As the title suggests, I didn't finish this book. In order to approach this DNF review objectively, this review is divided between the reasons why I kept reading the book and why I lost interest.

What do I like about this book?

1. Characters - I really like how the characters had distinct voices in my head—curious, grumpy, tired father of twenty. I found it easy to emotionally invest and root for the characters, even the unlikeable ones (Corbin). The diverse co-living-in-the-ship situation among humans, aliens, and in-between beings was a nice touch.

2. Worldbuilding - There were festivals, food, and some space tech jargons were quirky and fun (i.e. globulb). The world felt lived in.

Why I DNF-ed this book?

1. Writing Style - The writing style is not as polished as I expected it to be, like Martha Wells. Yes, Wells is my standard. The first science fiction book I read was written by her. I thought the warmth from the characters was enough for me to read through the entire book.

2. Worldbuilding - I know I said I loved the worldbuilding, but not entirely. Some settings were just thrown in the mix without much explanation, and the author just expected me to just roll with it. Some space tech jargon sometimes sounded awkward (i.e., genetweaks)

3. Plot - Rosemary was the main character, but I'd only read about her during the first few pages. I was already 68 pages in, and I was still unsure what she wanted. What was she hiding? Why was it taking so long to tell me? Whenever I think about why I stop reading a book, I always ask myself, 'Is it because it's too slow?' But then I always go back to Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. That book was glacial (with a capital G), and I loved it!
   
   However, this book meandered for the sake of being quirky and didn't really pose any questions. Also, since the news report from page 64 to page 67 was more of an exposition, I think it was supposed to spark curiosity, but it just gave me too many foreign terms. I didn't even want to read about it.

I really wanted to like this book! The first few pages were promising and the characters were likeable. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding did not move the plot along with it. I got bored.

Why did I pick this book?

1. T. Kingfisher - I picked this book up because I enjoyed reading A Wizard's Defensive Guide to Baking and Kingfisher's whimsical writing style. Hence, I looked for books where the protagonists are adults. The most commonly recommended books are Swordheart and The Paladin's Grace. Both are on my to-read list.

2. Halla's Conflict - A 36 year-old widow who has to fend off her inheritance from her husband's relatives. The threat captured my interest and made me root for the character even before reading the book.

3. Cursed Immortal - I cannot help but be curious on immortals trapped into objects, Sarkis was not an exception. There's always a question of how did they end up there? Do they get out of that curse? What does he do to get out of that sword?

4. Romance - This was the cherry on top that I looked foward to.

Why did I DNF this book?

I reflected on what did not work for me on this book. I initially thought the glacial pacing threw me off. However, when I looked back at other cozy fantasy books that I finished, most of them were slow-paced and remained enjoyable to the end. It could not have been the writing style because I like Kingfisher's writing style. And so, I pinned it to these two points:

1. Sarkis thinks of Halla a lot. Sometimes, he complains too much about Halla's mindless chatter. It is understandable but it was overdone. Other times, he's lusting over her curvy body. I can't imagine this turning into a love story.

2. Halla prattled too much even at most inconvenient times. Her endless internal monologues and dialogues reminded me of Mona from A Wizard's Defensive Guide to Baking by the same author and she is fourteen. The further I read, the more annoyed I get at this character.

I really wanted to like this book. By the end of chapter 2, I was delightfully surprised and thought this would be a fantasy romantic comedy. However, as chapters went by, the attempts at comedy in topics such as forced marriage, suicide, drugging, rape did not work me. But in the end, the final straw were the main characters and I DNF @ 18%.