Excellent story! Grunt point of view, down and dirty very much like real life 'in the box'. The characters, even the aliens, are believable, no cardboard here. Their actions make sense in the context, as does the emotional strain and physical exhaustion.
This book pulled me in and immersed me.

Spots isn't the same as the typical mil-SF shoot 'em up. We have an interesting, atypical protagonist in a mother and recalled reservist. We have an enemy with their own internal factions, which leads to aliens helping the humans. And a plot that hangs on those key differences between humans and aliens. It's great stuff.

I'm used to scarfing down my books, and unlike the previous two books, when I read this one the first time, I definitely ate it too fast.

I definitely empathized more with Vasith'h - the anxiety, not knowing my place, not trusting myself and my social network to catch me.

But with this read-through, I could understand Jahie more: seeing a loved one - or a past-self you are trying to forgive - struggle when they don't need to.

It was a rough week for me in the present now, and I had to put the reread down to attend to other matters. And today, for the first time in a long time, I talked to a family member for a couple hours.

Struggling is one thing, but struggling when you think you are alone is different. And this book reminded me that I can ask for help.

Thank you

Sometimes when you are in a place, and you read a book, you make that book that place.

The reread took me away from the place and helped me reframe a tough time.

Thank you

This book was what I needed then - and what I needed now.

Excellent short stories give glimpses of the Stardancer crew before they came together as well as a few other fleet personalities. The flitzbies are the best.

Great book!
Characters were fun and interesting, story was compelling, and I liked the world a lot. Will continue the series for sure!

What an absolutely lovely series! It is so thoroughly suffused with empathy and compassion that having just finished reading it, I am already missing it. While I found it to be an uplifting series overall, there are places where it deals movingly with such subjects as loss, grief, loneliness, school-related stress and more. All in a fascinating science fictional galaxy, wrapped around a believable asexual romance between two males of different alien species.

Delicious, delightful dénouement!

I knew going in that these were RPG oriented, however I've enjoyed everything else the author has written, so I got the bundle. As with all her stories, I became engaged with the characters and enjoyed the stories a lot.

I love all of MCA Hogarth's writing, the Jokka in particular! This book of shorts was no exception; I limited myself to 1 story a day to make it last. Thoughtful, engaging stories excellently written.

Despite taking a break for several years, Clays 2 makes it feel as if this series never left in the first place. The new short stories in this collection may be even better than the ones in Clays 1, and it's especially satisfying to read two stories that take place after the events of Stone Moon (and one in the Mystery Age too!) Another must-read after the Stone Moon Trilogy.

Fully in love with this world and this book! The language, the setting, the characters, everything was so lovely and just clearly constructed with so much care. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys music, anyone looking for loving and atypical relationship formats, and anyone searching for stories about people who care for and interact deeply with the world around them.

This really follows immediately after Mindtouch and continues their journey towards both their professional and personal development goals. I just never get tired of following the adventures of these two protagonists. This book is hard to put down!

Very engaging story. Loveable characters and amazing world-building. I had trouble putting it down. It’s a good thing I was able to pick up the sequel immediately after because Mindtouch and Mindline are so sequential they may as well be one book in two volumes!

ETA: This book has become a comfort read that I return to often.