Through Sky and Stars is a wonderfully vivid and totally bingeable sapphic sci-fi/time travel romance. While the story includes a beautifully written sapphic romance elements, the heart of the book is Val's journey to save humanity and find her place. And, I loved that balance. The sci-fi functions more as more than just window dressing, allowing Val's emotional arc to shine without distraction.

Croft’s original premise—using time travel to save humanity—hooked me from page one and held me through to the end. The sweet romance set in the 1990s offers a perfect counterpoint to the futuristic world we begin in and allowed for Val to truly be the center to this story, creating a layered narrative that feels both nostalgic and forward-looking.

There were a few minor pacing hiccups and some confusion on whose chapter I was reading at times, but I suspect those will smooth out as the author continues to grow—and I’ll absolutely be there for the next installment.

With its blend of sci-fi, time travel, romance, and hope, this book truly intrigued me. It’s a heartfelt, genre-bending read that will resonate with fans of speculative fiction who crave emotional depth and queer joy.

Thanks to the publisher Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A sweet sapphic time travel romance? Yes Please! This is fast paced and well written. There's action (I could've gone for a touch more) but for a debut Tessa came in with a bang and I can't wait to see what comes next!

I really enjoyed reading this science fiction romance. The story was amazing, and the author did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life. The main characters were written very well and the conflict was very well throughout. There's some action and drama, however, I wanted just a bit more action.to spice it up even more. I wound recommend this book and this author.

Tessa Croft has a strong writing style for this type of book, I was invested in the scifi romance going on. I was engaged with the characters and how their story was told, it uses the futuristic element that I was wanting and enjoyed how the scifi element worked together to tell the story. I really enjoyed this as a romance novel and that it continued the storyline and world perfectly.

Wasn't sure what to expect from the synopsis but the story lived up to my hopeful expectations. What a revelation for Val to go back in time to when (for her) the world was so different and to see things she'd only ever heard of.. The situation she had to go back and deal with reminded me somewhat of 'Enders Game'. i did like this book and would definitely recommend it.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Book and author Tessa Croft for this ARC. I’m happily sharing my honest review.

I will start by saying that I generally am not an avid reader of books that are of the science fiction or fantasy variety even with the wlw component. However, the cover of this book was really lovely and hooked me. Upon reading the blurb, I found myself further enticed. I’m so glad that the beautiful cover captured my attention because this was a really good and enjoyable read.

To me, this book felt like more of a sweet wlw romance with time travel and aliens blended in rather than focusing entirely on the science fiction aspect..:and I loved that! Who knew I’d be a sucker for a time travel sapphic romance? But I most certainly am a sucker for this one. Strong, brave and smokin hot special forces soldier, Val, travels centuries back in time to save the earth and humanity. She is a woman on a mission, arguably the most important mission there is, saving the human race from extinction. Her strength and courage are rivaled only by her determination and grit. She expects her mission to be difficult. dangerous and life threatening. What she doesn’t expect is to meet the most incredible woman she’s ever known, bush pilot Nicole.

Nicole is a badass in her own right. She lives a rather solitary life and spends her days flying from one rural locale to another, all over Alaska. Her life is simple and peaceful and she really never fathoms the possibility of helping an extraordinary woman fight against aliens to save humanity. But, she does so willingly and is quite instrumental indeed.

The entire book is paced well and a lot happens in a really short time. Val only has days to complete her mission. Val becomes quite enamored with the breathtaking beauty of earth. Nicole shows her how wonderful simple pleasures can be. The chemistry between them is palpable and so fun to read. It’s kind of crazy to me that you can fall in love in less than a week but Val & Nicole made me a believer.

Nicole represents more than just a love interest for Val, she is the embodiment of what she is fighting for. Val travels back in time to save humanity from Aliens. And what is humanity without joy, simple pleasures, happiness and love? What, after all, is she fighting to save?! Ah it really is a heartening read. The writing is deep and flows so easily. The author does a wonderful job of capturing Alaska’s serenity and beauty. Val and Nicole were both written with such care to detail. They are wonderfully complex women who truly deserve each other in the very best of ways.

As someone who doesn’t usually read much from the sci-fi genre, I worried I might be bored, confused or even overwhelmed. Nope! The time travel, alien fighting, world saving badassery was on point. It was a fun and engaging plot for really sweet and beautiful love story. Val and Nicole’s connection, despite happening so quickly, didn’t feel rushed to me. It had none of the negative connotation of insta love even though they fell for each other so fast. What they found in one another felt real. I found myself wearing a big smile while reading this and was really sad to turn (swipe) to the last page. I was grateful for a happy ending for our girls & really hope for a sequel because I’d love to see more of Val and Nicole. I most definitely recommend this and plan to look for more from Tessa Croft.

700 years in the future. Val is sent back to earth in 1996, to Seward, Alaska. Her assignment is to locate an insect hive buried deep in the nearby mountains. The aliens Sh‘keth have eradicated all vegetation on earth and most of the humans. A few escaped have battled against the Sh‘keth for hundreds of years trying to save humanity and still are.

When Val arrives she meets a local bush pilot, Nicole. They get off to a rough start with Nicole shooting Val in the butt. I liked both characters and all of the adventures in Alaska. The sci-fi battles were too drug out though and could have been shorter.

For a debut book, this was decently well done. I enjoyed the sci fi aspect, but I liked Nicole better than Val and not just because that's my wife's name. She was the hero.

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

Val Koroleva, is an elite special forces soldier from over 750 years in the future. The humans are losing the centuries long war with the alien Sh’keth. Val is being sent back to Alaska in 1996, when the aliens were first on earth to change history with the hope of changing the future. There she stumbles on to Nicole Baker, a bush pilot, who lives in the wilderness near Seward. The pair of course get off to a rocky start but things quickly change.

The pace is intentionally fast. There is a time deadline of only five days to complete the mission. The characters are both likable and capable. And I like the remote setting of Alaska as that seemed more realistic for aliens to be undetected. Val is fun as she is awed by paperbacks, cocoa and Pop Tarts. Most of the story takes place in 1996 so there isn’t a lot of description of the future. Nicole is just as much a heroine in the story. Time travel is tricky, but the author helps it make sense without getting into the technology of it all.

I really enjoyed the book. It doesn’t get bogged down with lots of details, focusing on the two women and the mission. If best friend Kass gets her own book I would read it.

This is a sci-fi story about Val a spaceship pilot from 700 years in the future. Val is sent back to earth in 1996, to Seward, Alaska. Her assignment is to locate an insect hive buried deep in the nearby mountains.
These alien Sh‘keth have eradicated all vegetation on earth and most of the humans. A few escaped and have battled these alien Sh‘keth for hundreds of years trying to save humanity.

When Val arrives she meets a local bush pilot, Nicole.
They get off to a rough start with Nicole shooting Val in the butt.

I liked both characters and all of the adventures in Alaska. The sci-fi battles were too long and boring for my taste.

For a debut book, this was well done. I enjoyed the dialogue and emotion s between the characters. Nicole was the real hero of the book.

Thanks to Net Galley and BSB for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Tessa Croft really had me going with her tale of a time traveling soldier. without spoiling too much, I was super intrigued by her world building and her ending. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Bold Strokes Books, Inc. | BSB genre and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I must say, I enjoyed this sapphic, scifi romance. I thought the story was amazing and the author did great bringing the characters to life. However, I wanted just a little more action. I recommend.

Thanky You Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley.

Giving this 3.5 stars, rounded up mostly to support a lesser-known book/author.

I want to start by emphasizing that I enjoyed reading this book. While it's science fiction (spaceships, aliens, and time travel are involved), this book is primarily a love story between two women. And any time you put sci-fi and sapphics together, you know I'm going to have a good time.

I like the setup - a soldier travels back in time to prevent centuries of war, and ends up falling in love along the way - even though it's probably been done before. I like the twist resolution, even if it's not too hard to see it coming. I like the main characters, and was rooting for them to have a happy ending. I like the writing style, even if it's a bit cheesy at times, but it's a romance so I can live with that.

The problem is that everything feels rushed. And this is largely due to the in-universe deadline that the soldier MC is given to complete her mission. It's only 5 days. That's an insanely short amount of time to travel back in time, adjust to your surroundings, make a plan, and then execute it successfully. It's also an insanely short amount of time to fall in love with someone enough that their very presence will change the way you accomplish your mission. But that's what happens.

We needed more time to sit with the main characters, to learn about their backstories and worldviews, to watch them get to know each other. As it is, it feels a little too close to insta-love. And while I like Val and Nicole together, I feel like they barely knew each other. If the mission deadline had been, say, 10 days or 2 weeks, or even longer, there would still have been pressure on Val, but we would have had more of an opportunity to see this relationship develop.

Overall, there are some great ideas and characters here, but the pacing isn't as strong as I'd like. I'd still recommend this to anyone who's a fan of sci-fi/time travel romances, especially with sapphics. There's definite room for improvement, but it's still an enjoyable read.

A pilot from the future going back 800 years to save humanity from extinction. Val is the only one who can save their future, and she has about 5 days to do so. No pressure, right?

I really loved the idea of the book and was drawn in by the description, but I struggled with the storyline in spots. First, the issues were mainly resolved by the middle of the book. So for the second half of the book it felt like I needed to drag myself through it.

Another part I struggled with was that Val didn’t explain herself very well to Nicole when they first met, and Nicole pretty much fully trusted her. I personally would’ve thought that Val was an insane woman and would not be allowed in my home.

Nicole was so willing to jump in to help Val with the aliens when she had no clue what she was getting into and still, hardly knew Val but had super strong emotions for her. To be honest I think I just struggled with the timeline of it.

One part that also left me questioning a bit was when Nicole’s friend Jack was able to fix an alien motor with no prior knowledge to anything alien, and with his own tools? I found it a bit confusing.

I really really wanted to like this story, because I am huge on fantasy/alien stuff, but I just couldn’t get myself to love it. The idea of time travel and fighting aliens was so cool, but there really wasn’t much of it.

The relationship between Val and Nicole didn’t have much base to it. I loved the dynamic but there wasn’t much else.

Please note: I received an arc copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you NetGalley and author for a copy!

This story starts 700 years in the future. Earth as we know it no longer exists and humanity is about to be destroyed. A distant civilization has come up with a time machine and Val is going back to try and stop the slugs that destroyed earth.
Once she lands she meets Nicole an Alaskan pilot.
Val only has a few days some time is important. She knows where the hive is that holds the slugs and her mission is to destroy it but things aren’t always as they seem.
Nicole will not let her go alone after Val told her who she is.
But what will happen after the mission? Will Val jump back to her own time?

This is an amazing story and I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.

When I found a book that combined all my favourites, I was so excited: sapphic bad ass MC’s, sci-fi and time travel. I so hoped that combination would work, and I was so happy when the book even exceeded my expectations.

It was amazing to read about how the badass Val travels back in time to save humanity from being extincted by giant bugs. The romance with the amazing emphatic bush pilot Nicole, such a key person for the outcome of the story, is making the book even better. Add the beauty of Alaskan nature, a lot of cocoa and pop tarts and both Val and I were sold.

The book could have been even better with a little more action, more details on life in the 28th century since I am curious about that. Let’s hope the author is planning more books, perhaps with Kass, Val’s best friend, in the lead, that would be so amazing.

I was drawn to this book by its description, which gave Recursion vibes, and its seemingly incompatible cover, which screamed Amelia Earhart.

Through Sky and Stars delivers a character-driven contemporary romance with sci-fi elements pushing the plot. Val's Post Disapora world reminded me of Starship Troopers (that giant insect war movie that I had rewatched too many times growing up).

Val was sent back in time to destroy the first colony of the alien Sh'keth. Vivid scenes of the Alaskan landscape seen from Val's eyes serve as a reminder of Earth's beauty. Nicole is a kickass but lonely bush pilot living in that dreamy cozy cabin with a library of books. Val is introduced to the beauty of Earth - the luxury of paperback books, Pop Tarts, and hot cocoa - and falls, for the planet, for the 'primitive' aircraft, and of course, for Nicole. And I LOL'ed at the first meet-cute moment; the one between Val and Beav 😏.

I'm no pilot, but the author is, and she sure delivered some details during flight scenes. (Though most of it went over my head.) And after reading this, experiencing an Alaska bush plane tour is now an item on my bucket list.

That said, as a visual reader, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing. It was vivid, not just visually. I could hear some scenes in my head, too.

While there were bits where the pace dipped a little (and provided reprieve), the story was generally well-paced. And I found myself drawn in.

After reading the book, the cover feels more compatible. Most of the story takes place in modern day.

The book is 5-star, but it isn't perfect. Time travel and sci-fi take a back seat until the plot needs to move, which feels like a waste. The resolution felt a little too naive, too easy. It felt like the gravity of intergalactic war that had spanned decades was brushed off like a squabble at the playground. But this is a romance novel after all, so...🤷‍♀️. Though I did wish Kass was given more "screentime".

Overall, Through Sky and Stars was an enjoyable read and one that I look forward to re-reading once it's published. I look forward to future works from the author as well.