This is an extraordinary book. I still don't really know whether I enjoyed it or not as I didn't really know what was happening most of the time (or when it was finished), but it was certainly intriguing and well written.
A generous 4*

The lack of chemistry between Jem and Isley was unsettling for me. As was Jem's strage relationship with her son Fosse. Fosse felt like a kid from Stephen King's novels - all dark and riled up. The politics was on point tough. Feeling unwanted and judged in a foreign country and in this case a foreign planet, is something that is too real. I was starting to get Ursula K Leguin vibes. But the scifi didn't feel like scifi. I was hoping for me. Like I said, it was strange read for me.

Wonderful writing and an original story. One of the few novels where the aliens feel truly 'alien' - unsettling and inscrutable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy this book. I was interested in learning more about the relationship between Jem and Isley, and Jem and her son Fosse, but not enough backstory was given for me to understand what was going on, and I was ultimately left with more questions than answers.

💛🌸Book Review Time🌸💛

Thank you so much to the publisher, author and netgalley for this #GIFTED PR copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

Okay, wow. Let me begin by saying that this is my second time reading this author and unfortunately the first time didn’t grab me like I wished it would have. Needless to say, I was happy to give them another try but didn’t have too-high-a-hopes for a knockout read. However! Let this be a lesson that one “not-so-fabulous” book does not a bad author make but this one was AMAZING!
I was hooked from ground zero and gripped to the page. The tension and world building is marvellous. The characters are 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻.
Basically, read the book.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending this advanced reader's copy in return for a fair and honest review

I found this to be a strange book and even after finishing it I don’t know if I liked it or not. I felt that it ended too abruptly but felt that there was no natural ending for it either. It seemed to jump all over the place which made it awkward to read. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this book at all.

The story seemed a bit disjointed to me, and the ending just did not make sense. The entire story did not make a lot of sense to me.

Very bizarre tale, reminiscent of Jamaica Inn, but shorter and much more confusing with a sci-fi twist.

The first half was very muddly but the pace improved in the latter stages, with much more going on.

A very odd and challenging read, but hopefully any follow up will be more polished all round please!

I read this courtesy of NetGalley, my review is my own opinion.

Reminded me of Amatka in the visceral reaction its descriptions evoked. This was certainly much stranger than I'd expected - a bizarre, atmospheric novel with complex themes and beautiful language. All the same, I don't think I had the mental space for the estrangement that it wanted, and I didn't feel connected to the characters in a way that would have made this experience feel more real. Nonetheless, I'm sure others will love it - its strangeness and originality certainly make it completely memorable.

This book is included in my May reading wrap up on my YouTube channel https://youtu.be/DikQDjMUo58

The premise of this book sounded so interesting but this book ended up simply not being for me. I still ended up giving it 3 out of 5 stars because I can see how objectively, it is well done and will most likely bring enjoyment to a lot of people, I just might have been the wrong target audience.

I was not able to follow what was happening or connect to any of the characters. The author writes skillfully and with rather lyrical prose which a lot of people truly love. Since this book was lacking in character development and growth and the pacing just felt very off, the lyrical prose felt deplaced for me too.
I really wanted to like it but I barely made it through. Though I know that others, especially those who like the obscure, absurd, or just unique settings, will most likely love it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was ... not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting something much more centered around daily life at the Inn, which a large plot playing out as the story went on. This was not that. but it was a very interesting and unexpected story.

To me, this is a story about colonization and how it affects not just the colonized peoples, but the colonizers. In this case, there's also an interesting question about just who is doing the colonizing.

This is definitely a book for sci-fi fans to check out. Half of the story is about a small, isolationist village and its increasingly desperate efforts to maintain traditional ways despite drastic changes occurring in the rest of the world. The other half is a travelogue of an alien planet, the ecosystem, and social structure as seen through the eyes of a human boy.

These two stories eventually converge in a completely unexpected ending that's very open to the interpretation of the reader.

A cozy read, which I'm not sure I was expecting, too be honest. I like it when a place I read about feels so real that I could visit it, and the author does that here.

So...It was strange but I wouldn't expect less from Aliya Whiteley. I admit the first time I read the story I couldn't get into it. I tried once again some time later and boom, it worked. It's the kind of story and narrative that requires the reader to be in the right mood to fully appreciate it.

An excellent story.

Ok, I don't think I understood what I was getting into when I requested Skyward Inn for early review. I've seen someone refer to it as 'new weird', a little in the vein of Vandermeer and I think that gives a little bit of an insight into the style. I preferred this over the Vandermeer I've read for a few reasons.

I found it much easier to follow and get invested in the narrative as the reader is given a clear idea of the initial ideas. The characters were distinct and easy to get a good idea of and I liked reading about them. I thought they seemed like people I could have met in real life and that lent them a richness that helped carry me through any of the confusing new weird moments.

The 'weird' part of science fiction isn't one I have liked in the past, but I'd definitely make an exception for Skyward Inn. I thought the characters were engaging, the world exciting to read about and the twist towards the end makes me want to re-read it already, only a few months later.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Skyward Inn is a slow burn new weird read. It takes place in a small town in an area of what was formerly the UK where the citizens eschew the technological advances that have allowed space exploration and many other 'advances'. They make their own food and learn land based skills.

This book confused me a bit at first because of the author's reputation for weirdness. Sure, an alien worked in the bar and the drink he and one of the protagonists have after work is a bit odd, but there wasn't a lot of weirdness. Then when it hit, IT HIT. Absolutely wild. So, if you're looking for a weird read, stick with it.

I enjoyed Skyward Inn with its flawed, real characters and engaging world. The pace wasn't steady, but I'm very glad I stuck with it.

This novel took me longer to get through than I would have liked, though the audiobook narration might have had something to do with that (the narrator’s voice put me to sleep!) I like how this is an alien invasion story that reads more like a family drama, blending the personal and the cosmic. The concept is cool and by the end, I had bought into it well enough. Next I’d like to read Du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn to see if that adds anything to my reading.

Is it weird that I didn’t know that this book was a weird but sci-fi retelling of Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier? Probably not, considering the fact that I haven’t read that book. Oh, well. It’s the kind of after the fact information that sometimes bothers me. This time, it didn’t.

Skyward Inn is a place where people come to contemplate about the times and their lives, it’s a place where people come to after a day of hard work on the farm and to taste the local brew. On the surface, everything is so astonishingly normal that it’s a bit unnerving, especially considering the fact that this is all happening on a different world. A world where there’s spaceports but people in this story have decided to have nothing to do with it. The history of this planet and Earth is not pretty and everybody seems to be ignoring that in favour of living a simple life. Even though one of the people at the inn is Isley, who is Qitan and does his cooking and brewing on his own. The local humans accept him though, because he’s like them, he’s just like them. He cooks well and brews well, there’s peace in their village why would they alienate him? Jem, the other owner of the inn, is a veteran of the war that brought ‘peace’. The planet Qita and its history with humans is not a pretty one but there’s nothing they can do about it but live apart from the coalition and the Western Protectorate.

Of course, nothing stays peaceful for long. A stranger comes to the village and to the Inn with a plea for help that shakes the peaceful facade that the villagers have built around themselves. There is the reminder of the not-so-peaceful past and uncertain future. I think the thing I enjoyed the most in this novel was the slight feeling of something being off the whole time I was reading it. The pace of the writing and the overall image it creates is a sleepy and almost languid one and I loved that. I truly didn’t realise that the pace was not gonna be a thing in this book and perhaps that disappointed me a bit but overall, the writing really won me over. This is not a book you go in for action and fast pace, it’s far more character focused and imaginative in a slightly eerie way.

Overall, I really loved the writing style and the characters’ interactions and would love to read more by this author. I still can’t let go of the slightly off, unsettling tone of the whole book, I wonder if that’s the case with all of Aliya Whiteley’s writing.

I got a third of the way through this before giving up. I found this sci fi world to be confusing and lacking in any real development. I felt the same way about the characters and therefore was reading without any real desire to see where the story would go. It's a shame as I've previously read this author's novellas and really enjoyed them. I don't think her writing suits a longer narrative as she doesn't back the plot up with enough substance.

Unique is the best word to describe this book! I have never read anything like it and I am not sure that I will ever read anything like it again!
Aliya Whiteley is the most imaginative person! The world she created is incredible!
If I was to give one slightly less positive statement it would be that at times it was difficult to follow. However, a very enjoyable story that I will be encouraging others to read!

Why I Read It: Honestly, I picked this up because there were a couple of other reviews who mentioned this in 2021 Anticipated Releases posts, so it was a title I at least recognized. I think also the name dropping in the synopsis, like Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Murier and Jeff Vandermeer, appealed to me.
What It's About: In a self isolated village, 2 veterans of an intergalactic conflict reside together, one human and one Qita. Everything is seemingly at peace, until one day they receive a visitor from Qita.
Cons: This book's biggest fault was its general emptiness. Mostly the narrative appears to be build up to the “reveal” at the end, however, I do not think any reveal would be meaningful. Any character reveal requires solid character building, as well as for the reader to care about the characters, which I didn't and almost all characters were forgettable. Any reveal that shakes the plot requires there to at least be one, which there wasn't up to the point I stopped reading (which was more than half way into the novella), as well as an understanding of the world, and I literally had to read a review to find out it takes place in England. Also I need to mention the teen boy, Fosse, who comes off as a perverted Holden Caulfield, since his second scene is of him masturbating cause he's bored and angry. This unnecessary addition primed me to immediately dislike this boy.
Pros: In a flaccid attempt at positivity, I will say this isn't the worst book I've read so far this year. The characters are distinct, mostly assisted by Jem's sections being in first person and Fosse's sections being in third person. The ending may also be good, but since I didn't read it I can't comment on it.
Finishing Thoughts: Despite this being a novella, I couldn't finish it. I had to DNF it. Devoid of plot, themes, and likeable characters, I honestly don't understand why so many reviewers seem to compare this to Vandermeer's work. I admit I went into this one with high, and false, expectations, but even if they had been tempered, Skyward Inn still would be one of the dullest books I've read this year.