What a novel!!! From start to finish I was engaged and hooked. Fast pacing, heart pumping moments. Likeable characters. 5/5!!

A romantic sci-fi adventure that will make your heart race and flutter!

“Into the Churn” follows Ezren Hart as she enters her planet’s deadly and most lucrative race in hopes of saving her mother’s terraforming lab. Her partner and veteran racer Foster Sterling has reasons of his own for partaking in Belthea’s Race Royale: to uncover the truth behind the death of his former teammate. It’s a race against time to the finish line, but they can’t outrun the mysterious string of accidents befalling them or the spark that ignites between them.

Admittedly science-fiction isn’t my cup of tea because I can easily become overwhelmed by abstract concepts, but I’m so glad I decided to branch out with this book because it is just so fun! I was immediately swept up in Chow’s Casolla system from the very first page. Through Ezren’s point-of-view the reader is organically introduced to Belthean customs and traditions, including slang unique to those who inhabit the planet and the race royale. The stakes are high for both Ezren and Foster with savage and volatile storms being a part of the course they have to navigate. The added threat of other racers sabotaging their competition paired with the elements of mystery and fast pacing made it so that there was never a dull moment!

With so much on the line I also couldn’t help but root for both Ezren and Foster to be the first to finish and was desperate to see their relationship take off. This book is advertised as a slow burn and while I wouldn’t say that is the case, I really enjoyed watching their feelings for each other grow from both of their perspectives. The inclusion of the fake dating trope pushes Ezren and Foster to spend more time together as part of a publicity stunt until the line between what is pretend and what is real begins to blur. I couldn’t get enough of their chemistry!

This was a captivating story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I really liked the unique parts within the story that had me invested from the first page. Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book.

This was good for the first 50%, but then it got really draggy in the second half. The last 50% was almost impossible to get through, and I wish that the author had put some of the care and attention to detail from the first half into the second. Besides that, the first 30% was great. I enjoyed that a lot, but then it kind of fell off for me.

This was a great start to the Into the Churn series, it had a great overall scifi element that I was looking for and thought the overall feel worked. The characters were everything that I was expecting and enjoyed from the overall story going on. Hayley Reese Chow has a great writing style and I was enjoying the world a lot. It left me wanting more in this series.

I went into this book looking for some fun and a cozy adventure and I came out crying like a baby and loving many many of the characters. The main two characters are to die for and I just loved the general vibes too, I can't wait to read the next part and see the new adventures.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Not my cup of tea but was an interesting read. I really enjoyed Ezren's POV more than Foster's. It was a bit hard for me to picture the events and the world they lived in, which made it hard for me to grasp a liking/understanding to the story. I most likely will not be reading book 2.

I had initially requested this after seeing the cover and reading the synopsis, thinking that this would be some sort of romantic space opera. I was imagining "These Broken Stars" meets Tron, and it was. I just struggled to connect with any of the characters, I also found that the romance was developed very flatly. There are a lot of time jumps, where we watch as the characters go from strangers to friends or friends to lovers with very little information on why.

I liked a lot about this book, the world and characters were set up great and I was excited to get into their story but it lacked a lot in actual development: character, relationship, and world.

This is a fast-paced Sci-fromance novel. We follow two professional athletes that are partners in a high-danger race/fighting ring. It's YA in an accessible but not annoying way, and I would easily recommend it broadly.

What this book does best is in its setting. It really sets the mood with its planet full of deadly storms, and every scene where the characters were out there had real gravitas. I felt the danger and the excitement. This book also nails the pacing in the competition plot. I was very invested in how our protagonists would place in every round, and it kept me enthusiastically reading.

I also especially loved our protagonist Ezren, who was passionate about the race and the planet, and was given really strong motivations that helped me cheer for her.

It's a little disappointing that this book that is marketed as "slow burn" takes very little time to explore the yearning of the characters, and has the first kiss before even halfway through the book. It's a fine romance, but not quite one that will sweep you off your feet.

A video review featuring this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, @ChloeFrizzle

Thanks to Netgalley and Whimsical Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Whimsical Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

My fear of storms has once again resurfaced.

Into the Churn by Hayley Reese Chow is a YA sci-fy novel that spans across many planets both habitable and inhabitable due to super-cell storms. Seventeen-year-old Ezren Hart interns in her mother’s terraforming lab, studying Belethea’s deadly storms with the dream of giving her backwater planet open teal skies. But when budget cuts threaten to shut down her mother’s lab, Ezren enters Belethea’s Race Royale, the system’s deadliest and most lucrative race. To win, she’ll have to run, drive, and fight her way across Belethea’s barren landscape while navigating its savage and volatile storms. With her planet’s future, and her family’s, on the line, she can’t afford to lose. But first, she’ll have to convince her handsome royale partner that their planet is worth saving. Foster Sterling is a jaded ex-prodigy royaler still reeling from his partner’s death in a training accident. When Ezren Hart comes charging into his life, her passion reminds him of what he once loved about racing and his dream of returning pride to their planet. Still, no matter how fast they go, they can’t outrun the mysterious string of deadly accidents following them like a curse. As Foster falls harder for Ezren, he races to piece the clues together. But with time running out and their survival on the line, he’ll have to decide if their dreams are worth their lives. Earth was tame. Belethea is not.

This book is everything I love in a sci-fy novel. The stakes are higher than the atmosphere. The characters don't just automatically answer every single problem with science or technology. Not to mention the characters are ones that you want to cheer and almost see them fail. There was never a dull moment in this book, and I can't wait to get my hands on book two.

I loved this book! It's a super cute, low angst YA read that I definitely recommend.

The story of a race for survival is one we've definitely seen before but it's done in an interesting way and still feels fresh and exciting. The relationships are low angst/drama but the action is definitely not and keeps you invested. You can feel how tough this race is for the characters both physically and emotionally and you want to keep reading to find out what's next. And the mystery twist at the end was a nice unexpected surprise.

I loved the characters of Foster and Ezren and their relationship. Their romance is a slow burn, cutesy type that's perfect in a YA book. The author did a great job building their story. I loved the supporting characters and their banter as well and wouldn't mind seeing future entries into the series telling their stories.

This is the first book in a series but the ending is not a cliffhanger and wraps the events of this book up nicely. You could definitely read this as a stand-alone or just take a break before the next book without too much issue.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an arc. All opinions are my own.

I'll be honest, this was a completely superficial arc request upon seeing the cover. But hear me out, okay. I had just finished my reread of Illuminae and I was all in my Kady and Ezra feels when I stumbled upon this and all my mind could scream was that this was Kady and Ezra in another universe (yes that one pink streak did it for me). Then I read the synopsis and it seemed interesting enough that I wanted to give it a chance because I was in the mood for more sci-fi romance.
I went into this book with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It wasn't the great extraordinaire that is Illuminae (but let's be honest nothing can compare to that so it's unfair to do so) but it was still a solid story and had that quality that made me unable to put down the book. And I love it when I'm unable to put down a book.

Like with every book, there were some things I liked and disliked but the things I disliked were minor enough for me to be able to overlook them while reading and still enjoy the story. So what did I like about this book?

<i>Into the Churn</i> had a dual, first-person POV from Ezren and Forster. Often with dual POV's I find that some chapters are redundant and added simply because it was necessary to stitch POV. I did not have this issue here and did not feel like any chapters were redundant. I loved Ezren. She was strong, witty, resilient, and had that stubborn quality about her where she refused to give up when things got hard. She entered this big dangerous and deadly race for the simple fact that she loved her family and planet so much she wanted to do anything to save them and make it better. She trained hard and never once complained or whined. The love interest and second main character, Foster, was a great character too. He had that golden retriever characteristic to him. If there's one thing I didn't like about his character is that he always felt the need to protect Ezren when it was clear that she could take care of herself just fine. But after what happened to his last partner, I could hardly blame the guy and it made his character more realistic.
The downside about the characters was that all the side characters fell flat to me. I felt like all the focus was on Ezren and Forster and that the side characters were just there for the sake of the plot. They had no depth. We never learn their story, what drives them, what scares them. They remain flat, static characters which, consequently, made me not care for them.

The plot was fun to read. I loved the idea of this huge race with all kinds of different obstacles they had to overcome. When I first read about this race in the synopsis, it immediately made me think about the podrace in <i>Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace</i> and got really excited. In reality, the Race Royale was much different from the pod race but it was still so cool and brutal.
I only wish it was described and explained in a bit more detail but I'll get to that in my paragraph about things I disliked.

The final thing I really liked was the romance. Yes it was quick and there was little build-up and no slow burn but when I dove into this book, I was looking for a quick, cute romance and that's what this book delivered. The connection between Ezren and Forster is instantaneous and as they spend time together 24/7 to practice for the race, it's only normal they grow fond of each other quickly. So their relationship development didn't feel unnatural and forced to me.

Coming to the things I disliked, I wanted to come back to my earlier point about descriptions. The descriptions throughout the entire book were lacking. If you're writing a sci-fi or fantasy novel, you transport your character into an unfamiliar world. Therefore apt descriptions of what it looks, like, how it operates, and how it governs are necessary for your reader to understand what's going on. I was missing these details in this book. The race is cool and all, but as a reader, we're thrown into it with barely any idea of how it works, what it entails, and what it looks like. It would have been better if we'd gotten some explanatory details of its working beforehand and some descriptions of the vehicles and other attributes used during the race. Because I had a hard time Imagining the vehicle they rode or how their suits looked. I had these giant, Michelin Man suits (imagine man on the moon kind) in my head when in reality (I think) they were skin-tight suits.
I also with the technology they used was explained better. I feel like the author assumes the reader would immediately understand how their chatting system works. But it took me ages to figure out if they were typing or talking (and I think it was neither, I think they were thinking the words and it transcribed into text) But these are little things that should be made clear to the reader as these are things they are unfamiliar with in the real world. I also missed some descriptions about the planet they were on and I had a hard time imagining what it looked like. I understood that its surface was inhabitable and that they lived underground but beyond that, there are very little descriptions beyond mauve dirt? and rocks?

To branch off from world descriptions I want to move on to world-building. This was lacking. Fairly quickly into the story, I began to notice inconsistencies in the world's details. Furthermore, there is very little explained about the history of the world, how the people came to these barren planets to try and make them habitable. How these planets worked and where their resources came from to actually start building a life on these planets. I was also missing some world politics but after reading the synopsis for the sequel I can only hope we get more details in the next book.

And lastly, the thing that grated me the most was the made-up swear words.
What is it with Americans and their phobia of swear words? Seriously, it's just words, why give them so much power? These characters are 18, surely they're mature enough to swear instead of these dumb made-up swear words that grate on everyone's nerves. I could understand not wanting to swear words in a book meant for a younger audience (even if I don't agree with it), but then either lower the age of your characters or write NA or adult. Because not using actual swear words but then have basically every spoken sentence include a dumb swear word like "shaft" or "fodding"
just looked ridiculous. There is plenty of YA out there that doesn't use swear words without making up words and it works. If you don't want swear words in your book, that's fine, but then don't have your characters cursing in every sentence.

As I mentioned earlier, the things I disliked did not overpower the things I liked and I was able to overlook them while reading. <i>Into the Churn</i> was a solid sci-fi story with a good base. It was overall a good book. But it could have been a great book if more attention to detail had been paid. The key to a great sci-fi is, in my opinion, the attention to detail. It's a fun, breezy read if you're looking for something light and fun to read.

I genuinely loved the worldbuilding, it was so fascinating. I never read anything like this and I was so caught up in the story. Thank you for giving me an opportunity. I'll deff read the sequel and a full review will come in the coming days on my Goodreads.

A fun, YA sci-fi. I liked the atmosphere and the characters. The world was interesting and I enjoyed seeing the different perspectives on terraforming. There are so few books that take place in environments like this, so I enjoyed that a lot. I also appreciated how strong Ezren felt about her planet. I really liked Ezren as a character. She was passionate and strong, but had her flaws. It felt like ADHD rep, but that was unconfirmed. Foster was also an engaging character, but not as well developed. I would've loved more opportunity to dig into his past and see more about why he was estranged from his mother, see the potential that people keep attributing to him, and just in general make him more well rounded. The side characters were also great. I appreciated the lack drama within the team and appreciate that there was no girl on girl toxicity that is so common in YA.
I also really liked Ezren's family. They gave Ezren more depth and rounded her out as a character. They were good motivation and it was nice to see a positive parent/child relationship. They are so rare in YA. I would've liked to see more of Micah, I liked her a lot.
One thing I struggled with was the jargon. There was a lot of adding 'space' words in front of regular words to make them sound more interesting. The tech all had weird names and it didn't feel necessary.
Also, the plot felt a bit jumpy. I really would've liked them to have been investigating for longer and make more of an effort to learn things, instead of falling into them. I almost feel it could've been a duology, keeping the ending fairly similar, but having another book with more investigating and the fallout of their discoveries.
I feel bad, I have such high expectations of this genre because of the Illuminae series. Really, this book is great and I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn't have the intricacies of Jay and Amie's books and that's okay. Go into it expecting a fun ride and it will not disappoint.

Thank you, Hayley Reese Chow and NetGalley for providing me with this e-book.

Into the Churn is an adventurous, exciting and fantastical book with interesting characters and spectacle world-building.
Featuring competitive races, fake dating and an underlying scheme this book will get you hooked. Ezren is a strong-willed and feisty young lady whereas Foster is more of a laid-back grumpy underdog. Making them the perfect pair. The story is told through a dual POV of Ezren and Foster, giving you insight into both worlds from different backgrounds. There are also some intriguing and loveable side characters involved and some smark remarks and witty banter. Not only have Ezren and Foster swoon-worthy chemistry, but they also show us how teamwork is really done.

The world-building was next level. There a too few Sci-Fi books with this kind of techy vibes. The thrilling races through space and different worlds made it truly special. The races eventually lead up to this grant competition, reminding me a bit of the Hunger Games. While there is a competition to be won and a planet to be saved, there is also a mystery to be solved that had me guessing until the end of the book.

Into the Churn is for everyone who loves to read about an exciting futuristic race competition with romance and mystery. I can't wait for the next book 'Into the Fire' coming May 2024.

“Be strong. Be swift. By legs, wheels and fists, we go into the churn. We race, we fight, and we live to do it all over again. For ourselves, for Belethea, and for each other.”

You know those books you just can't tear yourself away from? This is exactly that kind of read!

I usually stick to fantasy or romance, but I decided to give this sci-fi a shot. And boy, am I glad I did! I was totally sucked in. The world-building was spot-on, doling out just enough info to keep me in the loop without overwhelming me. And can we talk about Ezren and Foster? Those two were adorable together and their romance had me grinning like a fool the whole way through.

Now, don't get me wrong, I loved it, but there were a few too many training scenes for my liking. It felt a tad repetitive at times, which made me remove half a star.

But overall? "INTO THE CHURN" is a total winner. It proves that sci-fi can be a blast, even for us non-regulars.

Huge thank you to Hayley Reese Chow, Whimsical Publishing, and NetGalley for sending me this ARC!

I adored Into the Churn! The story is definitely one of my favorite sci-fi romance books. Into the Churn's technological world was unique and fun to learn about, and I absolutely fell in love with Foster and Ezren.

The story is about a girl named Ezren who loves going out into the storms and exploring the surface of her home planet, Belethea. But with the impending shutdown of the lab where her mother works and the rising cost of her brother's surgery, Ezren has no choice but to join Belethea's race royale, a deadly race. Paired with the blunted Royaler Foster Sterling, Ezren learns that sometimes dreams come true no matter the odds stacked against them.

The bond between Foster and Ezren was not just a romance, it was a beautiful connection that warmed my heart. Their story was free of misunderstandings, and their communication was the key to their strong relationship. This book delivered the most heartwarming romance I've read this year!

Thanks so much, Hayley Reese Chow, Whimsical Publishing, and NetGalley, for this ARC! Such a fun read!

Thank you so much to Whimsical Publishing, Hayley Reese Chow and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was such a wild ride!

I'd been looking for more sci-fi that incorporated a romantic element for a while now, so I was super excited to come across Into the Churn.
I will immediately point out two aspects that worked less for me so I can get to the good stuff. First off, I will admit the world-building was very intense from the get-go and it took a while to get used to. While I was really impressed with how immersively and specifically the author managed to create this new world in space, it could get a bit overhwhelming at times. The second thing I'll point out is that the lingo the characters used was at times repetitive and occasionally took me out of the dialogues.

Now, to the things I did like, which is mostly everything else! I think the author made a fantastic job with the main characters, Ezren and Foster, They both felt real and genuine for their age; their relationships developed naturally and was really sweet, which was such a breath of fresh air. Ezren's backstory was interesting and I enjoyed her determination to push through the difficulties even though she's shy by nature and doesn't love being at the center of attention, with her beliefs and her family being her propelling forces. Foster is the golden retriever book boyfriend of dreams! He was such a good guy in the best possible way; I adored how his trust in Ezren never wavered, even when so much was at stake and he felt responsible for what happened with Vieve.

I wish we'd gotten a bit more of Bex and Grady, but perhaps that could be explored in a different book? Ha ha!
All in all, it was a great experience and I will absolutely recommend the book to anyone looking to add some sci-fi to their tbrs.

Oh. My. Goodness. I'm honestly 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙!

Whoever said you can't pick a book by its cover LIED! Because that's what I did with this one and it could not have gone better.
When I saw this cover on netgalley I LOVED it. Then I read the synopsis and was intrigued. Now I read the entire book and I need more. I'm in love. I'm obsessed. I'm hooked.

This book had everything! From drama, to fights, to sci-fi fiction, to found family, to friendship goals, to a beautiful romance. It made me laugh, gasp, cry... Honestly it made me go through every emotion and then some.

Foster and Ez own my entire heart. Grady and Bex are the cutest as well. Sam, Ez's mom, Sylvia, Foster's mom, the capybog... Ugh, I fell in love with these characters and now I'm supposed to just move on? Absolutely impossible. Thank heavens we'll have more of them.

Foster is my FAVORITE grumpy book bf from now on. He's the absolute best and the way he was WHIPPED from the start oh goodness gracious. He fell first and harder and absolutely no one can tell me otherwise. He deserves the world and I'm glad he got it (Ez is his world). And Ez is adorable. Her sunshiny and optimistic personality really complement Foster super well and I love how she sees life. She's the bestest older sister and the way she loves her family - and her planet - really shines through her every action. They're a match made in heave - or in this case, in Belethea. And I'm so glad they found each other as well. 🥹🩷

And the entire BRR is so good! I loved the drama, excitement and the entire action of it. The thrill it gave me was exhilarating. It had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath till the end.

Overall, this book is pure perfection and the only thing wrong with it is that it ends. Cannot wait for the next one. I already miss my babies and it's only been like the 10 minutes it's taking me to write this review...

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and Whimsical Publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange of my honest review. This opinion is DEFINITELY my own and if you don't believe, go read it yourself. You can 100% thank me later for changing your life for eternity.

This is a fantastic YA sci-fi adventure plus romance story (which manages not to wallow in miscommunication or slide into betrayal, thank the stars). I loved the main characters and the “Hunger Games” vibes but in space. No cliffhanger but I think there’s another book so I’m excited to continue in this universe!