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The Heartless Series #2
Nostalgia Is Heartless
Earth, 2050. Pregnant, unemployed, and living back home with her father, climate scientist Quinn Buyers wonders how she got to this point in her life. Her famous scientist mother is mysteriously missing, the planet is at risk from a massive solar storm, the Transhumans want to take a colony to Titan, and her assisted living companion, a robotic meerkat, is showing clear signs of anxiety and depression. But her biggest challenge is her partner. How can she reconcile her long-distance relationship with this reserved, enigmatic cyborg?
The sequel to Sarah Lahey's debut novel and the second book in the Heartless Series, Nostalgia is Heartless delves into the world of the near future, exploring a society on the brink of climate catastrophe. This time, Quinn's adventures take her across the globe to Antarctica . . . where it rains all day, every day. Readers will delight in following Quinn's journey as she races to save her family, her planet, and — hopefully — her love life.
The sequel to Sarah Lahey's debut novel and the second book in the Heartless Series, Nostalgia is Heartless delves into the world of the near future, exploring a society on the brink of climate catastrophe. This time, Quinn's adventures take her across the globe to Antarctica . . . where it rains all day, every day. Readers will delight in following Quinn's journey as she races to save her family, her planet, and — hopefully — her love life.
338 pages, Paperback
First published October 26, 2021
About the author
Sarah Lahey
7 books74 followersSarah Lahey writes genre-bending romance, women’s fiction, and science fiction that explores love, connection, and what it means to be human. Her romance novel, Louie the Lynx and Ryan the Lion, won the IndieReader Discovery Award, and her award-winning Heartless sci-fi series won the Chanticleer Book Awards, the American Fiction Awards, the Independent Publishers Award (IPPY), and the IndieReader Discovery Award.
A former interior designer, she now teaches sustainable design, emerging technology, and creative thinking at a university in Sydney. When she’s not writing or teaching, you'll find her on her rural property on the south coast of New South Wales with her rescue kelpie (the best dog in the world), cooking, reading, or building architectural LEGO while pondering her next story.
A former interior designer, she now teaches sustainable design, emerging technology, and creative thinking at a university in Sydney. When she’s not writing or teaching, you'll find her on her rural property on the south coast of New South Wales with her rescue kelpie (the best dog in the world), cooking, reading, or building architectural LEGO while pondering her next story.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 14, 2021
Absolutely my favorite kind of book -- sci fi with optimism and humor. The character work is immaculate, and the setting felt like I could easily step into it (which was scary sometimes, butt nevertheless impressive).
October 25, 2021
Quinn Buyers is currently unemployed after a disaster shook up her life. She also happens to be pregnant, searching for her missing mother, and dealing with a depressed meerkat AI. This is the second in the Heartless series, and while I didn’t read the first, I felt this book properly summarized the first. I do plan on reading the first at one point to get a better look, but this book can be read by itself.
There’s something special about reading books set in the near future. There are very real topics being dealt with here. Losing the rain would be absolutely devastating to me. I can definitely imagine a civil war breaking out over whether to fix earth or colonize another planet.
I truly loved Quinn. She is flawed, and because of that, relatable. Yet, she loves what she does. And she’s strong, empathetic, and loves what she does.
I was lucky enough to get an advanced review copy of this book because it was definitely up my alley—and I’d love to share it with my science fiction loving friends!
There’s something special about reading books set in the near future. There are very real topics being dealt with here. Losing the rain would be absolutely devastating to me. I can definitely imagine a civil war breaking out over whether to fix earth or colonize another planet.
I truly loved Quinn. She is flawed, and because of that, relatable. Yet, she loves what she does. And she’s strong, empathetic, and loves what she does.
I was lucky enough to get an advanced review copy of this book because it was definitely up my alley—and I’d love to share it with my science fiction loving friends!
November 4, 2021
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
My favorite element of Nostalgia is Heartless has to be the world building. Even dropped in without reading the first, there was depth and intrigue from the beginning. I loved the mix of the Earth's clime destruction with the ultra high technology world of cyborgs and AI. And it just gets better as the book goes on - especially towards the end. The world building just got more intriguing as Nostalgia is Heartless progresses.
While I was swept away by wanting to see how the world unfolds, and the pacing of the action is almost non-stop, I wish there had been more character depth. I enjoyed the way that Lahey takes us on a high stakes adventure - while weaving in elements from the first - but I just wish we had more moments of character introspection. I wanted to connect with them, especially Quinn. Rarely do I find a pregnant MC in SF novels and so I wanted to just fall in love with her.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
My favorite element of Nostalgia is Heartless has to be the world building. Even dropped in without reading the first, there was depth and intrigue from the beginning. I loved the mix of the Earth's clime destruction with the ultra high technology world of cyborgs and AI. And it just gets better as the book goes on - especially towards the end. The world building just got more intriguing as Nostalgia is Heartless progresses.
While I was swept away by wanting to see how the world unfolds, and the pacing of the action is almost non-stop, I wish there had been more character depth. I enjoyed the way that Lahey takes us on a high stakes adventure - while weaving in elements from the first - but I just wish we had more moments of character introspection. I wanted to connect with them, especially Quinn. Rarely do I find a pregnant MC in SF novels and so I wanted to just fall in love with her.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
August 30, 2021
A massive thank you to the author and publisher for this review copy!
I was thrilled when I got asked to review this book! I absolutely loved Gravity is Heartless, so I was excited to delve back into this world again!
I love Quinn and all that she represents. This world that has been created is a little scary at times (I mean, it could happen, right?!), but I loved every second of it!
I loved the plot. It was so interesting, and it reignited my love of science.
Great little read!
I was thrilled when I got asked to review this book! I absolutely loved Gravity is Heartless, so I was excited to delve back into this world again!
I love Quinn and all that she represents. This world that has been created is a little scary at times (I mean, it could happen, right?!), but I loved every second of it!
I loved the plot. It was so interesting, and it reignited my love of science.
Great little read!
October 25, 2021
One Sentence Summary: After the events of the first book, Quinn finds herself pregnant and living with her dad, and her fiance off doing military duties, though the disappearance of her mother is hanging over her head and she might need to time travel to find her.
Overall
Nostalgia is Heartless is an interesting science fiction story revolving around impending motherhood and time travel. This is the second book in the series and, as I haven’t read the first book, take my review with a grain of salt. I found it a little difficult to get into the story, but some of the characters were really quirky and endearing, so they helped make my passage through the story much easier. There’s a lot that happens in this book and the characters felt like they were constantly in motion, but I must admit to still being a bit hazy on what, exactly, it was about. I did love the focus on Quinn’s pregnancy and impending motherhood, though, and the puzzle to time travel was a lot of fun. For me, the robotic creature companion kind of stole the show. Overall, this was an interesting puzzle of a story despite it’s slow start.
Extended Thoughts
I haven’t read the first book, Gravity is Heartless, but it was easy enough to catch up with the big plot points. Of course I felt like I was missing something, but that’s normal for me when I dive into the middle of a series. Despite that, I was able to figure out just enough and could take the story at hand as it was.
Set in the near future where the world has been restructured and climate change is affecting them (I think) and a group of Transhumans want to colonize Titan, climate scientist Quinn finds herself pregnant, living with her father in a gorgeous secluded glass house, and in a long distance relationship with someone no one saw coming for her (as far as I could tell). But she also has an adorable robotic meerkat named Mori as a companion, even if Mori is prone to depressing philosophical discussions and odd symptoms of mental health problems. And a mother missing somewhere in time she needs to find and retrieve since she’s the only one with the weird, but necessary component for time travel.
The biggest draw for me to this book, even though I really try not to pick up books in the middle of a series, was the focus on impending motherhood, and, admittedly, a bit for the time travel. As a mother, I found Quinn’s pregnancy and questions about motherhood hit close to home. Her fears felt so normal against a backdrop that was completely foreign to me. I really enjoyed the ending when it came to her journey into motherhood. Even though it potentially could have been left out or shortened, I loved how it was realistic and really showed Quinn to be human. It was fun to read how her pregnancy impacted the actual journey she and her family and friends had to take to make the time travel to work and, well, I’m not exactly clear on what else was supposed to be going on, but some rescue missions for sure.
Overall, I felt Nostalgia is Heartless to be a bit slow to get to the meat of the story. Since I don’t have the background of the first book, it felt like it took a while for the story to really get going, otherwise it felt more like Quinn aimlessly wandering around. It turned out some people were after Quinn and others were siphoning off resources in order to colonize Titan, which set off other chains of events. Honestly, sometimes I felt like there was a little too much and it took a while for it to start to connect. But it mostly made sense, and I was able to enjoy it by focusing more on the characters.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a bit fan of Quinn. She came off as a bit callous and thoughtless. I felt like she was holding me at a distance and, unless it came to thoughts of impending motherhood, she didn’t really feel real to me. I didn’t like the ways she treated the other characters and how she kind of glossed over others’ pains. It was hard to connect with her. I did, though, adore Mori. While he was often depressing, he was just so cute, and really asked some good questions and really tried to understand himself. He’s so curious and so thoughtful, really a great foil to his human friend. I do wish we had seen more of Tig. Their relationship seemed a bit odd at best, though it was punctuated by some sweet moments. I just felt like he was there, but not really enough for me to get to know him and gauge their relationship. Quinn’s father, Matt, though, was tons of fun and the twins she made friends with were kind of off the wall. I couldn’t decide if they were really necessary to the story or not, but it largely depended on the scene. Certainly, they made things a lot easier, but they also kind of felt like dead weight, so I kept going back and forth with them. I can’t argue, though, that they don’t add a layer of interest.
Nostalgia is Heartless presents an interesting puzzle of a story. Clearly, I’m not completely up to speed with what’s going on, but it seemed a major piece of it was how to retrieve Quinn’s mother from some period in the past. There were puzzle pieces here and there, and the answer was right in front of Quinn’s nose, if she could just hunker down and figure it out. It was fun that there were other people trying to get to it first, trying to figure it out for themselves. But they clearly lacked some inside knowledge that just made their pursuit feel annoyingly futile. All the advance technology, though, was really interesting, and the powers of the twins were fascinating and weird, but really helped the story and made them that much more quirkier.
As a story involving motherhood, Nostalgia is Heartless really checked a lot of the boxes for me. As a science fiction novel, I felt one step behind, but really admired the futuristic setting and the time travel. The colonizing Titan thing felt a little irrelevant most of the time, but was still an important part of the story. Overall, I felt like the writing was holding me at a distance, but I really enjoyed a lot of the characters.
Thank you to Simone Jung with Books Forward for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Overall
Nostalgia is Heartless is an interesting science fiction story revolving around impending motherhood and time travel. This is the second book in the series and, as I haven’t read the first book, take my review with a grain of salt. I found it a little difficult to get into the story, but some of the characters were really quirky and endearing, so they helped make my passage through the story much easier. There’s a lot that happens in this book and the characters felt like they were constantly in motion, but I must admit to still being a bit hazy on what, exactly, it was about. I did love the focus on Quinn’s pregnancy and impending motherhood, though, and the puzzle to time travel was a lot of fun. For me, the robotic creature companion kind of stole the show. Overall, this was an interesting puzzle of a story despite it’s slow start.
Extended Thoughts
I haven’t read the first book, Gravity is Heartless, but it was easy enough to catch up with the big plot points. Of course I felt like I was missing something, but that’s normal for me when I dive into the middle of a series. Despite that, I was able to figure out just enough and could take the story at hand as it was.
Set in the near future where the world has been restructured and climate change is affecting them (I think) and a group of Transhumans want to colonize Titan, climate scientist Quinn finds herself pregnant, living with her father in a gorgeous secluded glass house, and in a long distance relationship with someone no one saw coming for her (as far as I could tell). But she also has an adorable robotic meerkat named Mori as a companion, even if Mori is prone to depressing philosophical discussions and odd symptoms of mental health problems. And a mother missing somewhere in time she needs to find and retrieve since she’s the only one with the weird, but necessary component for time travel.
The biggest draw for me to this book, even though I really try not to pick up books in the middle of a series, was the focus on impending motherhood, and, admittedly, a bit for the time travel. As a mother, I found Quinn’s pregnancy and questions about motherhood hit close to home. Her fears felt so normal against a backdrop that was completely foreign to me. I really enjoyed the ending when it came to her journey into motherhood. Even though it potentially could have been left out or shortened, I loved how it was realistic and really showed Quinn to be human. It was fun to read how her pregnancy impacted the actual journey she and her family and friends had to take to make the time travel to work and, well, I’m not exactly clear on what else was supposed to be going on, but some rescue missions for sure.
Overall, I felt Nostalgia is Heartless to be a bit slow to get to the meat of the story. Since I don’t have the background of the first book, it felt like it took a while for the story to really get going, otherwise it felt more like Quinn aimlessly wandering around. It turned out some people were after Quinn and others were siphoning off resources in order to colonize Titan, which set off other chains of events. Honestly, sometimes I felt like there was a little too much and it took a while for it to start to connect. But it mostly made sense, and I was able to enjoy it by focusing more on the characters.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a bit fan of Quinn. She came off as a bit callous and thoughtless. I felt like she was holding me at a distance and, unless it came to thoughts of impending motherhood, she didn’t really feel real to me. I didn’t like the ways she treated the other characters and how she kind of glossed over others’ pains. It was hard to connect with her. I did, though, adore Mori. While he was often depressing, he was just so cute, and really asked some good questions and really tried to understand himself. He’s so curious and so thoughtful, really a great foil to his human friend. I do wish we had seen more of Tig. Their relationship seemed a bit odd at best, though it was punctuated by some sweet moments. I just felt like he was there, but not really enough for me to get to know him and gauge their relationship. Quinn’s father, Matt, though, was tons of fun and the twins she made friends with were kind of off the wall. I couldn’t decide if they were really necessary to the story or not, but it largely depended on the scene. Certainly, they made things a lot easier, but they also kind of felt like dead weight, so I kept going back and forth with them. I can’t argue, though, that they don’t add a layer of interest.
Nostalgia is Heartless presents an interesting puzzle of a story. Clearly, I’m not completely up to speed with what’s going on, but it seemed a major piece of it was how to retrieve Quinn’s mother from some period in the past. There were puzzle pieces here and there, and the answer was right in front of Quinn’s nose, if she could just hunker down and figure it out. It was fun that there were other people trying to get to it first, trying to figure it out for themselves. But they clearly lacked some inside knowledge that just made their pursuit feel annoyingly futile. All the advance technology, though, was really interesting, and the powers of the twins were fascinating and weird, but really helped the story and made them that much more quirkier.
As a story involving motherhood, Nostalgia is Heartless really checked a lot of the boxes for me. As a science fiction novel, I felt one step behind, but really admired the futuristic setting and the time travel. The colonizing Titan thing felt a little irrelevant most of the time, but was still an important part of the story. Overall, I felt like the writing was holding me at a distance, but I really enjoyed a lot of the characters.
Thank you to Simone Jung with Books Forward for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
December 8, 2022
Great imagination and world building. The level of detail given means the plot sometimes moves a bit slowly though. I enjoyed the ending and appreciated that the loose ends were wrapped up while still leaving room for a sequel.
October 26, 2021
Please Note: I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.
I was fortunate enough to read the first book in this series, Gravity is Heartless, last year. I highly recommend that you read that book first. Nostalgia is Heartless starts out several months after the first book ends. Set about thirty years in the future, the world is in disarray. The polar ice caps have mostly melted. As a result, the atmosphere has changed, and there are food shortages, wars and environmental refugees. In other words, the world is in chaos.
And the characters are also in chaos. Quinn is facing lots of change. Pregnant by a man she barely knows, she is suddenly unemployed and living with her father, a survivalist who Quinn finds to be super annoying. Mori the AI meerkat is having an existential crisis. Tig, the transhuman who impregnated Quinn, is hiding a big secret, and Quinn's mother is still missing. Oh, and several Terminator-types are trying to kidnap Quinn and the meerkat.
This book was so much fun to read. The characters are written with much humor and humanity. And the adventure and excitement kept me reading well beyond bedtime! I highly recommend this book.
Please read my complete review on my blog: www.ponderingtheprose.blogspot.com
I was fortunate enough to read the first book in this series, Gravity is Heartless, last year. I highly recommend that you read that book first. Nostalgia is Heartless starts out several months after the first book ends. Set about thirty years in the future, the world is in disarray. The polar ice caps have mostly melted. As a result, the atmosphere has changed, and there are food shortages, wars and environmental refugees. In other words, the world is in chaos.
And the characters are also in chaos. Quinn is facing lots of change. Pregnant by a man she barely knows, she is suddenly unemployed and living with her father, a survivalist who Quinn finds to be super annoying. Mori the AI meerkat is having an existential crisis. Tig, the transhuman who impregnated Quinn, is hiding a big secret, and Quinn's mother is still missing. Oh, and several Terminator-types are trying to kidnap Quinn and the meerkat.
This book was so much fun to read. The characters are written with much humor and humanity. And the adventure and excitement kept me reading well beyond bedtime! I highly recommend this book.
Please read my complete review on my blog: www.ponderingtheprose.blogspot.com
February 5, 2022
Feminist science fiction at its fantastical best!
Sarah Lahey envisions both the mundane and the fantastic in this not-too-distant futuristic and feminist tale of climate change’s effects. Not only does she extrapolate from today’s climate issues to its likely outcomes, but she also imagines future inventions, both human and nonhuman, that might either save or destroy us. Then she keeps us guessing until the last pages about which one it will be. This is science fiction at its best—grounded in actual science and soaring in imagination about both the best and worst of human actions and creations. Add in humorous nods to current non-science believers, familiar political situations, and characters who are all quirky, lovable and often queer in some way, and you have a rich and satisfying read.
Sarah Lahey envisions both the mundane and the fantastic in this not-too-distant futuristic and feminist tale of climate change’s effects. Not only does she extrapolate from today’s climate issues to its likely outcomes, but she also imagines future inventions, both human and nonhuman, that might either save or destroy us. Then she keeps us guessing until the last pages about which one it will be. This is science fiction at its best—grounded in actual science and soaring in imagination about both the best and worst of human actions and creations. Add in humorous nods to current non-science believers, familiar political situations, and characters who are all quirky, lovable and often queer in some way, and you have a rich and satisfying read.
April 11, 2022
Science fiction isn’t my thing. But the future of our fragile planet, by virtue of the fact it’s the only home we have at this point is, inescapably, everyone’s “thing”. And given what’s happening to the world right now, particularly here in Australia - bushfires bigger than anyone alive has ever seen and once-in-100-years floods every two weeks - Sarah Lahey’s Heartless series should be required reading. The fast-paced plot, which involves exploitation by a money-hungry conglomerate, a desperate race against time, childbirth at the South Pole and a clinically-depressed talking meerkat puts the “fi” into this Sci-fi tale. But the landscape on which it unfolds - our world 30 years hence - and the end results of climate change depicted here are based on solid science FACTS. Not only possible, but unless we take action soon, completely inevitable.
October 24, 2021
Thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy! I was told I didn’t need to read the first book to enjoy this one so I jumped right in. I thought the author did a great job filling us in on the events that took place during the first installment, but after reading this one I will be adding the first one to my list as well. This was a great fast paced read full of action and unexpected twists. The world building was amazing and as realistically scary as every good Sci-fi book should be. I loved Quinn, she was such a strong and relatable main character. I enjoyed the dialogue which was full of humor and snark. If you are a Sci-fi fan, then I definitely recommend you pick this series up!
March 23, 2024
This is a compelling and imaginative book. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but then I couldn’t stop reading. It’s both funny and endearing, as it explores the intricacies of human emotions and the relationship between humans and machines. It’s a must-read for fans of speculative fiction and anyone interested in the possibilities of future technologies. The novel cleverly navigates through themes of love and relationships in a completely believable world of the future. The world-building is superb.
September 8, 2021
I received an advanced reader copy of this book, as it's not coming out until 26 October. Honestly, I could not put this one down. I loved Gravity is Heartless, but the sequel is even better. I don't think you'd even need to read the first if you want to jump into the second, the author does a great job of catching everyone up (it had been a while since I read the first one). Big recommendation, action packed and races along.
September 9, 2021
I received an ARC copy of this thriller and was captivated from the start. It is a brilliant follow up to the first book in the series "Gravity is Heartless" with characters that develop in a funny, heartfelt and dare I say humanistic way even though there are many surprises in this science fiction take on what could easily and terrifyingly be a very near future for us all.
November 16, 2021
Highly recommend.
Smart, sassy science fiction. This book was so much fun! It was described as philosophical and funny, and it did not disappoint. The characters are quirky, the dialogue snappy and the world building is amazing. I hadn’t read the first book in the series (and you don’t need to), but I’ll be scooping this up asap. I now see why the series has won so many awards.
Smart, sassy science fiction. This book was so much fun! It was described as philosophical and funny, and it did not disappoint. The characters are quirky, the dialogue snappy and the world building is amazing. I hadn’t read the first book in the series (and you don’t need to), but I’ll be scooping this up asap. I now see why the series has won so many awards.
September 8, 2021
Such a fun read, really rolls along and I adored all the characters. The perfect summer holiday book, especially if you're looking for a fun sci-fi read.* (*I recieved an ARC copy for an honest review)
September 9, 2021
I was lucky enough to receive an early release copy. This second book in the Nostalgia series is ten times better than the first (and I thought the first was brilliant). I can’t wait for book three!
October 25, 2021
3.5 stars
August 25, 2026
3.5 rounded up
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews