Overview
Galaxy Grifter is about 90% space heist, and 10% love story - The main characters, Levi and Vera, cross paths unexpectedly and turn out to be a dynamic duo capable of toppling galactic empires. I got some serious Firefly vibes from this - way more similar to Firefly than Star Wars.
What Worked
Galaxy Grifter does a great job of building the world, bringing a blend of "alien" and "human" species to make it feel epic in scale. I also love the descriptions of the different ships, ports, planets, and space travel. I think the relationship between Levi and Vera was very interesting and kept me wondering whether or not they would continue to be partners, or one might back-stab the other.
I think Ms. Zaykova does a fantastic job of making the surroundings feel REAL and putting the reader into a real situation of tension - this is great for the pacing and keeps me interested and wanting to read "one more chapter".
What Didn’t
I feel like there were several situations in Galaxy Grifter that left me wanting more. There were several side characters that didn't get great closure - Fred, Griz, Halkeeth, Niran all were really important side characters that didn't get much of an ending and left me wondering what was going on with them. Maybe Ms. Zaykova is saving that for book two? I guess I'll have to check it out!
Another area I struggled with in Galaxy Grifter was the pacing. The book felt kinda slow in the first half, a good pace from around 50-75%, and then the ending came VERY suddenly. I also felt like it was a little repetitive. Levi lost his ship, he got it back, he lost it again, he got it back again. I understand the ship is important to him, but it just felt played out by the end of the book.
I think one thing that made the pacing worse is the feeling of disjointedness - I feel like Ms. Zaykova tried to fit in ALL of the space tropes into one book. Initially and up to about 70% there was pretty much zero mention of weapons - and then all of a sudden there's a blaster scene - it felt misplaced.
Who Should Read This
It's definitely not for everyone, but I recommend giving it a shot if you like sci-fi, heists, and a little bit of romance. Most especially if you're a fan of Firefly and you miss that - check it out!
Final Verdict
Overall I found this book to be pretty enjoyable, and I'm glad NetGalley provided it to me for review. I look forward to more from Ms. Zaykova