequel is going to be taking, and I'm not going to fault this installment for its sequel. I probably won't be reading the next one and just treating this as a stand alone novel.

I received an advanced review copy of this title and am voluntarily leaving this review.

3.50 Stars. This was a pretty riveting read. I have not read any sci-fi in a while so I decided to give this book a shot. I’m glad I did because it was a good fast-paced read with enough excitement to have me finishing this book in one sitting.

Maggie is a pilot of a small one person cargo ship. When she takes a short-cut into unchartered space, an accident threatens her life. When all seems lost, Maggie notices a cargo ship floating out there in space with her. But it’s not just any cargo ship, it’s a ship that disappeared into thin air with over 200 crew members…. including Maggie’s wife.

From the danger that Maggie is in to the potential ghost ship, this story starts with a bang and doesn’t let you go. Being stuck in the house right now, I’m looking for books that entertain me and I’m happy to say this was very entertaining. This had a little feel of the movie Passengers with Jennifer Lawrence, mixed with some mystery and even creepy moments. It was quite the mix and I liked the overall feel.

It’s not just about the mystery of the ship, this book is also about identity and finding oneself. While this book has two people with feelings for each other, I would not really call this a romance. This book is about two people finding each other and really seeing each other for who they are. So there is an important connection and feelings growing, and I like the two as a couple, I just can’t really put this in the romance category.

If you are a sci-fi fan, I think you would enjoy this. If you are not a big sci-fi fan but still liked movies like Passengers, The Martian, and Aliens (there are no actual aliens in this, it’s the military and boarding vessels feel I’m talking about) than you might also enjoy this read. This was a fast and entertaining book that I’m glad I had a chance to read.

Riveting and emotional, Like the First Moon Landing follows Maggie McLean as her ship collides with an unknown object in dark space while taking a short cut. Forced to abandon ship, she makes her way to a fellow stranded carrier - only to discover that it's the ship everyone's been looking for months - including Maggie, as her ex-wife was on board. Finding a single survivor, Maggie must discover what happened to the disappeared crew members, why the ship is disabled, and confront questions about her own identity. A wild ride from start to finish, this novel has sympathetic characters, a noir horror atmosphere, and in-depth examination over gender identity and just what makes us human.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.