The first part/flashback part was curated in the most emotionally moving way that I couldn’t stop crying page after page. There’s only been a handful of books that elicited such strong reaction from me and this one took me by surprise.

The cast of characters were easy to love. The camaraderie, playfulness and friendship they built was truly heartwarming and relatable. Their quirks and personality were unique, funny and I loved getting to know each one.

Underneath all the adventure and noise was the romance. No doubt it was a slow burn situation and as one of the characters mentioned, <i> “I have had a front-row seat to the single slowest thing I have ever witnessed in the history of this damn ship! Two people, both allegedly intelligent⁠ orbiting each other for months…” </i>

My not so positive remark would be the protracted yearning. Personally, it went just a tad bit too drawn-out, it lost momentum when it mattered. It’s not to say it’s bad, it just missed that perfect timing and perfect balance of yearning and relief.

In summary, a memorable sci-fi sapphic novel that’s heavy on found family and showing up for the ones that matter in your life.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this epic book

and when i say epic it is quite an adventure....

i cant even tell you how i felt when charlie disappeared from her lab whilst on the phone to her sister katie aka kit kat ... just leaving a message for her

i wanted to know exactly what had happened to charlie but first i had to learn charlies and katie life and then... ohhh i am not going to give spoilers but man this book i couldnt put down i wanted to know what happened

the frustration i felt as i was reading i wanted right back to that moment when charlie disappeard but knew there was things i had to know before the storyline played out but omg

but my god those characters i met along this journey came alive... and i love how i was pulled into a storyline i was very interested in hoping that things would get better

at times i sat there crying ...its a very emotional book and that ending... i am so going to have words with that author...how dare she leave me like that.... but i am now invested enough that i cant wait for the next book in this series i mean after all i also cant wait to meet up with all those characters again...

Well, shit.

Okay, first things first: this book is CHUNKY. But don't let that intimidate you. If anything, it's a blessing, because every page packs an emotional punch.

We jump straight into a prologue that leaves you desperate to know more, only for the book to take an unexpected turn and bring us right back to the beginning. Two beginnings, in fact. We get Charlie's story, and we get Reyna's story.

And as eager as I was to get back to the present day and see how their stories would eventually converge, it was this huge chunk of backstory that really set the precedent for everything that was to come. So much feeling, emotion and heartache is packed into these pages, and by the time we reached the present day, I was already completely invested and had teared up too many times to count.

I'm a fan of space, oldies music (I've seen Fleetwood Mac live FOUR times!), video games like Mass Effect, and sapphic slow burns, so honestly, it's like this book was tailor-made for me. Thanks, Elizabeth Hale!

But if you're a fan of any of those things, or if you simply enjoy epic stories filled with adventure, laughs, found family, sisterhood and grief, then you're in for one hell of a ride. And I highly recommend you take it.

I've already whacked Charlie's Playlist on and am eagerly waiting for more adventures from the Emberkind.

Thanks for Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC.

I love a long book and let me tell you, this book was T H I C C C and boy oh boy was the burn SLOW.

Part of why I love long books is because it gives the author room to really bring the characters to life and I do think that the author gave us some very well-rounded characters that I was able to emotionally connect with. Found Family isn't a trope that's normally high on my list of must-haves but it really added to the emotional pull of this adventure which was different for me because I'm usually more into the romance aspect of any story. Additionally, I really enjoyed the backstory because it gave significant heft to the emotional journey on our way to the present day story.

As much as I love a long and epic story, this was almost too long for me. It felt a little meandering at times and it almost felt a little too drawn-out but I'm willing to overlook it because this was such a fantastic read. The set-up for the next novel is absolutely perfect and I can't wait.

Every Almost by Elizabeth Hale is an ambitious, emotional, and engaging read. I loved how the length of the story allowed the characters to really develop, and I became genuinely invested in them. The found-family element was especially meaningful, even though it’s not usually a trope I seek out. The backstory also added significant emotional depth to the present-day adventure.

That said, the story occasionally felt too long and meandering, and the frequent flashbacks sometimes made the narrative feel disjointed. The editing also needs another pass, with repeated statements, awkward phrasing, punctuation issues, and word choices that sometimes felt out of place. The alien dialogue was particularly jarring because it relied heavily on modern colloquialisms.

Despite these issues, I really enjoyed this book. The characters and emotional journey kept me invested, and the setup for the next novel is fantastic. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

This book.....THIS BOOK......It seeped inside and touched me in so many ways and in so many ways. I instantly fell for Charlie Wickett, her bravery, and emotional depth, her perseverance and her innate respect and understanding for all things living, wanting to fix things she found broken. And her endless love.
This is an adult sapphic sci-fi/ romance, and the first in the Emberkind Series. Its a slo-burn, Set in the 1990's, we meet Charlie Wickett (sigh) who is an engineer in Pasadena, California, who touches strange space debris by accident, and wakes up 40 kight years from earth, aboard an alien animal rescue starship, Emberkind. Charlie finds out is will take 6-months to return to Earth. Charlie, always the fixer, uses her engineering, and personal skills to help fix the starship and survive with a crew of aliens, and alien animals. Charlie meets Rayna, a woman with sage green skin and a gold luminescent markings, like all Kaelari woman, and keeps people at a distance. Reyna and Charlie must learn to navigate the ship and each other, and become very close friends.
Thrills, chills, tears and fears, love and acceptance, this book has it all. The style is so easy to read, the characters are so diverse and individual, the world building is seamless. Highly recommend this.
There is a lot in this book, and it could trigger some. The author has listed them on the first page, please be aware before reading. I, personally, can relate to the horrible emotional neglect by my biological parents and siblings, and the verbal abuse, and the overall phobia of my brittle family, This really hit home for me, and was very hard to read at times. I am so glad I did. It made me stronger and more aware.
I felt invested and enjoyed this book, from start to finish, and will be waiting for the second book in the Emberkind series.
Excellent book and representation. Thank you Elizabeth Hale.
Thanks to NetGalley for sending this book for review.
#NetGalley
#EveryAlmost

Amazing sapphic sci-fi adventure story the kept me guessing and engaging writing style. Loved the chemistry between the main characters and the cover is absolutely gorgeous

WOW! I could not put this down!

If you are a fan of Star Trek and romance novels this is your next book. If you just like space and love this is absolutely the place for you. Love NASA and unexpected journeys? Pick this up! Don't let the 700 pages scare you, they go by so fast!

I was engaged from the very first chapter. I could not wait to read more once I finished it. Every theme in this book was pleasing and it all fit together like a puzzle piece.

This book had a decent mix of science and romance that it can draw science fiction readers in to enjoy.

I loved how the theme of chosen family comes up so often in this book. Its something I could relate to whole heartedly. Ive not read a story like this in quite some time and it reignited my love for reading.

The characters definitely seemed inspired and I could gather pretty quickly that the Author has watched a good amount of Star Trek. This was done in a way that made it easier for me to picture the side characters and understand them a bit more. Very tasteful!

The only thing that bothered me in the slightest and I mean slightest, was how freaking slow the romance was. It kept me reading so it was very well done. I was so impatient for it to come full circle! I loved this about this book. Romance novels sometimes do this impossibly fast but this one? Definitely felt more realistic.

The imagery was absolutely beautiful.

I CAN NOT WAIT for the next installment!

Two women orbiting each other across a failing colony ship, catching near-misses for years before they finally get it together. The slow-burn label gets thrown around a lot, but this one actually earns it; every almost-meeting, every missed chance, the weight of timing that's never quite right until it is.

The sci-fi stays in the background, which works because the story's really about the ache of wanting someone and never quite having the courage.

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but boy am I glad I did. This story is full of emotion, lovable characters, and top notch relationships.

I was hesitant at first about the early flashbacks, but it was beautifully done. I don’t think I would have been able to feel so much for these characters without their backstories.

I will say that the slow burn was a bit too slow for my liking, to the point where I found myself more invested in the friendships. Regardless, their relationship was very touching, and I never stopped rooting for them.

The main characters' relationship aside, the found family in this book was wonderful. There are just no words to describe how much I came to love this cast of characters and value their relationships.

Overall, I loved this book. It’s been a while since a book made me feel this much, and the ending has me eagerly waiting for the next book.

Rating 4.5/5

Beware, this review contains spoilers
Let me say it: this is a fantastic found family Saga and a fucking amazing epic Space Opera. Oh, and an INCREDIBLE slothburn (yes, sloth, not slow) romance between sky and Earth.
Three families for two brave, compassionate, fierce women. Well, one of them is also an arrogant, stubborn royal pain in the ass. The other one is the Captain of Emberkind CV-0417, an interstellar spaceship. Once a “hot potato” cargo ship that the space Coalition tried to get rid of, then the best rescue vessel for animals in the Universe.
Where and when do I begin?
From Earth, 1960-1990, a place and a time we all know. With Charlie Wickett, born on 3rd October 1960 to fix everything that is broken. At six years old she meets her newborn sister, Katie (aka Kit-Kat) Wickett and they’ll become inseparable. We see them grow up, build a bond stronger than steel, become kindred and gentle spirits, seeing each other for what they truly are (smart and loving creatures), even if their parents, Ed and Diana, are the apotheosis of absence.
How does Charlie fix this void? By fixing a car, obviously. Soooo… meet Helen and Frank Beckman, the neighbors with a problematic 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass, who become the loving parents that Ed and Diana aren’t. Frank and Helen, married for over 50 years and childless, “adopt” Charlie and Katie by giving them love, care and support. From an Indiana garage in Shelbyville in 1974 to Los Angeles, first CalTech, then UCLA. FOUND FAMILY NUMBER ONE.
This family journey is so beautiful, so meaningful, so true. And when a 25yo Charlie confesses to Ed and Diana that she’s gay (yes, she’s hidden it for a long, long time, but Katie has known for ages) and they reject her, and Katie sadly says “She’s your daughter” and “You’ve never seen Charlie for who she really is. Someone extraordinary” and asks Charlie “Can I move to California with you?”, choosing her sister over their parents, my heart broke. How could parents reject a daughter for being gay? How? “Let them go” is the only and last thing Diana says to her daughters. But Helen and Frank? No, her true family loved and supported Charlie despite her being gay… “Frank would have thought of you being gay in no other way than just being another part of. And she loved you through and through”. Yes, Frank is dead but still a loving parent from the stars. And so, finally, Charlie and Katie put into words what their actions have been saying for a long time. That Helen is their mother and Frank their father. I was bawling my eyes out. And then Helen got sick (fucking cancer) and died, and her last words to Charlie were “Charlie Wickett, the smartest woman I’ve ever known. You never stop reaching for the stars beyond that barrier. You hear me?”.
So much love till the end and how prophetic. Because nearly a month after Helen’s death, on New Year’s Day 1990, engineer Charlie Wickett, freshly hired by JPL Lab, fiddles with some strange debris barehanded and gets herself aboard Emberkind CV-0417, 40 light-years from JPL Lab, from Pasadena, California, from Earth, from her sister. “Take life far”, Frank said once and Charlie did.
And then (or meanwhile) where does the story go? Through the stars, into space and beyond, to Novahall Academy, Concordia, Coalition Cycle 476-500. So, into unknown and uncharted territory.
Here is Reyna Solas, a Kaelari orphan, a young cadet at Novahall Academy. Let me say it: what a genius the author is, giving us a species, the Kaelari people, who express their emotions and feelings through skin markings that glow depending on their emotional state. You’d think “Wow, finally we’ll see people clearly expressing their emotions and feelings!”. You’re so, so wrong! Because from a young age Kaelari people learn TO HOLD a baseline color, emotionless and expressionless. So Reyna Solas has held gold (her baseline color) since childhood, holding gold throughout all the bad and the good that life has thrown in her face. What a way to communicate, yeah? And mind you, Kaelari people don’t talk about their color markings; it’s a private and intimate matter.
Luckily for Reyna, Elena Voss, Kaelari “royalty”, and Jerel (Jere) Nox’Thelan Carrothi, a Qorrathi man, sit at Reyna’s table on their very first night at Novahall Academy and the three of them become friends, more than friends, a family. FOUND FAMILY NUMBER TWO.
They complete their training and start their space adventures. Elena as Captain of CMS Emberkind CV-0416, Reyna as her Operations Officer, and Jere as Animal Specialist… elsewhere. Till the three of them make a dream come true, transforming a cargo ship into a rescue vessel and becoming its core. Years pass, from one mission to another, until Elena Voss, in Cycle 487, goes Missing In Action. Her PERS device (Personal Emergency Retrieval System, a personal trinket able to bring every crew member back to the Emberkind in case of emergency) doesn’t work during a mission and she goes MIA. Funny thing (not so funny) is, Elena’s PERS device is a simple fork, a gift from Reyna. And Reyna, First Mate aboard Emberkind, has to stop the search party and declare her best friend MIA.
And ten months later, her best friend Jere finds his soulmate on Earth, a non-contact Planet, and cuts all ties with Reyna, Emberkind, and the Coalition. And before all those losses, Reyna “watched Vessi go, she felt that specific absence of presence she had become fond no longer being there.”.
So Reyna “was a woman who had lost her captain, her best friend, and the closest she’d ever had to a partner in the realm of a single year. And her mind and body decided, somewhere beneath the level of conscious thought, that the safest number of people to let into her heart from here on out was zero”, holding gold all along.
But then New Year’s Day happened and Charlie and Reyna face off in Emberkind’s galley. A human being meets a bunch of aliens and the magic happens. The first contact is perfect, as is the way Reyna builds a safe place where Charlie can trust her and the Emberkind crew. And so… FOUND FAMILY NUMBER THREE happens.
Charlie builds a home on Emberkind thanks to Tavi, Maren, Orion and Borran. Add to it Dr. Kess Pheras (Reyna’s best friend), Selowen and Torvax and you’ve got a very happy, very alienly, very funny found family. With an expiration date because Charlie wants to come home to Katie, and the Coalition promises she will. In six months.
And where does Captain Reyna Solas stand in all of it? Oh, her stress and cortisol levels have decreased since the day Charlie stepped aboard Emberkind. But she’s keeping her walls up, do you remember? She doesn’t want to let anybody into her heart, not after all the grief she has endured. She holds gold. SHE.HOLDS.GOLD. Even if Charlie is special, precious, smart, caring. Even if on her birthday, Charlie sings to her “Songbird” (Fleetwood Mac). Because Charlie often can’t find the words to express her feelings, and so she speaks through her beloved music. What do you think Reyna means when she sends “Heroes” (David Bowie) to Charlie’s playlist? A song Charlie had said this about: “If that’s not love, I don’t know what is”.
EVERY ALMOST, the debut novel by Mrs. Elizabeth Hale, is a wonderful story about sisterhood, friendship, family bonds, self-awareness, grief, healing, discovery, love and MUSIC and so much more. With impressive world building, beautifully crafted by Mrs. Elizabeth Hale. And a lot of good MUSIC. Have I already said it? Not to mention two wonderful FMCs and a cast full of very interesting, well developed side characters.
I admit, while writing this review, I’m listening to “Charlie Mixtape”, so go and get the playlist from EH’s website, you’ll thanks me later. And Tavi? Your love for Led Zeppelin is so much appreciated.
It is not a flawless book (no book is flawless imho), maybe a cut or two, here and there, but I enjoyed EVERY ALMOST page. Even when I found out that Dr. Kess Pheras monitors every vital sign of every single crew member!
I’m biased, I know it, this is not a review, it’s a love letter.
One last thing: “Early is on time and on time is late” is my motto. Thank Frank for teaching it to Charlie.
And do you know what else is in the sky? Book II. I’m looking for it!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and OMFG, this book has been one of the best reads of this year! What a wonderful surprise! Please, read it!

***Burn out is real. A million apologies for the delay in posting this review.***

Enthusiastically shouting about author Elizabeth Hale's wonderous world building in this space opera for the sapphic. Cannot wait for the sequel.

Thank you to Ember Poppy Publishing and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

EVERY ALMOST
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Charlie, a NASA engineer from 1990, has an accident at work resulting in her being transported across the universe by a piece of alien technology. She winds up on the Emberkind - a Confederation spacecraft with the sole mission of rescuing and transporting animals in need. With six months before she can return to Earth, Charlie becomes a member of the crew in her own right: helping pull off impossible rescues, bonding with the crew, and becoming closer to the Emberkind's captain.

The best thing about this book is its strong emotional heart. I came into it expecting a romance, but I came out with so much more - including multiple wonderful found families.

The first part of the book, chronicling Charlie and Reyna's lives up until the present day, was in my opinion the strongest section. Charlie's story in particular was very emotionally resonant, and did have me in tears a couple of times.

It was a smidge too slow for my taste at times, particularly in the middle portion. Sometimes a couple of those scenes felt a bit repetitive.

But the ending was so worth it, and I cannot wait to see what the sequel has in store for Charlie, Reyna, and everyone else!

A wonderful sapphic sci-fi book. First this book is chunky but unputdownable. We're giving a robust backstory for both of our FMCs. Charlie's backstory will make you ugly cry but in a good way. Loved her relationship with her sister and neighbors (who spoiler become her parents in all the real ways). Reyna poor Reyna. I loved watching these two fall for one another and can't wait of the next book in this series.

Inside the pages of Every Almost, Elizabeth Hale takes the reader through the maturity of Charlie and the struggles of Reyna, showing us the beauty of found family in the absence and failure of those that should love us by blood. Charlie and her sister Katie learn from an early age that some people simply are not meant to be parents, while others yearn for it more than anything. Reyna having never known her family, discovers early on that true friendship-turned-found-family is beyond priceless. When our MC’s lives are ripped from their bearings and thrown together by an unexpected phenomenon, this theme continues and is made all the more complete by a list of endearing full-bodied supporting characters that this reader grew to care for as much as the MCs.
This story touched my heart in a way that I will be forever grateful for. I will be excitedly counting down the days until the next installment of The Emberkind Series.

Read if you like: sapphic slow burns, sci-fi romance, found family, richly developed supporting characters, emotional intimacy, and love stories where the little things mean everything

Review:
I loved this book. I was also incredibly frustrated by this book. And somehow, both of those things can be true.

The amount of time Hale spends showing us who these characters are is significant, and it pays off. The supporting cast practically jumps off the page. You grow to love their quirks and appreciate how each distinct personality rounds out this unfamiliar world so beautifully. Hale commits to telling both Charlie and Reyna's stories fully before we ever get to see how they converge, and she does it incredibly well. As a reader, you can't help but anticipate the inevitable.

The other side of that coin is that Hale's attention to every moment occasionally comes at the expense of momentum. There were stretches, especially with our two main characters, where I felt like I was reading variations of the same conversation or emotional realization multiple times. I think Hale could trust the strength of her own character development a little more and give readers the space to infer what she's already established so well.

It's a difficult criticism to make because I don't want my personal preference for pacing to suggest that I could put this book down. I couldn't.

Part of why I felt, for lack of a better term, edged by this story was that the chemistry between Charlie and Reyna was so palpable. It was driving me insane to wait as long as I did for them to finally indulge in it. And even when they began sharing and acting on their feelings, the momentum was frequently interrupted by conversations that felt unnecessary or repetitive. There's a fine line between a slow burn that builds anticipation and one that starts to lose its payoff, and Hale walked that line like a tightrope. The payoff was there, and it was satisfying, but after spending so much of the book waiting for these two to find their way to each other, I wanted more time to actually enjoy them together before the story shifted toward setting up the next book.

My spice rating is a three from a logistical standpoint, but if I were rating it based on how spicy it actually made me feel? Probably a one. The chemistry was absolutely there, but the constant interruptions made it difficult to stay immersed in those moments. I spent so much time anticipating the physical side of their relationship that when it finally happened, I wanted the story to let me sit with it a little longer.

But to circle back to what I loved, this story is unique, full, and incredibly wholesome. Hale has created a world and a cast of characters that I genuinely want to spend more time with. I loved the lead-in to the next book, and I really hope we get to see more of the supporting cast's journeys take center stage.

What impressed me most was how Hale developed Charlie and Reyna as two distinct puzzle pieces that eventually fit together perfectly, though not necessarily in the way I expected. So much of this story is about language and communication, and how barriers can be overcome when something needs to be expressed.

Mixtapes, the Cutlass, warm dinners and a table to be welcomed at, voxlinks, playlists, phone calls, the humming of the ship, birthday parties, sitting in silence, cortisol levels, holding colors. All of these became proclamations of love without anyone having to say the words.

And that's what stayed with me most. Love existed everywhere in this story, expressed in different ways by characters who were all, in one way or another, searching for belonging, purpose, family, and someone who understood them. 740 pages was no simple feat, but throw a sequel in front of me, and I am sat.

Thank you to Elizabeth Halte, Ember Poppy Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.