Review Detail

Amber Vial by Frost Kay is the first in her novella series Mixologists & Pirates. I love these novella series. They make for great reads when you are in a rut or looking to try a new genre. Amber Vial follows the story of Allie Sai as she boards a ship to colonize a new planet.

Allie is an interesting character. She makes it clear from page one that she is not getting on the ship regardless of what the lottery said. She doesn't want to leave her family and home. I empathize with her. When given the choice, I stay home too. But Allie doesn't have a choice. Armed with a backpack full of her things and a few vials of her family's famous moonshine, Allie plans to escape if she can. Clearly, her plan isn't very sound, and she is forcibly placed on the ship to a new planet. To calm her nerves, she takes a few sips of her vials and finds reality blending with fantasy.

Overall Amber Vial is a good start to a new sci-fi series that involves pirates and a little space travel. The world-building is just getting started here, and I'm excited to see where the author takes us next. Allie is a fun, relatable character who I can already see will get in lots of trouble. If you enjoy a quick read or sci-fi, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this one.