Welp, this is it! The final books of 2023, and Happy Book Birthday to these three! It is weird to be doing only three reviews, but here we are! I personally am happy for a lighter batch!

This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Above the Fire by Michael O’Donnell

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This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede
Series: The Last Finestra #2
Published by Wednesday Books on December 5, 2023
Pages: 448
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

When the gods make the rules, the players must choose: Sacrifice their love to save the world, or choose love and let it burn?

Six months after saving their island from destruction and almost losing Dante, Alessa is ready to live happily ever after with her former bodyguard. But Dante can't rest, haunted by a conviction that the gods aren't finished with them yet. And without his powers, the next kiss from Alessa could kill him.

Desperate for answers, Dante enlists Alessa and their friends to find the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring his powers and combining forces with them to create the only army powerful enough to save them all. But Alessa is hiding a deadly consequence of their last fight--a growing darkness that's consuming her mind--and their destination holds more dangers than anyone bargained for. In the mysterious city of the banished, Dante will uncover secrets, lies, and ghosts from his past that force him to ask himself: Which side is he on?

When the gods reveal their final test, Dante and Alessa will be the world's last defense. But if they are the keys to saving the world, will their love be the price of victory?

In This Cursed Light, Dante and Alessa face their most daunting challenge yet when the Gods demand they prove their worth by choosing the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity, once and for all.

Gosh, I adored this duology! I am sad that it is over, frankly, but I did love every minute I was immersed in this world with these characters. Just as in the first book, I adored the people who Alessa is surrounded by. I loved all the humor despite the darker tone of the story, and I loved the adventures and high stakes. Admittedly, perhaps the stakes felt a tiny bit less high, but it doesn’t matter. It was still a very satisfying conclusion to the series and that is what I am here for at the end of the day! That’s it; that’s the review.

Bottom Line: I could keep talking, but if you are looking for very cool world building, amazing characters, found families, a very swoony romance, and a lot of dark humor, this is the duology for you!

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Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Published by Atlantic Monthly Press on December 5, 2023
Pages: 193
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

A slender novel of epic power, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men hurtling through space—not towards the moon or the vast unknown, but around our planet. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts—from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. So are the marks of civilization far below, encrusted on the planet on which we live. Profound, contemplative and gorgeous, Orbital is an eloquent meditation on space and a moving elegy to our humanity, environment, and planet.

Here’s the thing about Orbital: It is definitely a “slice of life” novel, which I am down with. Thing is, usually in this case, it is a character-driven sort of situation, but I did not feel particularly connected to the characters. So it was more… word-driven. That is probably not a real thing, but that is how it felt to me. There is a great deal of waxing poetic about life, and humanity, and our place in the universe. That is frankly kind of cool, as I like to think about that kind of stuff.

Where it didn’t quite work for me is that it was sort of only about that. Sure, there are characters, obviously we’re spending a day with them meandering around the earth. But I never really got a good sense of who they were, just that they existed. Maybe that is the point, I have no idea. The writing was indeed lovely, so the fact that it was word-driven wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Here’s the crux of it: I did not dislike reading this story, as the author certainly has a way with words. Maybe it was just my expectations being too high, because my real qualm was that I felt no different after reading it than I had before. I read it, I felt appreciation for the writing and thoughts, and moved on. It was not bad, don’t misunderstand! It just… was.

Bottom Line: What I wrote when I finished reading is “Well. This book… exists.” I’ll stick with that.

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Above the Fire by Michael O'Donnell
Published by Blackstone Publishing on December 5, 2023
Pages: 230
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

O'Donnell's debut, Above the Fire, is a novel which finds hope and resilience in the timelessness of nature and the connection between parent and child. Perfect for fans of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

Laboring under a shared loss, a father and son set out on a late-season backpacking trip through the mountains of New Hampshire. They find beauty and solidarity in the outdoors, making friends along the way and falling into the rhythms of an expedition. But when war breaks out during their hike, they are forced to withdraw even further into the backcountry.

Surviving an alpine winter by themselves, father and son must endure the elements, the solitude, and the ever-present danger of outsiders. As their isolation intensifies, their bond with each other grows more fierce. From their mountain refuge they must confront the perils of a changed world until they are forced to decide whether--and how--to rejoin society.

Above the Fire is a quiet survival story about a father and a son attempting to make it out of the Appalachian mountains unscathed when chaos strikes in the world below. Doug and Tim have set out for a long hike, to get some distance from their grief, really, and to reconnect. Doug’s wife and Tim’s mom died not all that long ago, and Doug feels like they are just kind of stuck. Since hiking was something he and his wife enjoyed doing, he figured it would be a good bonding experience.

Things start out pretty normal for a hike with a seven year old. But pretty quickly into the hike, they receive word that something is amiss off-mountain. Word spreads that a fire is decimating a nearby town, and people are straight up vanishing. Some folks want to stay on the mountain, far away from the melee, while others want to get home as soon as possible. Doug falls into the former camp.

So yeah, survival! I really enjoyed the story, especially seeing Doug try to build his relationship with his son, all while keeping them both safe. There are some other characters introduced in the story, and I was glad for them. It made the story feel a bit more well rounded. Without giving too much away, I will say that the only downside for me is not having enough of my questions answered. There are quite a few loose ends that I just hated not knowing the answers to, but alas. The story was still a good one! Very atmospheric, too- I could definitely feel the cold and the wilderness, and the isolation from the rest of the world.

Bottom Line: Obviously a very big focus on family and survival, this was a very quiet yet lovely story about a father and son trying to stay alive during dire conditions.

Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Let us chat about them!