We’ve made it to the quarterfinals of the fourth annual Self-Published Science Fiction Competition. Team Tar Vol On has sifted through 32 randomly assigned books and selected a top four. That number has since dropped to two, so we’ll be evaluating a pair of our own and a third-place book from one other team in order to select a pair of favorites to send forward to the semifinals. While it’s a rare book that’s a winner for everyone on the team, every book in this stage has been recommended by at least one of us, and we’ve all shared our thoughts in hopes it will help other readers find books that will appeal to them.
Today, we’re taking a look at a sapphic time travel romance, A Swift and Sudden Exit by Nico Vincenty.
March 26 update: after busy weeks of reading through other teams’ runners-up, we have decided to stick without our own allocation and make A Swift and Sudden Exit our second semifinalist!
Azrah’s Review and Rating
This was an entertaining read that I flew through despite the book being almost 500 pages long. I absolutely loved the overall concept and Vincenty’s take on the time travel trope. The intriguing characters and the element of mystery kept me engaged though I have to admit I did have some mixed feelings by the end.
The romance was probably the strongest part of the book. There are some open door scenes at one point which may not be everyone’s thing but Zera and Katherine’s relationship was wonderfully developed. I just wish it was balanced out a bit better with the other leading plotlines.
Azrah has rated A Swift and Sudden Exit 6.5/10. For more, check out her full review.
Champ’s Review and Rating
Post-apocalyptic-sci-fi-mystery-time-travel-romance across different periods of time? SIGN ME UP. This book is 12 Monkeys meets Outlander.
The ability to write witty banter is a gift, and this author has it in a big way. The characters are pithy, acerbic, and memorable. BUT—it’s almost too much of a good thing. Page after page of rapid-fire zingers, as constant as breathing, and I became numb. I love ice cream, but not for every meal.
And the mission itself? Just grab samples of anything. Dirt, air, blood, whatever. It’s all good. I couldn’t help but feel frustrated by how poorly thought out this mission is, because A Swift and Sudden Exit has a so much potential.
Overall, I’d recommend this book to people that like time travel romance, not so much classic sci-fi. Despite the bumps in the story, I really like the way the author writes, so I’ll be interested to see what comes next.
Champ has rated A Swift and Sudden Exit 6/10.
Dave’s Review and Rating
This is a light-hearted sci-fi romance that takes a young woman, Zera, time-traveling to the past to save the world from a magnetic storm. But the world-saving takes a distant second as romance flies between Zera and a mysterious, somehow immortal, beautiful lady named Katherine. The tone is light and airy, and the romance heartfelt.
The quibbles I have are due to the length and the repetitive scenes that don’t really move the romance or the work-saving along. Like the romance, the sci-fi is light. The big disaster is never explained nor is the solution clear (yes, she saves the world, but I have no idea how). Also, not sure how or why Katherine became immortal. Anyway, a decent story, but the quibbles weighed on my overall score.
Dave has rated A Swift and Sudden Exit 6/10.
Erin’s Review and Rating
First off, the good: I did really like the main character and her relationships with her friends and co-workers. They felt like real people with real relationships.
Why didn’t I recommend it? There were grammar issues throughout, particularly comma splices, and the central romantic relationship of the book felt slightly wooden to me – far less believable than the friendship between the MC and her bestie. On top of that, the sudden lurid detail when the romantic relationship turned sensual was a little jarring to me from a book that wasn’t billed primarily as a romance book.
I still enjoyed the plot and characters enough to keep reading, and was on the fence about recommending it or not, but I was disappointed by the resolution of the time travel plot. Time travel is a difficult thing to do well, and ultimately A Swift and Sudden Exit fell short for me.
Erin has rated A Swift and Sudden Exit 5/10.
Jay’s Review and Rating
Overall, A Swift and Sudden Exit is an easy read with an endearing central relationship and plenty of engaging scenes set in the past. However, the overall structure of the time travel plot doesn’t provide adequate support to those time-hopping snapshots of a relationship, leading to a flat ending and a bit too much difficulty suspending disbelief. There are pieces here that shine enough to make this a book worth reading for those who don’t mind a weaker overarching plot, but it doesn’t really offer a full package.
Jay has rated A Swift and Sudden Exit 6/10. For more, check out his full review.
Josh’s Review and Rating
In short, there’s enough of a solid romance here in A Swift and Sudden Exit to make those looking for F/F romance pleased, although such readers shouldn’t feel the urge to drop everything and pick this book up. For those who aren’t big romance fans, this book is probably not for you.
Josh has rated A Swift and Sudden Exit 7.5/10. For more, check out his full review.
Official Scores
| Azrah | 6.5 |
| Champ | 6 |
| Dave | 6 |
| Erin | 5 |
| Jay | 6 |
| Josh | 7.5 |
| Team | 6.17 |