Two boys, alone in space.
After the first settler on Titan trips her distress signal, neither remaining country on Earth can afford to scramble a rescue of its own, and so two sworn enemies are installed in the same spaceship.
Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor, with no memory of a launch. There’s more that doesn’t add up: Evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship’s operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away. But nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed—not when he’s rescuing his own sister.
In order to survive the ship’s secrets, Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together and learn to trust one another… especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive.
Am I Alive? Are you?
The gorgeous cover of The Darkness Outside Us would lead you to believe that it is primarily a romance; however, it is much heavier on the Sci-Fi front than I was lead to believe. And I loved it!
The beginning of the book was very reminiscent of Project Hail Mary. We have a main character, Ambrose, who wakes up alone in a spaceship and has lost a lot of his memories. Things slowly come back to him and he realizes that he is not alone. I loved the banter between Ambrose and Kodiak. They are from different cultures and they don’t understand one another, but they realize they have to work together. Of course, they eventually fall in love, and I was here for it! It was refreshing to see them work through their differences.
There is actually a trope in here that I don’t normally love, but it really worked. I can’t tell you what it is because that would be a major spoiler.
Something I discovered in 2021 was just how much I love books with AI, which this book certainly has and I thought they were so compelling. The AI, which Ambrose calls OS, has the voice of Ambrose’s mother, which affects Ambrose in different ways and adds an interesting layer to the story. Also, you never quite know if you can trust OS or what their motives are, which is so much fun as the reader.
I was also not prepare to cry at the end. I actually found myself tearing up at multiple points throughout. It was just so bittersweet!
Pick up The Darkness Outside Us for both the romance and the plot. I think it will surprise you!
- Characters: 9
- Atmosphere/Setting: 10
- Writing Style: 8
- Plot: 8
- Intrigue: 9
- Logic/Relationships: 9
- Enjoyment: 9
Overall CAWPILE score: 62/7=8.8
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Nice
I just bought this and now I’m even more excited to pick it up! ❤ Great review!!
Thank you! I’m excited to see what you think!
Nice review! I love that first line. “Am I Alive? Are you?” that would hook me right away.
Exactly! It’s a perfect introduction to the story.
i haven’t read AI books and I would love to. great review! and interesting first line.
This would be a good one to start with!
Oh this completely convinced me that I will add this to my list. I was eyeing it off but am normally not a huge fan of romance heavy books, but LOVE me some sci-fi.
It’s so good. The romance is definitely part of it but it’s way more SciFi heavy than I was expecting and I loved that!